Day 2 - ISTANBUL
You are scheduled to arrive in Istanbul's Atatürk airport just before noon. After the passport and visa procedure, you will be met and taken to your 5-star Hotel Eresin in the old city. There will be time to relax and rest before meeting Bora in the evening for dinner at a local restaurant. We will have dinner with lots of live music and entertainment by a gypsy orchestra. Bora and his staff will play and sing along with the orchestra.

Day 3 - SAFRANBOLU
The next morning we will drive to the historic town of Safranbolu, which is graced with many traditional old houses and mansions. The friendly people of Safranbolu will welcome our interest in traditional Turkish culture as we wander through the town, admiring its charm and beauty. Our stay will be at a 200-year-old restored and modernized mansion. This town is full of unusual photo opportunities with thousands of Ottoman houses.

Day 4 - ANKARA/CAPPADOCIA
We will depart on a scenic two-hour drive to Ankara, the capital of Turkey since 1923. We will visit the magnificent Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, which features relics from Çatal Höyük, one of the earliest known human communities that existed through the Roman Classical period. We will also pay a visit to the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the father of modern Turkey. This beautiful landmark is perched atop a hill with a panoramic view of the city. We will then continue on a four-hour drive to Cappadocia where we will stay at the Cappadocia Cave Suites, which was rated the seventeenth most boutique hotel in the world by Abercrombie and Kent in 2005.

Most of the hotel’s eighteen spacious units have a Jacuzzi, several have fireplaces and five units include two bedrooms. It is the newest and most “luxurious cave living” in Cappadocia. Some units have beautiful 200-year-old wooden ceilings and one unit has original 8th century painted frescoes showing the Maltese Cross. The views from the hotel are spectacular with the Fairy Chimneys in sight (www.cappadociacavesuites.com).

Day 5, 6 - CAPPADOCIA (One of the Natural Wonders of the World)
While in Cappadocia, we will enjoy the unique landscapes of wind and rain eroded volcanic formations. Carved directly into stone, Cappadocia's amazing subterranean cities include ancient underground churches and cities hand-hewn from solid rock by early Christians. We will visit handicraft shops and a caravan-saray (an ancient caravan motel) as well as enjoy a Whirling Dervish ceremony. Going off the tourist track, we will have wonderful strolls where we visit small villages and discover the unknown Turkey. While in Cappadocia we will enjoy an excellent lecture and demonstration on Turkish carpets and kilims as well as a lecture/demonstration on pottery. A Soganli doll maker will also present a demonstration on how their world famous Cappadocia dolls are made. Our stay will again be at the Cappadocia Cave Suites and dinner will be at the Cave Suites restaurant.

OPTIONAL: Hot air balloon rides over Cappadocia at reduced rates. A balloon ride in Cappadocia (for people of all ages) is safe and nothing less than spectacular.


Day 7, 8 - AMASYA
We will drive to the Hittite ruins at Yazilikaya to see the private temple of Hittite kings and then to Hattusas, the capital city of the Hittite Empire. At this site we will follow the ancient city wall constructed nearly 3,400 years ago and see the ruins of the Great Temple of the Storm God, the Lion Gate, the King Gate (guarded by a relief of the Hittite War God) and the Great Fortress. We will depart Hattusas and continue to Amasya, the one time capital of the Pontic Empire. It is a lovely little town nestled in a small mountain valley formed by the Green River. Some of the most striking features of Amasya are the tombs of the kings of Pontus carved into the high cliffs surrounding the city. Here, we will explore the old streets of Amasya and attend a local bazaar.

We will also have the opportunity to interact with the Turkish people and receive a welcoming performance in a nearby village (many of the girls in this village, who could not normally go to school, have been given scholarships to attend school by Cultural Folk Tours and its clients). In Amasya, we will stay at the Apple Palace, which is the best available 4-star hotel.



Day 9, 10 - TRABZON (Sumela Monastery)
Today is a driving day. We will drive from Amasya to the beautiful wooded coast of the Black Sea and follow the coastline to Trabzon. The scenery on this drive is unbelievable. With lush, green vegetation throughout the region, this area is a very unique part of Turkey. Hazelnut and tea plantations are the major contributors to this region's agricultural exports. Trabzon is an ancient Silk Road Black Sea port with its recorded history dating back to 746 B.C.. The following day, we will visit the Sümela Monastery and enjoy a lovely picnic by a rushing stream there. This monastery is from the Byzantine era of Turkey's history. One of the remarkable features of this site is that it is carved into a cliff face! While in Trabzon we will stay at the Hotel Usta, a fine 4-star hotel.

Day 11 - ERZURUM
From Trabzon we will drive five hours to Erzurum with many stops along the way. This is a very beautiful drive, which follows various rivers. Erzurum rests at a base altitude of 6,600 ft. Although it is somewhat remote, it is one of the largest cities in eastern Turkey. Despite its size, the people maintain quite a conservative outlook. Here, one will frequently encounter more women wearing veils than in other cities. While in Erzurum we will have lunch in a restaurant converted from old Ottoman houses, which is decorated with antiques. We will visit Ulu Cami (the Great Mosque) and an old Selcuk Medrese (schoolhouse) as well as see several Kurdish villages in the area. We will stay at the 5-star Renaissance Hotel, which is located at a ski resort at an elevation of 7,000 ft.

Day 12 - KARS (Ani)
Departing early in the morning from Erzurum, we will take a scenic drive to Kars. From Kars, a 45-minute drive will take us to the medieval Armenian City of Ani near the Turkish-Armenian border. Although the city lies mostly in ruins, impressive fortified walls still encircle the ruins of numerous churches, mosques and caravansaries. Walking around the ruins, we will be able to see a beautiful view of Armenia across the Arpa River, which creates the border between Turkey and Armenia. Other attractions in the city of Kars are the immense citadel, its old bridges and an Armenian church (the Church of the Twelve Apostles). We will check into the Sim-er Hotel, which is the best available 4-star hotel.

Day 13 – VAN (Mt. Ararat)
Early in the morning, we will drive along the beautiful yet rugged border between Turkey and Armenia and arrive in Dogubayazit. On the way, we will stop for many photo opportunities. In particular, there are many beautiful flowers in this region (varies on the season). We will also have the opportunity to see Mt. Ararat, where Noah’s Ark is believed to be, and visit the spectacular Ishak Pasa Palace. This complex is a combination of a mosque, fortress, and 17 th century palace.

We will then drive two and half hours to Van, stopping again for various photo opportunities. One of the stops will be by a gorgeous waterfall. When we arrive in Van, we will first visit the 3,000-year-old fortress built by Urartians, who inhabited the region between the 9 th and 6 th century B.C. and called their capital city, Tushba. We will watch lovely Kurdish folk dances presented by a local school. This will be followed by a lecture/demonstration on World-famous Van kilims. Afterwards, we will check into our tourist class, Hotel Akdamar, which is the best available in town.

Day 14, 15 – MARDIN (Akdamar Armenian Church, Hasankeyf)
Early in the morning, we will take a short ferry ride to Akdamar Island. There is a wonderful 10th century Armenian Church here called the Church of the Holy Cross. The outside walls of the church are decorated with wall reliefs depicting various well-known tales from the Bible and the Old Testament. This church, which has been recently restored to its former glory, is a true gem. We continue our drive to Batman where we will visit the incredible and ancient city of Hasankeyf nearby. Hasankeyf is on the banks of the Tigris River and is located in an area of the Fertile Crescent where animals were domesticated and grains were cultivated over twelve thousand years ago. Similar to Cappadocia with its many carved caves, this city offers spectacular photo opportunities.

After driving ninety minutes, we will arrive in Mardin, capping a long but spectacular day with many stops. Our stay will be at the 13 th century Artuklu caravan-saray, a very boutique hotel. Mardin is a very unique and lovely city with many old Arabic style houses. It is a city that played an important role in the early development of Christianity. We will take time to visit, walk through its busy streets and bazaars and take superb photographs. Just outside of town, we will visit the monks in the Monastery of Deyr-az-Zaferan, which was founded in 4 th century A.D. The monastery was the seat of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch for almost 800 years and is built on top of a 4,000-year-old temple originally used by sun worshippers.

Day 16 - URFA
We will drive three hours to Urfa, the birthplace of the prophet Abraham. Here, we will visit nearby Harran and see the incredible beehive houses. Harran, according to the Bible, was the site where the prophet Abraham lived with his family for several years before moving to Israel, the promised land. We will also visit the holy sites at Ainzelha, a lake with domesticated fish. There are exceptional photo opportunities in this area. Our stay will be at the 4-star Harran Hotel.

Day 17 – MT. NEMRUT
From Urfa, we will drive two hours to Adiyaman-Kahta. On the way, we will stop to see Ataturk dam, the fourth largest dam in the world built on the Euphrates River. We will drive through the Pistachio orchards and stop to pick them (depending on the season). We will check into our tourist class Zeus hotel by mid-day. Soon after, we will hire small mini-buses to drive up Mt. Nemrut. Resting at an elevation of 7700 ft., there is an extraordinary mountaintop and funerary-temple complex composed of two flattened areas strewn with huge statues and fallen heads of Greco-Roman Gods. Each head measures six to nine feet high, belonging to the likes of Zeus, Hercules, Fortuna, Apollo and the King Antiouchus, who considered himself a God. There is also a mound of broken gravel that makes a perfect false peak of crushed rock. Antiouchus built the entire complex 2,050 years ago as a monument to his "divine ancestry".

Please Note: The hike to Mt. Nemrut consists of 20 to 40 minutes of a 30% uphill hike, mostly with stairs. There is no time limit and most can do the hike. There are also donkeys or mules available for hire.

Day 18, 19 - MERSIN/OLBA/ISTANBUL
Today, we will take a 5-hour scenic drive where we will pass Adana and arrive at Tarsus, the birthplace of St. Paul. In Tarsus, we will visit St. Paul's well and the foundations of his house. After Tarsus we will drive a half-hour more and stay at the 5-star Mersin Hilton Hotel, a lovely hotel overlooking the Mediterranean.

Our next day will start with visits to places known only to Bora and his staff and will be for your eyes only. These include the underground cistern in Tirtar and the huge chasm in Kanlidivane (Neopolis) with the world’s first legally built churches from the 4 th century around the chasm. There will be many superb photo opportunities in this little visited coast. We will then drive to Olba (Diocaesarea). Inland from the Mediterranean about 20 miles, we will drive through the beautiful Toros mountains. In Olba, an ancient settlement first established by the Hittites, also known as "Diocaesarea" to the Romans, we will see a 2,300-year-old temple of Zeus, which is the oldest example of Corinthian order in Turkey. We will visit the Temple of Tyche, a small Greek theatre, the monumental Gateway and the ancient Nymphium, a water fountain. All day this day, we will enjoy beautiful places without the presence of other tour groups. Late in the afternoon, people who are returning to the U.S.A. will be taken to the Adana airport for a seventy-minute flight to Istanbul. An agent will pick them up and take them to the Eresin Hotel to check-in. Dinner will be on their own.

DAY 20 - DEPART FOR USA
Early in the morning, you will be taken to the airport for your return flight on Turkish Airlines to the United States, arriving the same day.

**Flight schedules and itinerary are subject to change**

***Please note that there are a number of places and sites that will be visited which are not mentioned in the above itinerary.

****During our drives in Turkey the beautiful landscape and scenery will be constantly changing. The drives will actually be among the highlights of the tour. The brand new Mercedes bus will be very comfortable with lots of extra space and on board facilities. We will have many stops for rest, photo opportunities and visits with the local Turkish people. While traveling, Bora and staff will give talks on all aspects of Turkish life, customs, traditions and much more.

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