The ancient Orient – Cradle of civilisation

Culture and art of the Fertile Crescent between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

Program

10 days and 9 nights with full board included (three meals per day, from dinner on the first day to lunch on the last day) and lodging in 4* and 5* hotels to discover the intertwining of the people and their cultures.

In the southeastern part of Turkey, lies the interface with the Arab world.  It stretches from the plain of Cilicia, the eastern provinces of Gaziantep and Diyarbakir, to Antakaya in the south.  The area is populated by Kurds, Syriacs and Chaldeans as well as Muslim Arabs and Turks.

Below the Taurus and Anti-Taurus mountain ranges, lie semi-arid hills with glacier and alluvial plains of the Tigris-Euphrates basin shared with Syria.  The hilly landscapes of Upper Mesopotamia have hosted powerful civilisations for centuries.  Remains of temples and palaces as well as scattered gigantic statues, are some of the many archaeological treasures which can be found in this region.  Rediscovered from the19th century, these sites reflect the turbulent history of a land which is recognised as one of the cradles of humanity.

In the heart of this region, international scientists discovered the site of the Göbekli Tepe temple.  Radiocarbon tests from the site, dates it to be 11,500 years old, about 9,000 years older than Stonehenge and radar detection revealed an underground place of worship of unprecedented size.

In this Fertile Crescent, the inhabitants created agriculture and writing and then went on to build cities, states and empires.

Optional: start your trip with a weekend in Istanbul or extend it with a stay in Antalya.

100% customisable programmes.

THREE REASONS FOR CHOOSING SCOPE VOYAGE

1. IRREPROACHABLE QUALITY

• Enjoy full board throughout your stay: tour price includes catering from dinner on the first day to lunch on the last day.
• Reap the benefits of small group travel: 18 participants maximum.
• Be accompanied by an experienced bilingual and knowledgeable tour guide. Individual audio-phones for all guided tours will also be provided.
• Delight in the high standards and comfort of the 4* and 5* hotels we have chosen for you.
• Participate in food and wine tastings of local products.

2. ABSOLUTE COMFORT

• Discover Turkey while having fun and relaxing. Our tours are designed to give you just the right amount of time to explore: 1 night in Diyarbakir, 2 nights in Mardin, 1 night at Sanliurfa, 2 nights in  Adiyaman, 1 night in Gaziantep, 2 nights in Antakya from where you will depart home.
• Airlines: Turkish Airlines, Onur Air, Pegasus Airlines, Sun Express.
• Comfortable, spacious and air-conditioned coaches equipped with Wi-Fi.
• Excellent roadway infrastructure, guaranteeing comfortable travel.

3. UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS

In addition to the wonderful cities of Mardin and Gaziantep, you will be charmed by Antioch and mystical Sanliurfa.  Emotions and wonders will be at the rendez-vous of this trip for you to admire the multi facets of Anatolia.

Itinerary

DAY 1 : Flight to Diyarbakir via Istanbul

Meeting point at your departure airport. Assistance with check-in and boarding of your flight.   Upon arrival at Istanbul, you will be greeted by your guide, then flight to Diyarbakir. Transfert to your hotel. Depending on your arrival time, possibility of a panoramic visit of Diyarbakir. Welcome cocktail before heading to your room.

Accommodation and dinner at the  Plaza Diyarbakir or similar hotel.

The Grand Mosque of Diyarbakır is one of the oldest mosques in Turkey (639).  It is similar to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

DAY 2 : Diyarbakir – Mardin (90 km – 1 h 15)

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Diyarbakir was an important centre and regional capital during the Hellenistic, Roman, Sassanid, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods and still is today.

Visit of the Ulu Camii mosque, with its unusual facade.  From the citadel, you will have a panoramic view over the Tigris valley.  Walk along the impressive six kilometres of walls and through the fertile Hevsel gardens, located between the Diyarbakir fortress and the Tigris River, believed to be the oldest grain store in Mesopotamia.

These ramparts and the magnificent gardens are recognised as an organic integrity and classified as World Heritage by Unesco.

Arrival at Mardin.  Accommodation and dinner for 2 nights at the Izala or similar hotel.

PHOTO

The Hevsel gardens connect the city to the Tigris River and supply it with both food and water.  They appear on cuneiform inscriptions dating from the first millennium (866 BC).  The fortress of Diyabakir as well as the Hevsel gardens are classified as World Heritage of Humanity by Unesco.

DAY 3 : Mardin – A mysterious city

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

The day will be dedicated to visiting the city of Mardin and its surroundings.

After walking through the Sultan Isa Camii citadel, you will go on to the Tur Abdin plateau, an important centre of Jacobite Christianity and the «Mount Athos» of Syrian Monophysisme.  Amongst its numerous monasteries, you will visit Deir Zafaran and the Mor Gabriel monastery.  Built on the ruins of an ancient pagan temple, it was founded in 397 by two monks from Qartmin, Mor Shmuel (Samuel) and Mor Shemun (Simon).  The visit will continue with remains from other monasteries.

Mardin, situated in a volcanic area, is considered as an open-air museum.  It is well preserved and its houses with their typical old-style carvings, are built from local stone, reflecting its culture and way of life.

Mardin, a symbol of religious tolerance in Turkey, is home to several religious denominations and thus creates an indescribable atmosphere.

Return to the hotel, dinner and night.

PHOTO

Mardin’s train station and road connect Turkey with Syria and Iraq.  Through its historical architecture and culture, the atmosphere of the past mixes with that of the present.

DAY 4 : Mardin – Göbekli Tepe – Sanliurfa (205 km – 2 h 45)

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

En-route to Sanliurfa to visit the Göbekli Tepe site.  Located in the Germus mountain range, in Southeast Anatolia, the site has monumental megaliths of round-oval and rectangular shapes erected by groups of hunter-gatherers during the pre-ceramic Neolithic era, between 9,600 and 8,200 BC.  These monuments would most probably have been used as part of funeral rituals.  Characteristic T-shaped pillars are carved with wild animals and provided an insight into the world views and beliefs of the people living in upper Mesopotamia at that time, around 11,500 years ago.

Visit of Sanliurfa, ancient city of Edessa and capital of the first Crusaders.  You will see its famous sacred fish ponds and discover the biblical site of Harran as well as the ancient town of Carrhae, where Crassus was defeated by Surena, the Parthian general.  Visit of its curious shaped «trullo» mud houses and the Ulu Camii mosque.

Accommodation and dinner at the Elçi Konagi  or similar hotel.

PHOTO

Strange megaliths decorated with animals stand in a circle, the tallest ones reaching 5,5 metres and weighing about 15 tonnes.  In one of the nearby quarries, there is an unfinished pillar of 7 metres and 50 tonnes.

DAY 5 : Sanliurfa – Adiyaman (112 km – 1 h 30)

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Şanliurfa, a city located far to the east of Istanbul in the Anatolian plains, is off the beaten track and quite regrettably often bypassed by regular tourist routes.  Urfa, «the glorious», is the proud birthplace of Abraham and leads one through the little traveled byways to the origins of religion and creeds.  Located on the borders of Mesopotamia, where the first civilisations flourished, it is one of the most important religious and historical sites in Turkey.

Abraham is said to have lived in hiding there until the age of seven to escape the anger of the Assyrian King Nimrod, who believed that a newborn child would one day steal his throne.  According to legend, Abraham survived and wanted to destroy the pagan gods of Urfa.  To punish him, Nimrod had him slain on a bonfire, but God turned the fire into water and the embers into fish.  Today, along the side of two majestic mosques, are two rectangular water pools filled with thousands of scared carps.  But beware, anyone who catches on will go blind!

After taking a winding road through the steep rocky hills, you will arrive at the peaceful village of Halfeti.  Its houses, the same colour as the rock, blend in perfectly with the landscape and its mosque, built by the river, makes for a delightful picturesque scene.  The best time to discover the village is at sundown when the ocher colours of the houses and rocks mix sublimely with the contrasting brilliant turquoise blue of the Euphrates waters.

Below the village, there is a small marina from where you will take a boat trip on the river on one of the small wooden boats.  As you move away from the shores, the houses become smaller and smaller and that is when Halfeti reveals its true splendour.

Onwards to Adiyaman, the historic centre of the ancient Kingdom of Commagene.

Accommodation and dinner for 2 nights at the Garden Adiyaman or similar hotel.

DAY 6 : Adiyaman – Nemrut Daği – Adiyaman (150 km – 3 hours)

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Today is dedicated to the visit of the Nemrut Dağ site, built in southeastern Turkey on one of the highest peaks of the Eastern Taurus mountain range, at 2,1000 metres above sea level.  Nemrut Dağ is the hierothesion (term used for holy burial areas and house of gods).

The tomb of Antiochos I (69 to 34 BC), who reigned Commagene, a kingdom created in the north of Syria and the Euphrates after the empire of Alexander fell apart, represents one of the most colossal undertakings of the Hellenistic period.  The syncretism of its pantheon along with its legendary Greek and Persian king descendants show the dual origin of the kingdom’s culture and aesthetics.

Visit of the ancient capital of the kingdom, Arsameia of the Nymphaios.  You will see the hierothesion of Antiochos VIII, Seleucid king, the famous relief of Mithras with Antiochos I, the Cendere Cay bridge in honour of Septimius Severus, the Karakus tumulus and the citadel of Eski Kale. And, to finish the day, watch the beautiful sunset over Nemrut Daği.

Return to the hotel for dinner and the night.

PHOTO

The tumulus, with a diameter of 145 metres and 50 metres in height, is made of shards of stones and is surrounded on three sides by terraces.  On the upper level are five colossal limestone statues, identified by their inscriptions as deities facing outward from the tumulus.

DAY 7 : Adiyaman – Nizip – Gaziantep (150 km – 2 h 10)

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Stop-off en-route to visit the site of Karkemish, ancient city of the Mitanni (the access is difficult and subject to authorisation).

You will pass through the town of Nizip before arriving at Gaziantep. Formerly called Cilicia, the city was founded on the right bank of the Euphrates by King Seleukos I Nikator, one of Alexander’s generals, at the beginning of the 3rd century BC.  In 64 BC, this strategic city was conquered by the Romans and became Zeugma («the bridge» in Greek).  It then reached its cultural peak in the 2nd and 3rd centuries before being destroyed by the Sassanid Persians in 253.

At the end of the twentieth century, due to a project to build a huge dam, the excavations carried out by the Gaziantep Museum of Archaeology were accelerated.

Visit of the Zeugma Mosaic Museum. This modern building, inaugurated in 2011, houses 1,700 m2 of mosaics mostly from rescue excavations (started in 1996) of the ancient city of Zeugmas which was drowned under the waters of the Birecik dam.  It is the largest mosaic museum in the world.

Accommodation and dinner at the Grand Hotel Gaziantep or similar hotel.

PHOTO

The Zeugma Mosaic Museum was inaugurated in September 2011.

DAY 8 : Gaziantep – Antakya (Antioch) (195 km – 2 h 45)

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

After a walk in the old city, departure for the city of Antakya.  Like Jerusalem or Rome, it represents an important stage in the development of the Christian religion.  According to Saul and Paul of Tarsus, the apostle Paul lived in Antioch, which was the point of departure for his evangelisation of the eastern Mediterranean basin.  The apostles Peter and Barnabas also lived there and it is where Peter created the first Christian community.  About a kilometre from the edge of Antioch is the rock cave where he secretly celebrated his cults.

Visit of Antioch:  the citadel, the Church of St. Peter, the banks of the Orontes and finally the site of Daphne, where the emperor and philosopher Julian stayed.

Built at the time of the Crusades, the portal of the church provides access to a cave where the apostle Peter is said to have founded the first Christian community, a few years after the death of Christ.

Accommodation and dinner for 2 nights at the The Museum or similar hotel.

PHOTO

Declared sacred by the Vatican in 1963, the church has since been a place of pilgrimage.  Every year, on 29th June, the anniversary of the death of Saint Peter, a solemn service is held in the cave.  At the end of this cave, is a tunnel that the first Christians would have used to escape.

DAY 9 : Antakya

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Our day will be devoted to sightseeing around Antioch, starting with the ancient site of Seleucia in Pieria, nowadays called Samandag.

Built 2,300 years ago by a former lieutenant of Alexander the Great who became king and founder of the Seleucid dynasty, Seleucia-in-Pieria should have been the capital of a great empire.  Rapidly eclipsed by Antioch, its destiny turned out differently.  Its ruins were found scattered in the undergrowth by astute archaeologists, the last remains witness of its existence.  You will also see an impressive tunnel dug during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian, a feat of utilitarian architecture.

Return to the hotel.

PHOTO

Rock tombs in Seleucia.

DAY 10 : Return flight home

Breakfast and transfer to Antakya airport according to your flight schedule.

Assistance with check-in and departure to your destination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of the tables and chairs near the flowing water of Harbiye Waterfall on natural rocks among trees. It was in Harbiye (Daphne) south of Antakya that, according to mythology, the nymph Daphne turned into a laurel to escape Apollo.  The surroundings are covered with orchards, gardens, laurels and waterfalls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The price includes

✈ International round trip flights.

✈ Domestic flight Istanbul/Diyarbakir

✈ Domestic flight Antakaya/Istanbul

o Meeting upon your arrival.

o Transfers airport/hotel/airport.

o Assistance from your experienced bilingual guide during the tour.

o Double room accommodation in the assigned hotels or ones of similar standing, hotel luggage porters.

o Full board from dinner on the first day to lunch on the last day.

o Transportation in comfortable vehicles adapted to the size of the group, a window per person.

o Visits and entrance fees to sites and museums mentioned in the programme.

24/7 assistance from our agency.

The price does not include

X Single room supplements.

X Drinks and personal expenses, tips for the guide and the driver.

X No insurance is included (Afel Travel recommends you purchase travel insurance).