Early morning pick-up from your hotel in Istanbul, or Izmir, and transfer to the airport. Embark on a short flight to Kayseri, in the Cappadocia region. Kayseri stands at the foot of Mount Erciyes and was once the Capital of the Seljuk Anatolian Sultanate. Overnight in Kayseri.

After breakfast, start the day at Mount Nemrut – adorning the temple and tomb of King Antiochus – all together with rock depictions of various Gods and art samples of the Commagene civilization.

Continue to the Attaturk Dam, standing on the wise and mighty river the Euphrates, an ancient pillar of the Mesopotamian civilization.

For the afternoon we will visit Sanliurfa, ‘The City of Prophets’ which was mentioned both in the Bible and Quran and was the birthplace of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). Overnight in Sanliurfa.

From Diyarbakir we will continue our tour to Mardin, a Mesopotamian city graciously risen over a high hill overlooking the southern regions of Turkey. Afterward, we will visit the Saffron Monastery (Deir-Al-Zafaran), the center of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchy, built in the 5th century BC and still active today.

After lunch, we will drive to Hasankeyf, an ancient town located along the Tigris River which ended up submerged by the waters of the new dam. Finally, we will make our way to Tatvan, where we will overnight, on the western shore of Lake Van.

Hop on a journey south of Van, along a branch of the Silk Road to visit Hosap Castle, built to protect the road and also to assist the travelers. From here we will return to Van and have lunch. After lunch, we will continue to the 3000 years old Van Citadel and witness the sunset over the greatest lake in Turkey. Overnight in Van.

From Kars, we will drive to Ani Cathedral and spend the morning exploring the ancient capital of the medieval Armenian Kingdom. Once renowned for its splendor and beauty, it has now but ruins to tell us the story. Among these, we will see several churches, a mosque, the shell of the Cathedral along with the well-preserved defensive wall. Overnight in Kars.

Embark on a breathtaking journey through the Pontic Alps, following the steps of Xenophon and The Ten Thousand, along the Karasu at the northmost part of the Euphrates, and up to the Byzantine fortress of Askale. We will then make our way upwards to Kopdagi Pass at 2390m high, and make our way down again towards the cliff-hanging monastery of Sumela. The monastery is dated back to the 4^th century and it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, being of great historical significance. Overnight in Trabzon.