AyasİsosTravels AİT0605: TALASSA - TALASSA – ARMENIANS - SELDJUK URARTIERS: A cultural journey 10 days full board to Annatolia, the Black Sea, Eastern Turkey: the Hittites, Caucasians, Armenians, Seljuks, Omaides, Persians, Ottomans, Turks...
This beautiful, exclusive tour takes us through the old and new civilizations:
From Ankara to Hattuşa, the capital of ancient Hittite Empire, and, Amasya, city of Amazons-Strabon, further along the fertile, green coasts of Black Sea-Pontus Exus, Thalassa! Thalassa! from “Ten Thousands” of Xenophon to take the Silk Route of Marco Polo via Trabzon from Sumela of the Mother of God of Mount Zvarte.
We will go to Turkish-Georgian-Armenian borders, to Kars-Caucasia to discover Armenian - Jacobean monasteries, to the foot of Ararat Mountain to find Noe Ark, to Van Meer to find Vanmonster and Ah Tamara Island, to Ahlat to Van Meer to awaken the Seldjouk Princes and princesses to the words of their deep sleeps in their Seldjoukse mosaleums and tombs.
Content
AyasİsosTravels AİT0605: TALASSA TALASSA – ARMENIANS - SELDJUK URARTIERS: A cultural journey 10 days full board to Annatolia, the Black Sea, Eastern Turkey: the Hittites, Caucasians, Armenians, Seljuks, Omaides, Persians, Ottomans, Turks...................................................................... 1
Day 1: Arrival Ankara .....................................................................................................................………. 2
Day 2: Ankara - Hattuşaş - Alacahöyük - Çorum (336 km)…………………………………………...............….... 3
Day 3: Corum-Amasya – Niksar Ordu (Giresun)(369 km) ..................................................................... 4
Day 4: Ordu-Giresun-Trabzon (130 km) ................................................................................................ 5
Day 5: Trabzon-Maçka–Gümüşhane-Bayburt–Erzurum (342 km) ....................................................... 6
Day 6: Erzurum- Archaeological Site Ani, one of UNESCO's World Heritage-Kars-300km ..............................................................................................................................................................….7
Day 7: Kars-Digor (Doğubayazit) – (188 km) ………………………………………………….................................. 8
Day 8: Doğubayazit – Van (176 km) ...................................................................................................... 9
Day 9: Van (100 km)............................................................................................................................. 10
Day 10: end of a special journey........................................................................................................... 11
Prices.................................................................................................................................................... 11
Notes.... ................................................................................................................................................ 12
Optional Trips ....................................................................................................................................... 12
Included ............................................…………………………………………….…………....................................... 12
Not included ..................... ................................................................................................................... 13
AyasİsosTravels Multilingual Cultural Tour Provider and Operator........................................................13
Day 1: Arrival Ankara
Arrival Ankara Airport. Reception and then transfer to the Hotel 5* with welcome cocktail, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 2: Ankara - Hattuşaş - Alacahöyük - Çorum (336 km)
Letter from Hittite woman to her husband who works abroad, she speaks about her mother-in-law.
After breakfast we will visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations and the Atatürk Mausoleum.
Anatolian Civilizations Museum, Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi, Ankara, Turkey.
Ataturk Museum: Mausoleum and Museum of Ataturk.
We also take a look at old Ankara, the wooden palaces of the notables and the spice market.
Lunch is at restaurant Hacibey, Ankara's most famous restaurant with the most delicious doner kebab.
After lunch, we head to Hattuşaş, the Hittite capital, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Turkey. We see city walls and various gates such as the Lion Gate, the Underground Gate, the King's Gate. A little further on are the rock reliefs of Yazilikaya, the cult site.
After that we are in Alacahöyük, Alacahöyük is an important archaeological site in Central Turkey that has habitation from 5500 to 600 BC. shows. The ruin hill is located 36 km north of Bogazkale and 52 km south of Çorum. The most moving finds are housed in the museum in Ankara, but the place itself also has a small museum. It was an important city under the Hattians and then their successors the Hittites.Dinner and overnight in Çorum famous with its Archaeological Museum, dinner and overnight in hotel 3*plus or 5*.
Day 3: Corum-Amasya – Niksar Ordu (Giresun) (369 km)
After breakfast we leave our hotel for the visit of Çorum Archaeological Museum,then off for Amasya.Amasya: Amzonen-Amesis and the birthplace of Strasbon. We alsotake a walk along the Green River and see the beautiful wooden houses, the rock tombs and the castle.
We see the Sultan Bayezid Mosque, Burmali Minare Mosque, Darussifa-Bimarhane, the Blue Medresa and Gok Mosque.
We also visit the archaeological museum, the mummy museum and the ethnographic museum at Hazeranlar Palace. Why not take some pictures of the tombs, the historic bridges, the fountains (water springs), the Mausoleum of Torumtay, built in 1266, the characteristic wooden houses along the Green River, etc.
Lunch is at Amasya.
Then we drive along the Green River via Niksar-Akkuş to Ordu-Giresun, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way. We cross the Pontic Mountains. Ordu is known for its hazelnut cultivation. We see beautiful views of the sea and the land. Dinner and overnight in Ordu or in Giresun 4*.
Day 4: Ordu-Giresun-Trabzon (130 km)
After breakfast, free time in the center of Giresun to interact with the people of the Black Sea. Here grow the numerous cherry trees with their sweet cherries, also called the bird cherry. According to tradition, the Roman general Lucullus, after he conquered the city in 69 BC, is said to have introduced the cherry tree to Europe from here.
Lunch is in Akçaabat, very well known for its typical cuisine: meatballs (kofte) from Akçaabat.
After lunch we drive to Trabzon along the Black Sea coast. Upon our arrival in Trabzon we visit the main attraction of Trapezunt: the Aya Sophia with beautiful frescoes. The Aya Sophia was built during the reign of Manuel Comnemus 1 in the 13th century and has since been expanded and embellished several times. The south side of the church has a beautifully carved porch with images of Adam and Eve in the stone frieze, as well as mythological figures and plant motifs.
We find the most beautiful frescoes in the nartex. Depicted here are New Testament miracles such as Christ walking on water, the miraculous multiplication of bread and the healing of the blind man.
At the end of the day we will be in our 4 star charming hotel in Trabzon for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 5: Trabzon-Maçka–Gümüşhane-Bayburt–Erzurum (342 km)
After breakfast we first visit the Sümela Monastery located near the town of Altindere (Golden River). The name Sümela is a corruption and shortening of the Greek Panagia Theotokos tou melas which means: the Most Holy Mother of God of the Black Mountain. This now abandoned and difficult to reach monastery is located at an altitude of 1200 m. The last 250 m must be covered on foot or by minibus. The monastery with its impressive frescoes in the rock church is listed as a UNESCO monument. We continue our journey through the Pontus Mountains and climb via Torul and Gümüşhane, which are at an altitude of 1250 m and Bayburt, which is at an altitude of 1600 m, over the mountain pass of Kop Geçidi (2302 m) to Erzurum, which is at an altitude of 1950 m lies.
Lunch is at a specialty restaurant in Bayburt at the base from Baybourt Bourch to the Coruh River.
At the end of the afternoon, we visit Karin -Erzurum.
Karin was called the Land of the Romans by the Seljuks. We see the Great Mosque with three Kumbets, the Medersa with the Twin Minaret and its beautiful oriental art motifs and turquoise faience tiles, commissioned by the daughter of the Seljuk Sultan, Alaeddin Kaykubat. It's like being in Central Asia. We spend the night in our Hotel 4* on the mountain Palandöken.
Day 6: Erzurum- Archaeological site Ani, one of UNESCO's World
Heritage Sites Kars-300km
In the morning, after breakfast, we depart east towards Ani. Just outside Pasinler and before Horasan we get off to admire the Çobandede Bridge. This beautiful bridge was designed by Mimar Sinan, chief architect of the Superb Soliman and a friend of Michel Angelo. Over a distance of about 140 km we follow the river Aras. Along the way we collect obsidian from the obsidian quarries.
After lunch in Kars (Kars is the city of the best Turkish honey and Turkish cheese) in restaurant Ocakbaşı with oriental specialties, there is an opportunity to take pictures of the Cathedral of the Apostles and the Castle of Kars.
Church of Apostoles in Kars
Then leaves for Ani. Ani is located 45 km east of Kars and 248 km from Erzurum on the border with the Republic of Armenia. Located on an important trade route, this city grew into the capital of Armenia in 961. There were then more than 100,000 inhabitants and a thousand churches. Earthquakes and wars with Byzantines, Turks and Mongols put an end to that prosperity. The earthquake of 1319 marked the final end of the city. It was not until the end of the 19th century that the ruins of the abandoned ghost town were found. Spread over a vast area are the many ruins of Armenian and Seljuk monuments such as: the Great Cathedral, the Church of the Savior, the Church of St. Gregory, the Honentz Mosque, the Seljuk Palace with Harem and Selam, the Turkish Hamam and the Seljuk market.
Ani, between 961 and 1045 was the capital of the Armenian kingdom of Bagratid, which covered much of present-day Armenia and eastern Turkey. The iconic city was called the "City of 1001 Churches and 40 Gates", 50 churches, 33 cave churches and 20 chapels have been found so far. Ani stood on several trade routes and its many religious buildings, palaces and fortifications were among the technically and artistically most advanced structures in the world: it housed the Cathedral of Ani, which is associated with early examples of Gothic architecture widely accepted by have influenced Europe's great cathedrals of early Gothic and Romanesque styles; The ribbed vault would not be seen in European cathedrals until at least two centuries later. At its peak, Ani was one of the world's largest cities, with a population of over 100,000 alongside Dvin. Known for its magnificence, Ani was sacked by the Mongols in 1236. Ani never recovered from a devastating earthquake in 1319 and was gradually abandoned until it was largely forgotten in the 17th century. Ani is a widely recognized cultural, religious and national heritage symbol for Armenians. According to Razmik Panossian, Ani is one of the most visible and "tangible" symbols of former Armenian greatness and therefore a source of pride. In 2016 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Dinner and overnight in Kars, hotel 4*.
Day 7: Kars-Digor (Doğubayazit) (188km)
After breakfast with Caucasishes foods, we continue the trek to Ağrı (or Doğubayazıt). On the way we enjoy the impressive landscape of the Great (5165 m) and Small Mount Ararat (3896 m).
The name Ararat occurs several times in the Old Testament. In Gen. 8:4 it is said that Noah's Ark foundered on Mount Ararat after the flood. In the book of Kings, we read further how the assassins of the Assyrian King Sennacherib, the besieger of Jerusalem, fled to Ararat. In the book of Jeremiah, where we read about preparing for a campaign to Babylon, Ararat is mentioned as one of the allies of the Israelites.
The name Ararat is a translation of the Akkadian word Urartu. In the steppe landscape, tortoises, eagles, partridges, falcons, foxes, sheep and even bears live in this region and many types of flowers and rare plants grow.
Lunch is at SIMER Hotel with a Kurdish hospitality reception.
In the afternoon, the fairytale Palace of Ishak Pacha at the foot of Mount Ararat is on the program. The famous Ishak Pacha Palace is located 7 km south of the city. Already in 1000 BC. there used to be an Urartese fortress here. The old fortress was beautifully restored in 1784 and embellished into a castle palace by the Ottoman Emir Ishak Pacha. He had this palace built in different styles; of which The 17th century Ottoman Baroque style is the most important.
After construction, Ishak Pacha had the architect's hands cut off, so that he would not be able to design such a beautiful palace for anyone else. Without the terraces, the dimensions of the palace are 115 by 50 m. The complex contained 336 rooms spread over two floors and was reminiscent of the fairy tales from 1001 nights.
Dinner and overnight at SIMER Hotel 3*charme boutique at the foot and overlooking Mount Ararat.
Day 8: Doğubayazit – Van (176 km)
After breakfast in Doğubayazıt we go through the Tendurek pass (2644m) on our way to Van, which is located at an altitude of 1750 m. Before arriving in Van-Tuşpa, we will stop at the Muradiye Walls, located at an altitude of 1700 m on the shore of Turkey's largest lake. The lake is surrounded by several Armenian churches, which are reflected in the water of the lake. The ancient city of Tuşpa was founded by the Urarti in the 9th century BC. founded. The realm of the Urarti covered much of Asia. This empire reached its peak between 900 and 600 BC. Then the decay started. The battle against the Assyrians was lost and the empire of Urarti fell due to the invasion of the Scythians and the Medes. For a time, Alexander the Great controlled this area. After the Persian period, the area passed into Armenian hands. Afterwards Van became a Byzantine city. In 1387 the city was destroyed by the Mongols. Persians and Ottomans then fought for control of the area. It was the Ottomans who greatly expanded the city.
On our arrival in Van lunch is at Hotel Ramada.
And then we will visit Van Castle, which is reached by a staircase of a thousand steps. The founder of Urartu, Sardur 1, built here in the 9th century BC. as protection against the Assyrians this strong fortress on a 1000 m long and 100 m high limestone ridge. We can enjoy a beautiful view of Lake Van at sunset. During excavations, a cemetery with urns was found at the foot of the northern slope. Rock-cut tombs of the Urartian kings can be seen on the steep south side of the hill. Some inscriptions in these tombs state in cuneiform that Xerxes of Persia was the king of kings. We stay in Van for dinner and overnight in the 4* hotel.
Day 9: Van (100km)
After breakfast we stop at a carpet weaving workshop to see with our own eyes how carpets are knotted in Eastern Turkey.
Van's kilims are famous for their Turkish-Kurdish and Armenian motifs as well as their Persian motifs.
We take a trip to the famous Çavuştepe Castle, located on a ridge 28 km south of Van. This one castle is a good example of the architectural mastery of the Urartube civilization. There are two castles: the upper castle and the lower castle. Above are the remains of a temple and below are the ruins of a palace, a temple complex, royal tombs and a large food depot with 30 storage vessels, on which the measurement in cuneiform writing can still be seen.
“Ishpuini's son Minua opened this thanks to the power of God Haldi. The name is Minua channel. Thanks to the greatness of the god Haldi, Minua is the mighty king, the great king, the king of the Bianili (Urartian) lands, the lord of the city of Tushpa. Minua says, this inscription begins, whoever destroys it, whoever sees this, whoever says to someone else, "I have opened this channel" will be God Haldi, God Teisheba, God Shiuini and all gods; be deprived of sunlight.”
This complex would have been the "Sardurihurda" fortress of King Sargon II from the 8th century BC.
We then sail to the island of Akdamar, which is located in the middle of Lake Van. We see the Holy Cross Dome Church in Armenian style, built of red sandstone. The island of Akdamar, now uninhabited, was a religious center 1,000 years ago and was also the seat of the Armenian Patriarch for several centuries. The Holy Cross Dome Church is particularly known for the sculptures that are placed against the outer walls. Mainly there are images from the Old Testament such as: Samson, David, Adam and Eve, Christ on the throne, Mary with the Christ child and the sacrifice of Abraham. Because there are also reliefs of the Abbasid caliph Muktadir, the building shows a wonderful mixture of Christian and Islamic art. Over the centuries, the church has been expanded several times, including a northern chapel, a large porch and a bell tower.
Today lunch consists of a cozy picnic at restaurant Deniz in Gevaş. At the end of the day we also stop to visit the Seljuk necropolis and admire the beauty of a Turkish princess. Finally, we drive back to our 4* hotel in Van for dinner and overnight.
Day 10: End of a special journey
Unfortunately comes va Today a special journey comes to an end and we take the plane back home, after breakfast and the Turkish Baklava with pistachios.
Prices
• • Tour Price List of AyasİsosTravels(Ayas Turizm): Travel Products (Tours, Tours, Group Tours, Vacations) of AyasİsosTravels(Ayas Turizm) in Turkey
• • Or please send an e-mail for the special conditions and prices. (partners@ayasisostravels.com)
Comments
• • Departure date can be adjusted for private groups
• • There is a special price for closed groups of more than 22 people, for members of cultural associations, for students, teachers, people with disabilities and their companions.
• • Please send an e-mail to know the special conditions and prices.
• • A free place for closed groups of more than 22 people for performances in Turkey.
Optional trips
• Discovery of Cappadocia in a hot air balloon
• Whirling Dervish Dancing
Including
• • 10 days 9 nights full board in 4* (or 5*) charming hotels, 3 stars in Doğubayazit and in Kahta according to the cities.
• • Dinner the first evening and breakfast on the last day.
• • Lunch in the restaurants with specialties 8 days.
• • Transport in Turkey: Mercedes.
• • Entrance fees of museums visited on the programme.
• • Service of a Dutch-speaking tour guide, university-trained guide.
Not included
• • Drinks in hotels and restaurants,
• • Optional excursions, drinking money
• • Transport in Europe,
• • Return flight tickets Europe/Turkey,
• • Airport tax,
• • Insurance.
Departure days can be adjusted (according to the demand of the special groups).
AyasİsosTravels: Multilingual Cultural Tour Provider and Operator.
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