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Eastern
Turkey is wild, beautiful and
best seen on an 11 to 15-day trip
by bus or car.
This itinerary covers the Black
Sea coast, the Eastern
region, and the Southeast.
It's a fast and full 11 days,
with suggestions for where to spend
extra nights if you want to slow
down the pace, make it 15 days,
and see more.
If you'd like to have someone set
up an Eastern Turkey tour (group or
private) for you, contact Rock
Valley Travel.
(For stories of travel in the East,
see my Bright
Sun, Strong Tea excerpts entitled "Eastern
Sacrifice" and "Some
People Never Learn.")
Starting in Ankara or Cappadocia...
DAY 1 - Bogazkale to Amasya
Stop to see the Hittite capital
of Bogazkale on
your way to Amasya,
an Ottoman provincial capital ranged
along a swift-flowing river in a dramatic
gorge.
DAY 2 - Amasya, Samsun & Trabzon
Descend from mountainous Amasya to the Black
Sea coast at Samsun and
turn east. Stop briefly to see the sights and have
lunch in Ordu or Giresun,
reaching Trabzon by
nightfall. (Extra night: Giresun)
DAY 3 - Trabzon & Sumela
Day-trip to Sumela
Monastery high in the mountains
behind Trabzon. Enjoy Trabzon for the
remainder of the day.
DAY 4 - Trabzon to Erzurum
The shorter, faster route is through
the Zigana Tunnel and via Gümüshane
and Bayburt. The longer, more scenic
route is via Rize, Hopa, over Cankurtaran
Pass (690 meters, 2264 feet), then
via Borçka, Artvin,
Yusufeli and the Kaçkar
Mountains to Erzurum.
(Extra night: Artvin or
Yusufeli, though accommodations are
very basic in both places.)
DAY 5 - Erzurum
See the city. If you came here
via Gümüshane and Bayburt,
consider an excursion to the Kaçkar
Mountains and Yusufeli.
DAY 6 - Kars & Ani
This can be done as a long day-trip from
Erzurum if necessary (because accommodations
in Erzurum are
better), but it's more leisurely if
you stay overnight in Kars.
Allow time for the official paperwork
necessary for a visit to Ani.
DAY 7 -Dogubayazit & Ararat
This also can be done as a long day-trip from
Erzurum, but is more leisurely if you stay the night
in Dogubayazit.
If you've spent last night in Kars, just head south
via Igdir to reach Dogubayazit. Unless you've
jumped through the hoops of officialdom to get permission
to ascend Mount
Ararat (the
process may take months), you'll just admire it from
afar.
DAY 8 - Lake
Van
Plan to spend the night in Van, and see the sights
around the lake on your way to and from the city:
the Rock of Van, the Urartian ruins at Çavustepe,
the crumbling castle at Hosap, the 10th-century
Armenian Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar
Island, the Seljuk
Turkish cemetery and ruins at Ahlat, the
volcanic lake on Van's Nemrut Dagi (not to
be confused with the Nemrut
Dagi near Malatya and Adiyaman:
see Day 10). (Extra day: Van, as there's a
lot to see in this region.)
DAY 9 - Van to Diyarbakir
Long drive to Diyarbakir, with
a stop to see the graceful Çatakköprü (Malabadi
Bridge) east of Silvan. (Extra night: use
the time to better explore historic Diyarbakir,
its walls and mosques, or for an excursion
to Mardin and
a nearby Assyrian monastery or two).
DAY 10 - Malatya or Adiyaman (Kahta) & Nemrut
Dagi
Use Malatya, Adiyaman or Kahta as
a base to visit Nemrut
Dagi and nearby sights such
as Karakus, Cendere and Eski Kale (Arsameia).
DAY 11 - Cappadocia (& Ankara)
Drive to Kayseri (4
hours) or Cappadocia (5
hours) or all the way to Ankara (11
hours) or to Adana (8
hours) for a trip along the Mediterranean
coast.
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