Istanbul Trip Overview
This 4-day fully-escorted private tour covers Cappadocia, Gobekli Tepe, and Sanliurfa. This tour offers you comfortable, safe, fast and unique travel experience in central and south-eastern Turkey. This tour is definitely on history and culture.
After being amazed with Cappadocia with its hot air balloons and unique geography, next stop will be Urfa where you will have a chance to visit the world’s first temple which is older than Stonehenge, UK.
South East Turkey is a melting pot of cultures, with influences from resident and neighbouring Arab and Kurdish populations, which both bring with them a wealth of history and tradition. You will meet people from all these rich cultures and the many ways they express and celebrate their identities. Urfa is a mystical city where you can feel the culture of the Middle East.
Additional Info
Duration: 4 days
Starts: Istanbul, Turkey
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Istanbul Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Istanbul, Turkey, Turkey
This 4-day fully-escorted private tour covers Cappadocia, Gobekli Tepe, and Sanliurfa. This tour offers you comfortable, safe, fast and unique travel experience in central and south-eastern Turkey. This tour is definitely on history and culture.
After being amazed with Cappadocia with its hot air balloons and unique geography, next stop will be Urfa where you will have a chance to visit the world’s first temple which is older than Stonehenge, UK.
South East Turkey is a melting pot of cultures, with influences from resident and neighbouring Arab and Kurdish populations, which both bring with them a wealth of history and tradition. You will meet people from all these rich cultures and the many ways they express and celebrate their identities. Urfa is a mystical city where you can feel the culture of the Middle East.
Itinerary
Day 1: Private, Istanbul Airport Transfer and Flight to Cappadocia and North Cappadocia Day Tour
Stop At: Cappadocia, Cappadocia
Your driver will be ready at reception for the Istanbul airport transfer. Upon your arrival to Cappadocia, our representative will welcome you with a sign bearing your name and then you will be transferred to the tour office in Cappadocia.
Duration: 3 hours
Stop At: Uchisar, Uchisar, Cappadocia
Our first stop is the fantastic view point of Uchisar Castle where you will receive information about the rich history of Cappadocia and the unique rock formations.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Goreme Open-Air Museum, Merkez, Muze Cd., Goreme 50180 Turkey
After the panoramic view point, we visit the Goreme Open Air Museum. Your guide will explain the meanings of frescoes covering the walls of thousand-year-old cave churches as you explore this spectacular UNESCO World Heritage site.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Avanos, Avanos, Cappadocia
We will visit Avanos, one of the oldest settlements in Cappadocia. We’re having a rich lunch here. Then we will visit the pottery workshop, one of the most important handicrafts of Cappadocia. We will also take a short walk along the banks of the Red River, Turkey’s longest river.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Fairy Chimneys, Goreme Turkey
Here we will explore Pasabag, commonly known as Monks Valley. You will have a chance to see the famous mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys as well as St. Simeon’s monk cell carved into the rock.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Devrent Valley, Devrent Mevkii No:1 Urgup Yolu, 50500 Turkey
After Pasabag, we will drive to Devrent Valley. It is well known as imagination valley where you can take fantastic pictures with animal-shaped rock formations.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Cappadocia, Cappadocia
We will make a short visit to a cooperative where world-famous Turkish carpets are produced and learn the intricacies of this thousands of years of art.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Cappadocia, Cappadocia
With the end of the tour, your guide will leave drop you off at your hotel.
Duration: 20 minutes
Meals included:
• Lunch: Very rich traditional lunch with soft drinks
Accommodation included: Overnight in Cappadocia (Alia Cave Hotel, Design Cappadocia hotel or similar)
Day 2: Day 2 : Private, South Cappadocia Day Tour
Stop At: Goreme Panorama, Uchisar Yolu uzeri 1.km, Goreme 50180 Turkey
With your guide picking you up from your hotel, you’ll get a chance to watch the iconic town of Goreme from a panoramic hill.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Red Valley, Nevsehir Ortahisar, Nevsehir 50650 Turkey
We will start our hike in the beautiful Red/Rose Valley which will take approximately 4 km and slightly more than one hour. We will see fairy-chimneys, local farms, pigeon houses and cave chapels. Your guide will give information about the history and the unique formations of Cappadocia during the hike. At the end of the hike we will have a quick stop at Cavusin Old Greek Village.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Love Valley, Goreme 50180 Turkey
After hiking in Red Valley, we will drive to Love Valley to take amazing pictures of pillar-shaped rock formations of Cappadocia.
Duration: 25 minutes
Stop At: Goreme, Goreme, Cappadocia
In the historic town of Goreme, we will have a rich lunch with great Turkish kebabs.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Kaymakli Underground City, Derinkuyu Turkey
After lunch we will visit carved Kaymakli Underground City which was used by early Christians as a shelter to hide themselves from their enemies.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Pigeon Valley, Uchisar KasabasI Nevşehir Kapadokya, Goreme 50240 Turkey
After our visit to the underground city, we will visit The Pigeon Valley, the oldest and most popular valley in Cappadocia. Your guide will give you information about pigeon houses and their importance to Cappadocia.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Uchisar, Uchisar, Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a volcanic region and is home to many semi-precious stones. We’re going to make a short visit to a workshop where these stones are processed.
Duration: 15 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast: Rich breakfast at hotel
• Lunch: Traditional lunch with soft drinks
Accommodation included: Overnight in Cappadocia (Alia Cave Hotel , Design Cappadocia Hotel or similar)
Day 3: Private Transfer to Sanliurfa
Stop At: Kahramanmaras, Kahramanmaras, Kahramanmaras Province
After breakfast at the hotel, check out and drive to Sanliurfa. Stop at Kahramanmaras for lunch and a taste of its famous ice cream.
Duration: 4 hours
Stop At: Sanliurfa, Sanliurfa, Sanliurfa Province
After lunch we will keep driving. Upon arrival to Sanliurfa, check in at the hotel and have rest.
Duration: 3 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast: Rich breakfast at hotel
• Lunch: Traditional lunch with soft drinks
Accommodation included: Overnight in Sanliurfa (Hilton Garden Inn, Nevali Hotel or similar)
Day 4: Gobekli Tepe & Harran & Urfa City Tour
Stop At: Sanliurfa, Sanliurfa, Sanliurfa Province
After breakfast, start exploring Sanliurfa. Urfa has been occupied since the Babylonians followed by the Hurrites, Hittites, Assyrians, Greeks. We will visit Urfa Archaeological Museum and Halepli Bahce Mosaic Museum. These museums exhibits a huge collection, founded from Harran and Gobeklitepe Area. We will also visit the holy sites at the Ainzelha, a lake with millions of domesticated fish. While in Urfa we will visit the cave where the prophet Abraham was born. Then, walk through the local covered bazaar of Sanliurfa and through the town to discover the many hidden treasures.
We will have a delicious lunch with kebabs.
Duration: 3 hours
Stop At: Harran, Harran, Sanliurfa Province
After lunch we will visit nearby Harran and see the incredible beehive houses. Harran – according to the Bible – was the site where prophet Abraham spent a few years with his family before moving on to Israel, the Promised Land. There are exceptional photo opportunities in this area.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Gobekli Tepe, Dağeteği Mahallesi, Sanliurfa 63290 Turkey
In the afternoon you will see Gobekli Tepe, a hilltop sanctuary erected on the highest point of an elongated mountain ridge some 15 km northeast of the town of Urfa. Gobekli Tepe which is believed the first temple of the World. It was built roughly twelve thousand years ago, circa 10,000 BC.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Sanliurfa, Sanliurfa, Sanliurfa Province
After visiting the city, drive to the airport for your evening flight back to Istanbul.
Upon your arrival to Istanbul, we will meet you and transfer to your hotel.
End of our services
Duration: 2 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast: Rich breakfast at hotel
• Lunch: Traditional lunch with soft drinks
No accommodation included on this day.
