Eastern Turkey (Revised) - Archaeology, architecture, history & landscapes

• A journey through lesser-known Turkey from Lake Van, to Mount Ararat and the Black Sea.
• Wide ranging themes, spectacular landscapes and varied architecture: mountains, valleys, plains and coast; Byzantine and Georgian churches, Seljuk mosques and Armenian monasteries.
• The tour tells a story as much about the neighbouring countries it doesn’t visit as the country it does.

INTRODUCTION

City of Kars, Steel Engraving c.1840

The majestic scenery of eastern Anatolia is the setting for this ambitious tour, which, while remaining firmly within the borders of modern-day Turkey, encompasses an extraordinary range of historic and contemporary cultures. From the broad river valleys of the south to the vertiginous Alpine passes in the north, this part of Anatolia has always been a crossroads, whether for Abraham, patriarch of the three Near Eastern faiths, as he followed the Fertile Crescent from Ur to Canaan, or for the Greek mercenaries hired to fight for the Persian king Cyrus, who had to make their way back to their homeland across the Anatolian plateau and the Pontic Mountains.

It includes a Neolithic religious sanctuary, Urartian citadels and Roman frontier towns, Byzantine churches and Seljuk mosques and madrassas. It reveals cultures and civilizations which have almost disappeared from the historical record – early Christian monasteries of the Tur Abdin, Georgian churches of Tao-Klarjeti and the lost Armenian city of Ani. It even takes in the sites of two mediaeval coronations – of the Armenian king Gagik Artzruni on the island of Aktamar in 908 and the Byzantine emperor of Trebizond, Alexius III Comnenos, at the monastery of Sümela in 1349.

Far from being backward-looking, though, this tour offers a remarkable opportunity to meet people trying to forge their present-day identities.

ITINERARY

DAY 1

Fly at 12 midday (Turkish Airlines) from London Heathrow to Istanbul. Overnight Istanbul.

DAY 2

Istanbul to Van. Take a early morning flight from Istanbul to Van (via Ankara). Arrive at the hotel late morning and spend remainder of day visiting Van, the citadel and museum. First of four nights at Lake Van.

DAY 3

Çavuştepe. Capital of the kingdom of Urartu in the 9th century BC, Van (ancient Tushpa) was rival to Assyria. Explore the massive steep-sided Van Castle, first investigated by Austen Henry Layard in the 1840s, and the trilingual inscription from the time of Xerxes which contributed to the decipherment of cuneiform. At Çavuştepe, from the same era, see the basalt foundations of the fortress-palace of Sarduri-Hinili, the sacrifice area, open-air temple, cemetery and cisterns. Continue to the magnificent Hosap Castle, the finest example of a Kurdish castle to be found anywhere in Turkey. Overnight at Lake Van.

DAY 4

Akdamar Island. Take a boat to the 10th-century Church of the Holy Cross, seat of Armenian king Gagik Artzruni, who was crowned here in 908. Built in 921, the church is made of local sandstone with a pyramidal roof and 13th-century bell tower. Faded frescoes adorn the interior, while the exterior has relief carvings of Biblical stories, mythological animals and Gagik himself. A verdant enclave surrounded by pea-green waters and snow capped mountains, the setting is idyllic. Lunch on the lake, the rest of the afternoon is free. Overnight Lake Van.

DAY 5

Drive on the shores of Lake Van to the impressive Meydan cemetery. Spread over two square kilometres, the site houses numerous beautifully carved headstones dating from 11th to 16th centuries. After a visit to the local museum, continue to the extinct volcano Nemrut Dagi, one the region’s most impressive natural sites. Final night in Van.

DAY 6

Mount Ararat, Kars. Drive through the Artüs Mountain range toward the Iranian border, to the İshak Paşa Palace positioned at the base of Mount Ararat. A magnificent example of 18th-century Ottoman architecture, it is a fascinating mixture of architectural styles: Seljuk, Iranian, Georgian and Armenian. Drive up through pasture land and fields of poppies following the Armenian border north to plateaus with spectacular mountain vistas. First of three nights in Kars. 

DAY 7

Ani. Once the capital of mediaeval Armenia, Ani is now a deserted city standing sentinel above the Arpaçay river, the border between Turkey and Armenia. Its walls, towers and minarets retain many of their foundation inscriptions, and its ruined churches and cathedral display the variety and quality of Armenian architecture. We spend the whole day here with a picnic lunch. Overnight Kars. 

DAY 8

Kars. Unlike Ani, Kars bears the marks of subsequent Ottoman and Russian occupation. Visit the Armenian Church of the Holy Apostles and the Seljuk castle and Ulu Camii. In the evening there is a performance at the Kars Cultural Centre. Overnight Kars.

DAY 9

Kars to Erzurum. Follow the Aras river west through the Aladaglar mountains; magical scenery of fields of gorse and fern, pristine river beds and deep ravines. Pass the beautiful six-arched Çobandede bridge over the Aras. In Erzurum, the principal city of eastern Anatolia, visit the magnificent Seljuk Ulu Camii, with its wooden dome, and also the twin-minareted Çifte Minare Medrese, its entrance adorned with stalactite porches. First of two nights in Erzurum.

DAY 10

Ösk Vank, Khakhuli, Erzurum. All day excursion to visit the 10th century Georgian monasteries of Ösk Vank and Khakhuli north of Erzurum. Known as Tao-Klarjeti, this area was an important part of medieval Georgia, ruled by the Bagratid kings. Both monasteries were founded by David the Great: Khakhuli, an important literary centre, retains its cross-dome triple-apsed church, with fine relief carvings and frescoes still surviving. Ösk Vank is even more impressive, with scallop-shell arches, high relief mouldings and sculpted column capitals. Overnight Erzurum.

DAY 11

From Erzurum to Trabzon. Drive north through the Pontic Alps, in the steps of Xenophon’s Ten Thousand with spectacular views. Along the Karasu, the northernmost branch of the Euphrates, to Aşkale, with its ruined Byzantine fortress. Over the 2390m Kopdagi Pass, the Black Sea watershed, into the Çoruh valley, passing the huge fortress of Bayburt. Over the Zigana Pass, where the Ten Thousand caught their first glimpse of the sea. Descend through temperate forests to Trabzon, the historic port town on the Black Sea. Visit the Pavilion where Atatürk stayed in 1924. First of two nights in Trabzon.

DAY 12

Sümela Monastery, Trabzon. To Sümela Monastery, founded in the 4th century, it clings to sheer rock facing the Al tindere Valley. Though in a ruinous state, many of the monastic buildings survive, with 18th- and some 14th-century frescoes. In Trabzon, visit the beautiful late-Byzantine church of Aya Sophia, with 13th-century frescoes and frieze. Overnight Trabzon.

DAY 13

Fly from Trabzon (via Istanbul) arriving Heathrow at c. 3.15pm.