Eastern Turkey 12-Day Sightseeing Tour from Trabzon

What a wonderful trip! Ancient monuments, churches, palaces, castles and mosques. We travelled through wild places with spectacular scenery. We ate far too much and stayed in comfortable hotels. Our guide Ahmet Gülmez has an encyclopedic knowledge of Turkish history and culture and he brought alive the cultures of the Black Sea, Anatolia and Mesopotamia. He educated us and entertained us and worked hard to make sure we were happy. I appreciated his shared photographs which are a much better quality than mine. Serhat was a safe and professional driver and a cheerful and friendly companion. There were many highlights. Sumela, Ani, Akdamar, Mt Nemrut, Ishak Pasha and Gobeklitepe were standouts. Many kilometres were travelled and this was well managed. However the Mercedes vehicle was simply too small for 5 passengers and their bags. For a tall man it was tricky getting in and out of the car. Toyota offers more comfortable options.

I had been planning this trip to the Black Sea and Eastern Turkey for a year and it lived up to almost all my expectations. I have been to Turkey many times but never to this part of the country. The Black Sea highlight was of course the Sumela Monastery at Trabzon. But the ultimate goal was Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization. Turkey is a country of myriad layers of civilization and history and we saw tons of it: prehistoric, Urathian, Roman ruins and mosAics, Syriac monasteries, Selcuk tombs, medieval bridges and current-day bazaars. But Turkey is also a gloriously beautiful country, hills, orchards (pistachios), fields and mountains, not least Mount Ararat and Mount Nemrud with the remarkable tomb of Antioch I. The tour was extremely well organized. Driver Orhan was a constant and reassuring presence and Ören, our young but extremely knowledgeable guide, was a great travel companion. There were a few hotel glitches but these paled in comparison with their general good and kindly management . I definitely recommend this trip but keep in mind that it requires a good deal of energy. As currently organized there are hotel changes every day but one so at the end I was quite tired.

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This is a well thought out and balanced itinerary to see stunning scenery, historical landmarks and local culture of Eastern Turkey. Due to the cancellation of the other participants, my tour became a private tour. Sabahattin, my guide was absolutely exceptional. Informative, kind and funny! I learned a lot about history, culture and current occurring of the area we visited. His restaurant choice was great as well so that I had the best local specialities. This was my second visit to Turkey - Hope to visit again soon to see the places I didn't visit this time with Sabahattin. Alkans tour was very generous they changed my hotel booking to better suit my needs and also refund me my unused domestic airfare. Lastly, thank you Nick for arranging this tour.

Yeah, this trip is definitely worth investing in. Sabahettin was an amazing and very, very knowledgeable guide. He knew the area intimately, he tailored the trip to our needs perfectly, and he matched us with the food and the fun that we wanted. Weather was hot during the summer, especially around Diyarbakr, but he made the best of it. No question, one of the best tours I have ever had!

Sabahattin was a wonderful tour guide. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the history, the geography, the food, the religion, and the people of eastern Turkey. Sabahattin’s encyclopedic knowledge was made our trip exponentially more enjoyable. I could not recommend him enough.

Even though I had paid the full amount for the trip, the company cancelled a couple of weeks before the beginning of the trip. No one from tripadvisor or Eastern Turkey tours contacted me. Thus these tour operators cannot be trusted, even though I was guaranteed a spot as soon as I paid.

This, the dream of a lifetime, was an astonishing tour, the guide, driver and company owner showing Turkey at its best. I'd give it 5 stars except for some untidy communication which slightly marred the experience. But thoroughly recommend to anyone curious about this very special region.

Returned from an amazing trip starting in Trabzon. Turned out we were the only two people on the tour so became a private tour! Our guide Adem Kocaman brought everything to life with his superb knowledge, enthusiasm (and humour!). Our driver Serhat was very skillful, negotiating some tricky roads at time. On the whole though the road network in Turkiye is excellent and the drives between places not too long with enough comfort breaks in between. There were some 'extras' which did not appear in the itinerary like a visit to a salt mine and an archeology site which was much appreciated. The hotels were clean and comfortable with lots of character (unlike international chain hotels). Don't expect tissues in hotel rooms though! If we had to make any negative comments, it would be the unvaried food of kebabs and yet more kebabs - but then eating food not normally featured in one's diet at home is kind of the point of travelling. (not sure what vegans would have eaten!) Suberbly organised and a realisation of a life time dream to visit Ani, Mt Nemrut, Akdamar. Tip for ladies - toilets in the first part of the tour are only of the Turkish variety (not the hotels rooms though!) but generally they were clean. Check all the cubicles though, sometimes there's a Western toilet there. Also use the disabled loo as an option if available

Very well organised and enjoyable private itinerary. Accommodation was good, the driver was kind, knowledgeable and helpful and all went smoothly. Drives not too long and roads generally fast and safe.

I did an amazing private (2 people) 5 day tour of Sth East and Central Turkey with tour guide Hasan and driver Ermehr. Hasan was wonderful, taking us to awe inspiring sites and enriching our knowledge of these past ancient times. His knowledge of the history was immense, and I asked quite a lot of questions.😃The trip was extremely well planned, accomodation was a highlight too, character filled comfortable hotels. We drove a lot and I always felt totally safe with our very pleasant driver. Hasan was totally attentive to our needs , stopping whenever we wanted to photograph something etc. and I think went over and above to make sure we were cared for.I guess you can tell by now I can’t speak highly enough of Hasan and highly recommend his tours.

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