TURKEY SYRIA TOUR ITINERARY
MT.NEMRUT AND BEYOND

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TOUR NAME

MT.NEMRUT AND BEYOND

EASTERN TURKEY AND SYRIA

COSTS

Cost $5500 

for single supplement $780 

plus component for Syria (TBA)

Tour includes transfers and transport, all meals in Turkey , but does not include items of a personal nature such as tips, drinks and laundry and personal shopping. There is the possibility of several meals with local people for which charges will be made separately. It is customary in Turkey for drivers and guides in Turkey to be offered a tip at the end of the journey. This will be collected by the Tour Manager at the end of the tour. A kitty of approximately $5 a week will also be kept in hand for tips for waiters and hotel staff. This will make it easier on everybody.The author of this document reserves the right to make any changes, according to the situation at the time, for the convenience, well- being and safety of the passengers.You are very welcome to contact me at any time for further information of any sort. Please note that Eastern Anatolia is a rural area and conditions will not be five star. However we will make every effort to accommodate your needs. We will be traveling in the month of Ramazan (September) in Turkey and therefore lunches will be picnic style.

TOUR INFORMATION

TOUR DEPARTS MELBOURNE 5 th SEPTEMBER 2008  

DEPARTS  ISTANBUL 6th September 2008

DEPARTS ISTANBUL TO AUSTRALIA 15 th October 2008   

TURKISH ROUTE includes:

Istanbul, Ankara,Amasya,Corum,Trabazon and the Black Sea, Artvin,Kars,Dogubeyazit,Van, Batman,Mardin,Hasankeyf,Urfa, Harran,Adiyman,Nemrut Dag,Gaziantep,Hatay,Antioch.

SYRIAN ROUTE  includes:

Aleppo , St Simeon, Ebla , Lattakia. Ugarit, Hama, Salah 'ettin's Castle, Krak De Chevaliers, Castle of the Assasins Damascus, Palmyra, Saladin's Castle, Mari Raqqa etc

RETURN TO TURKEY :

Adana , Konya , Cappadocia, (Optional balloon flight A$360.00 ) Istanbul

MAP

BLUE & PURPLE - 19 DAY TOUR OF TURKEY

RED & PURPLE - 18 DAY TOUR SYRIA + 3 DAY ISTANBUL OWN ARRANGEMENTS

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DETAILED ITINERARY

DAY 1 (Saturday 06 September) Arrive ISTANBUL

On your arrival at the airport you will be met by your guide and bus and taken to your hotel which is in Sultanahmet in the centre of the Old City .   After dinner you are free to walk out and take in the sights and sounds of Istanbul by night.  Sip a Turkish coffee, or puff on a nargileh in one of the main coffee shops in Sultanahmet. There are ATM's in the Hippodrome Square in front of the Blue Mosque, but you might like to wait until the morning when we can use banking facilities.  Don't bother with travelers cheques as these are only a nuisance.  Better to have a credit card and a debit card (in case you lose one) as there are ATM's around the country.  Don't forget to notify your bank that you are going to Turkey between such and such dates as they may block access to your money for security reasons. 

Hotel Tria in Sultanahmet 

Overnight (D)

Photo: This is Aya Sofya

DAY 2 (Sunday 07 September) ISTANBUL

Your guide and driver will escort you to various highlights of the Old City . The Roman Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, the Mosaic Museum, the Museum of Islamic Arts and Crafts, after lunch we will visit Topkapi Palace.   The remainder of the day is at leisure.  For those of you who have been to Istanbul before the Yerebatan Saray or underground cistern, the little church of St Sergius and St Bacchus are nearby or wander through Gulhane Park to look at the spectacular view of the Bosphorus Bridge where the waters that divide East and West converge.  Take a tram out to wander along the City Walls. Or a tram to Taksim and walk down the Istiklal Caddesi which never closes.  This is the main street of Istanbul on the Pera side.  Have a Mado icecream (delicious) or try a selection of Baklava in one of the many shops that front the streets.  The main book shops are here including antiquarian and you may be lucky to visit the convent of the Whirling Dervishes at Galata, with its surrounding Muslim cemetery.  Although Istiklal never closes the buses do stop  midnight .

Hotel Tria in Sultanahmet 

Overnight (B.L.D)

Photo: This is also Aya Sofya with tulips

DAY 3 (Monday 08 September)  ISTANBUL to ANKARA

Today we depart the exotic city of  Istanbul for our scenic drive to  Ankara en route we will stop at the town of Bolu famous for the hand made Turkish Sweets.   On arrival Ankara you have a choice of The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, or the Citadel of the Old City and its surrounds, Ataturk's Mausoleum and the museum which is attached to it.  Here you will find the records, photographs and artifacts from the Ataturk period, including interactive displays of the First World War and the War of Independence.  Mustafa Kemal Ataturk or Father of the Turks was their great leader, the man who saved Turkey from the intended carve up of Anatolia by the invading Allies after World War One and the person responsible for bringing an end to the ailing Ottoman Empire and initiating the modern Republic of Turkey.

Hotel Buyuk Surmeli  

Overnight (B.L.D)

Photo: Yazilikaya

DAY 4  (Tuesday 09 September) ANKARA / HATTUSAS to AMASYA

After breakfast we depart  Ankara  and journey to the remains of the capital of the Hittite Empire at Hattusas and Yazilikaya. Small crevices in the rocks were held to be sacred to the gods and Hittite priests carved their images in procession on the rock faces. Stone lions guard the entrance to the capital.  The Hittites are mentioned in the Bible, one of their princes was murdered on the way to marry an Egyptian princess: many of their artifacts are to be found in the wonderful museum in Ankara .  We drive on to Amasya via Corum on our way to the Black Sea .

Maden Otel Amasya

Overnight (BLD)

Photo: Amasya

DAY 5 (Wednesday 10th September) AMASYA to TRABAZON

Along the Black Sea coastline are craggy, heavily forested areas with small villages whose population exists on production of tea and hazelnuts.  Cherries are said to have originated in Giresun.  The road winds along the sea shore where Jason and the Argonauts are said to have traveled in search of the Golden Fleece. Having traversed most of Anatolia, Xenophon and His Ten Thousand are supposed to have caught their first glimpse of the sea at Trabazon ( Trebizond ).  This city was a Greek colony and later capital of the Byzantine state of Pontus in the 13 th century.

Photo: Trabazon Monastery

We visit the Byzantine stone church of Hagia Sophia , still with some frescoes intact.  And climb up the high cliff face to the Monastery of Sumela, about 6 th C, known then as Our Lady of the Black Mountain . For those who want to walk, the climb through the forest takes about an hour, but the rest of us can take the bus to a certain point and walk the rest of the way.  The monastery contains wonderful if damaged frescoes and the view down into the gorge is superb.

Buyuk Surmeli Hotel   

Overnight  (BLD)   

DAY 6 (Thursday 11th September) TRABAZON to ARTVIN

The town of Artvin sits defensibly at the head of another gorge where the cold waters of the Pontus Mountains rush down past Georgian and Armenian churches with their "kumbet"style, conical roofs. White water rafting is popular here.

Karhan Hotel

Overnight (BLD)

Photo: Ruined Churches of Ani near Kars

DAY 7  ( Friday 12th September)   ARTVIN to KARS

Kars is our next stop; the black walls of the citadel still stand guard over the town.  Near Kars is Ani, the former capital of Old Armenia.  The ruined cathedrals decorated in stone, soar into the heavens, reaching up to commune with God   The  complex started life as a fortress with surrounding walls in the 5th C AD and once housed palaces and monasteries, bathhouses and caravanserais and all the paraphernalia designed to house a population of 100,000. Now the city blindly gazes through its ruined churches across the Arpa Cay (river) into what is now Armenia , the former USSR .

Hotel Karabag Oteli  

Overnight (BLD)

DAY 8  (Saturday 13 September) KARS / AGRI DAG to DOGUBEYZIT  

The road to Van skirts the mountain where it is said Noah and his Ark landed after the Great Flood.  Hopefully we will get a good view of its snowy peak and if you look carefully you may even catch a glimpse of the Ark !  This beautiful mountain and its little sister (little Agri Dag) were volcanic cones whose lava flowed out into the plateau of Eastern Anatolia making the surrounding area fertile.   The great rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates rise in these mountains, and we can well imagine why succeeding generations called the area the Garden of Eden. The Armenians who have lived in this area for millennia, hold this mountain to be sacred.  And the cones are visible on the other side of the mountain in Armenia .  Armenia became one of the first Christian nations when its king converted to Christianity.

DOGUBEYZIT was a busy trading post on the Silk Route into Iran .  We visit Ishak Pasha's palace on the Tabriz- Erzerum Road in rugged mountain country.    Ishak Pasha who began building this palace was an Ottoman general in the service of the Sultan in 1789.  It is a huge monumental fortified structure complete with chapels, a mosque, a palace complete with Harem, hamams, kitchens and stables.  The buildings are made of a pinkish stone carved with the delicate work of master stonemasons.  Vines and tendrils, capitals and columns give rise to the idea of a fairytale castle perched in the high reaches of the Anatolian plateau.

It also has a wonderful view down into the plain.

Overnight in Dogubeyzit (BLD)

Photo: Isak Pasa Palace at Dogubeyzit

Day 9 (Sunday 14 th September) DOGUBEYAZIT to VAN

Lake Van is set into rugged area which produced the Kingdom of Van of the Urartian culture which flourished in the 13th Century BC.   It was a literary culture whose cuneiform writing looks as sharp and clear today as it must have been many millennia ago.  However the writing was restricted to promoting power and prestige for its rulers rather than for accounting and trade.   Van also known as Tushpa, was the capital of the Urartian Kingdom .  The Urartu who built fortresses and castles from monumental stone were also master bronze smiths as well, casting gods and fierce mythical animals.   We will see their work at Cavustepe and Adilcevas and massive fortresses such as Van citadel. The museum at Van, if we have time, houses fine seals and other artifacts.  The Urartian kingdom finally perished in the fires of the Assyrian onslaught.

We may swim in the lake and hopefully see some of the local cats also taking a dip!

On the second day we take a picnic lunch to visit Hosap, a mountain castle perched top atop a  tall hill passing through a mountainous region dotted with flat roofed villages and remains of  Uruatian cities..

Buyuk Urartu Hotel  

2 nights (BLD)

Day 10 (Monday 15 th September) VAN

On the second day we take a picnic lunch to visit Hosap, a mountain castle perched top atop a  tall hill passing through a mountainous region dotted with flat roofed villages and remains of  Uruatian cities..

Buyuk Urartu Hotel   (BLD)

DAY 11 (Tuesday 16 September) VAN / BATMAN

On the island of Ahktamar in Lake Van , is the Church of the Holy Cross, a 10thC Armenian church, with fine stone carving of Biblical characters such as Adam and Eve, Jonah and the whale and David and |Goliath. This is one of the highlights of Eastern Turkey and the island is reached by boat. Inside are paintings of Christian scenes, the Marriage at Canaan , the Baptism of Christ.

Photo: Ahtamar Church on island

A little further around the lake is the Selcuk cemetery at Ahlat, with its stelea or headstones carved with beautiful Selcuk Kufic characters from the 12-14 th C's, once a large medieval city. At Adilcevas round or octagonal tombs called kumbet, with conical roofs, brought by Turkmeni nomads from their Central Asian homelands during the Selcuk era (app 13thC) are found from Eastern Turkey to Konya . They generally contain a crypt, a prayer room and a cenotaph.        

TATVAN Overnight (BLD)

Photo: Cemetery at Ahlat

DAY 12  (Wednesday 17th September ) BATMAN / MARDIN

Mardin is famed for several Syrian Orthodox monasteries which have survived from the earliest period of Christianity. In earlier times the Christian fathers dominated this part of the world including Syria and Palestine , but the ravages of time and war have diminished the once indomitable presence of this aspect of Christianity. We will visit the Byzantine monastery of Deir Zaferan of the Tur Abdin.

The Old Testament tells us that God showed Abraham the way to Canaan from this area.  Local tradition may show us the cave in which he was born.   And we are told that other characters from the Bible, Rebecca, Rachel and Joseph were familiar with this place.  Certain it is that many generations since then have lived and toiled with their herds of goats and sheep, seeking out an existence in this dry land.    The beehive houses of Harran are said to preserve all sorts of foodstuffs for a long time and have been inhabited until recent times.   Urfa , the ancient Edessa , also has its myths connected with biblical characters. There is a famous mosque with a pool full of huge golden carp that nobody is allowed to eat.  The bazaar is famous for its copper and silver and the food starts to become hotter as well as the weather.

Oztoprak Hotel    

2 Nights (BLD)  

DAY 13 Thursday 18 th September MARDIN

Photo: Arches and a Pool at Urfa

Urfa , the ancient Edessa , also has its myths connected with biblical characters. There is a famous mosque with a pool full of huge golden carp that nobody is allowed to eat.  The bazaar is famous for its copper and silver and the food starts to become hotter as well as the weather.

Oztoprak Hotel    (BLD)  

DAY 14 (FRIDAY 19 th September) MARDIN / URFA

Also near Urfa at Karakamis near Birceik on the Euphrates, is the site of the former southern capital of the Hittites.It was annexed to Assyria in 716 BC. It was later the site of a famous battle between Pharoah Necho of the Egyptians and Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC. The unfortunate pharoah lost. (again it depends on the situation on the day whether we can go here or not) Some of the extant reliefs of the Gilgamesh epic and the relief of a battle scene with horse and chariot can be seen in the Ankara Museum of Early Civilizations.

2 Nights

(BLD)

DAY 15 Saturday 20 th September URFA

Arrangements are currently being made to visit the site of Gobekli Tepe a remarkable new archeological site situated near Urfa .

"North of the plains of Mesopotamia, near the border of Syria, near Urfa where the family of Abrahim once tended their sheep and goats lies one of Turkey's richest discoveries, the stone circles of Gobekli Tepe, hidden under the lee of a small hill.   Further to the north stretches the Anatolian plateau.   The circles are no more than 30 mts across and surrounded by pillars, tall stones, their faces carved with reliefs of boars, foxes, lions, birds, scorpions and snakes.

The people who made them lived in small villages but they were hunters not farmers.   They didn't have the wheel, pottery or even domesticated wheat.  That is what makes Gobekli Tepe so fascinating and which has all but shattered the theory that only developed societies could build monumental sites such as these and that that had only come about with agriculture. 

Not so, say the scientists, fast throwing their previous theories out of the window.  This is one of the most important sites discovered in a very long time. 

Klaus Schmidt who discovered it a decade ago is the archeologist in charge. Dated around 9,500 BC the stones are 5,500 years before Mesopotamia and 7,000 years older than Stonehenge . Older even than Catalhoyuk , not far away near Konya .  A temple complex twice as old as anything on the planet!

The statues are certainly that of gods, says Schmidt, however they only have arms and hands, not faces, not eyes, not mouths and no sex.  They are makers, he says.   People may have come from hundreds of miles around to worship asking 'What is this universe..why are we here?' and he says, possibly the hunters saw that their world was diminishing and would soon be taken over by another culture, that of agriculture.   It is perfect condition today because whoever built the circles, carved the animals, buried them soon after for safety under tons and tons of soil."

Our group hopefully will be able to visit the site and see the artifacts still in place, courtesy of the kindness of archeologists working in Turkey and from Australia .

Photo: Mansstatue head nemrut (Head of Statue at Mt Nemrut Man's Head )

DAY 16 (Sunday 21 September) URFA / NEMRUT

We wend our way through the South East Region, close to the Gap Project which supplies water to the whole region, damming the Euphrates at some levels. Coming to Mt Nemrud, we climb to see one of wonders of  Turkey . Mt Nemrud with its tumulus is supposedly the burial place of the King of Commagene. Mt Nemrud has near its man-made summit a rocky ledge on which are huge statues with their heads now resting on the ground.  On the other sides of the tumulus are terraces containing what may have been an ancient fire altar temple, stelae and sculptures.   The site was constructed in the 2nd C AD, by Antiochus 1 of Commagene to commemorate his reign and as a place of worship. The spectacular views over the Ant-Taurus mountains are truly wonderful stretching mile after mile into the blue distance. The site shows a mixture of Hellenistic, Iranian as well as to those Anatolian cultures which pre-date it.   

Hotel Mt Nemrud

Overnight (BLD)

Photo: Heraclius at Nemrut

DAY 17 (Monday 22nd September) MT NEMRUD / GAZIANTEP

Antep has been given the name Gazi or Hero from its difficult defense against the French in World War One. In Gaziantep 's museum we stop to look at the remains of Roman mosaic pavements rescued from Zeugma, a Roman garrison town which once lay at the crossroads between Syria , Mesopotamia and South East Turkey and which now lies under the waters of the Gap Project along with many other sites now lost.

Efforts by Turkish archeologists, Australians and the Swiss and French backed by important international institutions have secured for posterity information and artifacts from what was then the Roman-Iranian border towns of Apameia and Seleucia .

Overnight (BLD)

Mosaic face

Photo: Zeugma Mosaic Gazantep

DAY 18 ( Tuesday 23rd September) GAZIANTEP / ANTAKYA (known as Antioch or Hatay)

We come to Hatay or Antioch where St Peter and St Paul both preached in the cave church we can still see today.   Antioch   on the Orontes  river was the capital of Seleucia , founded by one of Alexanders generals. It was a Roman city with villas, palaces decorated with frescoes and mosaics.  Here in the little museum we are able to see the highly decorative mosaic floors of the Roman pleasure city.  Classic scenes such as Dionysus and Ariadne, Io and Argo, and most unusually from  Euripidean tragedy.  It was considered to be one of the most important cities of the East and in Byzantine times was involved in the schisms of the early church, based on the Divine Nature of Christ.  

Hotel Orontes

2 nights (BLD)

Photo: Old Aleppo family in costume photo at Antakya/Antioch/Hatay

DAY 19 Wednesday 24 th September HATAY

A little outside the city is the holy site where St.Peter's Grotto is situated. The cave church is the place where St.Peter preached and founded the Christian community. It was declared as a holy place by Vatican in 1983. The Iron Gate of Antioch is to the south of the grotto among the ruins of the city. One can sense these far off times since little has changed since that time. The Castle of Antioch will give you a panoramic view over. Antakya is steeped in history and mythology at every step Harbiye, 8 km.after Antioch , is the place where Apollo fell in love with Daphne and tried to have her, but Mother Earth, in order to save Daphne, turned her into an elegant tree. The site is full of these trees accompanying the orchid gardens, and waterfalls where you may have a pleasant meal. St. Pierre Church , Haron Carving are the main historical remains.

For both beach and sightseeing opportunities Samandag is perfect. Seleuica Pieria, 6 km south of Samandag, is the ancient city which was a busy port at the time when Paul and Barnabas made their first missionary journey from here. The Titus-Vespasianus Tunnel which was built to divert the rain waters, even by today's standard, is a superb example of engineering. Near by there are 12 rock tombs to be visited.

A drive to Kapisuyu village will provide you with a fascinating scene from the Zeus Temple . There is an excellent view from there of the harbor, sandy beach and fertile plain lying below .

Hotel Orontes

Over night (BLD)

COMMENCE SYRIAN OPTIONAL TOUR

DAY 20 Thursday 25 th September HATAY / ALEPPO

After breakfast we will travel to the border of Turkey and Syria where we will depart Turkey and enter the ancient land of Syria . We will leave our Turkish Bus and Driver and meet our Syrian Bus and Driver once we have passed customs and visa control at the boarder

Our journey today will include the famous sites of Qalb Lozeh Church and St Simeon Stylite. Heading north we will reach Qalb Lozeh church, one of the best preserved examples of  Syrian-Byzantine architecture. A thousand years before Christ there was a Hittite temple dedicated to the goddess Ishtar at Ain Dara, now there is an Aramaic Temple . Our next stop will be St Simeon Stylites , where the saint stood for 36 years on top of an 18m column in the desert! Unfortunately, as people down the centuries have taken home their piece of the pillar there is only a short section left.

Photo: The Crusader Aleppo Citadel

Then it is onto the town of Aleppo which has been designated a World Heritage site. This is the place they say most resembles an oriental medieval city, its maze of souks covered by sunbleached awnings and cool stone vaulting. In the 16 th to 18 th Centuries when it was an Ottoman province Turks, Arabs, Jews and Christians traded along the silk route. In fact throughout history, its position on the silk route was what gave Aleppo its commercial appeal. It vied with Damascus in trading silks, spices, precious metals and gems. These days Aleppo olive soap is sold in all sorts of shapes and sizes, there is antique copper and brass, jewellery and gold, carpets, cloth and textiles.

Walking down the streets in the old part of Aleppo , you turn a corner and your eye is struck by a walled structure on what looks like a hill. As you come closer, it seems that the hill is always higher. When you reach the road that runs around the citadel, the moat opens up under you and the walls of the Citadel seem massive. A steep bridge on the Southern side of the citadel leads to a tower with high doors, which once was the first defensive line against intruders.

As you approach the entrance, it becomes clear that the designers did everything to make the fortification impossible to invade. The main doors are on the right as you enter, which makes it more difficult to ram them. Once inside, the corridor takes several 90 degree turns to slow down anyone who made it this far. Apart from this, there are massive doors which are decorative now, but which were a formidable obstacle once closed. Moreover, there is almost no light inside. There are only a few holes in the ceiling through which rays of sunlight shed some light in the darkness of the corridor.

Just before reaching the exit of this castle and reaching the inside of the citadel, you can enter a small door and climb up to the Byzantine Hall and the Royal Palace . The latter has been restored completely and especially its wooden ceiling is radiating beauty from above. It is a pity you are not allowed to walk right under it to have a better view. Once outside, you can walk around the citadel, which for a large part lies in ruins. There are two mosques (one of which on the spot where Abraham is said to have milked a cow). The main attraction of the citadel is the magnificent view of the Aleppo and its surroundings.

For centuries travelers have been able to wash the dust from their travel stained feet in the Old Hammam, however now we can only take a look. In the evening, if permission is granted, we may be allowed to attend one of the ceremonies of the whirling dervishes of Aleppo if the time is right.

3 Nights (BLD)

Where possible our hotels will be chosen from old Ottoman houses, Armenian Mansions and similar

Day - 21 Friday 26 th September LEPPO

Night (BLD)

Day - 22 Saturday 27 th SeptemberALEPPO

Nights (BLD)

Day - 23 Sunday 28 September ALEPPO / LATTAKIA

Today we visit the ancient site of Ebla , where the first writing in the world on  thousands of cuneiform tablets was found dating from the 3rd Millenium BC.  Ebla was one of the most powerful of the Syrian city states before being devastated by the Hittites in 1600 BC. We will see some of the tablets which are housed in the museum at Idlib.

Then it is onto Ma'arat an Nu'aman which was the site of a bloodthirsty incident by the Crusaders under Count Robert of Toulouse .   We will let our guide tell you about that when we get there. However in the 5th and 6th Centuries the local Byzantines decorated their floors with intricate mosaics and these we will see.

On our way we may see some of the vast remains of the so-called Dead cities at Serjilla, and Al Bara, for example, which abound in the area, all sorts of architectural shapes, pyramids, churches, wine presses and baths.    These towns were abandoned, maybe the trade routes changed and people moved out.  Nowadays the ruins are inhabited by local people, thus reusing old Byzantine architecture and buildings.

We visit Apameia which is an Hellenistic City built by  Seleucus 1 Nicator, one of Alexander's generals in the 3rd C BC   He named this city after his lovely Persian wife, found in his travels with Alexander no doubt. Afamia was her name. Apamea was famous for its beautiful horses, being on a high grassy plain.  They also kept 500 war elephants.  The Roman general Pompey the Great took the city, which was also visited by Anthony and Cleopatra, as well as the Norman crusader Tancred.in 1010. After which it fell to the fearsome Mamelukes.We visit a restored Ottoman khan (caravanserai).Around the central courtyard are stables where we can see some fragments of the city and the mosaics.

The view is spectacular a s we travel though the mountains to Lattakia which was once the ancient port of Apamea .  In the summer Syrian people flock to the town to enjoy a holiday by the sea.

Overnight at Lattakia

Photo: Krak de Chevaliers, a very big castle

Day 24 Monday 29 th September LATTAKIA / TARTOUS

Today is the day of castles.  Our journey takes us through beautiful fertile countryside where the harvest is coming in, apple orchards and orange groves surrounded by high cypresses. But first we come to ancient Ugarit where the first alphabet was formulated.   In the 3rd millennium BC Ugarit was trading with Cyprus across the Mediterranean and with the other city states of the region.  It also traded timber with Egypt   and bronze with the Minoans in Crete . Ugaritic has 30 symbols each representing a sound, it is not a pictographic language like Egyptian or cuneiform.  It may be, they say that it formed the basis for Greek and Roman at a later date.Ugarit contains the ruins of the Temple of Baal , and the Temple of Dagon and the once fantastic Royal Palace , of which only some of the foundations can be seen today.

T.E.Lawrence wrote that he thought Salah ad' Din's castle was the most fantastic castle he had ever seen.You may be the judge of this as we will see, the Castle of the Assassins and Krak De Chevaliers today, in fact the whole area is dotted with castles and fortified forts, which we will pass by on the road. Phoenecian Amrit lies by the coast near the town of Tartous where we will stop for the night. 

Overnight at Tartous

(BLD)

Photo: Water of wheels at Hama

Day 25 Tuesday 30 th September TARTOUS / SEIDNAYYA

En route to Damascus our day's journey takes us to Hama where the great Roman waterwheels still creak and groan, giving water to a thirsty land. Some say that they sound like a woman in labour.

And on to the early Christian monasteries and churches of the Syrian Christian fathers: Mar Musa remains as it was in its hey day in the 6th C AD.Founded they say, by an Ethiopean prince who fled from his royal duties to take refuge in Syria, home to many local Christian communities and hermit monks who lived in caves in the desert.  The scenery is spectacular, rocky gorges and deep wadies, vast vistas of the desert plain.  Mar Musa is home to several monks,and nuns from both the Syrian Catholic Church and the Syrian Orthodox. The church contains some beautiful frescoes.

Maalula is a beautiful little village of pretty painted houses, perched high on a cliff face in the Anti Lebanon mountains, it contains the convent of the martyr St.Thecla who we met before in Antioch . But the rocky surrounds have beautiful views over the valley below.  The people here speak Aramaic, the language of the New Testament and the language that Jesus spoke. The Byzantine emperor Justinian is said to have built a convent at Seidnayya, one of the most important places of pilgrimage in the Christian world.  Here we will find an icon of the Virgin Mary which legend has it, weeps tears and was painted by St Luke. The Virgin is also a healer and a guarantor of safety.  It is reported that when three Syrian astronauts were going to Space Station Mir, they first spent a night in front of the holy icon. When they returned safely they took her a sacrificial ram as a gift.   Local village women also believe that if you spend a night in the presence of the icon you will get pregnant.  I wonder if the astronauts came back in the family way? I wonder if they were men or women.

Overnight in Seidnayya 

Day 26 Wednesday 1 st October SEIDNAYYA / DAMASCUS

We tour Damascus , visiting the Ummayyad Mosque with its fine mosaic decoration, the huge courtyard and the head of |St John the Baptist.     The East Gate or Bab ash -Sharqi, we will see the old walls dating from the  13thc AD, the Mausoleum of Salah ad Din, the sacred tomb of Ibn Arabi, 12th C Sufi mystic.Included is a visit to the Azem Palace , which was the residence of the governor of Damascus in the 18th C. This  beautiful complex shows Mameluke influence in its black and white stone walls.  Its interior rooms decorated with wooden panelling, tiling and painted ceilings.  Ranged about are arts and artifacts of popular tradition.  The madrarassas (old Koranic schools) of Al Adeliyya and Az Zahariyya  and the Takiyya as-Suleymaniyya  built by the famous Turkish architect Sinan on the orders of Suleyman the Magnificent. A takiyya was a hostel for pilgrims and a dervish monastery. However nowadays it fulfils many functions including a handicrafts market where one can see glass blowing, weaving etc

Tonight we go out to a restaurant and sample the delights of Syrian cooking in the old Damascene style. (Optional extra)

Day 27 Thursday 2 nd October DAMASCUS

Overnight in Damascus

Photo: Great Ummayad Mosque at Damascus

Other sights in Damascus include the National Museum , housing in particular a complete synagogue found at Douros Europa, a town on the Euphrates, with its colourful scenes from Old Testament stories.The Street Called Straight, chapels of St Paul and St Ananyas, the saint who was commanded to go and restore the sight of St Paul .  And then there are of course the bazaars of Damascus .  A riot of sweetmeats galore, spices, silk, medicinal herbs, jalabeyihs, rugs and carpets, Korans and belly dancing outfits! and all the things under the sun that you may imagine in a covered bazaar. Not to mention the Nur' ettin hamam. Only for men!

In your wanderings around Damascus one of the special features you may be interested in is the old Ottoman house.  Families have moved out into modern accommodation and the old houses seem to sigh for the return of hopes and dreams, of  laughter and gaity, and the thousand small incidents of the daily life of noble families of Damascus .

You might also like to while away an hour or so in the coffee shop in the evening where the last storyteller in the Eastern world regales his patrons with stories from the Arabian Nights and the great epics from the past.

Photo: Damascus bazzar

Overnight in Damascus  

Day 28 Friday 3 rd October DAMASCUS / CHAHBA / DAMASCUS

Departure towards Izraa on the road to Bosra to visit a very old church where prayers are still continuing from the 5th century B.C. and if our visit falls on a Sunday, we would have the chance of watching the locals with their dresses similar to Bedouins praying. Visit of Chahba famous for its mosaics museum and return to Damascus and free afternoon for shopping or else.

Overnight in Damascus

Photo: ruins of Palmyra

Day 29 Saturday 4 th October DAMASCUS / PALMYRA

An early morning departure for Palmyra an important link in the Silk Road, during Roman times a great queen ruled a large empire from Palmyra called Queen Zenobia and it is said that she more beautiful then Cleopatra. She extended Palmyra's influence into Anatolia and as far south as Eqypt, however she wouldn't surrender to the Roman armies and was finally defeated, captured and sent to Rome where she ended her days, dreaming of former glories.

Lady Hestor Stanhope, made a triumphal entry into Palmyra , last century. Costumed in rich Beduoin robes and seated on an equally gorgeously clad camel, together with her retinue of hundreds,she made a grand sight and received the accolades of hundreds of Beduoin horsemen who called her Queen of the Desert. We in our mini-bus, start with the colonnades at the Via Recta, then Bel museum, amphitheater, Valley of the tombs, The Temple of Bel, amphitheater, Valley of the Tombs and hopefully we will catch the sunset at the desert from Fakhreddin's castle.   

Palmyra seems to have been famous for beautiful ladies as the famous Queen Zenobia, said to be as beautiful as Cleopatra once ruled this city state. She pushed back the frontiers of her empire to include parts of Anatolia to the north and as far as Egypt in the South. The Romans however were not happy with this and defeating her army,took her in chains to Rome where she lived out the rest of her days, dreaming of glories past.

Option of a typical dinner in a Bedouin tent .  

Overnight in Palmyra   

Day 30 Sunday 5 th October PALMYRA / DEIREZZOR

Continuing our journey out into the desert, we may meet the mirage of another of Palmyra 's great ladies. Lady Jane Digby left hearth and home to journey to these regions where she married a much younger sheikh. Ending her days here as an old lady. Our goal is Deirezzor, visiting on the way the desert Palace of Qasr El-Heir Eat and continues on to visit Mari, was the famous city state of Akkad, in Mesopotamia about 5000 years ago. A great many clay tablets in Akkadian were discovered here and there are the remains of a huge Royal Palace and a ziggurat. An early Jewish synagogue was founded here at Dura Europos; the desert plateau falls sharply in a line of cliffs to the Euphrates River . It was famous for its religious tolerance, side by side were Roman, Greek, Jewish and Mesopotamian temples.

Overnight in Deirezzor   

Day 31 Monday 6 th October DEIREZZOR / ALEPPO

Departure for Aleppo via Halabiye, then Raqqa to see some of its Abbasid remains. Then to Rasapa and finally to the Arab castle of Jaabar at the Euphrates and we return to Aleppo for our last night of our Syrian Adventure.   

Overnight in Aleppo

Photo: Lady Jane Digby

Day 32 Tuesday 7 th October ALEPPO / ANTAKYA

After breakfast we will leave the city of Aleppo and travel back to the Border of Syria and Turkey were we will change Buses do a Border Crossing on foot to the Turkish side where our new Bus and Bus Driver will be waiting to transfers us back to the city of Antakay for Dinner and one nights accommodation.

Overnight in Antakay

Day 33 Wednesday 8 th October ANTAKYA / TARSUS

After breakfast we will depart for our scenic drive to Tarsus which is famous for the birthplace of St. Paul we will also visit St. Paul 's well, tomb of Sardanapulus and Cleopatra's Gate.

The city of Tarsus , on the Tarsus Çayi, stands in the hot Cilician Plain and at the foot of the Taurus and is one of the few towns in the eastern Mediterranean which can trace its history back without interruption. Tarsus was the most important commercial port in the province of Cilicia since 2300 BC. A few decades before Christ, the Romans granted her the status of a free city with the privileges such a title entailed. M ark Antony and Cleopatra lived in Tarsus in the 1st century BC. Today Tarsus is a modern busy city that is very proud of its history and Archeological Sites.

Overnight in Tarsus  

Day 34 Thursday 9 th October TARSUS / CAPPADOCIA

After breakfast we will start our journey a long the coast there are the remains of Crusader castles, and passing through the Cilician Gates, following in the footsteps of such greats as Alexander the Great and Cyrus the Younger, we may to go the uplands where there are sites from the earliest times, and the remnants of Byzantine churches and the Lesser Armenian empire. We will spend two nights at Cappadocia , touring the Fairy Chimneys with their frescoes and strange wind hewn rock formations. At Cappadocia , if you have been here before, there is brand new winery to visit. The region is known for its wines. Or you may like to ride a horse (app.2-3 hours), there are many walks, hot air ballooning, hire a scooter, or just explore the many small villages in the area.

Arrival at Cappadocia we will do a tour to Kaymakli Underground City , one of the most interesting underground settlements in Cappadocia . Soganli Valley , an Open Air Museum in a wild natural setting near a typical Cappadocian village with its different style Rock-Cut churches and frescoes. Villages in the valleys, surrounded by the "table top" mountains, are spectacular. Lunch and Visit to Sahinefendi newly discovered (01 May 2002) mosaic houses & Archaeological excavation site. Continue with Keslik Monastery near Cemil, that hides its frescoes behind a very thin smoke layer which we can only see by torch light. Our tour finishes with a visit to Mustafapasa (Sinasos), an old Greek town with its spectacular old Greek houses; very fine examples of late Greek settlements and architecture.

2 Nights stay at the

Hotel Cappadocia.

Day 35 Friday 10 th October CAPPADOCIA

In the morning, first meeting with the lunar landscape of Cappadocia: rock formations beyond belief in Devrent valley; walking in Zelve Open Air Museum : a journey in the past with its  troglodyte houses; visit to Pasabag "fairy chimneys" where the voice of  wind mixes with the "songs of  fairies". Lunch in Avanos, center of  terra cotta work of art since 3000 BC. and a demonstration in a traditional pottery  workshop. Afternoon, visit the famous Goreme Open Air Museum and see the best examples of Byzantine art in Cappadocia in rock-cut churches with frescoes and paintings (10th to 13th century). Climb on top of the Uchisar Rock-Castle to have a panoramic view of the valleys of Cappadocia .

Day 36 Saturday 11 th October CAPPADOCIA / ISTANBUL

Our tour ends back at the Hotel Tria in Istanbul where you will you will have one nights accommodation prior to you departure. There are many activities in Istanbul and the surrounding area, galleries, parks and exhibitions. Books, manuscripts and the never ending parade of humanity in all its forms and guises. Please contact us for a list of things to do.

Hotel Tria

1night (DB)

Photo: Ballons over Cappadocia at end

Day 37 Sunday 12 th October ISTANBUL

After breakfast the tour will officially end for the next three days you are free to visit all the sites of Istanbul you have not seen. From the 12 th October to the 15 th October only breakfast has been included in your cost lunch and Dinner are at your own arrangements

Day 38 Monday 13 th October STANBUL

Hotel Tria

night (B) Own arrangements

Day 39 Tuesday 14 th October ISTANBUL

Hotel Tria

night (B) Own arrangements

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