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Turkey & Syria Tours & Accommodation 2009
Turkey and Optional Syria Spectacular Tour & Accommodations
We are offering Spectacular Turkey Tours with Accommodations
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Spectacular Turkey Tours & Accommodations |
NAME
MT.NEMRUT AND BEYOND (TOUR 2)
AREA
EASTERN TURKEY AND SYRIA
FOR FULL ITINERARY PLEASE CLICK BELOW
FULL ITINERARY OF TURKEY & SYRIA TOUR 2009
TOUR 1:
19 DAYS TOUR STARTS (green line)
COST: Contact us here
TOUR 2:
19 DAYS EASTERN TURKEY TOUR STARTS
PLUS 18 DAYS TOUR TO SYRIA (red line)
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ART TOUR
19 DAYS ART TOUR INCLUDING 3 ART WORKSHOPS STARTS FROM JUNE 2009 (blue line)
COST: Contact us here
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Tours, Accommodation & 2009
TURKEY TOUR AND ACCOMMODATION
CRADLE OF CIVILIZATIONS
From the dawn of civilization to the present day vibrancy of modern TURKEY
From the ANCIENT MOTHER GODDESS and CYBELE,
From DIANA of the Ephesians to the VIRGIN MARY, Mother of Jesus.
Visit the battle fields of ancient TROY , where shades of ancient Trojans and Greeks lie side by side with their brothers from GALLIPOLI, over the DARDENELLES. Walk the Medean Road with XENOPHON and his Ten Thousand and see the plain of CARCHEMISH, the last resting place of HITTITE and Egyptian forces , ISSUS where ALEXANDER fought the PERSIANS, where CRUSADER knights built their castles. Where SELCUK and BYZANTINE forces clashed until the OTTOMANS captured CONSTANTINOPLE in 1453.
Turkey 's wealth of history underpins her touristic delights. Ancient Greco-Roman cities vie with the delights of modern vibrant bustling cities like ISTANBUL (formerly Constantinople ) and ANKARA the last resting place of MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK, the Founder of the modern TURKISH REPUBLIC .
Geographically the country rises from delightful coastal resorts on the MEDITTERANEAN and the AEGEAN boasting jewel like islands set in a Turquoise Sea . SAMOS , PATNOS AND RHODES are nearby and the hidden sun rings black CYPRUS in a lake of fire.
Sail the TURQUOISE COAST from KUSADASI, MARMARIS and BODRUM in a traditional GULET or sail boat, delicious meals prepared on board by the crew, swim and dream the days away, calling into pristine coves and tiny villages. (BLUE VOYAGE) Take a mud bath or climb up into butterfly valley. Visit the natural wonders of PAMMUKKALE where warm thermal springs cascade over glowing white terraces of petrified rock. Swim amidst Roman marble columns. Hang gliding, sailing, rock climbing and water sports complete the picture.
Turkey Tour: Trabazon St Sophia
It is said that there are more Greco-Roman ruins exist in Turkey than in Greece or Rome . The most extensive of these is of course the ancient city of EPHESUS , where ST.PAUL preached against Diana, starting riots. In April the cyclamens spring up from emerald green fields. See the library of CELSUS; stand in a real ROMAN room its plastered walls decorated with frescoes and lined with mosaic floors. A small stone house nearby, visited by the POPE stands nearby. It is said that MARY the MOTHER of JESUS spent her last days here. Wishing trees with their paper prayers flutter in the breeze. Pilgrims drink the water of the sacred spring. Other ancient marble cities surrounded by unspoilt countryside and olive groves hover like ghosts MILETUS,DIDYMA,APHRODISIAS, ASPENDENDOS with its intact Roman theatre, PERGE and SIDE where CLEOPATRA bathed in asses' milk. The ancient harbours of ANTALYA and ALANYA lie on the Mediterranean . Not far is the Byzantine church of ST.NICHOLAS , patron saint of Christmas and born in Turkey , LYCIAN rock cut tombs lie nearby, while the Greeks worshipped the everlasting fires of the CHIMERA near Olympus .
In CAPPADADOCIA the rock formations called locally Fairy Chimneys were the last homes of cave dwelling ANATOLIANS, housing themselves ,their animals and their birds. Have lunch with a village family, bread and other dishes cooked in the tandoor or below ground oven. Visit frescoed caves and churches where the monks of the early Christian era lived and worshipped. Here ST.BASIL and ST.GREGORY formulated the essentials of the Early Christian faith for the later NICENE CREED in the solitude of GOREME VALLEY . Underground cities, complete with store rooms provided refuge for countless thousands escaping from the ARABS and the MONGOLS.
From high above in your balloon the pinnacled valleys seem like a lunar landscape, the only sound- peaceful silence and the twittering of birds.
KONYA , ancient ICONIUM is the home of the MEVLEVI sect of the WHIRLING DERVISHES. Dressed in flowing white robes they twirl in ecstasy as they commune with the Infinite. The lavishly decorated tomb of MAULANA CELADDIN RUMI in the centre of the town is surrounded by mosque and medresses or theological colleges where the dervishes danced and the remains of SELCUK tiled palaces. Visit caravanserais on the OLD SILK ROAD or a Master feltmaker . CATALHOYUK, ancient birthplace of the Mother Goddess is being excavated. Ancient signs of bull and sun worship decorate the walls. Her sacred animals the deer and the sun disk are to be found in the MUSEUM of EARLY CIVILIZATIONS in the capital ANKARA .
Night Shot of Blue Mosque Sultan
ISTANBUL formerly Constantinople until captured by the TURKS in 1453 has a history going back thousands of years. It was the capital of the western Roman empire and built by CONSTANTINE the GREAT, later it was the capital of the Byzantine Empire , and then the Ottoman Empire , stretching its limit from Morroco , Egypt , Syria , Iran , Medina and Mecca to dominate Greece and Hungary until it was finally repulsed at Vienna .
Turkey Tour: Cave Dwellings, Cappadocia
Since Turkey became a republic in 1923, Istanbul is now a bustling cosmopolitan city, well served by public transport and big business, Istanbul still holds charm and variety. All manner of delicious TURKISH FOOD can be found here, local wines are excellent and fine dining over the water, a speciality . Take a trip up the Bosphorus , the waterway dividing East from West. The GOLDEN HORN takes its name from the Golden light which bathes it at sunset making the stained glass windows of the TOPKAPI PALACE gleam red and gold in the sunset and the light fades gradually on the ancient WALLS, while hundreds of martins circle the battlements and swirl around the floodlit bridges.
The famous city with its skyline of mosques and minarets provide a romantic backdrop to your tour of the city. Don't forget the CHURCH of the HOLY WISDOM or AYA SOFYA, the BLUE MOSQUE radiant with its walls of blue tiles. The ancient HIPPODROME where the Emperors watched the chariot races and successive Sultans held parades of all inhabitants of the empire with floats, dancing and entertainments.
The Museum of Islamic Arts holds treasures from the work of centuries of master craftspersons . The city is famous for its art galleries and museums, from CALLIGRAPHY to the MEHTER or Military Band, the first one of its kind.
Take a tour on a ferry boat up the wide channel of the BOSPHORUS to the Black Sea , lined with the mansions and palaces of the wealthy and the court, from this and preceding centuries. The 19 th Century DOLMABACHE PALACE is home to a vast collection of porcelain, crystal bannisters and the biggest chandelier of the time is worth a visit.
Shopping may take up much of your time in Istanbul . Home to all manner of goods from East and West, turquoise and amber, antiques and costumes. Spices and cordials, 18 th Century sweetmeats, Turkish Viagra, nuts and fruits of all kinds are sold in the SPICE BAZAAR and the surrounding areas. Take home an IZNIK plate or a BELLY DANCE outfit. Sip TURKISH coffee and smoke a NARGILAH like the PASHAS of old.
The battlefields of GALLIPOLI are reached by bus or car from Istanbul . Whilst thousands of young men from Britain , Australia and New Zealand and the British Commonwealth , the Turks also lost their young men. Embattled on all sides by the Allies and by Russia a generation of Turkish men and women gave their lives and their children to the cause of saving Turkey from the enemy. After the WAR of INDEPENDANCE the Turkish people had regained their independence but lost their empire. Nevertheless the result was that from the ashes of this conflict the modern nations of Turkey and Australia were born. The friendship between these two nations began at this time has gained strength. Thousands of Australians And New Zealanders flock to ANZAC COVE for ceremonies on the 25 th of April each year.
Tours & 2009
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Tours, Accommodation & 2009
EASTERN TURKEY
Eastern Turkey has a wealth of natural beauty ranging from the pine forests and tea plantations of the Black Sea resort of TRABAZON, a former BYZANTINE Kingdom where on a high cliff lies the frescoed monastery of SUMELA. While white water rafting, trekking and spotting GEORGIAN churches are popular in the gorges of ARTVIN. ANI, the ancient cathedral city of ARMENIA , now in ruins, looks over a high escarpment into Georgia . In the foothills of MT.ARARAT are DOGUBEYAZIT and the beautifully carved walls of the ISHAK PASHA Palace .
Lake in Black Sea Region - Turkey Accommodation Information
LAKE VAN, where the VAN CATS like to take a swim in the lake, surrounded by high mountains has a natural rugged beauty .Some of the earliest CUNEIFORM writing is to be found on the walls of Van citadel. CAVUSTEPE is an URARTUAN archeological site, AKDAMAR, an Armenian Church with primitive carvings of ADAM and EVE lies on an island in Lake Van , reached by boat. On the road to BITLIS and TATVAN are Seljuk cemeteries at AHLAT.
The view from the heights of MT. NEMRUD is fantastic at sunrise. Row upon row of mountains stretch into the blue haze. A COMMAGENE king wanting to vie with the gods built his tomb, they say, on the top of Mt Nemrud. He also built a stone platform dedicated to fire worship with huge statues on top. These statues can still be seen where they were built but were damaged in an earthquake, their heads taller than a man now rest at their feet.
DIYABAKIR'S high Roman walls are decorated with towers and battlements. GAZIANTEP contains the preserved mosaic floors of ancient ZEUGMA now covered by the waters of the GAP PROJECT and the ATATURK DAM, which provides water to the agricultural districts of South Eastern Anatolia. Not long ago, YORUK nomads with their flock of goats used to roam the high plateau, living in black goat hair tents.
Local Turks brought up in the spirit of the ABRAHAMIC tradition, will show you the cave where according to legend ABRAHAM was born. A host of Biblical characters once lived in South Eastern Turkey, REBEKAH, RACHEL and JACOB. Still today the round stone BEEHIVE HOUSES of their descendants can be seen near SANLIURFA, old EDESSA , famous for its copper ware and hot spicy food. Early SYRIAN ORTHODOX monasteries at MARDIN still contain the earliest records of the Christian church, while down along the coast in ANTIOCH is the church where ST.PETER once preached. See vivid mosaic floors of Roman pleasure mansions and early granite quarries which provided stone for Roman carvers.
Along the Mediterranean coast past ADANA is the CRUSADER CASTLE of ANAMUR, the Gates of Heaven and Hell at SILIFE and seashore caves where prehistoric hunters first made shell necklaces.
Tours & 2009
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Tours, Accommodation & 2009
A Potted History of Damascus
Tradition has it that DAMASCUS was founded by SHEM, the son of NOAH and could have been in the original
GARDEN OF EDEN. ABRAHAM may have lived in its caves and had the Oneness and Unity of God revealed to him there. Muslim tradition holds that Mary and Jesus took refuge there "And We made the Son of Mary and His Mother a sign and gave them shelter on a pleasant plateau" (Jebel Qassioun - a tableland looking out over the city)
The Prophet MUHAMMAD referred to Damascus as the nearest thing to a PARADISE on Earth.
Property owners and developers have ravaged much of the charm of the citrus groves and orchards which used to surround Old Damascus but in the old part of the city one certainly can feel swept back into the caravan city of early times. (now a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE)
Damascus was first recorded as DIMASQUE in the famous MARI and EBLA Tablets (the sites of the ancient cities can still be visited)in 2500bc.
The AMORITES, the EGYPTIANS (in the TELL AMANA Tablets) and the ARAMEANS all held sway over the city which was famous for its TEMPLE of HADAD on the site of the GREAT UMAYYAD MOSQUE. The ASSYRIANS were next. ("The Assyrians came down like a wolf on the fold and its cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold...)"
Cyrus the Great (Persian) and Alexander the Great (Macedonian) took Damascus as did the NABATEANS from PETRA.
Then the ROMANS swept in, clanking with their armour and spears, they stayed 700 years. (some of the time spent fighting QUEEN ZENOBIA of PALMYRA in the north.
THE STREET CALLED STRAIGHT features next in our story. ST.PAUL escaping over the walls of the city, by being let down in a basket.
The Emperors HADRIAN and SEVERUS built aqueducts and temples and encouraged trade in the city.
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT (BYZANTINE emperor of CONSTANTINOPLE) adopted Christianity and converted the Roman TEMPLE OF JUPITER (site of Hadad) into the Cathedral of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.
The Muslims under the first caliph took Damascus in AD 637 and made it their first capital (UMAYYAD dynasty)
SALADIN made Damascus his headquarters (AYYUBID dynasty). However the MONGOLS destroyed it in 1260 but things were evened out a bit under the MAMELUKES (Turkish slave dynasty) and it became their second capital after Cairo. TAMERLANE destroyed the city again in 1400.
The Turkish OTTOMANS were next in 1516, using Damascus as the major staging post on the all important PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA.
Damascus fell to the Allies in 1918 but the Arab dream of nationhood fell when Syria was handed over to the French (part of the spoils of war against the Ottoman Empire) The locals revolted and after WORLD WAR 2 the French left and Damascus became the capital of an INDEPENDENT SYRIAN ARABIC REPUBLIC
Tours, Accommodation & 2009
SYRIA TOUR AND ACCOMMODATION
Turkey shares a border with Syria. At this point we cross over into Syria to Aleppo , the ancient citadel still stands on its hill. Under shady awnings a maze of souks cover the town , provide goods to generations of shoppers. Silver and copper are specialities .
Palmyra is known to the 19 th Century English lady writer Jane Digby, stands out in the plain, its columns gleaming in pink and gold.
Tours & 2009
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Tours, Accommodation & 2009
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