Eastern Anatolia Tour

Sivas – Gök Madrasa – Grand Mosque – Double Minaret Madrasa – Sivas Square – Madımak Hotel – Erzincan – Coppersmiths Bazaar – Tercan - Mamahatun Complex – Erzurum – Double Minaret Madrasa – Three Cupolas – Taş Han – Yakutiye Madrasa After our night journey, we arrive in Sivas early in the morning for the Eastern Anatolia Tour with Dinar and we take a break for our breakfast in the morning. After our breakfast, we start to tour the Republic City of Sivas with our guide. In Sivas, one of the most important cities of the History of the Republic and the Seljuk period, our first tour point will be the Gök Madrasa, which is under restoration. After the information we will get from our guide in the Gök Madrasa built in 1271, we see the Great Mosque. After seeing the famous Ulu Mosque with its minaret, which bends over time and stands as a curve; We continue our tour of Sivas Square with our visits to Buruciye Madrasa, Double Minaret Madrasa and Şifaiye Madrasa. After getting information from our guide about the Sivas Congress Building, which was used as a high school for years and then as the Congress Building, we give free time in Cumhuriyet Square. During your free time, you can see the Madımak Hotel and have your coffee at the famous Circassian Coffee. After our free time is over, we take our bus and say goodbye to Sivas and move towards Erzincan. Erzincan, which was established on a wide and fertile plain formed by the Karasu River between the Munzur and Tercan Mountains and also known by its own name, is perhaps one of the greenest areas of our country. Although Erzincan is not a touristic city with its greenery and the warmth of its people, it will be one of the cities you will remember. Upon our arrival in Erzincan, we take a shopping break at Bakırcılar Bazaar. During this shopping break, you can buy copper works unique to Erzincan. Then, after having our lunch in Erzincan, we move to Tercan to visit the Mamahatun Complex. After our tour of the Mamahatun Complex, which consists of a cupola, a caravanserai, a Turkish bath and a Mosque, made by Mama Hatun on the Erzurum-Erzincan caravan route, we set off for Erzurum. During our journey, you will witness the impressive nature and geography of Eastern Anatolia as you travel through the Karasu Valley. Erzurum is one of the largest cities in Eastern Anatolia and at the same time the highest city center of our country with an altitude of 1900 meters. All of the ancient works of Erzurum consist of volcanic and basaltic land stones. We start our Erzurum tour with the Double Minaret Madrasa, one of the most beautiful examples of Seljuk architecture. Then, we make our trip to the Three Vaults, which are among the most beautiful examples of the Mausoleums in Anatolia, dating back to the Saltukid period. Afterwards, we make our visits to Taş Han, one of the favorite spots of Ottoman architecture in the city, as well as Erzurum's famous Oltu Taş shops, and Yakutiye Madrasa, which stands out with its interesting tiles, and then we move towards Panadöken Mountain to our hotel. Dinner and accomodation in our hotel.

Çobandede Bridge - Kars - Sarıkamış Martyrdom - Kars Castle - Church of the 12 Apostles - Ani Ruins - Arpacay On the 3rd day of our Eastern Anatolia Tour with Dinar, after breakfast at the hotel, we take our bus and set off for Kars. While passing Pasinler on our road route, we take a short photo break at the 800-year-old Mongolian work Çobandede Bridge, which was built at the intersection of the Aras and Kargapazarı rivers. Then, in the continuation of our journey, we see the Obsidian Beds. Eastern Anatolia Region has important obsidian resources due to its geological structure. One of the important obsidian source areas of the region is the Allahuekber mountains. Obsidian is a natural volcanic glass formed as a result of the rapid cooling and freezing of magma ejected by acidic volcanoes. After seeing the Obsidian Beds, we visit the Sarıkamış Martyrs' Cemetery, which overlooks the Allahuekber mountains, in Sarıkamış, where we gave a total of 78 thousand martyrs in 1914, 60 thousand of whom were frozen. After our martyrdom visit, we reach Kars via Horasan Sarıkamış. Kars, which is in the east of our country, is actually the city in the west of the Caucasus. In other words, with its eastern and western features, it is a city that is very different from the surrounding cities such as Erzurum, Ağrı and Iğdır in terms of cultures and its streets are full of life. Kars is the center where Baltic architecture can be observed best in our country. You will be amazed as you see the streets that cut each other at 90 degrees, the decorated, cut stone buildings and more. In the city center of Kars, we visit Kars Castle, which looks like an eagle's nest from above, the Church of the 12 Apostles, known as the Cathedral, the Stone Bridge, and the house where Namık Kemal, one of our famous poets, lived for a period. Then, we visit the Great Mosque, which was built by Kars Beylerbeyi Dilaver Pasha in 1643 but was destroyed after the Russian occupation of Kars after the Ottoman-Russian War, and we see the Beylerbeyi Palace panoramically. After these trips, we give free time in Kars Streets. After having our lunch in the center of Kars, we take a shopping break for the famous Kars cheese and local shopping. After our break, we get on our bus and move to Ani Ruins, one of the most important meeting points of Armenian and Seljuk culture on the Turkey-Armenia border. Ani was the richest city of the region 1000 years ago. You will immediately understand this in the sacred structures in the region. In this historical ancient city, its Walls, Gates, Surp Pirgiç Church (Keveli Church), Surp Kirkor Church (Tigran Honents Church), Cathedral (Virgin Mary Church), Küçük Hamam, Ebul Muhammeran Mosque, Sultan Palace, Menucehr, the first Turkish Mosque of Anatolia. We see works such as the Mosque and Silk Road Bridge and tour with the narrations of our guide. After these trips, we say goodbye to this magnificent historical city, looking down on Arpacay, which forms the border between the two countries, and move to our hotel in Kars Center. Dinner and accomodation in our hotel. * Our guests can attend the Caucasian Night event, which is an important part of Kars Culture. (Extra)

Iğdır - Iğdır Plain - Mount Ararat - İshakpaşa Palace - Tendürek Pass - Çaldıran Plain - Van - Muradiye - Muradiye Waterfall - Devil's Bridge - Van Castle - Van Cat House On the 4th day of our Eastern Anatolia Tour with Dinar, after breakfast at the hotel, we get on our bus and reach Iğdır via the Digor-Tuzluca road, following the Armenian border. When you look carefully, you can see the Yerevan houses and the Metzamor Nuclear Power Plant, which was established in an area very close to our border. Iğdır Plain is called Çukurova of the East. All kinds of fruits, vegetables and even cotton are grown in the plain, as it is located between high mountains and has a much milder and softer air around it. We stop to photograph the 5137-meter-high Mount Ararat, on which Iğdır rests. Then we go to İshakpaşa Palace. The 220-year-old İshakpaşa Palace has been the symbol of Eastern Anatolia since the day it was built. İshakpaşa Palace will impress you with its 116 rooms, its position overlooking the whole plain, and its monumental gates, each one more unique than the other. After completing our tour with our guide and taking beautiful photos, we take a lunch break. After lunch, we drive to Van. While passing through Tendürek Mountain Pass (2644 mt), we will see the solidified lava, and when passing through the Çaldıran Plain, we will see the areas where the famous war took place. Upon our arrival in Muradiye district, we will take a photo break by seeing Muradiye Waterfall and Devil's Bridge on Bendi Mahi Stream. Then we reach Van, which is built on the shore of Lake Van, which is the largest lake in our country, which the locals call the Van Sea. We are going to the Van Castle, known as Tuspa, whose real name is Sardurihinili after King Sarduri I. We make our tour by seeing the city walls, the Kale Mosque, the Rock Tombs of the Urartian Kings and the Castle Gates and getting information from our guide. After a photo break in Kale, we move to the Van Cat House. After seeing and photographing the Van Cats, one of the most charming and famous creatures of the region, we move to our store where we can see and buy hand-woven carpets unique to the Van region. After we get information about hand-woven carpets and do our shopping, we move to our hotel. Dinner and accomodation in our hotel.

Van Urartu Museum – Lake Van – Akdamar Island and Church – Carpet-Kilim Cooperative – Ahlat – Emir Bayındır Cupola – Nemrut Crater Lake After breakfast at the hotel on the 5th day of our Eastern Anatolia Tour with Dinar, we move on to the Van Urartu Museum, one of the most beautiful and special museums of our country. We are making our tour of the Van Museum, accompanied by our guide, where we can see the heritage of all civilizations that took place in the thousands of years of history of the ancient city of Van, which allows us to get to know the Urartians more closely and with all their aspects. After our museum tour, we go to Akdamar Island and Church, which is one of the first places that comes to mind when Van is mentioned (extra). After a half-hour boat ride on Lake Van, we arrive at Akdamar Island and its Church. After listening to the sad story of the lovers who could not be reunited and the history of King Gagik's magnificent church from our guide, we take our lunch on the shore of Lake Van. Our guests can taste the infi mullet unique to Van. After our lunch, we say goodbye to Akdamar Island and visit the Carpet-Kilim Cooperative to get information about Carpets and Rugs, one of the most important elements of Anatolian and Iranian Culture. Then we pass to Ahlat via Tatvan. We will see the Seljuk Cemetery, which is full of monumental tombstones, some of which are 3.5 meters tall, and the Emir Bayındır Vault, which is the most interesting of the vaults built in many different styles around it. Then, we go to Mount Nemrut to see Nemrut Crater Lake with our guests. (Extra) We are still moving towards our hotel. Dinner and accomodation in our hotel.

Bingol – Floating Islands – Tunceli – Munzur Valley National Park – Ovacik – Elazig – Harput Castle – Harput Mansions – Arap Baba Tomb – Virgin Mary Church After breakfast at the hotel on the 6th day of the Eastern Anatolia Tour with Dinar, we move to Bingo Floating Islands. Discovered by the local people, the Floating Islands are a completely natural formation. The lake is a Crater Lake located on flat land surrounded by mountains and hills on three sides. After giving free time for a photo shoot in the Floating Islands, which has an area of ​​300 square meters, we get on our vehicle and move towards Tunceli. Tunceli, located in the upper Euphrates region of Eastern Anatolia, is a region known for the Munzur Valley National Park. After completing our tour of the city center, we reach Ovacık with the journey we will make from the Munzur Valley. The city, which was founded on the skirts of the Munzur Valley, takes its name from the plain between the mountains. During our tour in the district, we reach Munzur Eyes by listening to the legends of Munzur Baba and Duzgun Baba from our guide. After the free time we will give here, we say goodbye to Ovacık and arrive in Elazig via Hozat, Pertek. After taking a short tour in Harput, our first stop, we listen to why Harput Castle, which has a history of 400,000 years, is called Milk Castle. Then we visit the famous Harput Great Mosque with its Leaning Minaret, which is called the Leaning Tower of the East. After seeing the Harput Historical Houses from the outside, we go to the Tomb of Arap Baba and listen to the story of Arap Baba from our guide. Then we visit the Church of the Virgin Mary, located to the east of Harput Castle. After getting information from our guide about the Church of the Virgin Mary, one of the oldest temples in Anatolia, we move towards our hotel. Dinner and accomodation in our hotel.

Hazar Lake - Karakaya Dam - Kömürhan Bridge - Malatya - Aslantepe - Battalgazi - Ulu Mosque - Silahtar Mustafa Pasha Caravanserai - Halfetih Minaret - Apricot Exchange - Darende - Tohma Canyon - Somuncu Baba Tomb After breakfast at the hotel on the 7th day of the Eastern Anatolia Tour with Dinar, we move towards Lake Hazar. After the free time we will give in Hazar Lake, a tectonic lake known as Gölcük Lake, we take our bus and move to Malatya. After seeing and photographing the Karakaya Dam on our itinerary, we arrive at the Kömürhan Bridge. Kömürhan Bridge, also known as İsmet Paşa Bridge, located between Elazığ and Malatya, is located on the Euphrates River. After the construction of Karakaya Dam, the old bridge, which has historical importance, was demolished, but the new bridge built in its place was given the same name. Then we arrive in Malatya and start our Malatya tour with Aslantepe Mound. Aslantepe Mound is one of the largest mounds in Turkey. After visiting the 5500-year-old temple in Aslantepe Mound with our guide and getting information, we move on to the old Malatya, namely Battalgazi. After visiting the Great Mosque and Silahtar Mustafa Pasha Caravanserai in Battalgazi, which has hosted all kinds of tribes of Malatya throughout history and carries the traces of history, we move to Malatya Apricot Exchange, where you can taste Malatya's famous apricots and do your shopping. After taking a shopping break here, we move on to Darende, which means "The City of Thirty Petals Roses". During our tour of Tohma Canyon in Darende, we will see Tohma Stream and Kudret Pool. Then we visit the Tomb of Somuncu Baba, who lived in the founding years of the Ottoman Empire. After our visit to the tomb, we say goodbye to Darende by seeing Balıklı Wells and start our return journey by ending our Eastern Anatolia Tour with Dinar.

Kayseri - Ankara - Istanbul Dear Guests, we arrive in Ankara later in the night and after saying goodbye to our guests from Ankara, we continue towards Istanbul. When we arrive in Istanbul, we leave you, our esteemed guests, at the points we picked up in the morning and say goodbye to meet in another Dinar organization.