This is a magnificent, coherent Grand Eastern Anatolia route—it follows geography and history naturally, from the Hittites to Mesopotamia. Below is a 18 - days professional tour program including all sites worth to sea
Grand Eastern Anatolia & Upper Mesopotamia Tour
18 Days / 18Nights
Route: Ankara → Hattusa → Cappadocia → Kayseri → Sivas → Divriği → Kemaliye →
Erzurum → Kars → Doğubeyazıt → Van → Tatvan → Ahlat → Bitlis → Mardin → Diyarbakır → Adıyaman → Şanlıurfa
DAY 1 – Ankara | Gateway to Anatolia
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
Ankara Citadel
Introductory lecture: Anatolia as a crossroads
Overnight: Ankara
DAY 2 – Ankara → Hattusa → Cappadocia
Hattusa (Hittite capital): Lion Gate, King’s Gate
Yazılıkaya rock sanctuary
Drive to Cappadocia
Overnight: Cappadocia
DAY 3 – Cappadocia | Volcanic Landscapes & Faith
Göreme Open-Air Museum
Underground city (Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu)
Uçhisar Castle
Overnight: Cappadocia
DAY 4 – Cappadocia → Kayseri
Soğanlı Valley walking
Kayseri Seljuk monuments
Gevher Nesibe Medical Complex
Overnight: Kayseri
DAY 5 – Kayseri → Sivas
Sultan Han (Seljuk caravanserai)
Sivas Gök Medrese & Çifte Minareli Medrese
Overnight: Sivas
DAY 6 – Sivas → Divriği
Divriği Great Mosque & Hospital (UNESCO)
Early Anatolian Islamic art
Overnight: Divriği
DAY 7 – Divriği → Kemaliye (Eğin)
Scenic drive through Karanlık Canyon
Traditional Eğin houses
Euphrates valley views
Overnight: Kemaliye
DAY 8 – Kemaliye → Erzurum
Stone Road (Taş Yol) experience
Erzurum Seljuk monuments: Çifte Minareli Medrese
Overnight: Erzurum
DAY 9 – Erzurum → Kars
Medieval caravan routes
Arrival in Kars
Russian-period architecture
Ani ruins (medieval Armenian capital)
Overnight: Kars
DAY 10 – Kars → Doğubeyazıt
Eastern high plateau landscapes
İshak Paşa Palace
Mount Ararat views
Muradiye Waterfall
Overnight in Van
DAY 11 VAN- Castle (Tuşpa) – .Urartian capital city
Van Museum
And Van castle and famous cats
Overnight: Van
DAY 12 – Van → Tatvan → Ahlat
Lake Van shoreline
Akdamar island and church
Ahlat Seljuk Cemetery
Volcanic landscapes
Overnight: Tatvan
DAY 13→ Bitlis- Mardin
Bitlis Old City & Castle
Drive to mardin wisiting hasankeyf on the banks of Tigris river
