4 Day Cappadocia and Gobeklitepe Private Tour from Istanbul

Overview

Day by day itinerary

1. 1Flight to Cappadocia and North Cappadocia Day Tour⌄

   Your driver will be ready at reception for the Istanbul airport transfer. Upon your arrival to Cappadocia, our representative will welcome you with a sign bearing your name and then you will be transferred to the tour office in Cappadocia.

   Our first stop is the fantastic view point of Uchisar Castle where you will receive information about the rich history of Cappadocia and the unique rock formations.

   After the panoramic view point, we visit the Goreme Open Air Museum. Your guide will explain the meanings of frescoes covering the walls of thousand-year-old cave churches as you explore this spectacular UNESCO World Heritage site.

   We will visit Avanos, one of the oldest settlements in Cappadocia. We're having a rich lunch here. Then we will visit the pottery workshop, one of the most important handicrafts of Cappadocia. We will also take a short walk along the banks of the Red River, Turkey's longest river.

   Here we will explore Pasabag, commonly known as Monks Valley. You will have a chance to see the famous mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys as well as St. Simeon’s monk cell carved into the rock.

   After Pasabag, we will drive to Devrent Valley. It is well known as imagination valley where you can take fantastic pictures with animal-shaped rock formations.

   We will make a short visit to a cooperative where world-famous Turkish carpets are produced and learn the intricacies of this thousands of years of art.

   With the end of the tour, your guide will leave drop you off at your hotel.

   Meals: Lunch: Very rich traditional lunch with a soft drink

   Overnight: Overnight in Cappadocia (Solem Cave Suite or similar)

2. 2Hot Air Balloon Flight (optional) and South Cappadocia Day Tour⌄

   With your guide picking you up from your hotel, you'll get a chance to watch the iconic town of Goreme from a panoramic hill.

   We will start our hike in the beautiful Red/Rose Valley which will take approximately 4 km and slightly more than one hour. We will see fairy-chimneys, local farms, pigeon houses and cave chapels. Your guide will give information about the history and the unique formations of Cappadocia during the hike. At the end of the hike we will have a quick stop at Cavusin Old Greek Village.

   After hiking in Red Valley, we will drive to Love Valley to take amazing pictures of pillar-shaped rock formations of Cappadocia.

   In the historic town of Goreme, we will have a rich lunch with great Turkish kebabs.

   After lunch we will visit carved Kaymakli Underground City which was used by early Christians as a shelter to hide themselves from their enemies.

   After our visit to the underground city, we will visit The Pigeon Valley, the oldest and most popular valley in Cappadocia. Your guide will give you information about pigeon houses and their importance to Cappadocia.

   Cappadocia is a volcanic region and is home to many semi-precious stones. We're going to make a short visit to a workshop where these stones are processed.

   Meals: Breakfast: Rich breakfast at hotel · Lunch: Traditional lunch with a soft drink

   Overnight: Overnight in Cappadocia (Solem Cave Suite or similar)

3. 3Private Transfer to Sanliurfa⌄

   After breakfast at the hotel, check out and drive to Sanliurfa. Stop at Kahramanmaras for lunch and a taste of its famous ice cream.

   After lunch we will keep driving. Upon arrival to Sanliurfa, check in at the hotel and have rest.

   Meals: Breakfast: Rich breakfast at hotel · Lunch: Traditional lunch with a soft drink · Dinner: Local Kebab House

   Overnight: Overnight in Sanliurfa (Dedeman Sanliurfa or similar)

4. 4Private Gobeklitepe, Harran and Sanliurfa City Tour⌄

   After breakfast, start exploring Sanliurfa. Urfa has been occupied since the Babylonians followed by the Hurrites, Hittites, Assyrians, Greeks. We will visit Urfa Archaeological Museum and Halepli Bahce Mosaic Museum. These museums exhibits a huge collection, founded from Harran and Gobeklitepe Area. We will also visit the holy sites at the Ainzelha, a lake with millions of domesticated fish. While in Urfa we will visit the cave where the prophet Abraham was born. Then, walk through the local covered bazaar of Sanliurfa and through the town to discover the many hidden treasures. We will have a delicious lunch with kebabs.

   After lunch we will visit nearby Harran and see the incredible beehive houses. Harran - according to the Bible - was the site where prophet Abraham spent a few years with his family before moving on to Israel, the Promised Land. There are exceptional photo opportunities in this area.

   In the afternoon you will see Gobeklitepe, a hilltop sanctuary erected on the highest point of an elongated mountain ridge some 15 km northeast of the town of Urfa. Gobekli Tepe which is believed the first temple of the World. It was built roughly twelve thousand years ago, circa 10,000 BC.

   After visiting the city, drive to the airport for your evening flight back to Istanbul. Upon your arrival to Istanbul, we will meet you and transfer to your hotel. End of our services

   Meals: Breakfast: Rich breakfast at hotel · Lunch: Traditional lunch with a soft drink