Rufus Reade Tours

8 September Fly with Turkish Airline from London Heathrow to Istanbul, and catch a connecting flight to Diyarbakir in south-east Turkey. Overnight for two nights in Diyarbakir.
9 September Diyarbakir was known in ancient times as Amida. Its dark basalt walls are said to be the longest city walls in the world. They enclose a city of narrow streets and interesting buildings. Amongst them are fine examples of mosques as well as some Assyrian Christian Churches. We will spend the day visiting some of these sites. Overnight in Diyarbakir at the Dedeman Hotel.
10 September Drive to Hasankeyf, an important group of archaeological sites which are uinder threat of flooding when the new Ilisu Dam becomes operational. We'll continue to see the monastery of Mar Gabriel described as the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world. Continue to Mardin for two nights at the Buyuk Mardin Hotel.
11 September Mardin looks over the area known as the Tur Abdin from the Syriac meaning 'Mountain of the servants (of God)'. We will spend the day looking at the churches of the town and its environs: this is an Arab town and quite distinct from Diyarbakir. The building are made of a local honey coloured sandstone which is very attractive. Outside the town is the Syriac Orthodox monastery of Deyrül zafaran (the Saffron Monastery) which was celebrated in William Dalrymple's book From the Holy Mountain. During our visit we can assess whether there seems a viable future for such a fragile community. Our second night in Mardin.
12 September The road takes us through Viran?ehir, known to the Romans and Byzantines as Constantina. At times it formed the Romans border with Persia. We'll continue to Sanliurfa for two nights in the El Ruha Hotel.
13 September Sanliurfa exudes history like few other places in the world! The Muslim tradition say that Abraham was born here. It was a very early Christian city with a tradition of being the first resting place of Christ's shroud. The Crusaders captured the city (then known as Edessa) making it the most easterly Crusader state. Our morning in the town will endeavour to capture something of these links with history and tradition. In the afternoon we'll go out of the town to see the Arab village of Harran which is mentioned in Genesis as the place where Abraham lived. During the late 8th and 9th centuries Harran was an Arabic centre for translating works of astronomy, philosophy, natural sciences, and medicine from Greek to Syriac by Assyrians, and thence to Arabic, bringing the knowledge of the classical world to the emerging Arabic-speaking civilization in the south. Second night in Sanliurfa.
14 September We'll drive westwards towards Gaziantep, crossing the River Euphrates at Birecik (formerly Macedonopolis). The town is a little downstream of the dam with the same name. The Roman city of Zeugma was drowned in the reservoir behind the dam. We visit the significant Zeugma museum in Gaziantep. Overnight in the Tugcan Hotel.
15 September We'll head north to Kahta where we'll try and get an early night's sleep in preparation for our pre-dawn start in the morning! Overnight in Kahta Zeus Hotel.
16 September We'll rise before sunrise to drive to the summit of Nemrut Dagi (alt. 2,134 m/7,001 ft) in order to see the dawn light hitting the sanctuary of statues built by Antiochus Theos, king of Commagene during the first century BC. There is a magical moment as the first light brings these vast statues to life. Behind the statues is a vast pile of fist size stones which may conceal the tomb of the king who built this extraordinary site. Our destination as we drive north is the town of Divrigi which has one of the finest Selçuk century buildings in Turkey. The Great Mosque and the adjacent hospital were built in 1228-29. They are both on the UNESCO's World Heritage List due to the exquisite carvings and architecture of both buildings. We'll continue to Sivas where we'll stay in the Kosk Hotel.
17 September We'll have a look at some of the buildings of Sivas (formerly Sebastia, hence the 4th century Forty Martyrs of Sebaste) before our road takes us north. As we near Trabzon we'll visit the spectacular cliff-face monastery of Sumela which was not abandoned until the 1920s. The first of two nights in Trabzon at the Usta Hotel.
18 September Rose Macaulay called her novel The Towers of Tebizond: you spend your time in this interesting city looking for the towers! The church of the Holy Wisdom, Haghia Sofia is a wonderful example of restoration. The church used to sit outside the town but the city now has grown far beyond its old boundaries. this church was built in the very last years of the Byzantine period: it is a great sanctuary with a wonderful atmosphere. We'll see something of the rest of the town. Second night in Trabzon at the Usta Hotel.
19 September Morning flight to Istanbul. Transfer to the Blue Hotel in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul. ?f there is time after lunch we'll catch the Bosphorus ferry which takes us almost as far as the Black Sea. Overnight Istanbul.
20 September Today we'll walk along parts of the Golden Horn to see the cast iron Bulgarian Church, and the Church of the Greek Patriarch at Fener. There will be an optional extension to the walk past the Church of St Mary of the Mongols, to the tiny jewel of a side chapel known as The Pammakaristos, and thence to St Saviour in Chora with its wonderful frescoes and mosaics. Independent lunch arrangements. Final dinner together. Overnight Istanbul.
21 September Crossing the Galata Bridge we wil explore the area around the old Genoese Tower which still dominates this part of Istanbul. We'll walk along Istiklal Caddesi looking for former embassies and the many Christian churches which served this trading and diplomatic enclave in the last days of the Ottoman Empire. Overnight Istanbul.
22 September Transfer to Istanbul airport for our flight to London Heathrow.

The photograph on this page shows a Turkish Kangal sheep dog. The original breed comes from Central Anatolia. They wear spiked collars to protect them from attacks by wolves.