9 Day Cappadocia, Mt. Nemrut, Gobeklitepe, Mardin and Diyarbakir Private Tour from Istanbul

• Private tour: only you and your own group, with your own guide and vehicle
• Nine days across central and south-eastern Turkey, ending in Mesopotamia
• Two full days in Cappadocia, covering both the north and the south of the region
• Sunset on Mount Nemrut, among the giant stone heads of the Commagene kings
• Gaziantep, the food capital of Turkey, and the Roman mosaics of Zeugma
• Gobeklitepe and Karahantepe, the two great sites of the Tas Tepeler region
• Sanliurfa, Mardin, Midyat and Diyarbakir, the old cities of the Tigris plain
• Two domestic flights included: Istanbul to Cappadocia, and Diyarbakir back to Istanbul
• 8 nights in hotels, with dinner included every evening outside Cappadocia
• Available from April to November only, as Mount Nemrut closes in winter

This is the long road across Turkey, from the valleys of Cappadocia down to the plains where the Tigris begins. You spend two days in Cappadocia, then drive south-east to Mount Nemrut, where a Commagene king built his own funerary sanctuary on a summit at 2,150 metres and ringed it with colossal stone gods. From there the route runs through Gaziantep, with the best food in the country and the Roman mosaics of Zeugma in its museum, to Sanliurfa, the city of Abraham, and the stone circles of Gobeklitepe and Karahantepe, raised around 11,000 years ago. The last three days are Mesopotamia proper: Mardin, built in terraces of honey-coloured stone above the plain, Midyat and the Syriac monasteries around it, and Diyarbakir, inside the black basalt walls that have stood since Roman times.

Places to visit

• Ortahisar Castle panorama
• Goreme Open Air Museum
• Love Valley
• Pasabag Fairy Chimneys
• Devrent Imagination Valley
• Red Valley panorama
• Kaymakli Underground City
• Pigeon Valley
• Uchisar Castle panorama
• Goreme panorama
• Mount Nemrut
• Arsameia Ancient Site
• Cendere Bridge
• Karakus Tumulus
• Ataturk Dam
• Zeugma Mosaic Museum
• Gaziantep Copper Bazaar
• Abraham's Cave
• Balikligol, the Holy Lake
• Grand Bazaar of Sanliurfa
• Sanliurfa Archaeology Museum
• Gobeklitepe
• Karahantepe
• Dara Ancient City
• Deyrulzafaran Monastery
• Kasimiye Madrasa
• Mardin Old City
• Midyat Konuk Evi
• Mor Gabriel Monastery
• Hasankeyf
• Diyarbakir City Walls
• Diyarbakir Great Mosque
• Dicle Bridge

What to expect

• This is a private tour. Only you and your own group take part.
• The itinerary is flexible. You can change the route and set the start and end times to suit you.
• Accommodation is based on a standard double room: 2 nights in a cave hotel in Cappadocia, 1 in Adiyaman, 1 in Gaziantep, 1 in Sanliurfa, 2 in Mardin and 1 in Diyarbakir.
• Breakfast every morning, lunch with a soft drink on every touring day, and dinner every evening outside Cappadocia.
• All entrance tickets on the route are included.
• Domestic flights are economy class with Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airlines or AJet Airlines, according to availability. Baggage allowance is 8 kg cabin and 15 kg checked baggage (23 kg in total).
• If you would like a Spanish or Portuguese speaking guide, please select this option when booking.

Good to know before you book

• The tour runs from April to November only. Mount Nemrut is closed to visitors in winter because of snow, and the summit road is impassable. Our other south-eastern tours run all year.
• The tour uses the first flight of the morning on the first day, so your pick-up from the Istanbul hotel is between 04:00 and 05:00.
• Mount Nemrut is visited for sunset, so you come down the mountain after dark. The summit is at 2,150 metres and the last stretch is a short uphill walk on a stone path. It is cold and windy there even in summer, so bring a jacket.
• This tour covers long distances by road. Cappadocia to Adiyaman is a full driving day, and the stretches between Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Mardin and Diyarbakir are two to three hours each.
• The old town of Hasankeyf was flooded when the Ilisu dam filled in 2020. What you visit today is the new town and the cultural park above it, where the minaret, the tombs and the hammam were moved stone by stone before the water rose.
• The balloon flight is not included, but we can arrange it as an optional extra. It takes place at sunrise in Cappadocia, before the day's tour begins. As you spend two nights there, you have two mornings to fly, and if neither morning flies you receive a full refund.
• This tour does not include assistant services at airports. The driver drops you at the terminal entrance, and you proceed to your gate after checking in your luggage.
• The tour ends in Istanbul. You fly from Diyarbakir on the ninth evening and are back at your Istanbul hotel around 23:00.

Pricing Information

According to the number of people participating in the tour, the total price is discounted. The total discount amount appears on the checkout page.

• 3 to 4  people -  5 % discount

• 5 to 6  people -  10% discount

• 7 to 8  people -  15% discount

• 9 to 10 people - 20% discount

If you are solo traveller, please contact us for our most reasonable offers.

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 7 days before the tour start date and receive a full refund. If you cancel less than 7 days before the start date, the deposit is not refunded, as your domestic flight tickets are issued in your name and cannot be refunded. Any amount you have paid above the deposit is returned to you.