Transfer to airport for your flight to Trabzon, the main city of the Black Sea Region. Upon arrival, depart for the Byzantine Monastery of Sumela located in a breathtaking site on the face of a 4,000 ft. high cliff. Return to Trabzon. After lunch, visit Hagia Sophia, whose 13th c. frescoes are Turkey's most beautiful from this period. Tour the first church to be converted into a mosque (Fatih Camii) when the city fell to Mehmet the Conqueror, Panaghia Chryzokephalos (The Golden Head Virgin). Explore the walls and old quarters of the upper town. Dinner and overnight.

In the morning, drive toward Rize in the midst of tea plantations. Continue through Hopa, near the Georgian border, to Artvin. After lunch, drive through the scenic Coruh Valley. Visit picturesque Ishan perched high in the mountains with its ruins of an 8th c. cathedral, as well as a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in 1006. Dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, take a minibus on a mountain road to Barhal to take in a magnificent Georgian church. Continue to the Georgian monastery Osk Vank and the monastery complex Dort Kilise. Enjoy lunch at Yusufeli. Drive to Erzurum (6,250 ft.) along beautiful Lake Tortum. Dinner and overnight.

In the big city of Erzurum, visit Seljuk monuments. Tour Cifte Minare Medresesi (the old theology school with two tile-covered minarets) and the city's oldest mosque UluCami with its beautiful wooden dome, as well as the turbe (domed tombs). Appreciate the Russian architecture and enjoy lunch in Kars. Drive to the ancient capital of the Bagratid Armenians, Ani, near the scenic gorges of the Arpa Cayi River bordering Armenia. Return through Kars to Dogubayazit in the foothills of Mount Ararat. Gaze in awe at Anatolia's highest mountain (16,945 ft.) where Noah's Ark allegedly landed after the Deluge. Dinner and overnight.

Explore Ishak Pasha Palace where Persian, Armenian, Georgian, Seljuk, and Ottoman styles blend harmoniously. Enjoy lunch near Muradiye Waterfalls. Drive along the Iranian border through a barren landscape of volcanic stones. Continue to Van, known as Tushpa when it was the capital of the ancient Urartu Kingdom. From the citadel, admire the panoramic view of Turkey's largest lake, Lake Van. Dinner and overnight.

Drive to Çavustepe to visit the Urartian citadel (8th c. BC). Continue to Hosap, where a castle impressively crowns the village, to appreciate an astonishing landscape. Return to Lake Van and enjoy lunch in Gevas. Relax on a boat excursion to Akhtamar Island to marvel at Holy Cross Church (10th c.) with beautiful reliefs of animals, vines, biblical scenes, and King Gagik of Armenia. Return to Van for dinner and overnight.

Drive along the north shore of Lake Van to explore Ahlat with its interesting Seljuk cemetery. In a deep, narrow valley, visit the picturesque town of Bitlis. In the big city of Diyarbakir, see impressive city walls and the Grand Mosque, constructed with materials recycled from Byzantine and earlier periods. Dinner and overnight.

Travel through the Batman oilfield area to reach Hasankeyf, 12th c. capital of the Artukids, at the end of a gigantic gorge carved by the Tigris River. Note the huge piers of the Old Bridge. Above a high cliff, explore the Roman ruins of ancient Cephe with its splendid views. Drive through the Turbadin Plateau, where a Syriac-Jacobite community now lives, to visit the small architectural treasure that is Midyat. After lunch, visit Mar Gabriel Monastery and the Church of the Virgin Mary in Anitli. Continue to Mardin, rising in tiers up the mountain slope overlooking the vast plains of Mesopotamia. Stroll the alleys and climb the steps to see typical houses and explore monuments (Sultan Isa Medrese, the Great Ulu Camii Mosque, and Post Office). Outside Mardin, visit the Syriac-Jacobite Deyrul Zaferan Monastery. Dinner and overnight.

Travel to Harran to see beehive houses with cone-shaped roofs. Enjoy lunch in Urfa, the ancient city where Abraham allegedly spent several years. Visit Abraham's Caves and Balikli Gol, a large carp-filled pool reflecting mosques. Experience the colorful bazaar and the hans with their different guilds. See the old quarter's traditional, corbelled houses. Dinner and overnight.

At Gobeklitepe, investigate the recent discovery of the oldest (12,000 years) temple in the world. En route to Kahta, stop at Ataturk Dam on the Euphrates River. In Kahta, marvel at the burial sanctuary of Karakus Tumulus and the Cendere Bridge, erected by the XVI Legion in honor of Septimus Severus, as well as the cult monuments at Arsameia on Nymphaios (Eski Kale). Ascend Mount Nemrut (7,000 ft.) in Nemrut Dag National Park to explore the site where King Antiochus I of Commagene erected a sanctuary of monumental statues in the first century BC. Return to Kahta. Dinner and overnight.

Drive to Halfeti to explore by boat the picturesque canyon carved the Euphrates River. See Rumkale Fortress and the valley partially submerged by waters rising behind Birecik Dam. After lunch, visit the ancient Roman city of Zeugma, the Euphrates' most famous crossing spot for Silk Road caravans and antiquity's military convoys. In Gaziantep visit the Archeology Museum with its superb Roman mosaics from Zeugma. Dinner and overnight.

Travel to Antakya, ancient Antioch, where the disciples of Jesus were first called "Christians." After lunch, visit the Mosaic Museum, which displays one of the richest collections of Roman and Byzantine mosaics in the world. Tour the Grotto of St. Peter (designated by the Vatican as a place of pilgrimage) where the Apostle Peter allegedly preached. Drive through the Plain of Issus (Dörtyol) where Alexander the Great crushed the Persian army of Darius III and Crusaders built the Fortress of Toprakkale. Continue to Tarsus, birthplace of St. Paul. Visit St Paul's Well, Ulu Cami Mosque, and Eski Mosque, as well as the Gate of Cleopatra. (Note that Mark Anthony allied with Cleopatra VII in Tarsus.) In the evening, arrive in Adana for dinner and overnight.

In the morning, visit the open-air museum of Karatepe, a Neo-Hittite (8th c. BC) site whose statues, hieroglyphics, and reliefs have been left intact after excavation. Continue to Anavarza to discover an impressive fortress built by the kings of Little Armenia. Return to Adana to visit Yilankale Fortress built by the Crusaders. Dinner and overnight.