6 Nights / 7 Days
From Fairy Chimneys to Mesopotamia
6 Nights | 3 Cappadocia · 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır — surreal landscapes and the cradle of civilization.
Turkey / Collection
The Kingdom of Commagene
A small Hellenistic kingdom between Rome and Persia that left colossal stone heads on a mountain top and little else.
At the height of its power in the first century BCE, the Kingdom of Commagene occupied a sliver of southeastern Anatolia where the Taurus Mountains descend toward the Fertile Crescent. Ruled by a dynasty that traced its bloodlines to both Persian kings and Alexander the Great, Commagene fused Greek, Persian and local Anatolian traditions into a visual language unlike anything else in the ancient world.
Mount Nemrut
The kingdom's defining monument is the tumulus that King Antiochos I Theos (reigned c. 70–36 BCE) raised on the summit of Mount Nemrut, some 2,150 metres above the Euphrates plain. A conical mound of crushed stone, it is ringed on its eastern and western terraces by colossal seated figures—originally towering above their fallen state today—representing Antiochos himself seated alongside Greek, Armenian and Persian deities. Over the centuries, seismic activity toppled the bodies from their thrones; their weathered heads now rest scattered before them, gazing across one of the most expansive horizons in Anatolia. The site is best visited around sunrise or sunset, when low light animates the stone faces against the open sky.
Rock Reliefs and Sanctuaries
Beyond Nemrut, the kingdom's footprint is marked by dramatic rock reliefs carved into the limestone cliffs of the surrounding landscape. At Karakuş, a columned monument rises beside a trilingual inscription in Greek, Armenian and Persian that confirms the royal ideology of divine ancestry. Arsameia-on-the-Nymphaeus contains a long hierothesion (royal sanctuary) text describing Antiochos's visionary programme, while the adjacent rocks conceal relief portraits of the king greeting deities.
What the Landscape Holds
The region is sparse and windswept. Terraced hillsides carry the ruins of watchtowers and ancient roads once used by royal caravans. Between the monuments, the countryside is dotted with small villages where agriculture has continued unbroken for millennia. The light in the early morning is sharp and horizontal, throwing long shadows across the stonework and making the silhouettes of the Nemrut heads particularly arresting against a pale sky.
Places in this group
Tours that visit The Kingdom of Commagene
8 Nights / 9 Days
From Mesopotamia to the Caucasus
8 Nights | 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır · 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — Göbeklitepe, Mardin and the haunting ruins of Ani.
3 Nights / 4 Days
Mesopotamia & Southeastern Turkey
3 Nights | 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır — Göbeklitepe, Mount Nemrut and the cradle of civilization.
11 Nights / 12 Days
The Ultimate Eastern Turkey Expedition
11 Nights | 3 Cappadocia · 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır · 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — fairy chimneys, Mount Nemrut, Mardin and the haunting ruins of Ani.
14 Nights / 15 Days
The Ultimate Journey Across Turkey
3 Nights Istanbul | 3 Nights Cappadocia | 1 Night Gaziantep | 1 Night Sanliurfa | 1 Night Diyarbakir | 3 Nights Mardin | 1 Night Van | 1 Night Kars
9 Nights / 10 Days
Turkey's Grand Cultural Journey
9 Nights | 3 Istanbul · 3 Cappadocia · 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır — imperial capitals, surreal landscapes and the cradle of civilization.
Good to know
Before you book you should know
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Is this trip right for you?
Our groups are capped at eight travellers, which is about a third of what the industry calls a small group. Eight people share one vehicle, one table at dinner and one guide's attention, and the day can change on the road without anybody being left behind. If you are looking for a coach, a fixed script and a microphone, this is not that.
Most days involve real walking, often on ground that was laid two thousand years before walking shoes: marble worn smooth, cobbles, uneven steps and long site paths with little shade. Bring shoes you can spend a morning in.
Some days move between regions and are largely a drive, with stops along the way. Summers are hot — well over 35°C inland — and winters are colder than most people expect, so layers, a hat and sunscreen earn their place in the bag whatever the month.
How demanding a particular trip is, is written on the trip itself: the physical rating in the header, and the day-by-day itinerary above.
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Rooms, and travelling on your own
Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three:
- Twin share — two single beds, shared with someone you are travelling with or with a traveller of the same gender.
- Travelling as a couple — one double room.
- Individual room — a room of your own, for a single supplement on top of the trip price. Availability is limited, and the supplement for a given date is shown next to the option when you book.
Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard.
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Accommodation
The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip.
Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking.
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Passports, visas and insurance
Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight.
Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport.
We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well.
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Your departure is guaranteed — the day can change
Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around.
What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions.
