| Black
Sea & the Pontic Mountains |
|
| 11
nights & 12 days - tour starts and ends in Istanbul.
Contact for pre- & post-tour services, tailor-made alternatives
and dates. |
-
Accommodations
in centrally located hotels, village pensions, and home stays
- All breakfasts, and half the
lunches and dinners
- All entrance fees to sites
listed in the itinerary
- All tips, including your guide
and driver
- Domestic flights; Istanbul-Trabzon
& Trabzon-Istanbul |
|
| day
1 - Istanbul --- We
get together for tour introduction. Dinner follows the briefing. |
| day
2 - Istanbul - Trabzon --- Today
we explore the coastal town of Trabzon that was one of the
most important cities of Asia Minor through stages of history,
Byzantine and Ottoman monuments side by side along the cobble
stone streets. Hagia Sophia church with its splendid frescoes,
house of Ataturk and Fatih Mosque are the places of interest
that we visit. We take a short walk to get to know the
historical center and the market of Trabzon. |
day
3 - Trabzon - Macka --- Today
we visit Sumela Monastery in Altindere Valley national park,
Macka. We hike up the hill to the monastery built high on
a cliff above the canyon. It is also known as the Monastery
of Mother Mary, and was founded by two Greek monks in 385
AD. In the afternoon we drive to the highlands of Trabzon
on modified trucks, to an old Caravanserai (inn) on the ancient
Silk Road. We spend time with the people of the 'yayla' (highlands),
have barbeque, and help them press hay.
Walking;
easy to moderate around 4 - 4 1/2 hours. |
day
4 - Macka - Uzungol --- Over
a thousand meters above sea level, Uzungol is a picturesque
lake surrounded by thick woods. Today we hike in the area
to explore the flora, and enjoy wild nature. We go further
up the surrounding mountains to the crater lakes in the region
at 2100 m.(6900 ft.)covered with permanent rain clouds.
Walking;
moderate, around 6 hours |
day
5 - Uzungol - Rize
--- The
city of Rize is a fast growing commercial center of the
Black Sea. Tea is the most important product of the town
and the region, and a major source of income for the people
besides fishing. Here we will visit a tea factory, and learn
about the industry. On the way to Rize we hike to Ikizdere
village to see an outstanding example of wood carving, the
Simsirli Mosque of the 19th century, entirely built out
of chestnut. On a small coastal town en route, we will have
a chance to meet with the fishermen and listen to their
stories.
Walking;
easy, around 3 hours |
day
6 - Rize --- Today
we learn more about the social life on the Pontic Mountains.
We hike to an off the beaten path village, and spend
the whole day with the locals, listen to 'tulum', the local
instrument made out of goat skin, and do the folk dance 'horon'
with the villagers.
Walking;
moderate, around 6 and a half hours. Stay in the village,
or camp. |
day
7 - Rize - Hopa --- You
may hike around in the village and the lush green woods, or
you may join the locals cook. By the way, that is lunch! In
the afternoon we drive to another outstanding spot, Camlihemsin,
on the Firtina river basin. This is a spectacular town in
the wilderness, deeply forested and under a semi-permanent
cover of rain clouds. We will hike up to the Markevis quarter
in Camlihemsin, where we see stately traditional houses built
on steep terrain. These houses from the 19th century form
one of the most interesting settlements of the Black Sea region.
We also hike to Zilkale (bell castle), a lone standing castle
that is probably the most romantic in Turkey.
Walking;
moderate, around 7 hours |
day
8 - Hopa - Macahel --- We
drive to Borcka, and on to Macahel. Located close to the Georgian
border, Macahel is one of the top 200 ecological wonders of
the world. There are six villages in the region, central village
is also known as Macahel.
For
the next 3 nights, we stay at the guesthouse, or village homes.
|
day
9 & 10 - Macahel --- We
will hike to villages in the region, get familiar with the
people, share their lives, taste the honey they produce, make
cheese with them, dance with them and listen to the choir
of the seniors' and record the tunes of thousands of years
in our memory. This region is the only place left that the
pure Caucasian bee lives. We will get to learn more on epi-culture
that is part of an extensive rural development project in
the country. This project has proved its success by being
a finalist Johannesburg World Summit Business Awards for Sustainable
Development.
Average
6 hours moderate walk for both days. |
| day
11 - Macahel - Trabzon - Istanbul |
| day
12 --- Tour
is over after breakfast. |
Individual
pre- & post- tour extensions are available to alternative
destinations
This
tour is physically
demanding |
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