Our last stop and place for an overnight was Noratus village, with its breathtaking cemetery on the western edge of Lake Sevan. There are approximately 900 khachkars (headstones) dating from as far back as the 10th century. Legend has it that an invading army was forced to take cover as...
Our last stop today was a large cave city located above the north side of the Mtkvari River. Between the 6th century BC and 1st century AD, Uplistsikhe (🎫 20 GEL) developed into one of pre-Christian Kartli’s chief political and religious centers, with temples dedicated principally...
We drove 60 kilometers from Akhaltsikhe to the fascinating cave city of Vardzia along the upper Mtkvari River, passing through narrow canyons into the wilderness of a beautiful green valley set between arid, rocky hillsides. The cave city of Vardzia (🎫 15 GEL, 🚐 2 GEL) is both a cultural...
Amasya is located in northern Turkey in the narrow and rocky valley of Yeşil River. Towering above the minarets and the medreses are pockmarks of Pontic tombs (🎫 10 TRY), etched into the highrise bluff and guarded by a lofty citadel. Amasya’s setting may evoke high drama, but life...
We arrived late, so we parked in front of Hotel Aşıkoğlu in Boğazkale, where we took dinner (Tomato soup – 30 TRY, French fries – 60 TRY, Chicken skewer – 110 TRY, Tea – 10 TRY). The following day we visited remainings of the Hittite capital of Hattuşa (🎫 20 TRY). In the Bronze Age, the...
Again, we arrived in the night at the Anemurium’s sprawling and eerily quiet ruins, the gate was closed, so we parked at the nearby wild pebble beach with crystal clear waters. Founded by the Phoenicians in the 4th century BC, Anemurium suffered several devastating setbacks...
During our visit, the main road leading to ancient Sagalassos was closed to place new tarmac. So, after some negotiations, we hired a local minibus to the site (60 TRY / one-way). The ancient city (🎫25 TRY) was founded on the south-facing slopes of the Taurus Mountain range and was the...
Antalya, a city, and the Mediterranean Sea port in southwestern Turkey, is situated on the Gulf of Antalya. Ancient Greek Attalia was founded as a seaport in the 2nd century BC by Attalus II Philadelphus, a king of Pergamum. It was bequeathed to the Romans by his successor, Attalus III...
Lycia, an ancient maritime district of southwestern Anatolia, lay along the Mediterranean coast between Caria and Pamphylia and extended inland to the ridge of the Taurus Mountains. In Egyptian, Hittite, and Ugaritic records of the 14th and 13th centuries BC, the Lycians are described as...
It was an ancient Phrygian city in southwestern Turkey, about 10 kilometers north of the ruins of Laodicea (🎫 200 TRY). Situated on the Coruh River, a tributary of the Buyuk Menderes River, it was probably established by Eumenes II of Pergamum in 190 BC. It became a sacred city, its chief...