Eastern Turkey: Göbekli Tepe, Mardin & Ani — Self-Launched

Land in Istanbul and take the metro/Marmaray or Havaist bus into Sultanahmet or Beyoğlu (Havaist ~£4, metro ~£1). Check into a hostel or small pension. Spend the late afternoon walking the Hippodrome–Sultanahmet square, the Spice Bazaar if you're near Eminönü, and the Galata Bridge at dusk for fish sandwiches (£4-5). Eat a proper meze dinner in Beyoğlu (£8-12). Tonight, sort your logistics: buy an Istanbulkart, confirm your Istanbul–Adıyaman flight for tomorrow, and download the Turkish bus apps (obilet, Pamukkale, Metro Turizm).

🚌Public transport from airport (Havaist bus ~£4 or metro ~£1); walking

🛏Hostel or small pension, Sultanahmet/Beyoğlu (dorm £12-18, private ~£30)

• →Sultanahmet orientation walk
• →Spice Bazaar & Galata Bridge sunset
• →Beyoğlu meze dinner

Morning flight Istanbul (IST/SAW) to Adıyaman — Turkish Airlines/AJet typically £25-45 one way booked 4-8 weeks ahead; the IST–ADY route is seasonal so also check flying to Şanlıurfa (GNY) or Malatya (MLX) and bussing in. Land and pick up a shared taxi or hire a local driver/guide for the afternoon loop (a half-day 4x4/taxi with driver is ~£60-80 per vehicle, so £20-27 each if you split it — post in local Facebook travel groups or ask your guesthouse to pair you). Stop at the Karakuş Tumulus funerary monument, then the Roman Cendere Bridge, then up to Mt Nemrut's summit for sunset among the colossal stone heads (£3 entry). Sleep in Karadut village or Adıyaman town.

🚌Domestic flight ~£30; shared taxi/hired car with driver for the Nemrut loop ~£22 pp

🛏Karadut village guesthouse or Adıyaman small hotel (private room ~£18-25); dorms limited

• →Karakus Tumulus Monument
• →Cendere Bridge
• →Mt Nemrut summit at sunset

Early start. Visit the Atatürk Dam viewpoint (one of the world's largest dams — free, quick photo stop), then continue south to Göbekli Tepe, the 11,600-year-old temple complex (£5-6 entry; a local guide there is £15-20 per group and genuinely worth it). Carry on to Şanlıurfa and check into a guesthouse near Balıklıgöl. Afternoon free: the sacred fish pools, the cave where Abraham is said to have been born, and the atmospheric old bazaar. Evening: eat Urfa kebab and pistachio baklava (£6-9). If you don't have a driver, buses/taxis between these sites are fiddly — a day-hire car with driver from Urfa is ~£55-75 per vehicle.

🚌Hired car with driver ~£20 pp (shared) or dolmuş + taxi combination

🛏Urfa guesthouse/otel near Balıklıgöl (private ~£18-25, dorm ~£10-14)

• →Atatürk Dam viewpoint
• →Göbekli Tepe guided visit
• →Balıklıgöl sacred pools & Urfa bazaar

Mid-morning intercity coach Urfa → Mardin (Metro Turizm or similar, ~2.5-3 hrs, £4-6; buy at the otogar or on obilet). Mardin's old town is UNESCO-protected: honey-coloured limestone, Syriac churches, and alleys that tumble down towards the Mesopotamian plain. Check into a small stone-built guesthouse, then do a self-guided walk of the main axis (Cumhuriyet Caddesi) plus the Latifiye Mosque courtyard and Tellallar (Coppersmiths') Bazaar. Climb to the zinciriye Medresesi terrace for the classic view over the plains. Optional: join a local English-speaking guide for £15-20, or take a dolmuş out to Deyrulzafaran Syriac Monastery (£2-3) — a highlight the group tour skips. Dinner of kaburga dolması on a rooftop terrace (£8-12).

🚌Intercity coach ~£5; dolmuş to monastery ~£3

🛏Old-town Mardin guesthouse (private ~£20-28, dorm ~£12-16)

• →Self-guided Mardin old town walk
• →Latifiye Mosque & Tellallar Bazaar
• →Deyrulzafaran Monastery (optional)

The longest travel day: coach or shared minibus Mardin → Van (~6-7 hrs, £10-15; some services route via Midyat, worth a coffee stop). On arrival in Van, continue by dolmuş to Gevaş on the lake's south shore (~40 min, £2-3) and take the short boat out to Akdamar Island to see the 10th-century Armenian Church of the Holy Cross and its carved reliefs (boat ~£5-8 pp plus £2 entry; boats run when there's a group, so be patient or pair up with other travellers). Head back into Van for the night. For a local-family dinner experience, book a home-cooking/mezes evening through a Van guesthouse or an Airbnb Experience/Couchsurfing contact (~£12-18) — otherwise a Van breakfast house is a superb stand-in (£5-7).

🚌Intercity coach ~£12; dolmuş to Gevaş ~£3; boat to Akdamar ~£7

🛏Van city hotel or guesthouse (private ~£18-25)

• →Akdamar Island & Church of the Holy Cross
• →Lake Van shoreline stroll
• →Home-cooked Van dinner with a local host

Morning at Van Castle (Van Kalesi), the Urartian rock fortress above the city (£2-3 entry; climb to the tomb chambers for the lake panorama). Then coach or shared minibus Van → Doğubeyazıt (~2.5-3 hrs, £5-8). Take a taxi up to Ishak Pasha Palace (£3 entry, taxi ~£8-10 return) — the setting beneath Mt Ararat is the trip's most cinematic moment. If time and daylight allow, a taxi detour toward the Durupınar 'Ark' formation near Üzengili is possible (~£15). Continue by minibus/bus to Kars (~2.5 hrs, £5-7). Evening orientation walk around Kars' Baltic-looking grid streets and the castle district, then dinner (£6-9).

🚌Intercity bus/minibus legs ~£14 total; taxis ~£10

🛏Kars small hotel or guesthouse (private ~£18-25, dorm ~£10-14)

• →Van Castle / Van Kalesi
• →Ishak Pasha Palace, Doğubeyazıt
• →Mt Ararat viewpoints
• →Kars evening orientation walk

Take a taxi or shared minibus 45 minutes east to Ani, the abandoned medieval Armenian capital right on the Armenian border (£10-14 return by taxi split between travellers; some days a dolmuş runs from Kars otogar for £2-3). Pay the site entry (~£3-5) and give yourself 3-4 hours: the Cathedral of Ani, the Church of the Redeemer, the Menüçehr Mosque, the city walls and the gorge viewpoint over the Akhurian river. Consider a local site guide at the gate for £10-15 to decode the layers. Back in Kars in the afternoon: visit the Kars Museum (£2) and the Kars Castle, and buy the local kaşar cheese and honey. Final dinner out (£8-12).

🚌Taxi to Ani ~£12 return (split); local walking/dolmuş

🛏Kars small hotel or guesthouse (private ~£18-25)

• →Ani archaeological complex
• →Kars Museum & Kars Castle
• →Local cheese and honey shopping

Fly Kars (KSY) → Istanbul with Turkish Airlines/AJet (~£35-55 if booked ahead; check connections via Ankara if direct is full), or take the famous Doğu Express sleeper train Kars → Ankara (~24 hrs, ~£10-15 for a couchette) if you've got a slow-travel day to spare — a brilliant budget option and a scenic way to unwind. Otherwise, onward to Erzurum by bus (£6) for wider connections. Trip ends.

🚌Domestic flight ~£45 or Doğu Express train ~£12

🛏—

• →Optional Doğu Express scenic rail journey
• →Departure