A Photography Experience: In Junction of Two Continents

Our travel itineraries revolve around creating opportunities for photography. Unlike many excursions that offer excursions adapted to travelers in general, our tours are designed exclusively for nature lovers and landscape photography. Our landscape photography trips feature destinations rich with iconic, must-photograph location as well as locations as amazing as they are unknown to most photographers, and that are luckily still out of the mainstream Workshop circuit. Thanks to our intimate knowledge of all these locations, coming from years – sometimes even decades! – dedicated to exploring and photographing them, and to our trademark limited attendance of maximum 8 people, during our landscape photography Workshops we’ll keep you away from the crowds and inspire you to create your own, beautiful and original photos of the World’s most amazing landscapes!

Tour Details

Departure & Return Location

Istanbul to Istanbul

Departure Time

Flexible

Price Includes

7 nights accommodations at the mentioned hotels and 1 night accommodation in our Aladağlar camp site (tents or mountain hostel when available)
Domestic Flight from Istanbul to Kayseri
Professional tourist guide during excursions
Photography instructor during photo expedition
7 breakfasts, 2 dinners, 4 lunches
Private vehicle during the trip (Car or minivan)
Round trip transferts airport/hotel/airport,
Fees for the entrances to the museums mentioned in the program,
Transport local mini coach and other local transport in Istanbul,

Price Excludes

International Flights,
Personal expenses
Drinks during meals
Travel insurance, visa fees
Sales tax 4.75%

COVID-19 RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL RULES IN TURKEY

Eskapas is committed to fulfill the following regulations to protect its customers from the risk of Covid-19 :

1 – Eskapas will fulfill all safety rules mentioned in the “Safe Tourism Certification” prepared by Turkish Ministry of Tourism; that plan covers all aspects of the journey from the aircraft to the airport, transfers, touring and hotels (tga.gov.tr/about-safe-tourism-program/ )

2 – Eskapas staff is trained to follow all hygiene rules when in service of our customers; they will respect the social distance

3 –Vehicles will be sanitized regularly as imposed and controlled by Turkish Ministry of Health,

4 – All hotels used to accommodate our customers are certified by “Hotel Association of Turkey”; they all are committed to use maximum 50 % capacity

Itinerary

Day 1Istanbul Arrival

Meeting at the airport and transfer to Yaşmak Sultan, Lalahan or similar 4**** charming first class hotel,

Included Meals: N/A

Day 2Istanbul Street Photography

Breakfast at the hotel. We will have an excellent street photography day in Istanbul streets. We will start with Milion stone , that indicates the center of the World. . Enter the Grand Bazaar and stroll through the narrow streets to discover Cuhadar Han, where goldsmiths still work in tiny workshops. The Orient Café, former fire station at the time ottoman, the oldest restaurant in the bazaar, the tiny last gramophone restorer. Discover the picturesque courtyard of Zincirli Han and go up to the roof where were shot scenes from the movie of James Bond Skyfall.

When you will arrive at the spice bazaar, your guide will show you where people are doing queuing to buy the famous Turkish coffee, then will guide you in and around of this typical market. Stop in front of the European Station which was the terminus of the Orient-Express,named in the novel The Crime of the Orient-Express of Agatha Christie. Take the underwater railway tunnel to cross the Bosphorus and land on the Asian shore in Kadikoy. Explore the pedestrian streets with merchants fish, vegetables, spices and free time to break the crust in one of the typical restaurants of the district. When you step over the Bosphorus with a traditional “vaporetto”, admire the most beautiful views of the European and Asian sides. You will notice the Maiden Tower built on a natural rock in the open sea. Disembark at Karaköy, to take the second oldest funicular in Europe. You will walk along the pedestrian street Istiklal, the most popular place of Istanbul. Included Meals: Breakfast at the hotel and welcome drink at the Flower Market.

Day 3Istanbul / Kayseri / Kapuzbaşı - Sultan Sazlığı

After breakfast transfer to the airport for a flight to Kayseri . Upon arrival departure to Kapuzbaşı water falls following a very scenic road. Afternoon return to Kayseri Sultansazlığı (Sultan Marshes) National Park to spot squacco heron, wood sandpiper and some gorgeous black -winged stilts. The fields holds also grus-grus, Platalea leucorodia, Phalacrocorax pygmeus, lesser short-toed larks, calandra larks, susliks, Sympecma fusca, a very dark Coenagrion pulchellum and a large number of Ischnura elegans.

Overnight at Sultan Sazlığı Motel or similar. Meals: B-L-D

Day 4Sultan Sazlığı - Cappadocia

After the breakfast, proceed to Cappadocia to Cappadocia region, transfer to your Hotel Acropolis or similar charming cave hotel in Ürgüp village. Briefing and departure for sunset shots in Love Valley or Rose Valley.

Included Meals: B – L

Day 5Cappadocia

Early morning departure (04:00 am) before sunrise to photography the take-off of hot air baloons. (Fly over with hot air ballon experience is optional please ask during reservation) The landscapes that are offered to the eyes are absolutely incredible: green valleys, steep plateaus, numerous canyons, rocky peaks, fairy chimneys and rocks whose troglodyte dwellings can be seen in a beautiful palette of colors marvelously completed by the farandole of balloons. Return to the hotel for the breakfast.

Departure from hotel afternoon to overview of the most visited sites in the region: discover small churches troglodytes of the Goreme valley, and stop in front of the Avcilar Valley rocky peak. Included Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Day 6Cappadocia - Aladağlar

After breakfast departure to photography Mount Hasan, inactive stratovolcano in Aksaray province with an elevation of 3,268 m. Proceed to Aladağlar Region to photography Emli Valley (Rusty mountains in the sunset) Overnight in mountain camper house when available (or in tents (provided by us) however you are encouraged to bring your own sleeping bag keeping warm until until -10°C (14°F))

Region, Fauna and Flora

The name “Ala-Daglar” (Crimson-Mountains) comes from the rusty colour of its hills in the sunset. Aladaglar National Park hosts the tallest mountains of the Central Taurus Mountains of Turkey. The area covers four regions as Demirkazik, Yedigoller, Kaldi and Torasanlar, which have their highest peaks respectively as; Demirkazik (Demirkazık) 3756 m, Kizilkaya (Kızılkaya) 3771 m, Kaldi (Kaldı) 3688 m and Vayvay 3565 m.

Depending on the season, you’ll be encountering everything from floral bouquets and goat herds to heavier snow nearer the limestone peaks. Besides these highland beauties the woodland shelters red pine, black pine and fir trees. Aladaglar National Park is also the home of the famous Capra ibex, and other animals like wild boar, wolf, weaser and coyote. Bird watchers all around the world visit Aladaglar as well, to spot the various wild and singing birds(Caspian Snowcock, Crimson-winged Finch, Red-fronted Serin, Snowfinch, Wallcreeper, Radde’s Accentor, Alpine Accentor, Horned Lark, Alpine Chough, Red-billed Chough, Rock Thrush, Finsch’s Wheatear, Ortolan Bunting, Chukar, Ortolan Bunting, Black Redstart) of the region. More than fifty endemic plant species have been observed in the area, which was declared a national park in 1995. Nine of these are seen solely in this area.

The Aladaglar National Park present rich diversity in terms of bird and butterfly pecies. Some of the birds of prey one can see are the rock eagle, bearded vulture, and peregrine falcon. Wildlife includes wild goats, bears, lynx and sable.

Included Meals: Breakfast , lunch and camp dinner in form of small lunch box. Tea and Coffe in the camp site.

Day 7Aladağlar – Salt Lake - Beypazarı

Continuation to Tuz Gölü to photography the lake. Lake Tuz is the second largest lake in Turkey with its 1,665 km2 (643 sq mi) surface area and one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. (It exceeds our imagination; 1500 kms2 of salt and twice as large as Singapore). Lunch during visit and continuation to Beypazarı that still preserves the magical atmosphere of an Ottoman town. Houses like white boxes lean against the slope, their plaster facades delineated by dark wood beams and adorned with wooden doors and windows. Named the town of carrots and nurturing a deep respect for the orange vegetable, nearly 70 percent of Turkey’s carrots are grown in Beypazarı.

Overnight Beypazarı Hotel or Zerde Konak . Included Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Day 8Beypazarı – Nallıhan – Istanbul

After breakfast continuation to Nallıhan Bird Paradise which is one of the most valuable freshwater sites in Turkey with respect to nature photography; bird, butterfly and plant observation; eco-tourism activities; and also increasing nature conservation values. Nallıhan Bird Paradise is an ideal place for nature photography and bird watching due to presence of large number of birds all seasons and it’s geological and landscape values.

A 425-hectare area which was located at the junction of Aladağ Stream and Dam of Sarıyar,

has been set as a Wildlife Development Area due to it’s intense bird population and hunting is

prohibited in this area.

Different ecological habitats such as willow grove, reeds and tamarisks

which grew near the Aladağ Stream, extensive farmlands, groves, steppe areas, rocky cliffs and

hills and presence of rich nutrient provides shelter for different bird groups in the area. 191 bird

species have been observed to date in Nallıhan Bird Paradise.

Continuation to Istanbul

Included Meals: Breakfast, lunch

Day 9Istanbul Departure

Breakfast and transfert to the airport according to your flight schedule or to your extention package.