Istanbul to Nairobi Tour

Highlights
Istanbul, ANZAC DAY Gallipoli, Goreme, Ephesus, Ancient Egypt, Sahara Desert, River Nile, Mountains of Ethiopia, Gameparks, Mount Kenya.

The most historic area is Sultanahmet with the Blue Mosque, the Santa Sophia (a church converted into a mosque), the Topkapi Palace, the Covered or Grand Bazaar, old marble sauna/bath houses and lots of cheap restaurants. A trip on a ferry up the Bosphorus either in the day or night is worthwhile. These are the essential things to see, you could spend a week looking at the rest of this historic city.
Seeing the Gorillas and Gorilla permits - We see the gorillas in either; Uganda, Rwanda or DR Congo.

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Itinerary / Highlights

Week 1 & 2: Turkey
Start in Istanbul, Turkey with its olive groves and sweet baklava. Why not get to Istanbul on the original Orient Express train from London?
Our first stop is ANZAC's Gallipoli to pay our respects to the fallen heroes of the expeditionary force. We cross to Asia by ferry to the wooden horse at Troy and to Selcuk and the limestone curtain of Pamukkale and the ancient city of Ephesus. Then to Olympus to visit the Chimera Eternal flame and the Turquoise Coast at Kas. Heading into Cappadocia we visit the fairy tale land carved by the weather into the volcanic ash. Try a Turkish bath and some belly dancing whilst you're here.

Week 3 & 4: Jordan & Syria
We head into Syria at Bab el Howa or “Gate of the Winds” and descend on to the plains to Aleppo with its ancient markets and buildings. Here we see crusader castles and the myriad of things to buy in the many souks of Damascus & the oldest city in the world. We cross the border to Jordan and a quick dip in the Dead Sea before heading up to Petra the ancient rock city and into Wadi Rum and memories from "Lawrence of Arabia". We take a ferry to the Sinai Desert, Egypt

Week 5 & 7: Egypt - Cairo - Pyramids & Sphinx
On the Sinai Peninsular at Dahab we have a few days to relax on the beach of the Red Sea. This is one of the best places to go scuba diving in the world. We cross the Suez Canal to Cairo where we spent a few days to look at the great pyramids in Giza and the immense collections of the Cairo Museum with treasures and chariots and golden masks thousands of years old Luxor, we visit Karnak Temple the Colossi of Memnon & Valley of the Kings & Tutankhamen's Tomb on donkeys. In Aswan we visit the High Dam &Philae Island Temple. Most take a felucca sailing boat on the river for a few days and also go to see the Temples of Abu Simbel. We take the ferry crossing Lake Nasserto Wadi Halfa in to the desert of Sudan.

Week 8 & 9: Sudan
From Wadi Halfa we cross the sandy Nubian and Bayuda Deserts stopping at time forgotten friendly villages on the Nile. We visit the Pharonic Pyramids of Meroe in an un-spoilt, seldom visited desert setting. Khartoum where the Blue & White Nile join watch dervish dancing or even join in the Nubian wrestling - safer just to watch. We follow the Blue Nile toGedaref and Ethiopia.

Week 10 & 12: Ethiopia
Tissisat Falls is the source of the Blue Nile. We visit Gondar; a city of castles and churches. You can take Landrovers to visit the Simien Mountains where you can horse trek and see grazing Gelada Baboons. Take boats to visit Bahir Dar Monasteries on islands on Lake Tana the source of the Blue Nile, with hippos and crocs at the outflow of the river. We briefly visit the capitol Addis Ababa and follow the Rift Valley Lakes south to Kenya.

Week 13: Kenya
We continue south into the "Northern Frontier District" of Kenya, a restricted area; semi arid with a spectacular diversity of people, wild game on the road side and a pleasant dry climate We visit Samburu Park. We stop at the base of Mount Kenya before reaching Nairobi.

Other Details

Accommodation Details

Hotels in Istanbul
Sultanahmet is the most interesting and central place to stay. There are many budget hotels here, most of which you can't pre-book. Prices start at £5 - £10 for a dorm. There are a number around Akbiyik Caddesi (street) including; Orient Youth Hostel, Sultan Tourist Hostel, Alp Guesthouse, Yusef Guesthouse, Star Hotel, Berk Guesthouse, and Hotel Park. If you don't like the first one you see after looking at the rooms try another, there are lots around. You can't pre-book these hotels but most always have rooms available and if one doesn't others within sight should.

Camping -
Tents are provided and all have sewn in floors and mosquito netting. You will need to bring with you a sleeping bag, sleep sheet, foam roll mat or airbed. Get a mosquito net in Africa if you want to sleep outside of your tent.
All campsites have ablution facilities & bars, and some have restaurants, shops and internet facilities. Also, about half the campsites we visit offer the facility to upgrade to hut or cabin accommodation for an extra charge.
Discman/iPods/MP3's & CD's - An amplifier is provided in the rear of the truck for you to plug your Discmans/i-Pods into. Although the amp is powered off the truck, your Discman/iPod isn't, so bring along extra batteries.

Departure Dates, Options & Prices

Local Payment -
Payable in £ Pounds Sterling cash but you can pay in $US dollars or Euros cash at the current cross exchange rate on date of departure, check with the driver for the rate. Please pay this to the driver on departure. Travellers cheques, cards or other forms of payment are not accepted.

+44 (0) 1772 467 840 +44 (0)17580761171