Turkey archaeology tour

Planet

Carbon Reduction

One significant aspect of this trip that has been designed to be as eco-friendly as possible is transport. This trip primarily features journeys by shared vehicle, with much of the day-to-day explorations and tours of sites being done on foot. No internal flights are used. We strongly believe the benefits of our responsible tourism in these locations outweigh the negative environmental impact of the flights. Similarly, this trip features overnight stays in primarily small hotels. The environmental benefits of smaller accommodations over large hotels are numerous, and this is a factor we consider across all tours in all destinations whenever possible.

Similarly, by going off the beaten track, to sites like Harran and Rumkale, inadvertently we are investing into local economies. This financial investiture has a cascading effect of nurturing local community, physical environment, and most importantly we hope our presence there will be constructive to the long, slow rebuilding of SE Turkey in the wake of the recent earthquake.

Environment and Wildlife

We strongly advise all travellers to bring a reusable water bottle - this is an easy way to save plastic waste and is detailed in our ‘What to Bring’ trip notes for all trips to all destinations. We are proud to announce a partnership with WaterToGo, who provide reusable bottles which filter 99.9% of microbiological contaminants. You can receive 15% off with our unique discount code (contact us directly for details). Not only are these bottles better for the environment, but we will be donating any commission we receive to WaterAid – a charity we are proud to support in a number of ways.

As a more compact tour, this tour aims to reduce overall journey times but limiting distances covered in this 6-day tour. We also endeavour to sleep as locally as possible to sites of interest. For example, at Mount Nemrut, instead of the usual 6hr road journey to and from Urfa, this time we stay on the mountain in a small hotel.

Naturally, this is an archaeology tour, and not a wildlife tour aimed at protecting eco-diverse areas. However, as primarily an archaeology tour, our business is enmeshed with historical conservation. It is therefore equally as important to support sites of historical significance as it is to support wildlife conservation. The planet is a richer place for having UNESCO sites visited with respect and regularity. This is the case with Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe. The more people we send there, the more excavation can be undertaken, and therefore the more secrets uncovered about Man's vague origins.

People

Local Economy

As regular travellers, one thing that never ceases to amaze and inspire us is the kindness and generosity of local people, often people who have very little to their name. We firmly believe that they are who make these places special and that they should benefit from our visit. Therefore, as first preference, we use local guides offered fair working conditions and pay, and locally-owned lodges, shops and eateries. We do our best to ensure that the benefits of our tours reach as widely as possible into the communities where they operate.

On this trip, we employ locally. We visit villages such as Harran, where cottage industries support local community. Being in an obscure corner of Turkey, other than certain hotels, the corporate, transnational influence is far less than it would be on the Aegean Coast of Turkey, for instance.

The experience garnered through this trip is almost exclusively local. The historical trail through this archaeology-rich region supports a whole industry and its spin-offs. We highlight the plight of the Kurds, Syrian refugees and struggling rural communities by providing our presence on the ground, and by being there, on walkabout, meeting and engaging with people from all walks of life. These direct interactions are taken home as memories, where they are disseminated into our unaffected societies.

Given the unique nature of this trip, more time than is typical is spent in the company of tour guides, speakers and other local individuals of that nature. We are proud to support hard-working local people directly, and we are pleased this tour supports those in such a unique and often overlooked field.