Cappadocia & Lake Van

Anatolia’s incredible ancient heritage and Turkey’s vibrant modern culture will offer contrasting poles on which to hang a tapestry of brilliant flowers, varied birds, and throughout, sublime landscapes.

The marly steppe that erodes from Cappadocia’s weird and wonderful landforms hosts all manner of colourful flowers: purple Gladioli, deep blue Bellevalias, chunky Arnebia densiflora and vibrant blue and pink Moltkia. There are red and orange poppies, some truly gorgeous Onobrychis species, brilliant blue cornflowers, blue fenugreeks, the very fine Erysimum thrysoides and swathes of pink and red Wiedemannia orientalis. Rollers, Bee-eaters, Black-headed Buntings and Hoopoes are the common birds here. We’ll spend plenty of time exploring Cappadocia’s famed landscapes and archaeological sites enjoying the scenery, culture and wildlife in equal measure. We’ll visit the fabulous Bağlıdere Valley and the Outdoor Museum where we’ll wander amongst the naturally sculptured pinnacles of rock in which people have hollowed dwellings for thousands of years. We’ll also visit the underground city of Derinkuyu. Nearby we’ll see immaculate Finsch’s Wheatears and Crimson-winged Finches as well as the rather fantastical Astragalus christianus with its strange erect branched flowering heads. An afternoon spent in the Red Valley will quite literally illuminate us, for as the sun lowers in the sky the soils glow crimson in a magical landscape.

Under the shadow of the still snow-capped pinnacles of the Aladağ, the highest of the Taurean ranges, we’ll find massed blue Scilla sibirica taurica and photograph the tubby yellow bells of Fritillaria aurea here in a wonderful mix of colours and shapes as they hybridise freely with Fritillaria pinardii. Radde’s Accentors and Snowfinches are both very common and Ibex may be spotted on the high crags. Strange red-flowered Biebersteiniana orphanidis blooms with Corydalis taurica and erdelii, apricot and plum Iris sari and lovely Muscari azureum. The slopes of Erciyes volcano are dotted with pink Colchicum szovitsii and golden Crocus sieheanus and yet another Iris, purple-lined yellow Iris schachtii.

Surrounded by snow-clad mountains beautiful Lake Van lies more than a mile above sea level, and not far to the north is the magnificent 17,000 foot glacier-capped Mt Ararat, Turkey’s highest mountain. Kurdish herders and their families will be shearing their sheep, the women resplendent in their traditional costumes and in an extinct volcano crater the black tented encampments of Bedouin nomads overlook a deep blue lake.

All this provides a marvellous backdrop for a breathtaking show of flowers. Perhaps a million powder-blue Puschkinias bloom all the way up the Karabet Pass and everywhere are meadows covered in a pink haze of Orchids and Primulas. Seven of the world’s most beautiful Iris species can be seen in profusion. The amazingly large and elegant white and deep maroon flowers of Iris iberica elegantissima are only bettered by the inky-blue veined standards and velvety orchid-like falls of rare Iris paradoxa. Iris sari comes in an amazing variety of plum and custard forms some with hints of red, others with touches of blue. Iris urumiensis illuminates steppe with a marvellous show of huge yellow blooms. Deep cerise Merendera kurdica, bright mauve-pink Tulipa humilis, yellow, green, maroon or butterscotch Fritillarias and scarlet Phelypaeas make for an extraordinarily colourful show. Bee-eaters, Rollers and Hoopoes continue the colourful theme – these are some of Van’s commonest birds!

On high passes we shall see Radde’s Accentors and Imperial Eagles whilst by the lake’s shore are flocks of Flamingoes and courting White-headed Ducks. The Dönemeç Delta resounds to the sound of Bitterns booming and Bearded Tits ‘pinging’ and there’s an impressive range of herons, waders, gulls, terns and warblers to be seen here. The wonderful clarity of light makes this an excellent holiday for the photographer, not only for the flowers and landscapes but also some fine cultural sites such as the ancient Urartian citadel upon the ‘Rock of Van’, a ‘Tolkienesque’ Kurdish Fortress, and the magical Akdamar Island, each in a fantastic setting.