In August 2026, I decided to arrange a big car trip to the east of Turkey.
The main goal was Hakkari: I wanted to return to these mountains on my own, live alone in a tent, get to places that I did not have time to see during my first hike to Hakkari in May 2026, and travel quietly through this region without a group and a strict schedule.
By car in Eastern Turkey
I rented a car for 10 days at Chukurov airport, between Adana and Mersin. The starting and ending point of my journey was Mersin.
Eastern Turkey is huge, but if you look at the standard tourist routes, most people usually go to about the same places: Sanliurfa, Mount Nemrut and Mardin. Perhaps this can be called such a peculiar “golden triangle” of Eastern Turkey.
At first, I also wanted to plan a trip along this route, but then I decided to go a little differently.
In the end, I got something like this:
Mersin → Halfeti (1) → Kyakhta → Djendere Bridge (2) → Kyakhta Fortress (3) → Nemrut Dagh (4) → Siverek → Hasankeyf (5) → Tarnak → Hakkari (6) → Cennet-Cehennem (7) → Berçelan Yaylası (8) → Sat Buzul Gölleri (9) → Wang → Mersin.
In total, I managed about 2,700 km during the entire trip. If I had planned everything properly in advance and not made unnecessary hooks, I think I could have done about 2500 km.
My route from Mersin to Eastern Turkey
Link to the map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JvxzSEeT2SeYyXj98
Initially, I wanted to make additional trips to Midyat, Mardin and Sanliurfa, but gradually realized that I was trying to fit too much into one trip. I had been to Mardin before, but the main goal was still Hakkari, so I decided not to turn the trip into an endless race between cities.
Plus, my route was constantly getting lost due to work. Sometimes I had to sit down at my computer for several hours or even half a day. That’s why I didn’t always go where I planned to go in the morning.
Now, looking back, I realize that a lot of things could have been organized much more efficiently. But it was precisely because of this unpredictability that the trip turned out to be so memorable.
