Eastern Turkey Tour?

I have been looking at this group -- https://www.easternturkeytour.org. It's the only tour I have found so far. I am about 95% sure I will do their Portal to Eastern Anatolia tour this year. (I seriously considered going to Gobekli Tepe on my own last year, but decided for many reasons that a tour would be a better option.)

I’m glad you posted this question jeffgoltz. We are in the early stages of planning an Eastern Turkey trip either this fall or more likely next spring and I look forward to any and all responses.

I have looked at https://www.easternturkeytour.org/ but their listed trip is a little too short and doesn’t stay as long as I’d like in some of the areas, e.g. Mardin. At this time we’re looking at building our own trip, traveling mostly by bus and arranging our own lodging and local guides. However, we’re also considering going through SRM Tours, the company that Rick Steves contracts under for all his Turkey tours, https://www.srmtravel.com/TTPage2.html. They have a listed itinerary and will/can customize the trip. We did the RS Best of Turkey tour this past spring, bonded with our guide, and he told us we could request a specific guide, though no guarantee he or she would be available at the time. With SRM you could tour as a couple or a group of friends.

Gate One has an eastern Turkey tour. It’s one of their “Discovery” tours that are limited to 22 travelers. Here’s a link:
https://www.gate1travel.com/small-groups/small-group-mediterranean/2024/small-groups-turkey-14deasttr24.aspx?Brand=DISCOVER