2-Day Sanliurfa & Gobeklitepe Tour from Ankara – World's Oldest Temple

Very early in the morning, between about 05:00 and 06:00 depending on your flight time, you are picked up from your hotel in central Ankara and driven to Ankara Esenboga Airport for your domestic flight to Sanliurfa; please note that online or self check-in is required. On landing at Sanliurfa GAP Airport, our representative welcomes you with a name sign and you drive for about one hour to Gobeklitepe, where your guided tour begins. Dating back more than 12,000 years, Gobeklitepe is one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in the world and predates the shift to settled village life. Your guide explains how this site challenges long-held theories by showing that organised religious ritual may have existed before the first cities, and how excavations point to a priestly class, complex social organisation and possibly the earliest farming activity. You see the earliest known monumental architecture, the first Neolithic sculptures and reliefs and early terrazzo-style floors, which earned the site its UNESCO World Heritage listing in 2018. After the visit you sit down to lunch at a local restaurant and taste the region's renowned Urfa kebab. You are then transferred to your hotel in Sanliurfa, and the rest of the day is at leisure. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Sanliurfa.

Enjoy an open buffet breakfast at your hotel, followed by free time in Sanliurfa until your scheduled transfer. Depending on your flight time, you can relax at the hotel or take a stroll in the surrounding streets of this ancient city in upper Mesopotamia, known for its bazaars and its rich spiritual heritage. At the appointed hour you are driven to Sanliurfa GAP Airport for your return flight to Ankara. When you land in Ankara, our team meets you at the airport and transfers you back to your hotel, where the tour comes to an end. We hope this short journey to the birthplace of civilisation stays with you as a truly enriching experience.