Five days and four nights in Diyarbakir give you time to see the great monuments of this ancient southeastern city and to experience two traditions that locals still live by every day: home-style cooking and the hamam. The programme is built around three themed days, a guided heritage tour, a cooking class and a visit to a Turkish bath, framed by an arrival day and a departure morning with airport transfers. Staying in one hotel throughout keeps things relaxed, and the pace leaves room to wander the black-stone lanes of the old town on your own.
The heritage day covers the essentials. The City Walls, built of dark basalt, stretch for about 5.5 km and rise 7 to 8 m, carrying inscriptions and reliefs from many periods; restored by the Byzantines in 349 AD, they are counted among the longest city fortifications in the world. Cayonu, close to Ergani, takes the story back some 9,000 years to the polished stone age, when it was one of the first permanent villages. The Great Mosque, honoured by Muslims as their fifth Harem-i Serif, was converted from the church of Mar Toma in 639 and later repaired by the Seljuks; its courtyard fountain and inscriptions are highlights. You also see the Ottoman Behram Pasha Mosque with its finely worked pulpit and the Akkoyunlu-era Sheikh Matar Mosque of 1500, whose minaret is raised on four stone pillars.
Day three brings a cooking class in a local restaurant, where the chef shows you how to make Diyarbakir specialities, alongside salads and desserts, and you eat the lunch you prepared. On day four you unwind in a hamam, a custom rooted in Roman bathing, moving through its cold, warm and hot rooms and enjoying the traditional scrub given by the tellak or, for women, the natir. Four buffet breakfasts, one lunch, English-speaking guides and entrance fees are part of the package.
| Tour type | Private Β· multi-day tour |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5 Days 4 Nights |
| Price | From β¬1,100 per person |
| Departures | Every day |
| Guide | Licensed guide in your language |
| Stops | 7 |
| Entrance fees | Included |
| Booking | Instant request online, confirmation within 24 hours Β· TΓRSAB-licensed operator (A-5751) |
Your full program, day by day β click a day to see every stop.
After landing at Diyarbakir Airport you are met by our representative and transferred to your hotel in Diyarbakir. Once you have checked in, the remainder of the day is unscheduled. Relax in your room or step out to sense the atmosphere of the city that will be your base for the next four nights. Overnight in Diyarbakir.
Set off early after breakfast with your guide to the basalt City Walls, around 5.5 km in length and 7 to 8 m high, a remarkable piece of medieval military architecture covered with inscriptions and carved reliefs. Learn next about Cayonu near Ergani, a Neolithic settlement around 9,000 years old and one of humanity's earliest villages. Return to the old city for the Great Mosque, the region's first Islamic monument, once the church of Mar Toma and built of black stone around a handsome courtyard. Continue to the Behram Pasha Mosque, a fine Ottoman building with an exquisite pulpit, and finish at the Sheikh Matar Mosque, where the minaret stands on four columns and tradition holds that walking between them seven times grants a wish. Transfer back to the hotel. Overnight in Diyarbakir.
Following breakfast you are taken to a local restaurant to join a cooking class led by its chef, while your guide translates and shares the stories behind the food. You help prepare a menu of Diyarbakir dishes shaped by Turkish culinary tradition, complete with salads and desserts. When the cooking is done, you sit down in the restaurant to enjoy the lunch you created. Afterwards you are driven back to the hotel. Overnight in Diyarbakir.
After breakfast you are collected from the hotel and taken to a hamam. Bathing culture in Turkey goes back to Roman times, and like a Roman bath the hamam has a cold room, a warm room and a hot room. Attendants perform the traditional scrub, known as peeling: men are looked after by a tellak and women by a natir. Take your time to relax and recharge before returning to the hotel. Overnight in Diyarbakir.
After breakfast, check out and transfer to Diyarbakir Airport for your flight home.
Diyarbakir β Diyarbakir, Ergani, Cayonu β Diyarbakir
Modern, comfortable and fully-equipped vehicles β the same fleet we use on your tour.
π₯ 54 Seats
π₯ 37 Seats (2+1 VIP)
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π₯ 50 Seats
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π₯ 37+2 Seats
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π₯ 16+1 Seats
π₯ 16+1 Seats
π₯ 12+1 Seats
π₯ 6+1 Seats
Extra day tours you can add along your route β Diyarbakir, Diyarbakir, Ergani, Cayonu.
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My husband and I chose Inca Tour for our honeymoon and we are so glad we did. The boutique hotel selection was beautiful and the Bosphorus dinner cruise was so romantic. Thank you for making our trip special!
It was important for us to have a guide who spoke Russian, and Ender was wonderful. He explained every detail at Dolmabahce Palace. The Princes Islands day trip was a beautiful break from the busy city.
Our guide Ender was incredibly knowledgeable about Turkish history. The hot-air balloon ride at sunrise in Cappadocia was the highlight of our trip. Everything was perfectly organized β from airport pick-up to the last d...
Ender was our Italian-speaking guide and we felt like family. He took us to local spots tourists never see. The hotel choice in Sultanahmet was perfect for walking everywhere.
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