This 5-day Sanliurfa tour takes you to Gobeklitepe, the oldest known temple on earth, to the beehive houses of Harran, the sacred fish pools of Balikligol and the half-sunken village of Halfeti on the Euphrates, with a hands-on cooking class in between. Sanliurfa, often simply called Urfa, is a multi-ethnic city of more than two million people in south-eastern Turkey, about 80 kilometres east of the Euphrates, and it has been known for centuries as the City of Prophets. You stay four nights at one hotel in the city, and every excursion is led by a professional English-speaking guide.
The great city tour on day two begins at Gobeklitepe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose carved megaliths, raised some 12,000 years ago, have changed our view of early human history and where excavations are still under way. In Harran, once briefly a capital of the Umayyads, you see the 22-metre Harran Mound, the Harran Grand Mosque — the oldest mosque of the Islamic period in Anatolia — beside the ruins of Harran University, regarded as the first Islamic madrasah, as well as the Inner Castle, the old walls, the conical domed houses and the tomb of Hayat el Harrani. Returning to the city via the cave and healing well of the Prophet Job (Eyyub), you explore Balikligol with the Halil-ur Rahman and Ayn Zeliha lakes, the Makam-i Ibrahim, Rizvaniye and Mevlid-i Halil mosques and the cave where Abraham is said to have been born, ending with tea in the historic Gumruk Han in the bazaar.
Day three is all about food: in a local restaurant the chef teaches you classic dishes of Sanliurfa cuisine, the inspiration for much of Turkish cooking, together with salads and desserts, and you eat what you have made for lunch. Day four heads to Halfeti, where a boat trip on the Euphrates passes the flooded houses and drowned mosque of Savasan Village and the cliff-top Rumkale fortress, followed by free time in the narrow streets and on the suspension bridge, and a visit to Urfa Castle on the way back. Four breakfasts, three lunches and four dinners, airport transfers and all entrance fees are included, making this Southeastern Turkey tour package an easy way to discover one of the richest corners of Anatolia.
Your full program, day by day — click a day to see every stop.
Welcome to Sanliurfa, the City of Prophets. Our representative meets you at Sanliurfa GAP Airport and drives you into the city, where you check in at your hotel. Depending on your arrival time, you can take a first walk through the old quarter, where stone mansions, minarets and the scent of spices from the bazaar give a taste of the days ahead. Dinner is served in the evening and you spend the night in Sanliurfa. Your guide will confirm the early pickup time for tomorrow's full-day tour to Gobeklitepe and Harran.
After an early pickup from your hotel, the first stop is Gobeklitepe, recognised as the oldest temple in the world and still the subject of active archaeological research. Its T-shaped stone pillars, carved with animals more than 12,000 years ago, are among the most important discoveries of modern archaeology. You then drive to Harran, whose name is linked to heat and to the crossing of trade roads, and which served for a time as the capital of the Umayyads. See the 22-metre Harran Mound in the middle of the old town, the Harran Grand Mosque, the oldest mosque of the Islamic period in Anatolia, standing in the courtyard of the world's first Islamic madrasah (Harran University), the Inner Castle, the historic walls and a traditional house with conical domes. You also visit the mausoleum of Hayat el Harrani, remembered for his kindness. On the way back to the city you stop at the site associated with the Prophet Job (Eyyub), see the cave where he is believed to have suffered and taste the water said to have healed him. In Sanliurfa you explore Balikligol with the Halil-ur Rahman Lake and Ayn Zeliha Lake, the Makam-i Ibrahim Mosque, the Rizvaniye Mosque and the Mevlid-i Halil Mosque, and finish at the cave where Abraham is said to have been born. A tea break at the historic Gumruk Han ends the tour. Dinner and overnight in Sanliurfa.
After breakfast you head to a local restaurant for a cooking lesson with its chef, while your guide translates and explains every step. Together you prepare a menu of traditional dishes from Sanliurfa cuisine, a regional kitchen that has influenced cooking across Turkey, along with fresh salads and a sweet dessert. When the cooking is done you sit down in the restaurant to enjoy the lunch you have prepared. In the afternoon there is time to browse the covered bazaars for spices, isot pepper, textiles and handicrafts before returning to the hotel. Dinner and overnight in Sanliurfa.
After an early pickup you drive to Halfeti, a riverside town whose historic houses lie partly beneath the deep blue waters of the Euphrates after the construction of the Birecik Dam. A boat tour takes you past the submerged houses of Savasan Village and its half-flooded mosque, and along the cliffs below Rumkale, the fortress that has guarded this stretch of the river for centuries. Afterwards you have free time to walk the narrow lanes of Halfeti, famous for its rare black rose (karagul), and climb up to the suspension bridge for views over the river. On the way back to Sanliurfa you visit Urfa Castle, first built in the 240s BC during the Kingdom of Osrhoene, before returning to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Sanliurfa.
After breakfast you check out of the hotel and are transferred to Sanliurfa GAP Airport for your flight home. We hope the ancient temples, prophets' legends, flavours and river landscapes of south-eastern Turkey will stay with you for a long time. If your flight leaves later in the day, you can use the morning for a last walk around Balikligol or a final visit to the bazaar for isot pepper, spices and handicrafts. The transfer time is arranged according to your flight and confirmed by your guide the evening before.
Sanliurfa → Halfeti → Sanliurfa
Modern, comfortable and fully-equipped vehicles — the same fleet we use on your tour.
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Extra day tours you can add along your route — Sanliurfa, Halfeti.
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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 — 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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