7-Day Greater Anatolia Private Tour: Diyarbakır, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Nemrut & Gaziantep

Highlights of the 7-Day Greater Anatolia Private Tour

Discover the deep south-east of Türkiye on this seven-day private tour, arranged in-house by Inca Tour, a TURSAB-licensed operator since 2007. From the basalt walls of Diyarbakır to the Roman gates of Tarsus, it links the region's great Mesopotamian cities — Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep and the mountain gods of Nemrut — travelling with your own English-speaking guide and vehicle at a relaxed, flexible pace.

• Diyarbakır — the UNESCO-listed city walls, the Great Mosque and the Hevsel Gardens on the Tigris.
• Mardin — a hillside maze of honey-stone houses and the Syriac Deyrulzafaran Monastery.
• Şanlıurfa — Göbekli Tepe, the world's oldest temple, the cave of Abraham and the sacred carp pools.
• Mount Nemrut — the colossal Commagene statues at sunset, high above the Euphrates plain.
• Gaziantep, Adana & Tarsus — the home of baklava, the Stone Bridge over the Seyhan and the Roman city of St Paul.

The journey begins in Diyarbakır, encircled by some of the longest city walls in the world, before crossing to Mardin, whose golden-stone houses tumble down a ridge above the Mesopotamian plain and whose 1,200-year-old Deyrulzafaran Monastery once seated the Syriac Orthodox patriarchs. You continue to Şanlıurfa, the city of the Prophet Abraham, to explore its covered bazaar, Abraham's cave and the carp-filled pools of Balıklıgöl, with the option of visiting Göbekli Tepe, the 12,000-year-old sanctuary that rewrote the history of civilisation.

From Urfa you climb Mount Nemrut for sunset among the giant carved heads of King Antiochus, then travel west to Gaziantep — famous for its baklava and mosaic museum — and on through Adana, with its great mosque and Roman Stone Bridge, to the ancient city of Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul, where the tour ends. Comfortable hotels, six breakfasts and five dinners, all guiding, transport and entrance fees are included. Prices are per person, shown for two sharing a double room, and fall as your group grows.