South East Turkey

Cappadocia - Gaziantep

3 nights, 4 day tour

Gaziantep - Diyarbakir

6 nights, 7 day tour

Mardin and surroundings

Mardin is a beautiful ancient town crowned by an impressive castle.

Despite some modern buildings, Mardin still has the feel of an Oriental fairy tale with its labyrinth-like narrow streets and fortified stone mansions, decorated with lace-like carvings. Located high up on the mountain bordering the Mesopotamian plain in the north, the lights of Syrian villages and towns can easily be seen at night.

Starting from the early ages, the Mardin region has been home to the Syriac Christians, who broke away from the Byzantine Orthodoxy at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The services held at churches and monasteries are still performed in their original Semitic language derived from the ancient Aramaic(the language of Jesus). The monasteries and churches are kept alive and looked after by the Syriac population in the area which has now dwindled to about 2,000 from 40,000 in the 1960s.

One of the most impressive remains of the nearer past is the C15th Medrese of Kasim Padisah. This fabulous mediaeval compound with a cloistered courtyard offers an unforgettable sunset over the Syrian plain.

Sanliurfa

An unusual Turkish city with a strong Middle Eastern Flavour reputed to be the birth place of the Prophet Abraham.

According to folklore - hiding from the soldiers of the Babylonian King Nemrud who was warned by the oracles about the destruction of his throne by a boy born that year - the Prophet Abraham's mother secretly gave birth in a cave.

Returning to Sanliurfa as an adult, Abraham started spreading monotheism calling for worship of the real God rather than idols. Nemrud ordered Abraham to be captured and thrown into the fire from the hill housing the castle. At God's will, the fire turned into a lake and woods into fish. Today the cave and the pond of Abraham attract thousands of pilgrims every year.

Quite different from other Turkish cities, the old town around the pool area has a Middle Eastern flavour with covered bazaars, local men filling up the courtyards of the old inns, and the women wearing colourful outfits from Syria.

One of the oldest settlements in the area is Harran, once an important centre of paganism. The first monumental mosque of Anatolia was built on top of the site of a temple dedicated to the God of Moon 'Sin'. The world famous bee-hive houses of Harran were built in keeping with the climate of the region; staying cool in summer and hot in winter.

Mount Nemrud

Antiochus I supervised the building of his monumental Tümülüs at the top of a mountain 2,100 metres high.

It is thanks to the megalomania of Antiochus I that we now know of Commagene, a small buffer kingdom between the Roman and Persian Empires that existed for only 234 years. Antiochus I supervised the building of his monumental Tümülüs at the top of a mountain 2,100 metres high. The terraces to the eastern and western sides of the Tümülüs have statues of gods and goddesses along with the one of Antiochus himself who claimed to be related to Darius, the Persian King from his father's side and Alexander Great from his mother's.

Another important site in the area is Arsemeia on the Nymphaios, where Antiochus built a summer palace for himself and a tomb-sanctuary for his father.

Cappadocia

Subterranean cities, cave houses, tunnels, fairy chimneys, deep winding valleys and an enchanting landscape. Quite simply one of the most extraordinary landscapes on the planet.

Discover more »