Our guests coming with Istanbul, Izmir, or Ankara flights meet at the Mardin Airport with our guide and we will go to a local restaurant for a rich breakfast consisting of local delicacies. (not included)
Our first stop in Mardin, the city of tolerance, where people from different religions and sects live together in peace, will be the Mor Behram (Kırklar) Church. The small passages built under the houses to create narrow streets are called Abbara and they are the characteristic feature of the city. Next, we will visit the Mardin Museum, Latifiye Mosque, the Great Mosque of Mardin, and the old PTT Building, which reflects the best examples of the region’s stonework.
You will be given free time for shopping in the city. You may visit the local market, where you can find the famous almond candy of Mardin, local desserts, and jewelry made of silver, gold, and precious stones. Afterward, we will visit the Kasimiye Madrasah (Mosque Kebir), which had extraordinary architecture and provided university-level education in the Seljuk period, and the Mor Hananyo Monastery ( Deyrulzafaran Monastery ) which was the official seat of the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church until 1932. Afterward, we will visit the ancient Mesopotamian city of Dara, also known as Anastasiopolis, consisting of structures carved into the rocks, water channels, water cisterns, and rock tombs.
At the end of our visits, we’ll go to our hotel and check-in. Accommodation in Şanlıurfa.
Traditional Sıra Night: On our Urfa trips, we attend Sira Night (Sıra Gecesi), which is a dinnertime entertainment with music and dances that is synonymous with Şanlıurfa.
Today after breakfast, we will visit Halil-Ür Rahman Mosque, Rızvaniye Mosque, Mevlid-i Halil Mosque, Ayn-el Zeliha Lake, and the Balıklıgöl, Halil-Ür Rahman Lake, where Prophet Abraham is said to have been thrown into the fire, and the burning logs turned into fishes, whereas the fire was turned into water. We will also visit the cave where Prophet Abraham was born. Other historical places to visit in Urfa are the Sipahi Bazaar, Kazzaz Market, Hacı Kamil Han, Hüseyiniye Bazaar, Naccar Bazaar, Tarihi Gümrük Inn and Ulucami (Grand Mosque). Afterward, we will visit the Urfa Archeology Museum and the Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum, where many historical artifacts from Anatolian civilizations are exhibited in an indoor area of 29,000 square meters.
Afterward, we will take a lunch break and start our tour of Göbeklitepe, the oldest temple in the world with a history of 12,000 years, dating back to the Stone Age. One of the most important archaeological discoveries of our time, Göbeklitepe is thought to be the first pilgrimage center of the world, as it rewrites history. During our tour here, our guide will answer the following questions surrounding the area: Who built Göbeklitepe Temple 12,000 years ago and why? Why was Göbeklitepe, the oldest temple or Place of Mass in the world, was abandoned and was buried with soil on purpose? The technology and mathematical knowledge used to build the Temple with rock megaliths weighing 16 tons is still a mystery. Göbeklitepe, built 12,000 years ago in the Taş Tepeler
( Stone Hills ) region of Şanlıurfa is said to have been used as a temple or a space observatory or Place of Mass. A new archaeological site was found in Karahantepe, in the Taş Tepeler ( Stobe Hills ) region. Karahantepe ruins will change the history of World Archeology.
At the end of our Urfa tour, you’ll be transferred to Urfa Airport. (Breakfast.)
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