The Seven Roses of Mesopotamia - 8 Days / 7 Night

Upon your arrival in Diyarbakir, we will ensure a smooth transition to your hotel for check-in. You'll be treated to a delectable lunch featuring Adana kebabs at a local restaurant. Our tour will kick off with a visit to the Diyarbakir city walls. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is believed to have been built around 2000 BC. These walls, the second longest and widest castle in the world after the Great Wall of China, stretch approximately 5,600 meters long, 10-12 meters high, and 3-5 meters wide.
One of the most captivating structures we will explore is the four-legged minaret. We will also visit the Diyarbakir Great Mosque, which is recognised as one of the five Harem-i Sharifs of Islam. Martom Church was built in 639 AD after being converted into a mosque. It is highly recommended that you see the sundial the scholar Al-Jazari created in the Ulu Mosque garden.
We will take a coffee and tea break at the historical Hasan Pasha Inn, constructed in 1575. Caravans coming from the Silk Road used to stay there. Additionally, we will visit Sülüklü Han and the Bridge with Ten Eyes.
Diyarbakir Kaleici Bazaar is the local people's shopping centre, so you will have the opportunity to get a closer look at the people and lifestyle of Diyarbakir.
Dinner and accommodation at our Diyarbakir hotel. (Breakfast – Dinner)

After having breakfast, we will drive to Midyat via Batman. Midyat is a city that boasts beautiful architectural examples of stonework. Our leading destination is the Midyat Guest House, a famous example of Midyat's architecture that has been featured in many TV series. In the Midyat bazaar, you can find the finest examples of filigree art crafted by Syriac Filigree masters over hundreds of years, along with various handcrafted silver jewellery. After shopping, we will head to Mardin and take a lunch break at a local restaurant.
We visit the 3500-year-old Dara Ancient City, the war scene between Alexander the Great and the Persian King Darius. We also visit cave houses, tombs, churches, and water cisterns built by the Romans.

Mardin is an authentic Mesopotamian city with a rich cultural mosaic. Different religions and languages coexist, and Muslims, Syriacs, Turks, and Arabs live together peacefully and harmoniously. Mardin has beautiful stone architecture and exquisite examples of stonemasonry, ornate buildings, narrow streets, and passages called Abbara, which make it look like a fairy tale world.

We will visit some of the most famous places in Mardin, such as the Kasımiye Madrasa, Mardin Ulu Mosque (also known as Cami Kebir), Şehidiye Madrasa, and the historic Post Office building. The Abbara crossings, unique to Mardin, are also quite interesting to explore.

During our free time in Mardin, buy extra suitcases for local products, such as natural soaps, Mardin-specific Almond candies, dried fruits, sweets, rosaries, and other handmade accessories and gifts available in the authentic market.
Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Mardin.   (Breakfast – Dinner)

Our tour today is full of magnificent visual feasts. Visit the Deyrul Zafaran Monastery, the centre of the Patriarchate of the Assyrians for more than 1000 years. We see the 4000-year-old Sun temple (Sin temple), the Hospital, the Church, and the Baptistery there. The ceiling of the ordeal room made of large essential rocks will surprise you. Then we move to Nemrut. ( 280 km 4 hours )

Arsemia Ancient city: Visit the ancient  Arsemia, the Karakus Tumulus, where the tombs of the sister and wife of the Commagene King are located, and the Cendere Bridge.

Cendere Bridge was built by the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211). It is a magnificent monumental example of ancient Roman architecture.
After getting off the vehicles on Mount Nemrut, we reach the summit with a steep climb of approximately 400 meters.

Mount Nemrut is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is said that under the 50-meter-high man-made burial mound on this 2,150-meter summit, there is the tomb of Antiochus I, King of Commagene. Mount Nemrut god statues have Turkey's most iconic, fascinating, and frightening remains. Visitors witness a magnificent sunrise or sunset view.

On the terraces surrounding the Tumulus, built for the Commagene king Antiochus, there are magnificent stone statues of King Antiochus l to celebrate his glory and the glory of the gods. We record this magnificent view by taking extraordinary pictures of the god statues. We are leaving Nemrut's host gods with the impressive view of the setting sun at the horizon where the high mountains and the sky meet.
Dinner and accommodation in Adıyaman. (Breakfast – Dinner)

Today, we will go on a short city tour in Adiyaman. If you are interested, we can visit the ancient Perre 5 km away.

The ancient city of Perre is one of the five largest cities of the Kingdom of Commagene. It is 5 km from the centre of Adıyaman and was a city of both religious and geopolitical importance in ancient and Roman times.
Arrival and visit ancient Harran (120 Km –1.5 Hours)
Harran has been inhabited continuously since the 6th millennium BC and was the capital of the Assyrians and Umayyads for a period. Many world-renowned scholars were educated at Harran University, the first university in the world, and the province of Astronomy has advanced a lot. Visit Harran's conical domed houses and historical places. Upon arrival in Sanliurfa, we have a lunch break at a local restaurant serving local delicacies.

Gobeklitepe is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. It is the oldest open-air temple in the world, dating from the Neolithic Age, with a history of 12,000 years. This has recently changed humanity's history. On the Gobeklitepe tour, which started a new era in the history of world archaeology, we will watch this temple with amazement and admiration. It was built by humans 12,000 years ago from rocks weighing tons.

In Urfa, we will visit Halil-ür Rahman Mosque, Rızvaniye Mosque, Balıklı Lake, Ayn-el Zeliha Lake, the Cave where Prophet Abraham was born ( Balikli Göl ), which is said to be where the wood burned by the Pharaoh to burn him to death is said to have turned into fish.

We are visiting the Urfa Archeology Museum, where statues and prehistoric items inherited from civilisations in Anatolia and Mesopotamia have been exhibited for thousands of years. Then, we stopped by Bedesten and Gumrukhan to shop.
Accommodation in Sanliurfa (Breakfast – Dinner)

* Sıra Gecesi (Sira Night): A unique program where dinner is eaten with conversation and entertainment accompanied by music specific to the Urfa region.

Sanliurfa is known as the "city of prophets" in Mesopotamia. After breakfast, we will visit the tomb of the prophet Dalyan and then travel to Halfeti. It is 120 km away and takes about 1.5 hours to reach by car.
Halfeti, currently situated in Rumkale, was built in 2000 BC by the Assyrian King III. It was founded by Salmanassar and was called Şitamrat at that time. Due to the Birecik dam, many parts of the city, including the Savaşan village, are submerged underwater. We will take a boat cruise tour around Halfeti Dam Lake, where we will see the Savaşan Village, the Sunken Mosque, and Rumkale, mostly submerged and described as a "sunken city." After that, we will visit the ancient city of Zeugma.
Zeugma was founded by Alexander the Great's general, Seleukos Nikator I, in 300 BC. At that time, it was called Selevkeia and Euphrates. During the Roman and Commagene Kingdom eras, it was a great wealth and splendour city. However, in 256 AD, the Sassanid King Shapur I invaded, burned, and destroyed it. The world's richest and most beautiful original mosaics, including the world-famous Gypsy girl mosaic, were found in the ancient city of Zeugma.

Arrive in Gaziantep, which is 100 km away and takes about 1 hour to reach by car. For lunch, we will taste local dishes at a local restaurant, including Ali Nazik Kebab or other kebabs and Delicious Antep Baklava.

Visit the Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum, where we can see the magnificent mosaics unearthed from the Ancient Zeugma City, which was submerged under the waters of the Birecik Dam. The world-famous Gypsy Girl mosaic is also exhibited here. In the archaeology section of the museum, prehistoric fossils and items used by ancient people are displayed.

Gaziantep is the largest and most modern city in the Southeast, and the Gaziantep City tour is very busy and shopping-focused. We will visit the Naib Bath, the Monument to the 14 Martyrs, the replica of the Orkun Inscriptions (with Turkish and Göktürk writings), and the Gaziantep Castle. Then we will take a shopping break at Zincirli Bedesten, Almacı Bazaar, and Bakırcılar Bazaar to buy handicrafts made of mother-of-pearl inlay, wire crushed and copper, spices, pistachios, baklava, and other handicrafts that are known for Gaziantep.
Dinner and accommodation in Gaziantep (Breakfast – Dinner)

After having breakfast, we arrived in Hatay following a journey of 210 km, which took us 3 hours. Hatay is a fascinating city with a rich historical past dating back to the 4th millennium BC. It has collected various religious, cultural, and historical documents from different periods and civilisations. Visit the Hatay Mosaic Museum, the second-largest classical and Roman mosaic collection globally, and be amazed by the delightful narration of our guide. However, (please note that the museum is under construction due to the earthquake on 6th February).
We had a lunch break in the local restaurant and enjoyed delicious dishes from Antakya cuisine. Taste Hatay's local dessert, Künefe. Later, we visited the St. Pierre Church.
St. Pierre Church is a natural cave converted into a church with some additions. This is where St. Peter, one of the twelve apostles of the Prophet Jesus, first preached. In this cave, the congregation took the name 'Christian' for the first time, which is why St. Pierre Church is known as the first church of Christianity.
It is worth noting that all of Hatay City, including the Habib-i Neccar Mosque and some churches, was destroyed after the earthquake on February 6th. We then wandered through the original streets of Antakya and shopped at the historical bazaar.
Dinner and accommodation in Hatay.   (Breakfast – Dinner)

We will embark on a 200-kilometer, 3.5-hour journey to Adana. Our first stop will be the Iskenderun district, founded by Alexander the Great in 333 BC after he defeated the Persian ruler III and named it Alexandria. Iskenderun is home to one of Turkey's largest ports and an industrial hub producing iron and steel. After a brief city tour, we will visit the Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Complex in Payas.

Adana: Upon arriving in Adana, we will take a lunch break and savour the delicious local kebabs. Afterwards, we will visit the Ulu Mosque, built in Seljuk and Mamluk architectural style in 1541. Next, we will head to the Kazanlar bazaar, where you can purchase local sweets, delights, peas, and sweets. We will also visit the Adana Clock Tower, which is 32 meters high and was built with cut stones in 1882 during the Ottoman period. The clock was brought from Germany and is still operational.

Our tour will continue with a visit to Sabancı Mosque and Saint Paul Church, with its 6 minarets and a capacity of 28,500. We will then go to the Stone Bridge, M.S. built by the Romans in the 4th century. It is still in use today, with a length of 310 meters, a width of 11 meters, 14 large arches, and 5 evacuation belts. Finally, we will conclude our tour with a visit to the Adana Museum and a tea and coffee break overlooking the Seyhan Dam.
Dinner and accommodation in Adana. (Breakfast – Dinner)

Free time depends on the flight time. Transfer to Adana Airport and end of our tour. 
Have a nice flight, hope to see you on another Turkey tour. ( Breakfast )