Urgup Tourism Travel Agency

Discover ancient civilisations in  South-Eastern Türkiye, including Göbekli Tepe, the world's oldest temple, Mount Nemrut, Gaziantep, Harran and Urfa

DAY 1 - Cappadocia - Kahta (lunch, dinner)
Depart from your hotel in Cappadocia. We begin driving East and make a short photo stop at Incesu Caravansary. We will also get an impressive view of Mt. Erciyes near Kayseri. Lunch and tea break. We will stop in Kahramanmaras where we taste of Turkiye’s distinctive and very famous ice cream. Arrival in Kahta, near the Mount Nemrut check in hotel, dinner and overnight.

DAY 2 - Kahta - Mt Nemrut - Harran - Sanliurfa (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Rise early for the drive and the walk up to the summit of Mount Nemrut. See the magnificent relics of the tumulus of the Commagene king Antiochus atop Mt. Nemrut (2150m above sea-level) located near Adiyaman and Malatya. The amazing statues of the Gods on the Nemrut summit make it a stunning site. View the sunrise from the East Terrace. Visit the East and West terraces, fire altar, statues of Apollo, Zeus, Hercules, Tyche and Antiochus  tumulus, and see the world’s first horoscope. We drive down the mountain through little villages and picturesque scenery. We have a stop in Arsemia to see the old castle and remains of bridge made during the time of Alexander the Great, then cross the Cendere Roman Bridge built by Septimus Severus in the 2nd century AD, which amazingly is still in use! Visit Karakus, where there is a tumulus of the royal Commagene women; it features columns with an eagle and bas-reliefs. We go back to the hotel for breakfast and we pack up and continue our trip. Drive to Harran; city where the prophet Abraham stayed for a few years. We will walk through the village with its fortress, old Islamic seminary and famous beehive shaped adobe houses. We continue to Sanli Urfa for lunch and then see the castle with Roman columns. Visit Mevlid Halil Mosque and the cave of Prophet Abraham, Halil Rahman Mosque and the sacred fish pool. We can also wander though the old Bazaar. Overnight in Sanliurfa.

Day 3 - Gobeklitepe, Birecik, Gaziantep, Cappadocia (breakfast, lunch)
After breakfast we depart for Gobeklitepe archaelogical site. This recently discovered site is an amazing discovery unique in the world and completely overthrows what we thought we knew about the way people worshipped and the rise of civilization. This could be the oldest temple in the world and predates Stonehenge.  The scholars and archaeologists estimate that the Gobeklitepe site is about 11,500 years old, from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic age and was constructed between 9,600 and 8,200 BCE. In other words the site is at least 6000 years older than the Pyramids of Giza.

After our visit to Gobeklitepe we drive to Birecik which is famous for its bald ibis birds. The bald ibis birds are a protected species and only thrive here. After a break for lunch we drive onto the city of Gaziantep, home of that famous Turkish pastry, baklava. It is also the city which hosts the Zeugma Mosaic Museum housing an incredible collection of mosaics.

Then we start our drive back through the Taurus mountains and some stunning scenery before arriving back in Cappadocia. Our South-Eastern Türkiye expedition comes to an end and we drop you back safely off to your hotel.