Day 1 Flight from Istanbul Airport to Gaziantep Airport. Meet your guide at the Airport and start the tour of Gaziantep City and Zeugma Mosaic Museum // Overnight in Gaziantep

Gaziantep is a rapidly growing city considered the Paris of southeast Anatolia and housed the world's biggest mosaic museum. The mosaics were unearthed from Zeugma, a prosperous Roman city built by the Euphrates River banks. Being a trading outpost, Zeugma became one of the richest Roman cities in Anatolia, which is evident from the mosaics that once embellished the houses of the officials and merchants of the city. After our journey from the 21st century back to the 2nd, we will drive to Gaziantep's old city to stroll in the old bazaars and listen to the craftsmen hammering their copperware. The cuisine of Gaziantep is famous across Turkey, especially the pistachio baklava. We will check in to our hotel in Gaziantep.

Day 2 Gaziantep to Adiyaman, Sunset on Nemrut Mountain National Park // Overnight in Nemrut

After breakfast at Gaziantep Hotel, we will drive to Kahta Town near the Mount Nemrut National Park. We will be wandering in the land of King Nimrod, Antiochus I Theos. The Commagene Empire was established in the southeast region of Anatolia. It is world-famous thanks to the statues and the grave of King Nimrod at the top of Mount Nemut National Park, 2250 meters above sea level. First, we visit the mound of Karaus, "blackbird" in Turkish, where the family of I Theos was buried. Our next stop will be the Severan Bridge, built in the 2nd Century and recently used for transportation by the local Turkish and Kurdish community. A tea break by the bridge is a must which is overlooking the valley. Afterward, we will start ascending to Mount Nemrut to visit Antiochus I Teos' burial sanctuary, locally known as King Nimrod. Human-made statues over 6 meters and the mound he is buried in offers magnificent photo opportunities of the South East and Mediterranean landscape. After a loop around the huge mound of King Nimrod, we will enjoy the sunset, which is listed among the "1000 things you should do before you die". When the sun finally sets over the mountains of Anatolia, we will walk down to the car park for a well-deserved hot cup of hot tea. We will meet with our driver and drive down to our hotel in the national park of Mount Nemrut.

Day 3 Adiyaman to Sanliurfa, The World's Oldest Temple Gobeklitepe and the Beehive Houses of Harran // Overnight in Sanliurfa

After breakfast at our hotel, we will start driving to the east and visit the Ataturk Dam, the biggest Middle East reservoir on top of the Euphrates River. A visit to Gobeklitepe will follow our tea break. This is an early Neolithic sanctuary that includes massive stones carved about 12,000 years ago by people who had not yet developed metal tools or even pottery. This is the first temple built on earth and rocking the History of Archeology today since it was built by the Hunter and Gatherer Neolithic people for religious practices. Excavations continue, and the mystery over the ancient site is revealed very slowly every year. Our next stop is Sanliurfa City for a lunch break. Afterward, we will drive to Harran village to see mud bricked houses, which will remind you of honeycombs. We will have our Arabian coffees overlooking the first university of Islam and then drive back to Sanliurfa to check in to our hotel. In the afternoon, we will walk around the holy pool of the prophet Abraham. It is called the 'Fish Lake' thanks to a special kind of carp - considered holy by the local people. After a big kebab dinner, we will get back to our hotel.

Day 4 Sanliurfa to Mardin; Monastery of Deyrulzafaran and Spectacular views of Mesopotamia // Overnight in Mardin

A 1,5-hour drive will take us to Mardin City, the necklace of southeast Anatolia. We will drive through Mardin's old city and arrive at Deyrulzafaran, an active Syriac Orthodox monastery. The monastery is located in the area known as Tur Abdin, the motherland of the Assyrian/Syriacs. Founded in 493 AD, the monastery was formerly the Syriac Orthodox Church seat's seat from 1160 until 1932 until it was relocated to Damascus. The monastery has 365 rooms - one for each day of the year. After our break in the beautiful gardens of this monastery, we will drive back to Mardin for lunch, visit the old Bazaar, and stroll in the city's narrow streets, which will take you back to the Middle Ages. This walk will worth every step once you arrive at the Grand Mosque of Mardin, with astonishing minarets and stonework. We will walk up to the Mardin's busy street and meet our driver to take us to Kasimiye madrassah, which has amazing views of the Mesopotamian plains. Close to sunset, we will check in our hotel in the old city of Mardin and overnight. 

Day 5 Midyat and Hasankeyf on the way // Overnight in Diyarbakir

After our breakfast on the terraces of our hotel, we will drive 1.5 hours to get to Midyat, a smaller version of Mardin. Midyat City has always been significant for the Syriac Orthodox since it hosts the Assyrians' biggest monastery. We will first visit the Mor Gabriel Monastery, which is located on the outskirts of Midyat. It is the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world. Founded in 397, Dayro d-Mor Gabriel is the most vital Syriac Orthodox monastery in Turkey, with around fifteen nuns and two monks occupying separate wings and a fluctuating number of local lay workers and guests from overseas. It is also the seat of the Metropolitan Bishop of Tur Abdin (Mardin). We will get back to the center of Midyat for a break before our drive to Hasankeyf town, located by the banks of the Tigris River. The town is named after the Syriac words Kefa or Kefe, meaning rock, which is pretty well-deserved considering the ancient city's location on a rocky cliff. After a stroll in the ancient city, we will drive to Diyarbakir.

Day 6 Explore Diyarbakir, The Grand Mosque of Diyarbakir, and Archaeology Museum of Diyarbakir and Church of the Virgin Mary 

After breakfast, we will leave our hotel and drive to Diyarbakir City, one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey situated on the Tigris River banks. We will first stop at Diyarbakir's city walls - the 2nd longest city walls on earth after the Great Wall of China. We will then browse the old city to visit the Grand Mosque of Diyarbakir, which was built in 1091. It is among the biggest grand mosques of Turkey and can accommodate 5000 worshippers at a time. You will also be able to visit one of the old Diyarbakir houses built with the basalt stone of Karacadag volcanic mountain nearby Diyarbakir city. The houses are built with a square plan with a garden in the middle and still hold their oriental splendor. We will stroll in Diyarbakir's narrow streets to get to a Caravanserai used as a social center in the middle of the old Diyarbakir. After lunch, we will be walking to see a very interesting minaret, standing in the middle of the street built on top of 4 columns. The inner castle of Diyarbakir is a beautiful museum to visit. Drop to Diyarbakir Airport for an evening flight back to Istanbul or your next destination. End of our services… 

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