Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Eastern Turkey: Gaziantep, Göbekli Tepe, Mardin and Lake Van
10 days from Gaziantep to Van: the Zeugma mosaics and baklava, Göbekli Tepe and Harran, two nights in old Mardin, Diyarbakır's walls and Akdamar on Lake Van.
10 days · Gaziantep to Van · up to 12 guests
Mardin's old town, stacked below the citadel Photo: Hamdigumus, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eski_Mardin_2.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 10 days, 9 nights
- Start and end
- Gaziantep to Van
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Longest drive
- 5.5 h on day 8
- Activity level
Moderate
Mostly town walking on cobbles and stone steps, 2 to 4 hours on foot on touring days, with uneven ground at Dara, Harran and Göbekli Tepe's walkways. Mardin's old town is steep throughout. Van sits at about 1,700 m. One long road day (day 8, about 5.5 hours of driving). Every steep climb can be sat out.
- Meals included
- 9 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 2 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 715 (estimated price)
- Season
- April to June and September to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Göbekli Tepe at opening, about 11,600 years old, before the day coaches arrive
- The Gypsy Girl and the Roman villa floors of the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep, then a baklava workshop
- A boat on the Euphrates past the half-drowned village at Halfeti
- The sacred carp pools of Balıklıgöl at dusk and Harran's beehive houses in late light
- Two nights in Mardin's honey-coloured old town, with Dara's rock-cut tombs and the Deyrulzafaran Monastery
- Diyarbakır's black basalt walls and the Ten-Eyed Bridge over the Tigris
- The boat to Akdamar's 10th-century church and a long Van breakfast
What makes this trip different
Short drives, all published
Every drive is listed day by day. The longest is 5.5 h, on day 8.
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 715 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
The longest drive is 5.5 h, on day 8.
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Gaziantep
Gaziantep airport (GZT) to your hotel in the old centre
- Dinner
- Stay in Gaziantep
- Drive about 30 min
Fly into Gaziantep's Oğuzeli Airport (GZT), about 20 km from the city; there are direct flights from Istanbul, and we can book yours at cost. A driver meets you in arrivals for the half-hour transfer to a central hotel near the old bazaars.
Evening
Aim to land by about 4 pm to make the evening briefing; the exact latest arrival is confirmed with your final itinerary. If you arrive early, the coppersmiths' bazaar and the old caravanserais are a short walk away. In the evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group to walk through the days ahead: the drives, the dress code, how the safety advice is handled and what each city is known for at the table. Then we sit down to a welcome dinner in a local restaurant, a first taste of the city UNESCO named a Creative City of Gastronomy in 2015: grilled kebabs, pistachio everything and, inevitably, baklava.
Included
- Pick-up at Gaziantep Airport (GZT)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Gaziantep: mosaics and baklava
Zeugma Mosaic Museum, the old bazaars and a baklava workshop
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Gaziantep
- Drive about 15 min
We are at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum when it opens, before the school groups. The floors come from the villas of Zeugma, a Roman town on the Euphrates partly flooded by the Birecik Dam in 2000, and the museum lays them out room by room, with columns and wall paintings set back in place. The Gypsy Girl, the most famous face in Turkish archaeology, has a dark room of her own. Back in the old town we walk the coppersmiths' bazaar and the restored hans, and see Gaziantep Castle as far as the post-earthquake repairs allow.
Afternoon
Lunch is a Gaziantep classic: beyran soup or ali nazik, smoked aubergine with yogurt and lamb. In the afternoon a baklava master shows how the dough is stretched paper-thin and layered with Antep pistachios, which carry a protected EU name, and we taste it warm from the tray.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- Zeugma Mosaic Museum at opening
- Guided walk through the coppersmiths' bazaar and the old hans
- Gaziantep Castle from outside, or inside if open
- Sit-down lunch
- Baklava workshop and tasting
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot, mostly flat. Museum closing days are confirmed per departure.
The Euphrates at Halfeti, on to Şanlıurfa
Gaziantep to Halfeti, then Şanlıurfa
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Şanlıurfa
- Drive about 3 h
We leave Gaziantep at about 8.30 for Halfeti, about an hour and a half away, a small town on the Euphrates that lost its lower streets to the Birecik Dam reservoir in 2000 and now belongs to the Cittaslow network. A private boat takes us upriver between limestone cliffs, past the minaret of the half-drowned village of Savaşan, to the foot of Rumkale, a fortress on a rock above the river.
Afternoon
Lunch is fish and mezze by the water in Halfeti.
Evening
In the afternoon we drive about an hour and a half to Şanlıurfa, check in, and walk at dusk to Balıklıgöl, the pools of sacred carp where tradition says Abraham was thrown into Nimrod's fire and the flames turned to water and the logs to fish. The arcades of the Halil-ür Rahman Mosque reflect in the water as the lights come on. The rest of the evening is yours.
Included
- Private boat on the Euphrates at Halfeti, past Savaşan to Rumkale
- Sit-down lunch by the river
- Dusk walk to Balıklıgöl, the fish pools
Easier option: Stay on the boat or by the landing at Rumkale.
More active option: Climb the steep path up to the Rumkale fortress walls while the boat waits, if the site is open.
Free time: Evening free
Göbekli Tepe and Harran
Şanlıurfa to Göbekli Tepe, back to the museum, then Harran
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Şanlıurfa
- Drive about 2 h
The trip's one early start: we leave at 7.30 for Göbekli Tepe's opening, when it is quietest. The site is about 20 minutes from town: circles of carved T-shaped pillars, some over 5 m tall, raised about 11,600 years ago by people who had not yet started farming, and listed by UNESCO in 2018. Foxes, boars, vultures and scorpions are cut into the stone, and a roofed walkway lets you look down into the enclosures. Back in Şanlıurfa we go to the Archaeology Museum for the Urfa Man, a life-size statue about as old as the pillars, and, a short drive away, the Haleplibahçe mosaics.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch the middle of the day is free in the hotel's shade. In the late afternoon we drive about 45 minutes south to Harran, where families still keep the conical mud-brick beehive houses, and walk to the ruined square minaret of the old Great Mosque as the light turns gold.
Included
- Göbekli Tepe at opening with your guide
- Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum, then the Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum a short drive away
- Sit-down lunch
- Harran: the beehive houses, the Great Mosque ruins and the citadel from outside
Optional experiences
- A sıra gecesi evening of music, food and conversation in a traditional Urfa house (price shown at booking)
Easier option: Skip Harran and rest in Şanlıurfa, or walk the covered bazaar near Balıklıgöl at your own pace.
More active option: Climb the steps to Şanlıurfa Castle above the fish pools before lunch for the view over the old town.
Free time: Midday free; evening free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot, on walkways and uneven ground at Harran. Bring a hat: there is little shade at either site.
Across the plain to Mardin
Şanlıurfa to Mardin
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Mardin
- Drive about 2.5 h
A relaxed start, then about two and a half hours east across the flat Harran plain, green with spring wheat or, in autumn, white with cotton, to Mardin. The old town hangs on a south-facing slope below its citadel, its honey-coloured stone houses stacked so tightly that one family's roof is the next family's terrace, looking out over the Mesopotamian plain towards Syria.
Afternoon
We arrive for lunch in the old town, then walk with a local guide: the Zinciriye Medrese of 1385, with its courtyard and fluted dome; the Great Mosque and its minaret; the covered bazaar of saddlers and coppersmiths; and the Syriac churches of a city that has been Christian, Muslim, Arab, Kurdish and Turkish at once for centuries. Mardin is on UNESCO's tentative list.
Evening
We finish on a terrace as the sun goes down over the plain, and the evening is free to find dinner, or a glass of local Syriac wine.
Included
- Sit-down lunch in Mardin's old town
- Guided walk with a local guide: Zinciriye Medrese, the Great Mosque, the bazaar and a Syriac church
- Sunset over the Mesopotamian plain from a terrace
Free time: Evening free
Activity: Mardin is steep: stone steps and sloping lanes everywhere. The van can drop you at the main street to save the climb.
Dara and the saffron monastery
Mardin to Dara, then Deyrulzafaran Monastery and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Mardin
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
We drive about 30 km south-east in the cool of the morning to Dara, a frontier city the emperor Anastasius built around AD 505 against the Persians. A village now sits among its ruins, and the walk takes in the great underground cisterns, the water channels and a necropolis of rock-cut tombs, where steps lead down into chambers carved from the hillside. On the way back we stop at Deyrulzafaran, the Monastery of Saint Ananias, about 6 km east of Mardin, seat of the Syriac Orthodox patriarchs from the 12th century until 1932. Monks and students still live there, Aramaic liturgy is still sung, and the stone has a saffron tint that gives the monastery its name.
Afternoon
We are back in Mardin for a late lunch on a terrace.
Evening
The afternoon is free: the Kasımiye Medrese just below town is worth the short taxi ride, or rest before dinner.
Included
- Dara: the cisterns, water channels and rock-cut necropolis
- Deyrulzafaran Monastery
- Sit-down lunch in Mardin
Easier option: Stay above ground at Dara and see the cisterns from the entrance, or spend the morning in Mardin and join for the monastery.
More active option: Walk the full necropolis trail at Dara with the local guide.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: Dara has uneven ground and steps down into the tombs and cisterns. Covered shoulders and knees at the monastery.
Diyarbakır and the Tigris
Mardin to Diyarbakır
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Diyarbakır
- Drive about 1.5 h
About an hour and a half north, down off the Mardin hills, to Diyarbakır, the largest Kurdish city in Turkey, on a bluff above the Tigris. Its walls of black basalt run for about 5.5 km around the old city, and together with the Hevsel Gardens between the walls and the river they were listed by UNESCO in 2015. We walk a stretch of the ramparts for the view down over the gardens, then drive the short way to the Ten-Eyed Bridge, the Dicle Bridge, built in 1065 with its ten arches across the Tigris.
Afternoon
Lunch is a local favourite, liver kebab. In the afternoon we walk the old city of Sur: the Great Mosque, one of the oldest in Anatolia, its courtyard reusing Roman columns; the 16th-century Hasan Pasha Han; and a dengbêj house where Kurdish singers keep their oral stories alive. Parts of Sur were rebuilt after fighting in 2015 and 2016; your guide explains the city as it is.
Included
- Diyarbakır city walls and the view over the Hevsel Gardens
- The Ten-Eyed (Dicle) Bridge over the Tigris
- Great Mosque, Hasan Pasha Han and a dengbêj house in Sur
- Sit-down lunch
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot, with steps up to the walls.
East to Lake Van
Diyarbakır to the Malabadi Bridge, Bitlis and Tatvan, then the south shore of Lake Van to Van
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Van
- Drive about 5.5 h
This is the one long day, about 400 km and five and a half hours of driving, and it is over our usual four-hour cap for a reason: there is no direct flight from Diyarbakır to Van, and flying through Istanbul takes as long and loses the road. So we make the road the day. We leave at about 8 and stop after an hour and a half at the Malabadi Bridge, an Artuqid arch of 1147 over the Batman River, once one of the widest stone spans in the world.
Afternoon
The road climbs into the mountains to Bitlis, an old stone town in a gorge, for a sit-down lunch and a walk to stretch the legs. From Tatvan we follow the south shore of Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkey, at about 1,640 m, its soda water an improbable blue against bare mountains, with tea stops on the way. We reach Van in the late afternoon.
Included
- Malabadi Bridge
- Sit-down lunch and a short walk in Bitlis
- Scenic stops on the south shore of Lake Van
Easier option: See the Malabadi Bridge from the roadside viewpoint instead of walking down to it.
Free time: Evening free
Activity: Driving broken into stints of no more than about 1.5 hours, with a sit-down lunch.
Van breakfast, Akdamar and Van Fortress
Van to Gevaş and Akdamar Island by boat, then Van Fortress
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Van
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
Breakfast today is in town, not at the hotel: Van is famous across Turkey for it, and the long breakfast streets fill from early morning. Dozens of small plates arrive: otlu peynir, cheese cured with wild herbs; murtuğa, flour fried in butter with egg; kavut; clotted cream with honey; olives, eggs and fresh bread. Then we drive about 45 minutes along the shore to the pier at Gevaş for the short boat crossing to Akdamar Island. The Armenian Church of the Holy Cross was built there between 915 and 921, and its walls carry a band of carved figures: Adam and Eve, Jonah and the whale, David and Goliath, with vines and animals running round the stone.
Evening
We are back in Van by early afternoon, and the time is yours until late afternoon, when we climb Van Fortress, the rock of Tushpa, capital of the Urartian kingdom almost 3,000 years ago, for the sunset over the lake. Farewell dinner follows.
Included
- Traditional Van breakfast in town
- Boat to Akdamar Island and the Church of the Holy Cross
- Van Fortress (Tushpa) at sunset
- Farewell dinner
Easier option: Watch the sunset from the foot of the fortress rock instead of climbing it.
More active option: Walk the full length of the fortress rock to the Urartian rock-cut tombs on its lake side.
Free time: Early afternoon free
Activity: The fortress climb is steep and uneven, about 30 to 45 minutes up. Bring a warm layer: Van is at about 1,700 m and evenings are cool.
Depart from Van
Van to Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN)
- Breakfast
- Drive about 15 min
Morning
A slow last morning in Van.
Afternoon
After breakfast, if your flight is in the afternoon, your guide can take you to the Van Cat House at the university, where the famous white Van cats, many with one blue and one amber eye, are bred and looked after; or walk the shopping streets for herb cheese and dried fruit to take home. Van's Ferit Melen Airport (VAN) is about 6 km from the centre, so the transfer is short, and there are direct flights to Istanbul and Ankara for your connection home. We drop the group at the airport together for the day's main flight, or at the time of your own flight if it differs; your guide checks every flight before saying goodbye. If you have time and want more of Turkey, the western classic, Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus, runs as its own trip.
Included
- Drop-off at Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN)
Optional experiences
- Van Cat House at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, if your flight allows
Free time: Morning free
Activity: Book a flight out of Van leaving after about 1 pm to have the morning; any time works for the transfer.
- Gaziantep2 nights
- Şanlıurfa2 nights
- Mardin2 nights
- Diyarbakır1 night
- Van2 nights
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: April to June brings green hills and warm days in the south and cool, fresh air at Van, where the lake's pearl mullet run upriver in spring. September and October are warm and dry. July and August pass 40 C on the plain, and Van is snowbound in winter.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who have done Istanbul and Cappadocia and want the Turkey few tours reach
- Anyone drawn to early history: Göbekli Tepe, Harran, Dara, Urartian Van
- Food travellers: Gaziantep, Urfa and the Van breakfast
- A mix of guided days and free afternoons, with two nights in most places
Not for you if you want
- Step-free access: Mardin is all steps and slopes, and the sites have uneven ground
- Travellers who want beaches, resorts or a hotel bar every night
- Anyone uncomfortable travelling in a region where governments publish specific travel advice
- A July or August trip: the plain is too hot, so we do not run then
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
9 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Gaziantep2 nights
- Şanlıurfa2 nights
- Mardin2 nights
- Diyarbakır1 night
- Van2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 9 nights in central hotels of a 3-star-plus standard: 2 in Gaziantep, 2 in Şanlıurfa, 2 in Mardin's old town, 1 in Diyarbakır, 2 in Van
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Gaziantep Airport (GZT) and drop-off at Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN)
- A private air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the group throughout
- Private boat on the Euphrates at Halfeti
- Boat to Akdamar Island on Lake Van
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip, with licensed local guides where sites require them (Mardin old town, Dara)
Activities
- Gaziantep: Zeugma Mosaic Museum, the coppersmiths' bazaar and old hans, a baklava workshop and tasting
- Halfeti: the Euphrates boat to Savaşan and Rumkale
- Şanlıurfa: Göbekli Tepe at opening, the Archaeology Museum and, a short drive away, the Haleplibahçe mosaics, Balıklıgöl at dusk
- Harran: the beehive houses and the Great Mosque ruins
- Mardin: guided old-town walk with the Zinciriye Medrese, Dara, Deyrulzafaran Monastery
- Diyarbakır: the city walls, the Ten-Eyed Bridge, the Great Mosque and Hasan Pasha Han
- The Malabadi Bridge and Bitlis
- Van: Akdamar Island and the Church of the Holy Cross, Van Fortress at sunset
Meals
- 9 breakfasts, including a traditional Van breakfast in town
- 7 sit-down lunches (days 2 to 8)
- Welcome dinner in Gaziantep and farewell dinner in Van
Not included
- International flights
- Domestic flights to Gaziantep and from Van (we can book them at cost)
- Turkish e-Visa
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed
- Drinks
- Tips
- Optional activities, such as the sıra gecesi evening in Şanlıurfa
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 715 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
Is eastern Turkey safe to visit?
The route keeps out of the areas Canada, the UK and the US advise against (all or non-essential) travel to: within 10 km of the Syrian border, and Şırnak and Hakkari provinces (advice last checked November 2026). Canada's general advice for Turkey is a high degree of caution. We check the advice before every departure, change the route if it changes, and tell you before you travel.
What does the price include?
Nine nights in central hotels, 9 breakfasts including the Van breakfast, 7 sit-down lunches, welcome and farewell dinners, airport transfers, a private vehicle and driver, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, both boat trips and every entry in the day plan, including Göbekli Tepe, Harran, Dara, Deyrulzafaran and Akdamar. Domestic flights to Gaziantep and from Van are extra.
How big is the group?
Between 7 and 12 guests, never merged with another group. That keeps everyone close enough to hear the guide at Göbekli Tepe and around one table at lunch, and a small group moves through Mardin's narrow lanes far more easily than a coach party.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from Gaziantep to Van. Licensed local guides join where sites require them, as in Mardin and at Dara. A professional driver handles the vehicle, so your guide's attention stays on the group.
How do I get to Gaziantep and home from Van?
Fly. Both Gaziantep (GZT) and Van (VAN) have direct flights from Istanbul, and Van also has direct flights to Ankara. Domestic flights are not in the price, so you can match them to your international ticket; we can book them for you at cost and plan your arrival for the day 1 briefing.
How long are the drives?
Most road days are about 3 hours or less. Day 8, Diyarbakır to Van, is the exception: about 400 km and 5.5 hours, because there is no direct flight. We break it with the Malabadi Bridge, a sit-down lunch in Bitlis and stops on the shore of Lake Van.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately. Expect 2 to 4 hours a day on foot on cobbles, steps and uneven ground, with Mardin steep throughout and Van at about 1,700 m. The fortress climbs and the tomb steps at Dara are optional, and the van can drop you close to most sights.
I am travelling solo. What will it cost?
A room of your own is CAD 715 more than the twin-share price, shown up front. Solo travellers are a normal part of our groups, and you sit at the same table and get the same seats and attention as everyone else.
When is the best time to go?
April to June and September to October. Spring is green and fresh, autumn warm and dry. In July and August the plain around Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır passes 40 C, and Van is cold and snowy from November to March, so we do not run then.
Do I need a visa for Turkey?
Canadian passport holders need a Turkish e-Visa, bought online from the official site before you fly. Other nationalities should check the same site, as rules differ. Your passport should be valid for at least 150 days from arrival; we confirm the current rule when you book.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip runs as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 7,550 per person. If you would rather travel independently, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, drivers and local guides.
How does booking work?
Choose a start date and request to book. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. Prices are per person sharing a room, with taxes, from CAD 4,195 for the small group.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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