2-day Şanlıurfa & Göbekli Tepe tour

Around Şanlıurfa lie sites about 12,000 years old that have changed our picture of the Stone Age. We fly in the morning from Istanbul to Şanlıurfa and have the first day for Göbekli Tepe, the museum and the old town. You spend the night in a 4-star hotel in Şanlıurfa. On day two we drive to Karahan Tepe and to Harran, the city of Abraham, before you fly back in the evening.

Highlights

• Domestic flight Istanbul – Şanlıurfa and back, departing from IST or SAW
• Göbekli Tepe (UNESCO): stone circles about 12,000 years old with T-pillars and animal reliefs
• Şanlıurfa Archaeological Museum with the "Urfa Man"
• Balıklıgöl, the pool of the sacred fish, and the covered bazaar
• Karahan Tepe, the sister site among the Taş Tepeler
• Harran (Gen 11:31) with beehive houses and ruins; one night in a 4-star hotel, guide on both days

Full description

On a hill north-east of Şanlıurfa, hunter-gatherers built huge circular enclosures of limestone pillars, some more than five metres high. The central pillars have arms, hands and belts; foxes, boars, snakes and vultures are carved into the stone. From the mid-1990s Klaus Schmidt of the German Archaeological Institute excavated the site. In the museum we meet the "Urfa Man", one of the oldest life-size human statues, in the old town Balıklıgöl with its tradition of Abraham and the traders of the covered bazaar.

On day two Karahan Tepe shows us one of the Taş Tepeler ("stone hills") sites from the same period as Göbekli Tepe: rooms and pillars are carved directly from the bedrock, and a human head looks out of a wall. Then we drive across the plain to Harran. Here Terah came with Abram, Sarai and Lot (Gen 11:31). We walk among the mud-brick beehive houses, to the ruins of the Great Mosque with its square minaret, to the city wall and the citadel. In the evening you fly back from Şanlıurfa airport to Istanbul.

For you this means: you book everything in one step – flights, hotel, transfers and guiding – at one fixed total price.

What we see

We adapt order and selection to weekday, opening hours, weather and your wishes.

• 1 · Day 1 · Flight Istanbul – Şanlıurfa
  Morning pick-up at your hotel, transfer to IST or SAW airport, flight to Şanlıurfa (GNY), drive to Göbekli Tepe.
• 2 · Day 1 · Göbekli Tepe
  Visitor centre and walk on the walkways around the enclosures with the T-pillars.
• 3 · Day 1 · Museum, Balıklıgöl and bazaar
  Archaeological Museum with the "Urfa Man", pool of the sacred fish, covered bazaar; evening at the 4-star hotel in Şanlıurfa.
• 4 · Day 2 · Karahan Tepe
  Rock-cut rooms and pillars of Göbekli Tepe's sister site.
• 5 · Day 2 · Harran
  Beehive houses, ruins of the Great Mosque, city wall and citadel of the city of Gen 11:31.
• 6 · Day 2 · Flight back to Istanbul
  Drive to Şanlıurfa airport (GNY), evening flight, in Istanbul transfer back to your hotel.

Included

• Private, state-licensed tour guide in your language (Mehmet Humayunoğlu or an experienced colleague from his team)
• Day 2 as a separate tour: guide and vehicle with driver for Karahan Tepe and Harran
• Domestic flight Istanbul (IST or SAW) – Şanlıurfa (GNY) and back
• 1 night in a 4-star hotel in Şanlıurfa
• Transfer hotel Istanbul – airport and back
• Vehicle with driver from and to Şanlıurfa airport (GNY) for day 1
• Planning, coordination and time management of both days

Not included

• Entrance fees (among others Göbekli Tepe, Şanlıurfa Archaeological Museum, Karahan Tepe, Harran)
• Lunch and dinner, drinks
• Personal expenses, tips

Meeting point

We pick you up at your hotel in Istanbul on the morning of day 1 and bring you back there on the evening of day 2. Departure airport is either Istanbul Airport (IST) or Sabiha Gökçen (SAW); destination airport is Şanlıurfa GAP (GNY).

You will recognise me by the sign “MeinReiseleiter.de” and the visibly worn guide licence. We confirm meeting point and time with your booking.

Important information

German, English, Turkish, French, Italian, Spanish – 25 more languages on request.

• Names as in your passport – We issue the flight tickets in the names you enter in the booking form. Please write them exactly as in your ID or passport.
• Bring your ID – All travellers need their passport or national ID card for the domestic flight.
• Flight times – We confirm the exact flight times and your hotel pick-up time with the booking.
• Rooms – Two adults share a double room; with an odd number or on request there are single rooms. Children sleep in their parents' room at no extra charge.
• Clothing – For mosques please cover shoulders and knees; women need a headscarf.
• Sun protection and water – In summer it gets very hot in Şanlıurfa and on the Harran plain; bring a hat, sun protection and water.