SOUTHEAST ANATOLIA (GAP)

The greatest attraction in the region is the throne of the gods on the 2150 meter high Nemrut. The three huge terraces with statues of Greek and Persian gods and rulers are a breathtaking sight, especially at sunrise. Sanliurfa is one of the most visited places in the region along with Harran, known for its beehive-like trulli mud houses. An archaeological sensation is the Göbekli Tepe sanctuary, the so-called Navel Mountain, currently the oldest known temple complex in the world. Located on the Tigris, the ancient Mesopotamian city of Diyarbakir, with 1.5 million inhabitants today's southeastern Anatolia metropolis, impresses with its city walls made of black basalt. On the Tur Abdin, the region around Mardin and Midyat, the Syriac-Orthodox Christians left the clearest traces with numerous monasteries and churches. In terms of climate, this region, which has hardly been touched by tourism, is characterized by hot summers and rainy winters.

BALIKLI GOL

In Sanliurfa, often simply called Urfa, is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Muslims - the Abraham pond with sacred carp, called Balikli Göl.

For hundreds of years, locals and pilgrims from other regions and countries have believed in an ancient saga that sanctified the carp. So it is that according to Islamic belief, the consumption of carp is forbidden. This holy site also includes various mosques such as the Rizvaniye Mosque and the Halil-Ur Rahman Mosque, as well as the Cave of the Birth of Abraham.

GOBEKLI TEPE

About 15 kilometers northeast of Sanliurfa is Göbeklitepe, a sanctuary built around 11,500 years ago, which is currently the oldest known temple complex in the world.

It is located at the highest point of a long mountain range. Numerous animal sculptures were discovered in the temple complex during excavations that began in 1995. These were created by hunter-gatherers at the end of the Paleolithic.

ZEUGMA

Zeugma is the second largest mosaic museum in the world. The most beautiful and oldest mosaics come from the Hellenistic and Roman times.

Magnificent and fascinating at the same time - but the floor mosaics were almost destroyed. Fortunately, when the decision was made to flood the prosperous Roman city where the mosaics adorned the floor to build a reservoir, the archaeological treasures were still salvaged.

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