7-Day Biblical Tour of Cilicia and Mesopotamia with Göbeklitepe

• Meet the tour guide at the airport or your hotel in Mersin (or Tarsus). Then depart for Tarsus, in the southern part of Turkey.
• Visit the homeland of St. Paul, including St. Paul Well, a textile atelier, the ancient Roman road, St. Paul Church, and Prophet Daniel's Tomb.
• Have a lunch break in Tarsus and learn about the Şahmaran (master of snakes) legend, which is very popular there.
• Drive to Adana city.

Overnight in Adana.

• Check out and drive for a sightseeing tour of Adana and Cukurova. If time permits, we can visit one of the ancient city ruins called Anavarza.
• Stop for a lunch break and drive to Antioch for 3 hours.
• Visit Payas Castle, a castle built by Crusaders on the way to Jerusalem, and its surroundings en route; reach your hotel around 5 pm.

Overnight in Antioch.

• Start with the very southern part of Antioch in the morning. Our first visits will be to Roman-period heritage sites: Titus Tunnel and Cradle Cave.
• Visit Moses' Tree and the sacred water called Ab-ı Hayat. We will learn the stories about these places as well, and we will drink this healing water of life.
• Stop for a lunch break in Antioch city center. Then visit St. Pierre Church (St. Peter), Habibi Neccar Mosque, and the burial place of the 3 apostles of Jesus: Johannes, Pavlus, and Semun-safa.
• Walk through the longest bazaar of Antioch, called Uzun Çarşı. During the walk, we can try delicious cookies, snacks, desserts, and fresh bread from traditional wood fires. Antioch city is popular for its kağıt kebap dish and künefe dessert, and we will try all of them.

Overnight in Antioch.

• Check out and depart for the archaeological (mosaic) museum of Antioch.
• Spend around 1.5 hours here, then drive to Gaziantep city for 3 hours. After reaching Gaziantep, have a lunch break in the city center, tasting the delicious food of Gaziantep, whose gastronomy is considered the best after Antioch in Turkey.
• Go to Gaziantep Castle, which dates back to ancient periods. Then take random walks around the old authentic bazaars of the old city. We will have a tea or coffee break, especially for its famous tahmis coffee and baklava. Since the founder of baklava is from this city, we can't miss trying this delicious baklava.
• Check into our hotel.

Overnight in Gaziantep.

• Check out from the hotel and drive to the

• Check out early and depart for a busy and full-day tour.
• Drive to Harran, a village of spellbinding mud-brick beehive houses, as mentioned in the Book of Genesis, where Abraham spent the last years of his life.
• Visit the ruins of Harran, including the city walls, the oldest Islamic university, and the castle dating back to the 18th century.
• Go towards Karahantepe, a Neolithic Age excavation area similar to Göbeklitepe. Take a lunch break en route. Next is a visit to the tomb of Prophet Ayyub en route. Driving to Mardin takes around 2 hours. Check into the hotel.

Overnight in Mardin.

• Check out and start the day at 8 am. Do a panoramic walking tour of the old town, including the back streets and passages of Mardin, the old post office building, old bazaars, the Great Mosque of Mardin, Zinciriye Madrasa, the archaeology museum, and Kırklar Church. All these places are visited on foot and panoramically. During the walking tour, you can try the most popular snacks of this city en route.
• Stop for a lunch break at a restaurant where we can try the best local and traditional food of Mardin. After lunch, visit the most popular Deyrulzafaran Monastery of the Assyrian Christian population living here in Mardin.
• Try their popular homemade wines. We will also have a chance to see the making of the most popular handicraft of this city, telkari silverwork.
• Transfer for an evening flight back to İstanbul.