Itinerary

1. Day 1: Tarsus (Birth place of St. Paul)

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

   Overnight in Adana.

2. Day 2: Adana - Antioch (Antakya(Hatay))

   • 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 hrs. 
   • 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.

3. Day 3: Antioch

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

   Overnight in Antioch.

4. Day 4: Antioch - Gaziantep

   • Check out and depart for the archaeological (mosaic) museum of Antioch. 
   • Spend around 1.5 hr. here, then drive for Gaziantep city for 3 hrs. After reaching Gaziantep, have a lunch break at the city center, tasting the delicious food of Gaziantep, which gastronomy is the best after Antioch in turkey. 
   • Go to the castle of Gaziantep from ancient periods. And then we will do random walks around old authentic bazaars of the old city. We will have a tea/coffee break, especially for its famous "tahmis" coffee and "baklava". Since the founder of baklava is from this city, we can't miss trying delicious baklava. 
   • Check into our hotel. Overnight in Gaziantep.

5. Day 5: Şanlıurfa (City of prophets- Eddesa and Harran & Gobeklitepe)

   • Check out from the hotel and drive for "zero point of time"; Gobeklitepe. 
   • Discover the ongoing archaeological dig at Gobekli Tepe, the oldest known temple in the world, pre-dating Stonehenge by 6000 years. Spend enough time there and then drive to the city center. Stop for a lunch break.
   • Visit the archaeological and mosaic museum of Urfa. And then walk around the oriental-covered bazaars of Urfa. 
   • Proceed to Abraham's Cave and the Pools of Holy Carp surrounding the cave. 
   • End up around 5 pm and check into a hotel in Urfa. 

   Overnight in Urfa.

6. Day 6: Harran and Karahantepe

   • 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 period excavation area similar to Gobeklitepe. Take a lunch break en route. Next is a visit to the tomb of Prophet Ayyub en route. Driving to Mardin takes around 2 hrs. Check into the hotel. 

   Overnight in Mardin.

7. Day 7: Mardin and Departure

   • Check out and start the day at 8 am. Do a walking tour (panoramic) of the old town, such as back streets and passages of Mardin, the old post office building, old bazaars, the Great Mosque of Mardin, Zinciriye Madrasa, the archaeology museum and Kirklar Church. All these places are to be done by walking 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 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.