6 Nights / 7 Days
From Fairy Chimneys to Mesopotamia
6 Nights | 3 Cappadocia · 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır — surreal landscapes and the cradle of civilization.
Turkey / City
Gaziantep
Gaziantep blends ancient history with one of Türkiye's most vibrant food cultures, where Roman mosaics, copper workshops and pistachio-studded pastries meet in the old city's winding lanes.
South-east Türkiye's largest city pulses with a distinct energy — part Ottoman trading hub, part ancient Hellenistic settlement, and entirely defined by its food. Gaziantep draws visitors for its culinary traditions and its archaeology, but stays with them for the texture of a city that has been continuously inhabited for millennia.
The Old City and its Crafts
The historic core clusters around a 13th-century stone castle that has watched over generations of traders and craftspeople. Below its walls, narrow lanes lead through a covered bazaar where copper pots hang in doorways and the sound of metalworking echoes from small workshops. Gaziantep's artisans have hammered and engraved copper here for centuries, producing the distinctive pots and trays that feature in local cooking and are carried home as souvenirs. The old quarter retains a scale and intimacy that rewards wandering — turning a corner reveals a quiet courtyard, a tea house with older men playing backgammon, or a display of hand-rolled lokum dusted with cream-coloured pistachios.
Mosaics and Ancient Sites
The Zeugma Mosaic Museum holds one of the world's most significant collections of Roman floor mosaics, many rescued from the ancient city of Zeugma upstream on the Euphrates. Frescoed rooms depict mythological scenes — Poseidon in his chariot, the seasons personified — their colours preserved across two thousand years. Zeugma itself, now partly submerged, was founded by a Macedonian general and later became a Roman colony, its blend of Greek and Roman culture visible in the fragments that remain. The museum's scale is striking: rooms of tessellated stone stretch across an entire city block, placing visitors among floors that once lay beneath grand private villas.
A City Built on Pistachios
Gaziantep's kitchen is unlike anywhere else in Türkiye. The region produces the country's finest pistachios — a small, intensely flavoured nut that appears in everything from morning pastries to evening kebabs. Baklava here is made with Gaziantep pistachios rather than the walnuts found elsewhere, giving it a subtler, sweeter character. The city's grilled meat dishes — including the stuffed flatbreads called lahmacun and the lamb-and-pistachio pilaf called kaburga — reflect a culinary tradition shaped by the surrounding steppe and the ancient trade routes that once passed through. Food is eaten slowly here, shared across long tables, accompanied by glasses of şıra, a slightly fermented grape drink.
On the map
Find it on the map
- Gaziantep City
Also around here
Tours that visit Gaziantep
8 Nights / 9 Days
From Mesopotamia to the Caucasus
8 Nights | 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır · 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — Göbeklitepe, Mardin and the haunting ruins of Ani.
3 Nights / 4 Days
Mesopotamia & Southeastern Turkey
3 Nights | 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır — Göbeklitepe, Mount Nemrut and the cradle of civilization.
11 Nights / 12 Days
The Ultimate Eastern Turkey Expedition
11 Nights | 3 Cappadocia · 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır · 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — fairy chimneys, Mount Nemrut, Mardin and the haunting ruins of Ani.
14 Nights / 15 Days
The Ultimate Journey Across Turkey
3 Nights Istanbul | 3 Nights Cappadocia | 1 Night Gaziantep | 1 Night Sanliurfa | 1 Night Diyarbakir | 3 Nights Mardin | 1 Night Van | 1 Night Kars
9 Nights / 10 Days
Turkey's Grand Cultural Journey
9 Nights | 3 Istanbul · 3 Cappadocia · 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır — imperial capitals, surreal landscapes and the cradle of civilization.
Good to know
Before you book you should know
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Is this trip right for you?
Our groups are capped at eight travellers, which is about a third of what the industry calls a small group. Eight people share one vehicle, one table at dinner and one guide's attention, and the day can change on the road without anybody being left behind. If you are looking for a coach, a fixed script and a microphone, this is not that.
Most days involve real walking, often on ground that was laid two thousand years before walking shoes: marble worn smooth, cobbles, uneven steps and long site paths with little shade. Bring shoes you can spend a morning in.
Some days move between regions and are largely a drive, with stops along the way. Summers are hot — well over 35°C inland — and winters are colder than most people expect, so layers, a hat and sunscreen earn their place in the bag whatever the month.
How demanding a particular trip is, is written on the trip itself: the physical rating in the header, and the day-by-day itinerary above.
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Rooms, and travelling on your own
Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three:
- Twin share — two single beds, shared with someone you are travelling with or with a traveller of the same gender.
- Travelling as a couple — one double room.
- Individual room — a room of your own, for a single supplement on top of the trip price. Availability is limited, and the supplement for a given date is shown next to the option when you book.
Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard.
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Accommodation
The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip.
Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking.
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Passports, visas and insurance
Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight.
Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport.
We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well.
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Your departure is guaranteed — the day can change
Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around.
What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions.
