5 Nights / 6 Days
Eastern Anatolia & Ancient Kingdoms
5 Nights | 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — honey-colored limestone, Akdamar Island and the haunting ruins of Ani.
Turkey / Town / village
Midyat
Midyat's old town rises in grey-black stone, its narrow lanes threading past centuries-old facades into a market still shaped by artisan crafts and Syriac tradition.
Also part of The Monasteries of Tur AbdinUpper Mesopotamia
The town is built from local basalt, giving it a muted dark grey colour that catches light differently as the sun moves. Steep, narrow lanes thread between thick-walled houses, opening unexpectedly into small courtyards or onto views across the surrounding plains. Midyat has been continuously inhabited for centuries, and the old town's layout still reflects an older urban logic, with artisan quarters clustered near the market and residential areas stepping up the hillside.
Architecture and the old town
The traditional houses are built of hand-cut basalt, often with arched windows on upper floors and thick walls that keep interiors cool in summer. Walking through the old quarter, you pass facades that have stood for generations, their stone surfaces weathered by time but still precise in their construction. The streets are uneven underfoot and steep in places, following the topography rather than any planned grid.
The market and crafts
Midyat's market serves both residents and visitors, and you can watch craftspeople working with copper and other materials in workshops that occupy ground-floor spaces along the market lanes. The goods on offer reflect the region's agricultural and craft traditions. The market's rhythm is slower than in larger towns, shaped by the local community rather than tourism alone.
Syriac heritage
The area around Midyat has a long history as a centre of Syriac Christian life, and the tradition is still present in the town today. Nearby, a historic Syriac monastery stands in the landscape, its architecture built from the same basalt as the surrounding area. It is among the oldest continually inhabited monastic sites in the region. Visitors coming from Mardin or heading further into the Tur Abdin area often include Midyat as part of that journey, following roads that pass through an agricultural landscape of olive groves and grain fields.
On the map
Find it on the map
- Midyat Town / village
Tours that visit Midyat
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.
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
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.
