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 / Region
Southeastern Anatolia
Upper Mesopotamia: the oldest temple in the world, Mardin's stone terraces, and the two rivers.
Southeastern Türkiye stretches from the flanks of the Taurus Mountains down onto the northern edge of the Fertile Crescent, a landscape of river valleys, limestone uplands and plains that archaeologists have called one of the oldest continuously inhabited regions on earth. The summers here are long and punishing; the winters short and mild. It is a region that shapes everything around it — the food, the music, the pace of a morning coffee, the particular quality of light that falls across the stone facades of old Mardin in the early afternoon.
The River Lowlands
The region follows the courses of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers as they cut through southeastern Anatolia on their way toward the Persian Gulf. Ancient trade routes ran through these valleys — silk and spice routes connecting the east to the Mediterranean — and you can still see the traces: crumbling caravanserais, bridge piers, villages whose names echo centuries of passage. Behind the giant dams built along the Euphrates in the twentieth century, the valley floor has a different character now, but the outlines of the old routes are visible in the towns that grew along them.
Ancient Sites and Sacred Ground
In the hills near Şanlıurfa, the circular stone enclosures of Göbekli Tepe are among the most arresting things you will encounter anywhere — massive T-shaped pillars carved with animals, erected eleven thousand years ago, before the invention of writing or pottery. Şanlıurfa itself, ancient Edessa, is a city of pools and pigeon towers, considered holy by Muslims, Christians and Yazidis alike. The stone-carved village of Harran nearby was a major centre of learning in the early Islamic centuries. Mardin, built on a hillside where the plains of Mesopotamia meet the mountains, is a city of steep lanes, handsome ribbed domes and minarets, with Syriac Christian churches still active in its lower quarter.
The Kitchen of the Southeast
Gaziantep is one of Türkiye's great culinary cities — its pistachio滑 is used in desserts across the country, and its kebabs and spicy pepper pastes have a distinctive character that visitors notice immediately. The region's markets are full of dried spices, stacks of thin-flatbreads, olives pressed from local groves and the slow-cooked lamb dishes that suit the winter season. Eating here is not incidental to the place; it is woven through the same agricultural rhythms and the same ancient trade routes that shaped everything else.
Places in Southeastern Anatolia
Tours that visit Southeastern Anatolia
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.
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.
