Southeastern Anatolia Travel Guide
The stone circles of Göbekli Tepe, near Şanlıurfa. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Southeastern Anatolia is the Fertile Crescent's northern edge: the oldest temples on earth, beehive houses, and stone cities that glow honey-coloured at dusk. It is also Turkey's kebab and pistachio heartland.
Göbekli Tepe, 12,000 years old and a UNESCO site since 2018, rewrote the story of civilization. Harran's beehive houses and ancient university, Mardin's old town on its ridge, Mount Nemrut's stone heads at sunrise, and Şanlıurfa's holy fish pools complete the circuit.
Key destinations in Southeastern Anatolia
Göbekli TepeThe 12,000-year-old temple complex: the oldest known monumental architecture.
Mount NemrutThe 1st-century BC tomb-sanctuary: giant stone heads at sunrise.
Mardin old townThe honey-stone old town on its ridge above the Mesopotamian plain.- Zeugma Mosaic MuseumThe Gypsy Girl and the great Roman mosaics of Zeugma, in Gaziantep.
Harran beehive housesThe conical mud-brick houses of one of the world's oldest cities.
Balıklıgöl, ŞanlıurfaThe holy pools of Abraham, full of sacred carp.
Diyarbakır wallsThe 5.5-km Roman walls, among the longest and best preserved on earth.- HalfetiThe half-drowned old town on the Euphrates, reached by boat.
Hover a region to explore it. Click a city pin to open its guide.
Top Cities & towns in Southeastern Anatolia
Regional food
- Adana kebap at its source
- Gaziantep baklava (the city's pistachio baklava is the benchmark)
- Çiğ köfte (the spiced bulgur specialty of Şanlıurfa)
Getting there
Fly to Gaziantep (GZT), Şanlıurfa (GNY) or Diyarbakır (DIY). The region is hot in summer; spring and autumn are the seasons. Some areas near the Syrian border have travel advisories: check current government advice.