MYSTERIOUS MESOPOTAMIA WHERE HISTORY BEGAN, CRADLE OF CIVILISATIONS AND CENTRE OF FAITH

When you step into Mardin-GAP tour, get ready to embark on a journey where history and nature are intertwined. From the mysterious streets of ancient cities to the peaks of mystical mountains, this adventure invites you to a unique experience in the heart of Mesopotamia. Enriched with the fascinating stone architecture of Mardin, the fertile lands of Harran, the majestic sculptures of Nemrut, and the underwater stories of Halfeti, this route carries the deep traces of the past into the future. The legends of Balıklıgöl, the art of Zeugma Mosaic Museum, and the secrets of Göbeklitepe will take you to a different time period at every step. If you are ready, let's set off to discover these historical and cultural riches!

TOUR PROGRAMME

DAY 1: FLIGHT FROM MARMARIS TO DİYARBAKIR-BREAKFAST-DİYARBAKIR ULU MOSQUE-10-EYED BRIDGE- MARDIN BAZAAR-ULU MOSQUE-ZİNCİRİYE MADRASAH-DEYR-UL ZAFERAN MONASTERY-HOTEL

We meet with you, our esteemed guests, at the last hours of 31 March 2025-Monday at 23:45 at Eşref Girginç Park (opposite LC Waikiki) and set off to Izmir Airport to board the 05:40 Izmir-Diyarbakir XQ9192 Sunexpress flight. We carry out our transactions at the airport. After a flight of approximately two hours, we arrive in Diyarbakir and board our car waiting for us and start our visits after a free breakfast break. First of all, we go to the Ulu Mosque, which is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Diyarbakır and at the same time the oldest mosque in Anatolia. While visiting the mosque, we can easily understand how old and multicultural Diyarbakır is. The Great Mosque, which is admired for its architecture, atmosphere and stone workmanship, is also considered as a religious building with the 5th highest rank by the Islamic World. After this visit, we visit the 10-eyed Bridge, one of the symbols of Diyarbakır. We admire the wonderful view of this historical building crowning the splendour of the Tigris River and take the most beautiful photo frames of our trip. We invite our guests who want to exhibit their skills on the bridge, where many visitors are rumoured to dance halay on it.  After our Diyarbakır visits, we set off towards Mardin. With its 12 thousand years of history; Mardin, which is a complete open-air museum with its mosques, churches, monasteries and original architecture, bears the traces of many beliefs and cultures from past to present. We visit the historical streets of Mardin, where you will feel as if you are in a time tunnel or in a cinema film, the historical Artuqid works, the Great Mosque and the Zinciriye Madrasa with its magnificent view overlooking the Mesopotamian plain. After giving free time in the historical bazaar, we take you to Deyr-ul Zaferan Monastery, the residence of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs built in the fifth century of the ancient Assyrian community. The monastery is a complex that was used as a Sun Temple in BC and later as a fortress by the Romans. After receiving valuable information about the monastery, we complete our visits today and move to our Mardin hotel where we will stay. Accommodation in Mardin, dinner will be taken at the hotel. (MARDIN ACCOMMODATION) 4* Park Dedeman Mardin Hotel

DAY 2: DARA ANCIENT CITY - MIDYAT - FILKARRY ART - HASANKEYF - HOTEL

After having breakfast at our hotel, we first hit the road to visit the ancient city of Dara, known as the Ephesus of Mesopotamia. In this valuable ancient city, which spreads over a very large area, churches, bazaar, agora, bridges, armory, dungeons, specially carved caves, silos and graves prepared by Roman soldiers who believed they would be resurrected by making holes in the stones have survived to the present day. We tour this valuable ancient city, founded by the Persians in 300 BC, in detail. Then we set off towards Midyat, where we will see the tolerant fusion of two different religions that have preserved their beliefs and traditions for two thousand years, sweetened by vineyards and blended with Assyrian culture. With its century-old houses and mansions that have hosted TV series, you will feel like you are on a movie set. We tour Midyat with our guide and also have the opportunity to observe the art of filigree, a five-thousand-year-old art, firsthand. Here, we offer the opportunity to both shop and learn about filigree art. After our lunch break, we set off towards Batman to visit Hasankeyf. Located in the Mesopotamia region, one of the oldest settlements of humanity, and with the Tigris River flowing right through its center, its geographical structure suitable for protection and thousands of caves used as residences, Hasankeyf has maintained its strategic importance for centuries, and we see how it looked after being completely submerged and receive valuable information from our guide. We end our day with this visit and return to our Mardin hotel. (MARDIN ACCOMMODATION) 4* Park Dedeman Mardin Hotel

DAY 3: MARDIN-ADIYAMAN JOURNEY-NEMRUT MOUNT-SANLIURFA ARCHEOLOGY MUSEUM-SANLIURFA HOTEL-SIRA NIGHT

After breakfast, we check out of our hotel in Mardin and set off towards NEMRUT MOUNT NATIONAL PARK, known as the 8th wonder of the world, whose mystery is still unsolved. Located within the borders of Adıyaman province and 2150 meters high, Nemrut Mountain is a place to visit that was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. What makes the mountain so valuable are the ancient tombs, monumental statues, architectural remains and unique view on it. King Antiochus I of Commagene, who ruled in ancient times, left the most magnificent ruins of the Hellenistic Period here to show his gratitude to his gods and ancestors. We listen to these stories with the valuable narration of our guide and take magnificent photographs. After completing one of the most unforgettable visits of our trip, we set off for Urfa. After reaching Urfa, we visit the Şanlıurfa Archeology Museum, one of the most valuable museums in the city. The museum, which has 14 main exhibition halls and 33 reenactment areas, starts chronologically with the Paleolithic Period, continues through the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Mining periods to the present day, and we embark on a systematic journey through history. After visiting this special museum with the narration of our guide, we complete our day and check into our Şanlıurfa hotel. Our guests who wish can join the Urfa Sıra Night, which will be organized in the evening, and relieve the tiredness of the long day by participating in Mesopotamian melodies, folk songs and games. Our guests who will not attend the Sıra Night can have a free dinner to try Urfa's famous kebab. Accommodation will be at our hotel in Şanlıurfa. (ŞANLIURFA ACCOMMODATION) 5* Nevali Hotel & Convention Center

DAY 4: BALIKLIGÖL - HALİL-ÜL RAHMAN MOSQUE - GÖBEKLİTEPE - HALFETİ BOAT TOUR - GAZİANTEP HOTEL

After breakfast at the hotel, we check out of the hotel and visit Balıklıgöl, also known as Halil-Ür Rahman Lake and Aynzeliha in Urfa. The area, which is considered sacred, contains carp fish that are the subject of legends. According to legend, after Hz. İbrahim was thrown into the fire, a miracle occurred and the surroundings became a bed of roses. It is believed that the place where this miracle took place was Balıklıgöl and its surroundings. After visiting the Halil-ül Rahman Mosque, we complete our visits and go to Göbeklitepe to make one of the most important visits of our trip. Göbeklitepe, which is the work of great organization and imagination, is the ground zero of history in many ways, beyond the oldest monuments and firsts of this size. We are touring Göbeklitepe, which we think will inspire you with very different thoughts and amaze you, in detail with the narrations of our guide. After completing our visit, we set off towards Halfeti district. Previously known as Rumkale, the city became known as Halfeti after two young people named Halil and Fatma threw themselves into the Euphrates. After tasting local dishes in our restaurant overlooking the Euphrates River for lunch, our guests who wish can join the Halfeti boat tour here and enjoy watching the half-submerged Savaşan Village and the historical Rumkale Castle on the Euphrates River and learn about its history. After completing our Halfeti Boat Tour, we set off towards Gaziantep. After our journey, we reach Gaziantep and check in to our hotel. Dinner and accommodation at our Gaziantep hotel. (ANTEP ACCOMMODATION) 4* Gaziantep Safir Hotel

DAY 5: ZEUGMA MOSAIC MUSEUM- COPPER MARKET- GOURMET TASTINGS-GAZİANTEP-ADANA AIRPORT JOURNEY-GAZİANTEP-İZMİR FLIGHT- MARMARİS TRANSFER

After breakfast, we leave our hotel and start our visits in Gaziantep, known as the capital of Gastronomy and having a geographical indication registration certificate with 51 flavors. First, we visit the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, famous for the Gypsy Girl Mosaic, which adorned the houses and palaces of the elite population of Mesopotamia in the past and where unique mosaics in the world are exhibited. We examine the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, which is the 2nd largest mosaic museum in the world, in detail. After completing one of the important visits of our trip, we take our taste break today to experience the famous Antep cuisine. We plan to taste kushleme during this delicious break. Afterwards, we find ourselves in the Coppersmiths’ Bazaar. In this bazaar, where ‘Copper Workmanship’, one of the oldest professions of Gaziantep, is still exhibited as a handicraft, it is still possible to hear the sound of hammers at every corner. We take a walking tour with our guide in this nostalgic, historical and always crowded bazaar. On our way, we pass through the Zincirli Bedesten Bazaar, visit the Hamam Museum and reach the point where we will have a panoramic view of Gaziantep Castle. After completing your last shopping during the free time period assigned by our guide, we end our Gaziantep program and depart for Gaziantep Airport to catch our 22:50 Gaziantep-Izmir XQ9229 SunExpress flight. After our flight, we land at Izmir Airport, collect our luggage and get in our waiting vehicle and depart for Marmaris. We leave you at the points where we met in Marmaris and bid you farewell with the hope of seeing you again in new adventures.

NOTE: Our company cannot be held responsible for flight time changes that may occur due to airline companies. In such cases, our company reserves the right to make changes to the tour program.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

**Child discounts are valid when staying with two adults.

**The seating arrangement on the bus is determined by seat numbers, and the seat number is automatically assigned after the first payment. If you have any concerns about seat numbers, please contact us.

**The seat numbers provided are not valid for Marmaris-airport departure and airport-Marmaris return journeys. There is no seating arrangement during these transfers, and our guests can sit wherever they want.

**Our guide has the right to make changes to the program and routes, provided that all visits are carried out, considering conditions such as weather and road conditions that may affect the course of the trip.

**In the event that physical conditions make it impossible for a visit to take place (road, weather, natural disaster, etc.), our agency cannot be held responsible for the failure to take place of this visit.

**Our company cannot be held responsible for flight time changes that may occur due to airline companies. In such cases, our company reserves the right to make changes to the tour program.

**Our company cannot be held responsible for any extra costs that may occur in case of flight time-flight changes.

**Child discounts are valid for accommodation with two adults.

**The prices given are early booking period prices and will be valid for reservations made until March 05, 2025. After March 05, 2025, the fee will change to 23950.00 TL (per person in a double room).

**You can benefit from these prices by pre-registering with a deposit payment of 7500.00 TL per person during your first reservation.

Days : 5 | Nights : 5