Turkey off the beaten track: An itinerary for Southeast Turkey and Istanbul

In this article ‘Turkey off the beaten track’, I write an itinerary focused on Istanbul and the Fertile Crescent part of southeastern Turkey. Straddling the continents of Asia and Europe, Turkey is a country which has nurtured civilizations from millennia. Humans first settled in the Fertile Crescent region that covers parts of modern day Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

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Is this itinerary for offbeat Turkey right for you?

This itinerary is meant for history and food enthusiasts who are interested in exploring the underrated places in Turkey. If you are interested in history, culture, archeology, ruins and food then yes. If you are seeking natural beauty, entertainment or other kind of travel then this itinerary would not suit you.

Is Southeast Turkey safe?

Southeastern Turkey is a landlocked region sharing a lengthy border with Syria and a tiny one with Iraq. The border with Syria is often seen as a safety concern for tourists. Many countries have advisories on their websites discouraging non-essential travel in the region. This is primarily because of the risk of shells and mortar fired in Syria crossing the border and striking Turkish soil.

Though the Syrian border is close, most of the cities mentioned in this itinerary are at a safe distance from the border.

The other concern is the ever-ongoing Kurdish-Turkish political conflict. Reading local news of the region and keeping oneself updated is the best way to determine the risk quotient of travelling to the region.

During my entire trip (June 2019) I didn’t feel unsafe even once. I didn’t see any unrest, faced no political turmoil or heavy military presence. The locals were incredibly kind hearted and warm. I can’t imagine them attacking any random tourist. In my experience, Istanbul was no match to southeastern Turkey’s warm hospitality.

The third concern is terrorist attacks. Religious zealots fuelled by greedy capitalists have made sure this risk is ever-present all around the world.

IMPORTANT

Details on the individual sites, with their historical backgrounds and my own experiences have been documented as separate articles. Please click on the respective links if you wish to read more. Turkey off the beaten track is a roller coaster of history, archaeological remains and legends, intriguing and baffling.

Turkey off the beaten track: The Itinerary

Day 1: Fly from Istanbul to Gaziantep.

• Istanbul-Gaziantep (by a morning or afternoon flight). Check in to a hotel, have lunch and take rest.
• Stroll on the streets of Old Gaziantep in the evening and visit Gaziantep castle.
• Have dinner at Bayazhan restaurant. Overnight in Gaziantep

Day 2: Gaziantep sight-seeing.

• Have a local Gaziantep breakfast at Orkide Patisseries. Turkish breakfasts are popular worldwide so please don’t miss a chance to experience it in Gaziantep, a city of cuisines. The platter at Orkide comes with almost 18 food items!
• Deep-dive into the Baklava world and catch the Baklava makers live in action in their workshop at Imam Cagdas. Learn the art of making the most popular middle-eastern sweet.
• Visit the Turkish Hamam Museum in Gaziantep. Located by a quaint street, this Ottoman Hamam has detailed information on Hamams and the role they play in Gaziantep. Having a Turkish bath in Turkey is commonplace but a Hamam Museum is what Turkey off the beaten track offers.
• Along an old alley is the Emine Gogus Culinary Museum—a museum dedicated to the food scene in the city. Gaziantep cuisine is enlisted on UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Gastronomy, so visiting this museum is a must to know the city better.
• Walk down the Gaziantep copper market and pick up pocket-friendly souvenirs. Some things to buy here: handmade copper items, evil eye key chains/magnets and Yemeni shoes.
• Have lunch at Hayad restaurant, a smart, contemporary and elegant restaurant in the old city.
• Move to the most popular museum in the city, the Zeugma Mosaic Museum. Excavated from an ancient Roman site, Zeugma mosaic museum is the largest mosaic museum in world (in terms of floor space covered).
• Have dinner at Imam Cagdas and retreat back to your hotel. Overnight in Gaziantep.

Day 3: Leave for Adiyaman city with a stop at Halfeti on the way.

• Have breakfast at hotel, check out and leave for Halfeti, a sunken village, famous for the black rose. 99% of the village is underwater and only some houses on the terraces of the steep hills remain. The waters of the Euphrates have formed a lake here. Tourists can ride a boat. They can also scuba dive and go history hunting underwater!
• Have lunch at one of the floating restaurants in Halfeti.
• Continue to Adiyaman. Check in to a hotel. Overnight in Adiyaman.

Day 4: Trek to Nemrut Mountain, have breakfast, leave for Sanliurfa city with stops at Gobeklitepe and Harran.

• Wake up at 3AM and start for Nemrut Mountain. Trek to the mountaintop while it’s still dark and catch the sunrise. On this mountain top is a set of mysterious and ancient statues in front of a tumulus. Constructed in 62 BCE by a Commagene king, Nemrut Mountain top is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This area is of interest to not just history enthusiasts but nature and trekking lovers as well. In the entire itinerary, Nemrut Mountains is the closest you would get to nature.
• Return to your hotel in Adiyaman, have breakfast, check out, and move towards Gobeklitepe.
• Visit Gobeklitepe, world’s first worship centre built around 12000 years ago, by hunter-gatherer humans with mere flint-stones. This is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018.
• Have lunch at Darik’s Steakhouse if you are into lamb and beef.
• Visit Harran, a place with an enormously complicated history that runs back to the first civilizations of the world. Visit the Harran Mounds, ruins of Ulu Camii mosque and the beehive houses—an incredible place for culture vultures. Harran is about 15 kilometres from Syria, which is the closest you would get to Syria in this itinerary.
• Check in to a hotel in Sanliurfa.
• Leave for Sira Night and dinner at Cevahir Han. A touristic Sira Night in Sanliurfa is an evening with folk songs, music of string instruments and dance. Overnight in Sanliurfa.

Day 5: Sightseeing in Sanliurfa followed by an afternoon/evening flight to Istanbul.

• Have breakfast and check out from the hotel. Before arriving at the airport, visit Balik li Gol, Ayn Zeliha and the cave of Abraham—all these places are in the same complex. They are pilgrimage sites for Muslims and have many legends surrounding them.
• Have lunch at Culcuoglu Restaurant—a baklava restaurant in business for 50 years with a wide range of kebaps and grilled items.
• Reach Sanliurfa airport and board the flight to Istanbul. Check in to a hotel in Istanbul. Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 6: Sightseeing in Istanbul.

• Have breakfast and start as early as possible. Visit the Historic Areas of Istanbul— Hippodrome of Constantinople (Sultanahmet Square), Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern and Blue Mosque.
• There are many restaurants around here. Have lunch anywhere.
• Visit the Galata Tower.
• Book a Bosphorus dinner cruise with live performance and have dinner while floating on the Bosphorus. I experienced this with Orient Bosphorus. Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 7: Go shopping in old markets of Istanbul in the morning before taking an afternoon/night flight back to your country.

• Have breakfast and check out from the hotel. Stroll through the old markets of Istanbul like Grand Bazaar and Misir Bazaar.
• Many restaurants around here. Have lunch anywhere. (I had lunch at Dubb Indian Restaurant. I chose an outdoor seating. The restaurant is mostly crowded during lunch hours. The food was average.)
• Arrive at the airport and fly back to your country.

Accommodation

Gaziantep

I stayed in Hotel Tugcan in Gaziantep. It is a 5-star property conveniently located in the city. The sophisticated hotel is equipped with all modern amenities like a restaurant, bar, gym and conference hall. The carpeted rooms are spacious, clean and extremely comfortable with a well-stocked fridge, TV, seating area and wardrobe. Some rooms also offer a bird’s eye view of the city.

Adiyaman

I stayed in Hotel Bozdogan in Adiyaman. The outdoor pool and the sauna are the best parts of the hotel. I was informed that it also features a Turkish bath, though I did not get time for that. The rooms are clean, spacious, with a fridge and TV, but not carpeted. The modern bathroom is equipped with both a bathtub and shower, albeit a bit cramped. Live music performances sometimes take place by the poolside. The restaurant serves buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. The concierges of this hotel are the loveliest!

Sanliurfa

I stayed in Hotel Dedeman in Sanliurfa. It is a 5-star hotel with a pool, fitness centre, restaurant, bar and a club of its own. The carpeted rooms are plush with a fridge, TV and seating area. Pulling apart the floor to ceiling curtains reveal picturesque scenes of Sanliurfa city. The hotel is located midway between Balikli lake and the airport. The staff is courteous and friendly.

Istanbul

I stayed in Hotel Holiday Inn in Istanbul. The hotel is equipped with an outdoor pool, sauna, wellness centre, tea lounge, restaurants and a Turkish bath. Though located very close to the Historic Centre of Istanbul, the rooms do not offer sweeping views. My room was carpeted and equipped with all amenities but it was not spacious and seemed somewhat cramped.

This is the only hotel which charged us for drinking water (TL 10 for 1 bottle I think). Some of the staff were impatient and was rude to my colleagues.

All the hotels mentioned above have AC and free wifi access from rooms.

Transport

If you want to cover this exact itinerary then you would definitely need a private car+driver to stick to the schedule. You can make the necessary arrangements for the southeast Turkey leg of the trip from a Sanliurfa based travel company named Raya Tourism (info@rayaturizm.com.tr).

Language

In southeastern Turkish cities of Gaziantep, Adiyaman and Sanliurfa the locals mainly speak Kurdish, followed by Turkish and Arabic. Most of them don’t understand English, which includes people who work in the hospitality sector. So either hire a guide or download Google translate in your phone. Even better if you can learn some basic phrases in Kurdish and Turkish!

Time of Travel

I travelled in the first week of June. The weather was extremely comfortable. The mornings were warm (nowhere close to the ‘Indian plains hot’) and the evenings were cool and breezy. Sometimes small spells of rains drenched the afternoons. The rains were not severe enough to upset any plans.

Final Note

I understand this itinerary is very rushed. Please increase the number of days allotted if you have the time, or else feel free to drop some sites/experiences to make the trip more comfortable. I hope you have read the individual articles on the destinations. Every single place in this itinerary was so overwhelming that clubbing them together in one blog post was both impossible and unfair.

Happy travels!

Have you been to Turkey? Did you go on an offbeat route in Turkey? Are you interested in southeast Turkey and Istanbul? Comment below and start the conversation!

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Disclaimer: Tania was hosted by Turkey Tourism Board. All thoughts and opinions expressed in the post are of her own.

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