Home to many civilizations throughout history, southeastern Mardin is a favorite among tourists due to its history and architecture. It boasts several cultural, historical and natural draws, such as stone houses, filigree embellishments, narrow streets, historical and cultural places, inns and wonderful cuisine.
One of the most beautiful places in Mardin is the Monastery of Mor Gabriel. It's one of the famous and biggest structures of the Syriac community. This monastery is claimed to be founded in A.D. 397 in textual sources but most of its buildings date to the sixth century. It was used as a center of metropolitan bishops between 615 and 1049.
Featuring dozens of museums, particularly the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, home to the famous "Gypsy Girl" mosaic, whose pieces were brought back from the U.S. in 2018, Gaziantep also offers many other historical and cultural attractions, including the Coppersmiths' Bazaar, Elmacı Bazaar and Gaziantep Castle.
Undoubtedly, Adıyaman's biggest tourist draw is Mount Nemrut, a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring massive statues of gods commissioned by King Antiochus I of Commagene for his own tomb at an altitude of 2,150 meters (over 7,000 feet). Visitors climb to the site at dawn or at dusk to see the statues under the spectacular lighting. It’s also a favorite spot for stargazers to watch the night sky.
Adıyaman's other important monument from the Commagene period is the ancient city of Perre. It was a place holding religious and geopolitical importance in the ancient period. The beauty of the city’s water is mentioned in ancient Roman sources, and the Roman fountain, where this water flows, is still in use. The city was used as a resting place by caravans, travelers and armies.
Şanlıurfa, or Urfa, as it was known before, is sometimes referred to as the "City of Prophets" due to its religious importance. Among the dozens of historical sites in the region, one of the most popular encompasses the 250-year-old conical dome houses nestled in the Harran district.
Şanlıurfa's most important site is the 12,000-year-old Göbeklitepe complex, which is considered the world's first temple. Known for its impressive megalithic architecture with characteristics such as T-shaped pillars, Göbeklitepe is one of the most mesmerizing and oldest archaeological finds in the world.
Bitlis is a region blessed with beautiful nature and majestic landscapes. Camping enthusiasts often choose the region's Nemrut Crater Lake as their destination. Located at an altitude of 2,250 meters, Nemrut Crater Lake stands out with its exquisite nature, offering the most mesmerizing shades of green, yellow and brown in the fall.
Bitlis also offers a chance to see one of the must-visit historic monuments in Turkey – the Ahlat Seljuk Meydan Cemetery. The cemetery has more than 8,000 uniquely shaped monumental stones with and without inscriptions made of volcanic red stone from the area.
