Istanbul & Turkish Mesopotamia

Arrival in Istanbul, the former Constantinople, capital of Byzantium and of the Ottoman Empire and the only great city on two continents. After check-in we begin with the historic peninsula.

Topkapı Palace, the residence of the sultans for four centuries, unfolds in courtyards, gardens and richly tiled chambers above the Bosphorus. Hagia Sophia, built by Justinian in the 6th century, astonishes with its monumental dome and Byzantine mosaics. Across the square, the Blue Mosque with its six minarets and 20,000 Iznik tiles is the symbol of the city. Dinner.

We cross the Golden Horn to the historic Galata district and its Galata Tower, with a panorama of the old city and the Bosphorus. Then Taksim Square and İstiklal Street, the lively heart of modern Istanbul with its cafés, shops and old tramway. In the afternoon the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest covered markets in the world, trading since Byzantine times.

In the evening a Bosphorus cruise with dinner and a Turkish dance show. We sail between Europe and Asia, past the illuminated Dolmabahçe Palace and the fortress of Rumeli Hisarı, under the great bridges of the strait.

A free morning for last purchases, then a flight to Diyarbakır, the ancient Amida, enclosed by black basalt walls that are among the longest city walls in the world. We enter the İç Kale citadel, visit the Great Mosque (Ulu Cami), one of the oldest in Anatolia, built with Roman spolia, and the Hasan Paşa Caravanserai, where Silk Road merchants once rested.

Before sunset we see the 11th-century Ten-Eyed Bridge over the Tigris and walk in the Hevsel Gardens (UNESCO), cultivated since antiquity to feed the fortified city. Dinner.

Along the Tigris to Hasankeyf, a town carved into the cliffs and partly flooded by a modern dam. We walk among ancient caves, see the relocated monuments and the turquoise-tiled Zeynel Bey Mausoleum, a witness to forgotten dynasties.

In the afternoon Midyat, the heart of the Tur Abdin, where houses of golden limestone glow in the sun. We stroll through the old bazaar, visit centuries-old Syriac churches and watch silversmiths at work on fine telkari filigree. Optional: Mor Gabriel Monastery (397 AD), the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery, where ancient chants still echo. Dinner.

Mardin is a terraced city of honey-coloured stone on a hill above the endless Mesopotamian plain. We walk the labyrinth of its old town, visit the Zinciriye Madrasa with its richly carved portals and the 12th-century Great Mosque, a jewel of Artuqid architecture, and drive out to the Deyrulzafaran Monastery, for centuries the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate.

Later we visit the Malabadi Bridge over the Batman river, one of the longest stone arch bridges in the world, and rest in a local teahouse. Dinner in Mardin.

A day in Mardin at your own pace. Taste dibek coffee on a rooftop terrace above the plain, explore bazaars full of copperware, spices, soap and hand-woven textiles, and visit the Kasımiye Madrasa, now a museum and cultural centre. In the craft workshops of Savurkapı artisans keep old techniques alive, and every lane reveals carved doors and ornate balconies.

Optional: a day trip to ancient Dara, with its Roman cisterns and necropolis, and Harran, famous for its beehive mud-brick houses. Dinner.

Göbekli Tepe, the oldest known sanctuary in the world (c. 9600 BC), predates Stonehenge by some 6,000 years; its carved T-shaped pillars tell the first stories of human belief. We continue to Şanlıurfa, the “City of Prophets”, linked to Abraham and Job and sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

At Balıklıgöl, the pools of sacred carp, tradition says Abraham was thrown into the fire by Nimrod and the flames turned to water. We visit the Halil-ur Rahman Mosque beside the pools and end the day in the colourful Urfa bazaar. Dinner.

We drive to Mount Nemrut (UNESCO), where King Antiochus I of Commagene built his tomb-sanctuary at 2,150 m, guarded by colossal stone heads of gods and kings that greet the rising and setting sun (about 300 m of walking from the car park).

On the way we visit Arsameia, the summer capital of Commagene with its reliefs and rock-cut tunnel, cross the Roman Cendere Bridge and stop at the Karakuş Tumulus, guarded by stone eagles. Dinner in Adıyaman.

Our journey ends in Gaziantep, the culinary capital of Türkiye. The Zeugma Mosaic Museum, one of the largest in the world, displays Roman mosaics rescued from the city of Zeugma on the Euphrates, including the famous “Gypsy Girl”. In the Coppersmiths’ Bazaar craftsmen hammer copper by hand.

A farewell feast of Antep cuisine — juicy kebabs, aubergine dishes, buttery pistachio baklava and katmer, the “bride’s dessert” — then transfer to Gaziantep airport.