Sanliurfa

Known in antiquity as Edessa (capital of the Kingdom of Osroene) and across the Islamic world as the "City of Prophets" (Peygamberler Şehri) for its deep associations with Abraham, Job (Eyyüp), Jethro and Moses, Şanlıurfa, universally shortened by locals to Urfa, sits where the rocky limestone hills of southeastern Anatolia drop into the fertile Harran Plain of northern Mesopotamia. At the foot of the twin Corinthian columns of Urfa Castle, thousands of sacred carp glide through the spring-fed arcades of Balıklıgöl (the Pool of Abraham) right beside the 16th-century courtyards of Gümrük Hanı and the Covered Bazaars.

Eighteen kilometres north-east of the city on a windswept limestone ridge stands UNESCO-listed Göbeklitepe, where prehistoric hunter-gatherers carved five-metre-tall T-shaped monoliths around 9600 BC, seven thousand years before Stonehenge, alongside its equally astonishing sister site of Karahantepe. Pair them with the colossal Şanlıurfa Archaeology and Haleplibahçe Amazon Mosaic Museum, the conical adobe houses of Harran, and an evening of skewered lamb liver and Sıra Gecesi music. Start with our before-you-go briefing and top things to do in Şanlıurfa.

Şanlıurfa GAP Airport (GNY) lies 35 kilometres north-east of the city centre and connects to downtown Abide Junction and Karaköprü via Havaş shuttle coaches timed to every flight in 35 minutes. Within the city, everything between the Archaeology Museum, Kızılkoyun Necropolis, the Historic Bazaars and Balıklıgöl sits inside a walkable 1.2-kilometre pedestrian park belt, while Municipal Bus 100 runs directly from Abide to Göbeklitepe using any contactless Visa or Mastercard. See getting to Şanlıurfa and how Bus 100 and local transport work.

For atmospheric stone architecture within walking distance of the evening lights at Balıklıgöl, the bazaars and the Archaeology Museum, sleep in a restored 19th-century courtyard mansion (konak) in the historic quarters around Balıklıgöl, Divanyolu (Atatürk Caddesi) or Kara Meydan. If you are travelling by rental car and prefer a modern five-star hotel with a pool and underground parking, choose Haliliye (near Piazza Mall right next to the museum) or northern Karaköprü. Compare all options in where to stay in Şanlıurfa.

Stand above the 11,600-year-old carved pillars of Göbeklitepe and the bedrock-cut human faces of Karahantepe, spend three hours inside Turkey's largest museum complex at the Şanlıurfa Archaeology and Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum, feed the sacred carp at Balıklıgöl and Aynzeliha Lake, sip mırra coffee beneath the plane trees of 1563 Gümrük Hanı, and drive south to Harran and the Bazda Quarries. Full list in things to do in Şanlıurfa.

Urfa's table is loud, smoky and spice-driven, anchored by shiny purple-black sun-dried isot chilli peppers: dawn-to-midnight skewers of tender diced lamb liver (Urfa ciğer kebabı), non-spicy hand-minced Urfa haşhaş kebabı, seasonal aubergine and loquat kebabs, hand-kneaded çiğ köfte, sizzling ağzı açık meat tarts, and hot walnut-stuffed şıllık crêpes drizzled with syrup. Read more in our Şanlıurfa food and Sıra Gecesi guide.

Awarded the title Şanlı ("Glorious") by Parliament in 1984 in recognition of its 1920 resistance during the War of Independence, Urfa is the cradle of the Taş Tepeler ('Stone Hills') Neolithic civilization and home to the Sıra Gecesi, a centuries-old winter fraternity tradition of poetry, classical gazel singing and shared food inside vaulted stone guest rooms (oda).