The Shrine of Prophet Job (Eyyüp Peygamber Makamı) and Germuş Armenian Church

Alongside Prophet Abraham at Balıklıgöl, Şanlıurfa's title as the "City of Prophets" is anchored by a second major pilgrimage sanctuary just 2.5 kilometres south-east of the historic bazaars (10 minutes by taxi or municipal bus from Haşimiye): the Shrine and Cave of Patience of Prophet Job (Hz. Eyyüp Peygamber Sabır Makamı), while on the northern outskirts right at the foot of the Göbeklitepe hill stands the dramatic stone shell of Germuş Church.

1. The Shrine of Prophet Job (Hz. Eyyüp Peygamber Makamı, Eyyübiye)

In Biblical and Qur'anic tradition, the righteous Prophet Job (Eyyüp) was tested by God with the loss of his wealth, his children and a severe skin affliction that lasted for seven (or eighteen) years. Abandoned by everyone except his devoted wife Rahime Hatun, Job lived and prayed in uncomplaining patience inside a small rock-cut cave on the southern edge of Urfa until God commanded him (Qur'an, Surah Sad Chapter 38 Verse 42): "Strike the ground with your foot. Here is a cool spring for washing and drinking."

• What to see at the complex: inside the spacious white limestone courtyard, pilgrims descend a short staircase into the small, dimly lit Cave of Patience (Sabır Mağarası) where Job prayed, drink and wash their hands from the taps fed by the Healing Well (Şifa Kuyusu) (whose mineral-rich water was scientifically analyzed and celebrated since late-antique pilgrims like the 4th-century Spanish nun Egeria wrote about visiting Job's shrine in Edessa), and see the prayer stone where Prophet Elyasa (Elisha) rested.
• Combining with Viranşehir (Eyyüp Nebi, 85 km east): for those driving east from Urfa toward Mardin, the actual tombs of Prophet Job, his wife Rahime Hatun and Prophet Elyasa sit in the village of Eyyüp Nebi just north of Viranşehir along the Mardin highway.

2. Germuş Church (In Dağeteği Village, 10 km north-east on the Göbeklitepe Road)

As you drive north-east out of Şanlıurfa toward Göbeklitepe, a short 2-kilometre turnoff into the valley of Dağeteği (historic Germuş) at the very base of the Göbeklitepe ridge leads to the monumental 19th-century Armenian Church of the Virgin Mary (Surp Asdvadzadzin / Germuş Kilisesi), rebuilt in 1881 with double-tiered stone arches and bell towers surrounded by old stone village houses and rock caves.