Şanlıurfa, the city at the gates of Göbeklitepe

Şanlıurfa is where you will sleep, eat and see the finds. It sits about 15 km south-west of Göbeklitepe, has the region’s airport, and holds in its Archaeology Museum nearly everything portable that has come out of the Neolithic sites. But it is also a destination in its own right — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities anywhere, known across Türkiye as the “city of prophets.”

Balıklıgöl and the old town

The heart of the city is Balıklıgöl, the Pool of Sacred Fish: spring-fed pools full of carp, framed by the arcades of the Halil-ür-Rahman and Rızvaniye mosques and shaded gardens. Tradition places the birth of Abraham in a cave nearby. It is at its best in the early evening, when the light softens and the whole city seems to come down to the water.

The citadel

Above the pools rises the citadel, a fortress on a rocky spur with two tall Corinthian columns on its summit that have watched over the city since late antiquity. The climb rewards you with the best view of the old town and the plain beyond.

The bazaar

Below the citadel spreads one of Anatolia’s great covered bazaars — a warren of lanes and historic hans where coppersmiths hammer, spice merchants weigh out isot (the city’s dark, smoky dried pepper) and tea houses fill the courtyards. The Gümrük Han, with its tea garden, is the place to stop.

Two museums

The Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum is the essential companion to Göbeklitepe: the finds, a full-scale replica of Enclosure D and Urfa Man. Next door, the Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum shelters late-Roman mosaics found in the city, including a famous scene of Amazon warriors. Allow half a day for the two together.

Eat

Urfa is a food city. Its kebabs — Urfa kebab is the milder cousin of Adana — and its lahmacun are eaten across the country, and the city claims the origin of çiğ köfte, now served meat-free. The local tradition of sıra gecesi, an evening of music, conversation and food shared in turn among friends, has become an experience visitors can join at several venues in the old town.

Getting there and around

Şanlıurfa GAP Airport (GNY) has daily flights from Istanbul and Ankara and lies roughly 35 km from the city. Within Şanlıurfa the old town, the pools, the bazaar and the museums are all walkable; Göbeklitepe is 20–25 minutes away by car or taxi, Karahan Tepe about an hour east, and Harran about 45 minutes south-east.