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MONASTERY OF ST SIMEON THE STYLITE
Built in the 6th century, this monastery set on a hilltop at 479 metres is where Saint Simon is thought to have lived for forty years.
ST PETER’S CHURCH
This unique church, reputedly built by St Peter around 50AD, on Mount Starius just outside Antakya is built from a cave and sports a stone frontage added by the Crusaders. With remnants of original mosaics and friezes, it is one of Christianity's oldest churches and where occasional services are still held.
RUMKALE
The Castle of Antioch, or Rumkale, set high above Antakya offers a magnificent view over the city and the surrounding plains.
SANLIURFA
Sanliurfa, usually known as just Urfa, gives the appearance of being an open air museum with its bazaars, streets, houses, baths, inns, fountains, castle, mosques, bridges and city walls. As the prophets Abraham, Job, Elijah and Jacob all lived there it is also referred to as the ‘City of Prophets’.
GOBEKLITEPE
Gobekli Tepe, or ‘hill with a potbelly’, is an 11,000-year-old site of worship established by the hunter-gatherer peoples of the time. Renowned for having the world’s oldest temples (pre-9000BC), excavations there contradict the view that agriculture preceded the construction of such monumental architecture.
HALIL-UR-RAHMAN MOSQUE
This mosque is part of the Golbasi complex comprising a medrese (religious school) and cemetery, and marks the spot where Abraham fell after being thrown into the fire and saved by God. It was built upon the site of a previous church and an inscription on a minaret says that the mosque was built in 1211 by Melik Esref Musa.
GOLBASI
Golbasi is the name given to a complex of mosques, medreses and gardens surrounding sacred pools in Sanliurfa, the largest one being Balikli Gol.
KALE FORTRESS
The Kale Fortress, located in the city of Harran, is made up of a long wall, most of it crumbling, which has 187 towers and the remains of a 10-sided tower, with plenty of ruins to explore. The tower also provides an excellent panoramic view of the city.
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URFA BAZAAR
Built in the Ottoman era, the historic Urfa bazaar is one the city’s main tourist attractions with its maze-like narrow streets, inns, courtyards, coffee houses and authentic shops. There are carpets, kilims and saddlebags with artisans still making their products, the stars of the show being the coppersmiths hammering away at their wares.
HARRAN’S ULU MOSQUE
Built on the site of an ancient temple and now in ruins, the Ulu Mosque was constructed by the first Muslim settlers in the 8th century. It was then extensively altered in 1174, much of the stonework and decorations that can be seen today dating from this.
MARDIN
Mardin has a history that is reputedly as old as the great Flood. The city with its characteristic sandstone Arab-style architecture covers a large hill overlooking the scenic cultivated plains of northern Syria or ancient Mesopotamia. Mardin was once a very important centre for Christianity and so there are some very interesting Syriac Orthodox monasteries and churches in the vicinity.
DEYR’ UL ZAFARAN MONASTERY
Built in 439AD the Deyr’ Ul Zafaran monastery, or 'Saffron Monastery,' is an important Syriac orthodox place of worship. Until 1932 it was the seat of the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Services are still held in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus and there are 365 rooms in the monastery, one for each day of the year.
HASANKEYF
Hasankeyf is an ancient town with a history spanning nine civilisations set on the banks of the Tigris River in southeastern Turkey. Much of the city and its archaeological sites, which include ornate old mosques and ancient cave churches, are at risk of being flooded with the completion of the Ilisu Dam.
AKDAMAR ISLAND
Akdamar Island on Lake Van is home to a 10th-century Armenian church, the Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross built 915-921AD, whose stone walls are richly carved with Old Testament scenes and figures. It was recently reopened as a museum after restoration.
VAN
Van on the southeastern shores of Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkey, was Tuspa, the capital city of the Urartians (1000BC). Today there are historical structures from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods, and Urartian artifacts can be seen at its Archaeological Museum. Van cats with their thick white fur are famous because the colour of each eye is different.
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Far from the resorts and sunbathers lies a forgotten country that has been closed to tourists for twenty years, until now. Eastern Turkey has been a land bridge for thousands of years where faiths clashed, empires rose and fell, and the landscape is scattered with a treasure trove of remains and archaeological sites.
It’s actually the place where civilization began as Danann Breathnach discovers on this unmissable journey.