Private 9-Day Black Sea & Mesopotamia: Uzungöl, Ayder, Gaziantep, Göbeklitepe & Mardin

Two very different Turkeys in nine days: the rainy, green Black Sea mountains and the golden plains of Upper Mesopotamia, linked by a domestic flight. You start at Trabzon Airport and end at Mardin Airport (MQM).

Your own licensed guide every day: every departure includes a private, licensed English-speaking guide plus a private vehicle and driver – only your group, never strangers. Prices are per person and get lower the more people travel together (1 to 8 travellers).

The first three days cover Sümela, Uzungöl and the Ayder Plateau. Then the tour moves south to Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa and Mardin – home to Göbeklitepe (UNESCO, about 11,600 years old), the Zeugma mosaics and some of Turkey’s best food.

Highlights

• Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe – Neolithic sanctuaries older than Stonehenge and the pyramids.
• Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep, including the “Gypsy Girl” mosaic.
• Halfeti boat trip on the Euphrates and Harran’s beehive houses.
• Mardin old town, Deyrulzafaran Monastery and the stone village of Midyat.

Entrance fees: not included, so you only pay for the sites you want. We recommend the Museum Pass Türkiye (about €165 per person), which covers most museums and archaeological sites on this route.