jkm321

I'm just starting to plan a trip to Turkey for October 2023. Current plan is to arrive in Istanbul a week or more before we do a cruise "Ancient Mediterranean Treasures" which leaves from Istanbul and ends in Athens. From Istanbul I'd like to fly over to Gaziantep or Sanliurfa to see the Zeugma Mosaic Museum and Gobeklitepe and I'd like a tour or a guide and driver as we do not want to rent a car and try to do this on our own in a foreign language and in an area so close to the Syrian border. My question for you experienced Turkey travelers - do you have a tour company or a guide that you would recommend for this portion of our trip? I'm only planning on two full days for this so most of the tours out of Istanbul don't work for us. I feel like if I can have a guide/driver that meets us in Gazieantep and then stays with us until we finish in Sanliurfa (or vice versa) would be our best option. I'm open to all suggestions of guides/tours/hotels and also other things to see while we are in this area.

ashwinb

I did this route about 10 years back, traveling solo by bus. However, times have changed, and if I had to do it over, I would use a guide. Sorry, no good guide contacts there.
I would consider visiting Mount Nemrut and it's surroundings, perhaps 2-3 hrs away from Gaziantep, absolutely stunning, but 2 days may not be enough.

ashwinb

In both the cities, the the old town and markets were very interesting, and I remember going up the walled forts as well, pretty cool as well. It goes without saying, Gaziantep has great food.

dk2022

We visited Sanliurfa, Göbeklitepe, Nemrut Dagi, Gaziantep and Mardin in 2022. All travelling independently, it felt safe and we didn’t encounter any problems.

neckervd

Erdogan's war takes place in Syria. There is absolutely no danger in Southern Turkey.
The bus transfer from Gaziantep to Sanliurfa is easy (frequent and cheap buses),
So you will just need a guide in the museum at Gaziantep and a guide from Sanliurga tpo Gobeklitepe and back.
As said above, the area has much more to offer. Stay longer than just 2 days if you can.

dk2022

Agree, if you can please also try to visit Nemrut Dagi and Mardin.
Nemrut Dagi was unique for us, we hadn’t seen anything like this in Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan or Europe.
Mardin is an impressive Silk Road town, highly recommended as well.

Our photos from the 2022 trip:
https://travelbeforethecrowds.com/ne...cular-scenery/

https://travelbeforethecrowds.com/ma...ilk-road-town/