9 Day Archaeology Tour of Turkey: Çatalhöyük, Göbeklitepe & Karahantepe

After breakfast, begin exploring Istanbul’s historic peninsula. Walk through Sultanahmet Square, the former Hippodrome, and visit the Blue Mosque, subject to prayer times.

Continue to the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, where your guide introduces objects and stories that place Anatolia within the wider ancient world. Rather than rushing between displays, focus on a selection of collections that help prepare you for the days ahead.

After free time for lunch, explore the streets around the historic centre. Finish with a walk through the Grand Bazaar, subject to its opening schedule, before returning to your hotel.

Overnight: Istanbul
Meals: Breakfast

Following breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Ankara.

On arrival, visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Follow the story of the region through selected prehistoric and ancient collections, with particular attention to the transition toward settled life and the cultures that followed.

After lunch at your leisure, explore the streets around Ankara Castle. Traditional houses, small shops and views across the city provide a relaxed setting for the afternoon.

Check in to your hotel and enjoy the evening at leisure.

Overnight: Ankara
Meals: Breakfast
Transport: Domestic flight; airfare excluded from the proposed package

After breakfast, depart by private vehicle for Konya. The drive offers a chance to observe the landscapes of Central Anatolia, with comfort stops along the way.

Arrive in Konya and enjoy free time for lunch. In the afternoon, visit the Mevlana Museum to explore a later chapter of Anatolia’s cultural and spiritual history.

Take a relaxed walk around the historic centre before checking in to your hotel. Your guide can recommend local dishes for dinner, including Konya’s well-known etli ekmek.

Overnight: Konya
Meals: Breakfast

Today is dedicated to Çatalhöyük, a central stop on your journey.

After breakfast, drive to the archaeological site and explore the areas open to visitors. Your guide explains how excavated buildings, household remains and artistic evidence help researchers investigate everyday life in this Neolithic settlement. Çatalhöyük offers important evidence of early settled communities and their social and cultural practices.

Consider the human questions behind the discoveries: How did people share space? How did they organise daily work? What traces did they leave of memory and belief?

Return to Konya in the afternoon, with time to relax or explore independently.

Overnight: Konya
Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, transfer to Konya Airport for your journey to Şanlıurfa. Flight routing may require a connection and will be confirmed when booking.

Upon arrival, meet your local transfer team and check in to your hotel. If the flight schedule allows, enjoy an introductory walk around Balıklıgöl and the surrounding historic streets. Otherwise, this visit will take place on Day 7.

The evening is free to rest or sample Şanlıurfa’s regional cuisine.

Overnight: Şanlıurfa
Meals: Breakfast
Transport: Domestic flight, potentially connecting; airfare excluded

Begin at Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum. This visit provides context for Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe, helping you recognise themes and details when you encounter the sites themselves.

Continue to the Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum for a look at a different period of the region’s artistic history.

After free time for lunch, explore Balıklıgöl and the traditional bazaar district. Allow time to browse, enjoy tea and watch everyday life unfold around the workshops and market streets.

In the evening, attend a traditional Sıra Night with dinner and regional music. It is a chance to experience the city through its living culture as well as its ancient past.

Overnight: Şanlıurfa
Meals: Breakfast, dinner

After breakfast, leave the city for Göbeklitepe.

Explore the designated visitor route with your guide, observing the T-shaped pillars, animal carvings and monumental enclosures. These structures date to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period and offer remarkable evidence of the abilities and shared practices of early communities. Their precise meanings remain subjects of research and interpretation.

Following a lunch break, continue to Karahantepe. Here, explore the accessible visitor areas and discuss the site’s place within the wider Taş Tepeler region. Compare what you have seen at the two sites, paying attention to both similarities and differences.

Return to Şanlıurfa for a farewell dinner and a final conversation about the journey—from early settlements to the communities that continue to shape Anatolia today.

Overnight: Şanlıurfa
Meals: Breakfast, dinner

Enjoy breakfast and, depending on your flight time, a final opportunity to relax or shop for local products.

Transfer to Şanlıurfa GAP Airport for your onward journey. A connecting flight to Istanbul can be arranged upon request.

Meals: Breakfast