Experience the best of Şanlıurfa

Şanlıurfa, long known simply as Urfa, stands on the site of ancient Edessa and is traditionally linked with the prophet Abraham. At Balıklıgöl, pools of sacred carp lie beside a mosque and a courtyard of colonnades, and above them a citadel stands on a rocky ridge with two tall ancient columns. The covered bazaar nearby sells spices, copper and leather in lanes shaded by stone vaults.

A short drive north-east, Göbekli Tepe preserves rings of carved T-shaped limestone pillars raised about 11,000 years ago, before farming or pottery, and is a UNESCO site. To the south-east, Harran has the ruins of an early Islamic mosque and citadel and the beehive-shaped mud-brick houses of the plain. The Archaeology and Mosaic Museum in Urfa holds Roman floors from the region.

Urfa's cooking is hotter and richer than most of Turkey's, with kebabs, liver at breakfast, and çiğ köfte of ground lamb and bulgur, all seasoned with isot, the dark purple Urfa pepper. Summer heat here is fierce and life moves outdoors after dark, while spring turns the surrounding plain green.