Places to Visit in Halfeti

Halfeti was one of the settlements bearing the traces of many civilizations with its thousands of years of history, until 2000.. The historical and cultural wealth from the Hittites to the Ottoman Empire is now buried in the waters of the Euphrates.

Halfeti, known as the sunken city, was one of the places I wanted to see for a long time.. We reserved one day of our Gaziantep trip to Halfeti, Rumkale, Göbeklitepe and Şanlıurfa. I would like to share all the details of Halfeti places to visit and our Halfeti boat tour.

Where is Halfeti?

Halfeti is one of the districts of Şanlıurfa. It is located between Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa.. While it is 112 kilometers from Şanlıurfa to Halfeti, Halfeti is 102 kilometers from Gaziantep.

Why Is Halfeti Under Water?

With the construction of Birecik Dam in 2000, Halfeti and many villages around it were flooded. While the inhabitants of Halfeti moved to New Halfeti, 7 kilometers away, a part of Old Halfeti became a sunken city that can be visited by boat tour today.. Halfeti is also one of the 18 cities of our country that have the title of Citta Slow (Calm City).

Places to Visit in Halfeti

Today, the town of Halfeti consists of Old Halfeti and New Halfeti divided into two parts. There is nothing worth visiting in New Halfeti.. This is a settlement where the villagers’ houses are located.. A part of Old Halfeti can be visited on foot, and a part can only be seen by boat tours.. Therefore, I can say that all of the places to visit in Halfeti are in Old Halfeti.

One of the most photogenic spots of Old Halfeti, the Suspension Bridge is known as Halfeti’s necklace connecting the two sides.. After the Asma Bridge, which you can walk around, you can photograph the historical houses of Urfa, and you can see the Great Mosque, which was built in the early 1800s and today a large part of its floor is under water.. The Kantarma Mezra Han, also known as the Seljuk Inn by the locals, is among the places to visit in Halfeti.

Halfeti Boat Trip

Halfeti boat tours, Old Halfeti departs from the port in. The boat tour we took was an hour long tour.. Proceeding along the Euphrates waters, we saw King Daughter Cave, Rumkale and Savaşan Village, famous for its Sunken minaret.

For the Halfeti trip Another option is to rent a boat.. A longer route awaits you when you agree with the captain and charter a boat.. King’s Girl Cave, Rumkale, Savaşan Village, Merziman Stream, Çekem Village, Kahtin Village, Ehneş Village are a two-hour route followed by private tours.. If you came with your friends or if you don’t want anyone else but you, I recommend you to rent a boat.

The sights I witnessed as we sailed slowly through the waters of the Euphrates with the boat we boarded from Old Halfeti created both surprise and sadness.. While I was hurting my heart that two thousand years of history was buried in the water, the camellia-like structures caught my attention while I was sailing.. They used to come to Old Halfeti on weekends to refresh their memories.

The King’s Daughter Cave is the first of the spots we can see from afar with a boat tour.. According to the legend, the king’s daughter falls in love with a shepherd, and the king refuses and imprisons his daughter in this cave.. Entry to the King’s Daughter Cave is forbidden, it can only be seen by boat.

Rumkale

The second route of our Rumkale Halfeti boat tour, rising on steep cliffs. It is impossible not to be enchanted by the beauty of Rumkale while passing through the emerald green waters.. The history of Rumkale, which looks like a peninsula at the confluence of the Euphrates and Merziman Stream, dates back hundreds of years.

The ruins in Rumkale, which was called Şitamrat in ancient times, bear the traces of the Late Roman and Middle Ages.. Along with the St. Nerses Church and the Barşavma Monastery, water cisterns, wells and ditches are among the places to visit in Rumkale.. However, it is not allowed to enter the castle.

Rumkale also has a special place for Christians.. Hz. It is rumored that Johannes, one of the apostles of Jesus, took residence in Rumkale and reproduced the copies of the Bible in a room carved from the rock there.

One of the things that caught our attention while we were passing Rumkale by boat was the glass terrace.. Building a glass terrace in a thousand-year-old historical region is against the spirit of the place.. Unfortunately, the same situation is experienced in Old Halfeti.. Neither the ugly hotel building rising on the top of the historical Urfa houses nor the glass terrace is worthy of the region.

Places to Visit in Halfeti: Savaşan Village

Halfeti boat tour the last stop of our route is Birecik Dam The sunken city, which was almost completely submerged after its construction, Savaşan Village. Most of the Halfeti photographs belong to the Sunken Minaret in Savaşan Village.

While the entire mosque is submerged, only one minaret can be seen.. For this reason, it is also known as Sunken Minaret or Sunken Mosque. Only a few families continue to live in Savaşan Village, it almost resembles a ghost village when you look at it.

Our boat docked at Uncle Yunus’s Tea Garden in Savaşan Village and took a 15-minute break here.. After a short photo shoot in the village, we drank tea with Uncle Yunus and listened to Halfeti from him.. Uncle Yunus is 85 years old, he comes here every day and continues to run the tea garden.. It is also possible to see photographs of Halfeti before it was submerged in the tea garden.

I had the chance to see the famous black rose of Halfeti during our break in the village of Savaşan.. Karagül can only be grown in Halfeti in the world, so that you cannot see the same color when you want to take the seedling and plant it in another place.. Another point where you can see black rose, which can grow in Halfeti’s microclimate, is the greenhouse behind the harbor where boat tours depart in Old Halfeti.

After the tea break we gave in the Savasan Village, our boat started on the way back.. While walking on the Euphrates River, I thought of the artifacts we saw in the Zeugma Mosaic Museum.. Many of the artifacts in the museum were removed the day before the dam gates were opened, and thousands of artifacts that could not be brought to light were lost to eternity under the water.

Halfeti Boat Tour Fee 2021

Halfeti boat tour fee is 25 TL per person. The tour takes one hour. If you want to rent a boat, the fee varies between 250-400 TL.. The tour does not have a fixed time, it moves when it is full.

How to get to Halfeti?

I would like to talk about an important detail about transportation to Halfeti. If your goal is to see Rumkale and watch the view of Rumkale from the top, you should start your trip from Rumkale.. Because you can only see Rumkale from afar with the boat tours departing from Halfeti.

When you take a boat tour from Rumkale, you cannot visit Old Halfeti.. If you agree with a private boat, it will take you to Old Halfeti.. For this reason, before going on the Halfeti tour, I recommend that you determine where you want to start and go on the tour that way.

How to get from Gaziantep to Halfeti?

The two most ideal options to go from Gaziantep to Halfeti renting a car or agreeing with a taxi. We chose the latter. We started our journey from Halfeti with the taxi we arranged on our Gaziantep trip, and continued with Göbeklitepe and Balıklıgöl.. Gaziantep Halfeti is 1.5 hours away by car.. You don’t even realize how time flies as you move through the pistachio trees.

If you want to go from Gaziantep to Halfeti by public transportation, know that the journey will be grueling.. By taking the minibus from Gaziantep, you first reach the Birecik district of Şanlıurfa.. From there, you need to go to New Halfeti first and then to Old Halfeti by minibus.. There are also minibuses that go directly from Birecik to Old Halfeti, but the frequency is very low.

How to get to Halfeti from Şanlıurfa?

The distance between Şanlıurfa and Halfeti is 120 kilometers, and the journey takes about two hours.. Those who want to come to Halfeti by public transportation from Şanlıurfa can get on the Halfeti minibuses from the bus station.

How to get to Rumkale from Gaziantep?

Rumkale is 25 kilometers away from Yavuzeli district of Gaziantep.. It is 66 kilometers from Gaziantep to Rumkale, and it is possible to reach an average of 1 hour and 15 minutes by car.. When you come to Rumkale, you can reach Halfeti in fifteen minutes by boats in the harbor.. Whether you’re in Gaziantep or Şanlıurfa, add Halfeti to your trip to witness thousands of years of history up close!

Halfeti Travel Notes

• The only thing I didn’t like about the Halfeti boat tour was the loud music. Music that contrasts with your environment gets boring after a while.. Fortunately, after passing through historical points, the music stops and the voice narration begins.. In this way, our ears find peace, albeit for a while.
• Shabut fish is a local freshwater fish found only in the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers.. You can taste it at the restaurants by the river in Halfeti.
• If you like eggplant, I recommend you to try the eggplant kebab, which the Urfa people call balcan.
• If you want to watch Halfeti in a panoramic view, I Love Halfeti on the Şanlıurfa-Halfeti highway. When you see the text ” pull your vehicle to the right. Watch the view of Halfeti accompanied by bird sounds from here.

You can find more detailed information about Halfeti on my Instagram @seyahatimgeldi account and follow me for more travel suggestions.

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