Abraham's Path is a cultural route that follows the paths of the Prophet Abraham, a prophet, an important religious personality for Muslims, Christians, and Jews, that is, for a large part of the world population. The route connects many sacred and historical sites in one route.
Abraham’s Path starts in Türkiye, Şanlıurfa, passes through Harran and Göbeklitepe, then leaves our country and ends in the Desert of Najaf. Türkiye accounts for 170 kilometers of the route's total length of over 1,000 kilometers.
It is unknown how far back humanity's history may be traced in Şanlıurfa, the route's starting point. Legend has claimed that Urfa's story begins with the arrival of Adam and Eve. Being the city of the firsts, the oldest and the most important, Şanlıurfa pushes you to question, rethink and re-learn what you know with every step you take.
Harran, the route's next stop after Şanlıurfa city center, lies 50 kilometers south of Şanlıurfa. The earliest settlement in this site dates back to seven thousand years ago. Harran was historically significant because it controlled the intersection of the road connecting Damascus and Nineveh with Carchemish. Thus, the Assyrian rulers regarded it as extremely important. In Assyrian and Roman periods, the city became a worship center for the moon deity Sin.
Göbeklitepe, the final destination on Abraham's Path in Türkiye, is known as the "ground zero" of history and is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of our country's historical assets. Excavations in Göbeklitepe, which were first unearthed in the 1990s, have continued since then.
These excavations have revealed that the first traces of life dates back to 9,000s BCE, well before Göbeklitepe. The massive sculptures in the area, as well as the reliefs on them, are absolutely one-of-a-kind for that period. Given the absence of metal tools, the sculptures are thought to have been made using only stone tools, which makes these sculptures even more unique.
The best times to walk on Abraham's Path is spring and autumn. The winter months are bitterly cold, while the summer months are scorching hot for walking.