Şanlıurfa Old Town

Şanlıurfa's old town lies around Balıklıgöl, the Pool of Abraham, in the Eyyübiye district of the city centre. The pool is about 150 m long and 30 m wide. Its carp are regarded as sacred and are not caught or eaten. Islamic tradition holds that Nimrod threw Abraham into a fire here, and that the fire became water and the logs became fish.

The Halil-ür Rahman Mosque stands on the south side; an inscription on its minaret dates work there to 1211–12. The 18th-century Rızvaniye Mosque and madrasa also face the water. Just south, the castle rock carries two Corinthian columns from AD 240–242. About 400 m east is Gümrük Hanı, a 16th-century caravanserai with tea houses in its courtyard, beside the covered Bedesten.

The Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum is about 700 m north of the pool. Göbekli Tepe is about 15 km to the north-east. The castle path is uphill. Check current opening hours before you go.