One of the oldest provinces of Turkey is Gaziantep and its capital is Gaziantep city. The city was known to the Greeks as Antochia ad Taurum, which literally translates to "Antochia in the Taurus Mountains" according to scholars.
Situated at an easy distance of the Mediterranean and Syria the city lies near the Sacirsuyu River at a height of 1070 meters above sea level. One of the most developed places of South Eastern Anatolian region, Gaziantep would be the right mix of modernity and the ancient for your vacation. Gaziantep is well connected by road, which hails back to almost the Middle Ages; this is because Gaziantep is an important juncture on the Silk Road. Moreover, it is situated at the point where the road and rail transportation connects the south and the Mediterranean to the east and the north.
Gaziantep Archeology Museum hosts ceramic pieces from Neolithic Age, various objects, figures, seals from Calcolithic and Bronze Age, stone and bronze objects, jewelry, ceramics, coins, glass objects from Urartu, Hittite, Persian, Roman and Byzantium periods, the bones and remains of a Mammoth, mosaics with high art values, statues and tomb steles obtained from the ancient city of Belkıs (Zeugma).
Another attractive section in the museum is the Technology Section and Nostalgia display cabinet. In these sections, the cameras, old radios, gramophones, typewriters, old sewing machines, century old wall clocks and old postcards displaying the development of Gaziantep are exhibited.
Hasan Süzer Ethnography Museum was founded inside an old and restored traditional Antep house constructed at the beginning of the 20th century by Hasan Süzer. The museum has been hosting the Ethnography section of the Gaziantep Museum since 1985.
Yesemek Open Air Museum is located at the skirts of Karatepe hill, located southeast of Yesemek village which is 23 km. southeast of İslahiye district. The museum is stated as "Yesemek Stone Mine and Sculpture Workshop" in the publications and approximately 300 statues and sculpture rough drafts were discovered in the excavations.
Gaziantep Castle is one of the beautiful samples of the castles that could withstand the destruction of time. The definite period of construction and its original inhabitants are unclear. There are some rumors about the castle's origin as it was initially constructed as a frontier watch tower in Roman period and extended in time to become a castle and attained the current form in the Byzantine Emperor Justinianus period in 6th century A.D. The ruins of a bath, cisterns, small mosque and various other structures are located inside the castle.