Urfa

Go to Harran about 40 km south; a dolmuş from otogar costs 5 TL, and see some reconstructed beehive huts, the remains of the oldest university, and the remains of the trading "fortress" around which they're situated. Interestingly the inhabitants have mostly Iraqi descendents and identify themselves as Arabs.

Mardin, about 200 km to east 4hrs, 25 TL by bus, with its stonework architecture and Syriac Orthodox churches is also another interesting place to visit in the region.

The Ataturk Dam

to the north of the city is a huge engineering project harnessing the waters of the Euphrates and irrigating former semi-desert lands around Urfa.

Göbekli Tepe

is the oldest known temple in the world dating from 9,000 years B.C. Its sculpture is very impressive, but the planned museum/tourist facility isn't finished, and the archeological work is in progress, which means access may be restricted. There is no public transport to the site, but you can catch bus 90 goes to the University from Belediye/local Otogar to the turn off ask the driver to let you off anywhere, and you can hitch the rest of the way.

Visit villages in the region and see rural life virtually unchanged since biblical times. Go to Karacadag where it is still possible to see nomads in their yurts, and from where wheat first originated about 8,800 BCE

Take an excursion to Nemrut, the mountain of gods, or Diyarbakir, the largest city of the region also full of history, both of which are within a day's reach of Urfa.

Bus to [Gaziantep] takes 4hrs and 25TL.