State Gallery of Fine Arts

It is in “Karameydanı” quarter of the town, adjacent to the southern end of the post office. It bears many characteristics of traditional Urfa houses. Built first in 1888, the building was renovated by the Ministry of Culture and opened as “State Gallery of Fine Arts”.

Şurkav Culture House

Three traditional Urfa houses were combined, renovated and turned into a centre of culture and arts for youth. It is open to public.

Sakıb's Mansion and Halepli Garden

It is inside the Halepli Garden to the west of the Halil-ür Rahman Lake. This historical mansion was built in 1845. The building, together with the garden which appears in the urban development plan as “Fair Area” has been purchased by the Municipality.

The mansion is now being used as “April 11 Directorate of Fairs”. The bath, which is composed of cold, mild and warm sections of the mansion is interesting to see. The building is also known as “Hacı Mustafa Hacıkamil Mansion”.

Gümrük Inn 

It was built by Behram Pasha in 1562 during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Water stream originating from Halil-ür Rahman Lake flows through its yard. The building has two floors: while the upper floor is used by tailors there are small coffee houses in the courtyard.

Bedesten

(Covered Bazaar)

It is a bazaar just next to the southern face of Gümrük Inn. Local outfits for males and females and head covers such us yaşmak and puşu are sold here.

Sipahi Bazaar

It is adjacent to the Bedesten in its western edge. Items sold in this bazaar include floorings such as carpets and rugs and handicraft products like furs and bags.

Millet Inn

It is out of the Samsat Gate of city walls. It was built at an unknown date for arriving caravans to rest for a while before entering the city. It is one of the largest inns in Turkey in terms of area it covers.

The inn was constructed by using cut stones and in its yard there are wide spaces divided by pillars and covered by interlinked cross vaults. There are zigzag shaped ventilation holes in the ceiling. These spaces are divided into rooms by separation walls. The eastern part of the southern edge of the yard is destroyed and soil filled.

The building was once used as German orphanage. Old photos of the building show that it had two floors and there was an inscription on a portal to the western corner of its southern front, with lion reliefs to the right and left. The second floor is completely ruined today.

Baths

In Urfa there are 8 public baths remaining from the Ottoman period: Cıncıklı, Vezir, Şaban Velibey, Eski Arasa, Serçe and Sultan. With the exception of Eski arasa, all baths are open to males from 04:00 to 10:00 and to females from 12:00 to 20:00.

Haşimiye square

t is vacant and about to disappear since the old Arasa bath on the way to lake Halil-ür Rahman is not used any more. Of all baths, the one that is particularly worth seeing is the Sultan Bath near Ucuzluk Bazaar. There is also the Keçeciler Mosque adjacent to the eastern wall of this bath. The latter is used by felt masters for tanning pieces of felt.

Inns

Gümrük, Hacı Kamil, Mençek, Topçu, Millet and Barutçu are the best standing examples of many inns dating back to the Ottoman period.