About 45 kilometers south of Şanlıurfa, almost on the Syrian border, the ancient town of Harran is famous for its distinctive beehive houses, conical domes of mudbrick stacked without any wood that stay remarkably cool in the searing heat. The design is centuries old, and a preserved cluster lets visitors step inside and feel the temperature drop. Harran is one of the oldest continuously settled places on earth and appears in the Book of Genesis as a dwelling place of Abraham. Its ruins include the crumbling walls and towers of the old city, a ruined castle, and the remains of what is often described as one of the world's earliest Islamic universities, beside the standing arch and minaret of the Ulu Cami. In antiquity Harran was a renowned center of moon-god worship. The site is evocative and starkly beautiful, though very hot, so combine it with Göbeklitepe and Şanlıurfa on a full southern loop.
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