The Black Sea Coast and Lake Van Sights

Nightlife

1. Halfeti

One hundred kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Gaziantep, Halfeti is a small town of honey-color stone houses on the Euphrates, much of which was destroyed by the flooding of the Birecik Dam in 2000. Enough survives for a pleasant excursion, and there are many small restaurants by the water. The only actual landmark is the town's former mosque, so close to the dam that the water now laps around its door. From Halfeti, boats take visitors on excursions on the lake, here more like a wide river, to Rumkale, the "Castle of the Romans." The seat of an Armenian Patriarch from the 12th century, the castle is impressive from the outside, but due to ongoing restoration, that's all you see. Beyond Rumkale the boats normally continue to another semisunken village, Savaş, where the minaret pokes out of the water. The trip costs about 80 TL for the smaller boat, which can take around 10 people, and lasts about 90 minutes. If you wait, other travelers will most likely join you in the boat, so you rarely have to pay the full 80 TL.