Kilis is a small historic city in southeastern Turkey, situated just kilometres from the Syrian border and nestled among ancient olive groves. Long an important junction between Anatolia and the Levant, Kilis retains a distinctive Arab-influenced culture expressed in its unique cuisine, centuries-old bazaars, Ottoman mosques, and the olive oil traditions that have shaped life here for millennia. Visitors come for the unforgettable local gastronomy — especially kilis tarhana, şıllık flatbread, and kiraz kebabı — and for the rare experience of a historic Anatolian border city largely untouched by mass tourism.
Top day trips
Handpicked excursions within easy reach.
Gaziantep
Gaziantep is one of Turkey's oldest continuously inhabited cities and its main urban centre outside Kilis, built around a citadel, a copper-working bazaar and a cuisine famous across the country. A day trip here trades a small border town for a full city: a castle to climb, a mosaics museum, and streets of coppersmiths and baklava houses. It is dense enough to fill a day without a car once you're in the old town.
Highlights: Gaziantep Castle - a round Roman/Byzantine-era citadel rebuilt under the Ottomans, standing over the old town with views across the rooftops · Zeugma Mosaic Museum - one of the world's largest collections of Roman mosaics, rescued from the ancient city of Zeugma before it was partly flooded by a dam reservoir · Bakırcılar Çarşısı (Coppersmiths' Bazaar) - a working bazaar of hammered copperware, still the trade it's named for · Gaziantep baklava houses - the city is the recognised centre of Turkish baklava production, made with local pistachios
Nizip and Zeugma Ruins
Nizip is a market town on the way to the Euphrates, and just outside it lie the remains of Zeugma, a Hellenistic and Roman river-crossing city once famous for its villas and mosaics. Most of the finest mosaics were excavated and moved to the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep, so the on-site experience is about walking the excavated terraces and imagining the city rather than viewing finished displays. Part of the ancient site now lies under the reservoir of the Birecik Dam.
Highlights: Zeugma archaeological site - excavated villa terraces and city walls overlooking the Euphrates/reservoir, with ongoing digs in places · Nizip town centre - a working agricultural market town, useful as a stop for food or supplies on the way to or from the site
Antakya (Hatay)
Elbeyli Olive Villages
Hasanbeyli
İslahiye
İslahiye is a small town whose main draw is Zincirli Höyük nearby, the mound of the ancient city of Sam'al, once the capital of a Neo-Hittite and later Aramaean kingdom in the early first millennium BC. It's a site for people specifically interested in ancient Near Eastern archaeology rather than a general day out - the town itself is functional and low on visitor infrastructure, and the impressive carved orthostats found here were removed long ago to museums abroad and in Istanbul.
Highlights: Zincirli Höyük (ancient Sam'al) - the excavated mound of a Neo-Hittite/Aramaean royal city, with visible fortification lines and gate structures
Trips by distance
How far you can go in a day.
Items
Getting there
Transport options for day trips.
Multi-day tours from Kilis
If you have longer than a day, these are organised multi-day trips that start here.
Browse multi-day tours from KilisWe may earn a commission from bookings made through this link.
Day trip tips
Make the most of your excursions.
Start early — most popular day-trip destinations get crowded by mid-morning.
Check return transport times before you leave — missing the last train or bus can be costly.
Carry water, snacks, and layers — weather and food options can be limited at smaller destinations.