Zeugma Ancient City

Belkıs/Zeugma is a city built on hills, 10 kilometers east of Gaziantep's Nizip district. Seleukos Nikator I, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, founded a city called Seleucia Euphrates in 300 BC, at the place where Alexander the Great crossed the Euphrates River. He established a second city in front of this city with the name of his wife Apama and connected these two cities with a bridge. The city was connected to Rome from 31 BC, and its name was changed to "Zeugma", meaning gateway-bridge. During the Roman Period, the city lived its golden age. In 256 AD, Sassanid King Shapur I captured Zeugma and destroyed it. After this date, Zeugma never reached its former glory.

Zeugma, especially in the Roman period, has advanced a lot in the field of art, and the mosaic floors that adorn the rich villas have become competitive with world examples. The mosaics unearthed during the excavations carried out in only a part of the region reveal that Zeugma is a mosaic city in the true sense of the word. The bullas (Seal Print) reached during the Zeugma excavations and which brought a "world record" to Gaziantep and Turkey in this field are among the features that make Belkıs/Zeugma unique.

How to get to Zeugma Ancient City:

It can be accessed by vehicles going to Belkıs Merkez Neighborhood of Gaziantep Nizip district.