Through the Eyes of the Gypsy Girl: The Hidden Story of Zeugma

Zeugma was once a major Roman city straddling the Euphrates River, founded in the 3rd century BC and known for the wealth of its merchant class. That wealth is visible today in the extraordinary mosaic floors uncovered at the site — among the finest examples of Roman mosaic art anywhere in the world.

The most famous piece, known as the "Gypsy Girl," depicts a woman's face with strikingly lifelike, almost photographic eyes. Its expression has made it something of an unofficial symbol for the city of Gaziantep, where the mosaic is now displayed at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, one of the largest mosaic museums in the world.

Many of the mosaics were rescued from the site before the completion of the Birecik Dam, which flooded part of the ancient city in the early 2000s — an archaeological race against time that makes the surviving collection feel even more valuable.

Gaziantep itself is worth the trip on its own merits: it's widely regarded as the culinary capital of Türkiye, especially for baklava and regional kebabs, making a visit to Zeugma easy to pair with one of the country's best food scenes.