Harran was founded at some point between the 25th and 20th centuries BC as a merchant colony by Sumerian traders from Ur. Over the course of its early history, Harran rapidly grew into a major Mesopotamian cultural, commercial and religious center. It was made a religiously and politically influential city through its association with the moon-god Sin; many prominent Mesopotamian rulers consulted with and renovated the moon-temple of Ekhulkhul in Harran.

Harran came under Assyrian rule under Adad-nirari I (r. 1305–1274 BC) and became a provincial capital often second in importance only to the Assyrian capital of Assur itself. During the collapse of the Assyrian Empire, Harran briefly served as the final capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire 612–609 BC.

The city continued to be prominent after the fall of Assyria and experienced varying degrees of foreign cultural influence during its time under the Neo-Babylonian (609–539 BC), Achaemenid (539–330 BC), Macedonian (330–312 BC) and Seleucid (312–132 BC) empires. During classical antiquity Harran was often contested between the Roman and Parthian (later Sasanian) empires. In 53 BC Harran was the site of the Battle of Carrhae, one of the worst military defeats in Roman history.

The Harranian moon cult of Sin proved to be enduring and lasted long into the Middle Ages, known to have existed as late as the 11th century AD. Harran was captured by the Rashidun Caliphate in 640 and remained an important city in the Islamic period. It flourished as a center of science and learning and was the site of both the first Islamic university and the oldest mosque in Anatolia (the Harran Grand Mosque. Harran twice served as a capital city in the Middle Ages, first briefly under the Umayyad Caliphate 744–750 and later under the Numayrid Emirate 990–1081.

The city was conquered by the Mongol Empire in 1260 but was largely destroyed and left abandoned in 1271. Although Harran was kept as a military outpost under some later regimes, it has over the last five centuries mainly been used as a temporary settlement by local nomadic societies. Harran retransitioned into a semi-permanent village settlement in the 1840s but has only recently grown into a permanent town through advancements in local irrigation and agriculture. Harran was a Turkish district until 1946, after when it was downgraded to a sub-district of the Akçakale district. It regained its status as a district in 1987.

Today, it is a major local tourist spot. The town is particularly famous for its unique beehive houses, which are reminiscent of buildings that were already present at Harran in ancient Mesopotamian times.

Beehive Houses
Harran mainly attracts attention today due to the distinctive vernacular architecture of the houses in its old town, known as beehive houses (kümbets).

This building type is not seen elsewhere in Turkey and is rare in the rest of the world. Houses similar to the modern beehive houses have long been present in Harran; the earliest known buildings from Harran appear to have been circular and Assyrian reliefs from the 7th century BC depict domed buildings architecturally similar to the present beehive houses.

They have not been consistently present on the site, instead being built, ruined, forgotten and rebuilt multiple times throughout Harran’s history. Beehive houses were recorded at Harran by the 12th-century explorer Ibn Jubayr but not by the 17th-century explorer Evliya Çelebi.

The majority of the present beehive houses in Harran date to the early twentieth century and none have been standing for longer than since the mid-19th century. The architecture of the beehive houses has subtly changed since the twentieth century; photographs from that time show the houses erected on the grounds like tents whereas the present conical domes are built on larger cubical bases.

Since wood is rare in the region around Harran owing to its climate, locals have traditionally built houses from materials they could easily gather such as stone, brick and mud.

The modern beehive houses were constructed by locals who learnt how to build them by examining excavated ancient buildings and used bricks gathered from the ruins as building material. The beehive houses were compatible with the nomadic lifestyle of the locals since they can be built and dismantled rapidly, like a tent, but also efficiently resist both heat and cold. Because of the weak materials used for plastering the beehive houses require repair every 1–3 years. Their walls are usually 50–60 centimetres thick and their domes are about 20–30 centimetres thick. The domes have an opening at the top which provides natural air circulation and ventilation. This feature, combined with the thick walls, provide relatively good indoor conditions throughout the year, even in the extreme summer heat.

The Harran Culture House
As of a count conducted in 2002, Harran had 2760 beehive houses though the number in the old town has since declined to a few dozen. Some of the beehive houses remained inhabited until the 1980s but they are today mainly used as store houses and barns and have been under conservation since 1979.

One of the oldest extant buildings in Harran is a beehive complex that today serves as the Harran Culture House (Harran Kültür Evi), a local museum and restaurant. The Culture House building was originally built c. 1800 but fell into ruins at some point and was rebuilt for tourism purposes in 1999. The museum showcases artefacts as well as traditional jewelry and clothes from the region surrounding Harran.