Turkey Travel Guide: Destinations
Every region, city, ruin and landmark covered in this guide, in one index.
Marmara
Hagia Sophia · The 1,500-year-old great church, mosque and museum in Sultanahmet.
Blue Mosque · Sultanahmet Mosque: six minarets and 20,000 blue İznik tiles.
Topkapı Palace · The Ottoman sultans' palace for four centuries: the Harem, the treasury, the views.
Grand Bazaar · One of the world's oldest covered markets: 61 streets, 4,000 shops.
Bosphorus ferry · The commuter ferry between two continents: the cheapest great boat ride in the world.
Selimiye Mosque, Edirne · Sinan's masterpiece: the 16th-century imperial mosque UNESCO listed in 2011.
Troy · The archaeological site of Homer's Troy near Çanakkale.
Princes' Islands · Car-free islands in the Sea of Marmara: Büyükada's wooden mansions.
Bursa · The first Ottoman capital: the Grand Mosque, the silk market, İskender kebap.
Gallipoli battlefields · The WWI memorials and cemeteries on the Gallipoli peninsula.
Dolmabahçe Palace · The 19th-century sultans' palace on the Bosphorus.
Spice Bazaar · The 1664 Egyptian Bazaar: lokum, saffron, dried fruit.
İznik · Nicaea: the lakeside town of the two ecumenical councils and the tile workshops.
Istanbul · Istanbul City Guide
Bursa · Bursa City Guide
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Aegean
Ephesus · The Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre, the Terrace Houses.
Pamukkale · The white travertine terraces above Hierapolis, a UNESCO site since 1988.
Bodrum Castle · The 15th-century Castle of St. Peter and its Museum of Underwater Archaeology.
Pergamon · The acropolis above Bergama: the steepest ancient theatre in the world.
Bodrum marina and old town · Whitewashed streets, the marina, and the Mausoleum's last stones.
Şirince · The old Greek village above Selçuk: fruit wines and olive oil.
Temple of Artemis · A single column stands where one of the Seven Wonders stood.
House of the Virgin Mary · The hillside shrine near Ephesus, a pilgrimage site since the 19th century.
Çeşme and Alaçatı · Wind, stone houses and the Aegean's best windsurfing.
Kuşadası · The cruise port and beach town, 20 minutes from Ephesus.
Hierapolis · The Roman spa city above the travertines: the theatre and Cleopatra's Pool.
Izmir · Izmir City Guide
Selçuk · Selçuk and Ephesus Guide
Bodrum · Bodrum City Guide
Denizli · Denizli and Pamukkale Guide
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Mediterranean
Ölüdeniz Blue Lagoon · The still blue lagoon under Babadağ: paragliding overhead.
Kaleiçi, Antalya · The old town's Roman harbour, Hadrian's Gate and Ottoman houses.
Aspendos Theatre · The best-preserved Roman theatre in the world, still used for opera.
Kekova sunken city · The drowned Lycian city, seen by kayak or boat from Üçağız.
Side · The seaside ruins: the Temple of Apollo at sunset.
Kaş · The diving town with Lycian sarcophagi in the streets.
Myra and Demre · The rock-cut tombs and the Church of St. Nicholas.
Olympos and Çıralı · The beach ruins and the eternal flames of the Chimera.
Termessos · The mountain city Alexander never took, high above Antalya.
Patara · 18 km of sand: the long beach and the Lycian capital's ruins.
Saklıkent Gorge · The 18-km canyon, walkable in summer.
İztuzu Beach and Dalyan · The loggerhead turtle beach and the rock tombs of Kaunos.
Antalya · Antalya City Guide
Fethiye · Fethiye City Guide
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Central Anatolia
Göreme Open Air Museum · The Byzantine cave churches and their frescoes, a UNESCO site.
Hot air balloons · A hundred balloons over the valleys at sunrise.
Derinkuyu Underground City · Eight levels down: the deepest of Cappadocia's underground cities.
Mevlana Museum, Konya · Rumi's tomb and the dervish lodge, under the green dome.
Anıtkabir · Atatürk's mausoleum on the hill above Ankara.
Uçhisar Castle · The rock fortress and the valley panoramas.
Love Valley and Paşabağ · The great fairy-chimney valleys for walking.
Hattuşa · The Hittite capital's walls and gates, a UNESCO site.
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations · Ankara's great museum: Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian finds.
Salt Lake (Tuz Gölü) · The vast white salt flat between Ankara and Cappadocia.
Sultanhanı Caravanserai · The great 13th-century Silk Road caravanserai.
Kaymaklı Underground City · The widest of the underground cities, with its great ventilation shafts.
Ihlara Valley · The 14-km canyon with rock churches along the Melendiz river.
Whirling dervish ceremony · The Mevlevi sema in Konya, most intensely in December.
Ankara · Ankara City Guide
Göreme · Göreme and Cappadocia Guide
Konya · Konya City Guide
Towns · Ürgüp · Uçhisar · Avanos · Safranbolu · Ortahisar · Mustafapaşa · Kayseri · Eskişehir
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Black Sea
Sumela Monastery · The 4th-century cliff monastery in the Altındere valley.
Uzungöl · The mountain lake among pines, 100 km south of Trabzon.
Rize tea gardens · The terraces where most of Turkey's tea is grown.
Ayder plateau · The highland village and its hot springs in the Kaçkars.
Amasra · The little harbour town on the western Black Sea.
Boztepe · The hill above Trabzon: the classic city panorama.
Trabzon · Trabzon City Guide
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Eastern Anatolia
Mount Ararat · The 5,137-m volcano, seen from Doğubayazıt; climbs need permits and guides.
Ishak Pasha Palace · The 1784 palace-fortress above Doğubayazıt, with Ararat behind it.
Ani ruins · The medieval Armenian capital on the border: churches and walls.
Akdamar Island · The 10th-century Church of the Holy Cross on Lake Van.
Lake Van · The great soda lake: ferries to Akdamar, Van cats in the old town.
Çıldır Lake · The high lake of Kars: horse-sleighs on the ice in winter.
Hover a region to explore it. Click a city pin to open its guide.
Southeastern Anatolia
Göbekli Tepe · The 12,000-year-old temple complex: the oldest known monumental architecture.
Mount Nemrut · The 1st-century BC tomb-sanctuary: giant stone heads at sunrise.
Mardin old town · The honey-stone old town on its ridge above the Mesopotamian plain.
Harran beehive houses · The conical mud-brick houses of one of the world's oldest cities.
Balıklıgöl, Şanlıurfa · The holy pools of Abraham, full of sacred carp.
Diyarbakır walls · The 5.5-km Roman walls, among the longest and best preserved on earth.
Zeugma Mosaic Museum · The Gypsy Girl and the great Roman mosaics of Zeugma, in Gaziantep.
Halfeti · The half-drowned old town on the Euphrates, reached by boat.
Hover a region to explore it. Click a city pin to open its guide.