Sultanahmet
Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.
Must-see attractions in Türkiye
Sultanahmet
Topkapı is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful…
Göreme
This Unesco World Heritage site is an essential stop on any Cappadocian itinerary. First thought to be a Byzantine monastic settlement that housed some 20…
Istanbul
İstanbul has more than its fair share of Byzantine monuments, but few are as drop-dead gorgeous as this mosaic- and fresco-laden church. Nestled in the…
Konya
For Muslims and non-Muslims alike, the main reason to come to Konya is to visit this former lodge of the whirling dervishes and home to the tomb of…
South Aegean
Priene enjoys a commanding position just below Mt Mykale, giving it a real natural grandeur. This Greco-Roman site is delightful to explore, with pine…
Sultanahmet
The city's foremost archaeological museum is housed in three buildings close to Topkapı Palace. There are many highlights, but the sarcophagi from the…
Pamukkale
This ancient spa city's location atop Pamukkale's tourist-magnet travertines is quite spectacular. Founded as a curative centre around 190 BC by Eumenes…
İzmir & the North Aegean
One of Turkey's most impressive archaeological sites, Bergama's acropolis is dramatically sited on a hill to the northeast of the town centre. There's…
Istanbul
The Süleymaniye crowns one of İstanbul's seven hills and dominates the Golden Horn, providing a landmark for the entire city. Though it's not the largest…
Antalya
Antalya's historic district is a sight in itself and you could happily spend half a day strolling the narrow lanes here while admiring the mix of finely…
Ankara
The monumental mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), the founder of modern Turkey, sits high above the city with its abundance of marble and air…
Kadıköy
An aromatic, colourful and alluring showcase of the best fresh produce in the city, the Kadıköy Pazarı is foodie central for locals and is becoming an…
Cappadocia
The road between Çavuşin and Avanos passes a turn-off to the Zelve Open-Air Museum, where three valleys of crumbling cave-habitations and churches…
Sultanahmet
This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…
Eastern Mediterranean
This incomparable museum contains one of the world's finest collections of Roman and Byzantine mosaics, covering a period from the 1st century AD to the…
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Museum of Anatolian Civilisations
Ankara
The best place in the country to get to grips with the complex weave of Turkey's history, the exhibits here house artefacts cherry-picked from just about…
Sultanahmet
İstanbul's most photogenic building was the grand project of Sultan Ahmet I (r 1603–17), whose tomb is located on the north side of the site facing…
Eastern Mediterranean
Near Narlıkuyu, a road winds north for 2km to several caves – sinkholes carved out by a subterranean river and places of great mythological significance…
Şanlıurfa
Around 11km northeast of Urfa, 'Pot Belly Hill' was first excavated in 1994 by a team led by Professor Klaus Schmidt. Their discovery of a ritual complex…
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Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes National Park
South Aegean
This spectacular 277-sq-km mountainous reserve on the Dilek Peninsula has walking trails, stunning vistas, azure coves for swimming, and deep-green…
Bodrum Town
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum (originally 44.8m high) was the greatest achievement of Carian King Mausolus (r 376–353 BC),…
İzmir
This museum is overlooked by many visitors to the city, who do themselves a great disservice in the process. Spread over three pavilions, it is one of the…
İzmir
A labyrinthine bazaar stretching from Konak Sq through to the ancient Agora, Kemeraltı dates back to the 17th century and is home to shops, eateries,…
Beyoğlu
The painstaking attention to detail in this fascinating museum/piece of conceptual art will certainly provide every amateur psychologist with a theory or…
Ephesus
Of Turkey's hundreds of ancient cities and classical ruins, Ephesus is the grandest and best preserved. A Unesco-listed World Heritage Site, it's the best…
Turquoise Coast
Known in Turkish as Yanartaş, or 'Burning Rock', the Chimaera is a cluster of small flames that naturally blaze on the rocky slopes of Mt Olympos. At…
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Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum
Eastern Mediterranean
Archaeology buffs should make a beeline for the Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum, within the national park of the same name. The ruins date from the 8th…
Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum
Gaziantep
This museum does a stellar job of displaying one of the world's most important mosaic collections, most of which was unearthed at the Roman site of Belkıs…
Alanya
Surmounting Alanya's rocky peninsula is its awesome, Seljuk-era castle, girdled by 6km of walls and awaiting Unesco World Heritage listing. Climb to it…
Ephesus
The roofed complex here contains seven well-preserved Roman homes built on three terraces, which are well worth the extra visiting fee. As you ascend the…
Edirne
Designed by Ottoman architect Mimar Koca Sinan (1497–1588), whose best-known works adorn İstanbul's skyline, this exquisite World Heritage–listed mosque…
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Western Anatolia
Rural Çavdarhisar (60km southwest of Kütahya) is home to one of Anatolia's best-preserved Roman remains. The Temple of Zeus, built under Hadrian (r AD 117…
Antalya
Do not miss this comprehensive museum with exhibitions covering everything from the Stone and Bronze Ages to Byzantium. The Hall of Regional Excavations…
Cappadocia
Kaymaklı underground city features a maze of tunnels and rooms carved eight levels deep into the earth, though only four are open to the public. The…
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Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts
Sultanahmet
This Ottoman palace was built in 1524 for İbrahim Paşa, childhood friend, brother-in-law and grand vizier of Süleyman the Magnificent. It now houses a…
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Turquoise Coast
People come in droves to this ancient site near the modern-day village of Belkıs for one reason: to view the awesome theatre, considered the best…
İzmir
It’s difficult to imagine life in İzmir without its iconic seafront kordon (promenade), which stretches north from Cumhuriyet Meydanı to Alsancak and…
Eastern Mediterranean
Rising from an island 250m offshore, impossibly romantic Kızkalesi Castle (also called the Sea Castle) is like a suspended dream. Check out the mosaics of…
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Istanbul
This splendid museum is dedicated to the history of transport, industry and communications in Turkey. Founded by the head of the Koç industrial group, one…
