Must-see attractions in Türkiye

  • Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Türkiye. Built between 532 and 537AD by Roman Emperor Justinian I as the Christian Cathedral of Constantinople.

    Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

    Sultanahmet

    Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.

  • Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

    Topkapı Palace

    Sultanahmet

    Topkapı is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful…

  • Göreme Open-Air Museum

    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…

  • Chora Church

    Kariye Mosque

    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…

  • Mevlana Museum

    Mevlâna Museum

    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…

  • The Temple of Athena in Priene.

    Priene

    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…

  • Istanbul Archaeology Museum

    İstanbul Archaeology Museums

    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…

  • Hierapolis ancient city Pamukkale Turkey, young woman with hat watching sunset by the ruins Unesco ; Shutterstock ID 1167278944; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Hierapolis

    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…

  • The ancient Temple of Trajan at Pergamos (Bergama)

    Bergama Acropolis

    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…

  • Suleymaniye Mosque

    Süleymaniye Mosque

    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…

  • Narrow street in Antalya old town, Kaleici.

    Kaleiçi

    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…

  • Anit Kabir, Ataturk mausoleum, Ankara, Turkey; Shutterstock ID 5992945; Your name (First / Last): Tom Stainer; GL account no.: 65050 ; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial ; Full Product or Project name including edition: Cities app

    Anıt Kabir

    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…

  • 500px Photo ID: 155850215 - This stall was single handedly responsible for killing my waistline.You cannot travel to this fantastic city without sampling these fantastic sweets!

    Kadıköy Produce Market

    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…

  • Cave dwelling for the ancient christians in Capadocia

    Zelve Open-Air Museum

    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…

  • Basilica Cistern

    Basilica Cistern

    Sultanahmet

    This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…

  • Hatay, Turkey - March 09, 2022 : Necmi Asfuroglu Archaeology Museum of Antakya City interior view in Turkey; Shutterstock ID 2135458105; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other:
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    Hatay Archaeology Museum

    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…

  • 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…

  • Blue Mosque.

    Blue Mosque

    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…

  • Cave of Heaven and Hell in Mersin, Turkey. Cennet and Cehennem or heaven and hell are two large sinkholes in Taurus Mountains. ; Shutterstock ID 1554068366; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other:
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    Caves of Heaven and Hell

    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…

  • Enclosure C at Göbekli Tepe.

    Göbeklitepe

    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…

  • Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Bodrum, Turkey

    Mausoleum

    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),…

  • The entrance to the Izmir History and Art Museum in Kulturpark. Izmir, Turkey - July 1, 2023.
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    İzmir Museum of History & Art

    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…

  • Ä°zmir Kemeraltı Bazaar Market, Turkey Middle East, Vintage Colors, Shopping Crowded People, Tight street, Day Light, Traditional Coffee Houses
İzmir Kemeraltı Bazaar Market, Turkey Middle East, Vintage Colors, Shopping Crowded People, Tight street, Day Light, Traditional Coffee Houses
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    Kemeraltı Market

    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,…

  • Museum of Innocence

    Beyoğlu

    The painstaking attention to detail in this fascinating museum/piece of conceptual art will certainly provide every amateur psychologist with a theory or…

  • Turkey, Ephesus, Library of Celsus

    Ephesus

    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…

  • Turkey, perpetual fires of Yanartas at the Chimaera, near Cirali

    Chimaera

    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…

  • 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), TURKEY - APRIL 20, 2018: Zeugma Mosaic Museum; Shutterstock ID 1815031094; full: 65050; gl: 65050; netsuite: POI; your: Erin Lenczycki
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    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 Castle walls and coastline

    Alanya Castle

    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 terrace houses.

    Terraced Houses

    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…

  • View of Selimiye mosque in Edirne, Turkey. Unesco heritage site. Famous works of Ottoman architecture. Selimiye Mosque, designed by Mimar Sinan in 1575.

    Selimiye Mosque

    Edirne

    Designed by Ottoman architect Mimar Koca Sinan (1497–1588), whose best-known works adorn İstanbul's skyline, this exquisite World Heritage–listed mosque…

  • Ancient Aizanoi

    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…

  • Woman photographing statue of Tyche (Fortuna).

    Antalya Museum

    Antalya

    Do not miss this comprehensive museum with exhibitions covering everything from the Stone and Bronze Ages to Byzantium. The Hall of Regional Excavations…

  • The Kaymakl underground city, Kaymakl, Cappadocia, Turkey, Middle East

    Kaymaklı Underground City

    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…

  • 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…

  • Aspendos

    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…

  • Izmir, Turkey - January 29, 2023 Kordon Street view in Pasaport District and historic tram
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    Kordon

    İzmir

    It’s difficult to imagine life in İzmir without its iconic seafront kordon (promenade), which stretches north from Cumhuriyet Meydanı to Alsancak and…

  • Maiden's Castle (Kizkalesi), Mersin, Turkey; Shutterstock ID 2080110652; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other:
2080110652

    Kızkalesi Castle

    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…

  • Rahmi M Koç Museum

    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…

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