Istanbul
Rising Hogwarts-like from the urban jumble, this Fener landmark, known locally as kırmızı kale (the red castle) for its castellated red-brick facade,…
Must-see attractions in Türkiye
Thrace & Marmara
Perched on the hillside above the harbour at Kaleköy is 'High Kaleköy' (formerly Kastro), a pretty village built around a ruined Genoese fortress…
Istanbul
This mosque started life as the 11th-century Church of St Theodosia. Legend has it that one day before the Conquest, worshippers filled the church with…
Istanbul
Erected by order of the Emperor Constantine to celebrate the dedication of New Rome (Constantinople) as capital of the Roman Empire in 330, this column is…
Beyoğlu
The descriptor 'cultural centre' is used a lot in İstanbul, but is often a misnomer. Here at SALT Galata it really does apply. Housed in a magnificent…
İstanbul Museum of the History of Science & Technology in Islam
Sultanahmet
Of interest to science buffs, the didactic exhibition in this museum argues that Islamic advances in science and technology preceded and greatly…
Kars
Below Kars Castle, the imposing, basalt Kümbet Camii was built as a church between 932 and 937 when Kars was (briefly) capital of the Bagratuni kingdom of…
Şanlıurfa
Urfa's fortress on Damlacık hill, from which Abraham was supposedly tossed, has good city views, but there's not much to see at the actual site. On the…
İzmir
On a pedestrianised stretch of Cumhuriyet Bulvarı, this wide plaza, named after the prominent Ottoman-era Government House, built in 1872, to the east,…
Ankara
The buildings on one side of the Anıt Kabir plaza (to the right of the tomb) contain an extensive museum dedicated to both the life of Atatürk and Turkey…
Beyoğlu
The cornerstone of this Gothic-style Anglican church was laid in 1858 by Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, known as 'The Great Elchi' (elçi meaning ambassador)…
Eskişehir
West of the centre on the Küthaya road, this area of cleared sazova (cane field) has been turned into a family friendly paradise of fresh air and rolling…
Antalya
These important ruins mark the site of a substantial building that played a major role in Antalya's religious life over the centuries. Built as a 2nd…
Kadıköy
A friendly, and ecofriendly, community space devoted to ‘sustainable creativity’, Circuit hosts exhibitions and craft fairs of work by local artists, and…
İzmir
Built as a carpet merchant's residence between 1875 and 1880, this stately white building ended up in state hands after the shocking events of September…
Beyoğlu
This pretty mosque, designed by Sinan and built in 1577, is unusual in that it, and the minaret, are raised on a platform. It was commissioned by Sokollu…
Istanbul
Though only a shell these days, the remnants of this Byzantine palace give a good idea of how it would have looked in its heyday. Built in the late 13th…
Black Sea Coast
With an impressive archaeological and ethnographic collection spanning the Bronze Age to the Ottoman Empire, Giresun's museum occupies Gogora, a well…
Central Anatolia
South of Nasrullah Bridge, this small museum has well-displayed exhibits and detailed information panels in English. The central hall is devoted to…
Black Sea Coast
This powerful, if fairly narrow, 15m waterfall is best viewed from the roadside overlook, though few visitors can resist the temptation to descend on the…
Western Anatolia
Scant foundations remain of the church that was once famous as the burial place of the Byzantine emperor Theodore I (Lascaris). Built around 800 and…
Istanbul
Commissioned by Murat IV's mother, Kösem Valide Sultan, this massive han (caravanserai) was built in 1651 and originally housed up to 3000 travellers and…
İzmir
The 1922 fire destroyed much of the town centre between Alsancak and Basmane, which had been a Greek neighbourhood for centuries. Today the area contains…
Western Anatolia
Located in the Vacidiye Medresesi (1314), next door to the Ulu Cami, this old-school provincial museum exhibits finds from Ancient Aizanoi including a…
Sultanahmet
Commissioned by Justinian in the 540s, this Byzantine church is almost exactly as old as its near neighbour, Aya Sofya. Used as an arsenal for centuries,…
Gaziantep
Thought to have been constructed by the Romans, the citadel was restored by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century and rebuilt extensively by the Seljuks in…
Black Sea Coast
The is impressive new centre offers multi-sensory 15 minute 'shows' that run hourly on the hour, painting an emotional more than academic narrative of the…
Central Anatolia
Leading off from Nasrullah Bridge, Kastamonu's main square centres on the Ottoman Nasrullah Cami (1506). Poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy delivered speeches in this…
Museum of the Republican History
Eskişehir
This museum celebrates Atatürk and the Turkish Republic through hundreds of photos, paintings and collages covering seminal events such as the battles of…
Black Sea Coast
High, high above (lower) Çat village, Çat Yayla sits at around 1800m is a glorious area of comparatively accessible meadows that are at their most…
Central Anatolia
Kastamonu's castle, lording it up on a rock outcrop above the central city, is currently undergoing a massive restoration not likely to be finished until…
Istanbul
Built on the highest hill in the city, this massive mosque opened in 2019 and can accommodate an extraordinary 63,000 worshippers. The largest mosque in…
Black Sea Coast
A popular family strolling spot north of central Samsun, this seaside park is most notable for the cable-car ride to Amisos Tepesi and for the so-called …
Yılmaz Büyükerşen Wax Sculptures Museum
Eskişehir
Hugely popular with Turkish tourists, this waxworks museum is Eskişehir's local version of Madame Tussauds, recreating the likenesses of important Turkish…
Cappadocia
This tiny museum is housed in an ugly building 1km from the centre. The collection includes a surprisingly good archaeological room with Phrygian, Hittite…
Trabzon
This professionally presented ethnographic museum tells the main points of the city's history three times over, once in film, once in artefacts and once…
Alibey Kudar Etnografya Galerisi
İzmir & the North Aegean
The jumble of objects at this privately operated museum below the village of Tahtakuşlar provides an insight into the history of the local Turkmen…
Sanctuary of the Mother Goddess Cybele
Ephesus
Excavations on the northern slope of Panayır Dağı (Mt Pion) overlooking the so-called Grotto of the Seven Sleepers have revealed stelae or sepulchral…
Safranbolu
Deep in the Gürleyik hills 10km northwest of Safranbolu, the Bulak Mencilis Mağarası cave network has a 400m route open to the public; the actual caverns…
Hacıbektaş Archaeological Museum
Cappadocia
This surprisingly good museum on the main road contains a large collection of ceramics from the Chalcolithic era up to the Iron Age, including pieces from…
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