Historical, ancient old railway german bridge

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Eastern Mediterranean

This is Turkey's non-airbrushed slice of Mediterranean coastline. A handful of distinctly local-style beach resorts lie between the industrial port cities. Crumbling ruins sit among acres of intensely farmed countryside with nary a tourist in sight. In the ancient towns of Tarsus and Antakya, atmospheric old-town fragments cling on amid the modern hubbub.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • 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: 2135458105

    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…

  • 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: 1554068366

    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…

  • Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum

    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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Anemurium Ancient City

    Anemurium Ancient City

    Eastern Mediterranean

    Anemurium's sprawling and eerily quiet ruins stretch for 500m down to a pebble beach, with mammoth city walls scaling the mountainside above. From the…

  • Alahan Monastery

    Alahan Monastery

    Eastern Mediterranean

    Tentatively listed for World Heritage status, this remarkable monastery perches on a terraced slope high above the Göksu Valley, northwest of Silifke…

  • Titus & Vespasian Tunnel

    Titus & Vespasian Tunnel

    Eastern Mediterranean

    Amid the scant ruins of Seleuceia in Pieria at Çevlik, 5km northwest of Samandağ, is this this astonishing feat of Roman engineering. From the ticket…

View more attractions
  • placement: fullWidth
  • path: destinations/top
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "destination": "Eastern-Mediterranean",
  "region": "Mediterranean-Europe",
  "country": "Türkiye",
  "continent": "Europe"
}

Plan with a local

Go Beyond

Eastern Mediterranean and beyond

Beyond Eastern Mediterranean
  • placement: fullWidth
  • path: destinations/bottom
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "destination": "Eastern-Mediterranean",
  "region": "Mediterranean-Europe",
  "country": "Türkiye",
  "continent": "Europe"
}