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…
Must-see attractions in Turkey
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…
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…
Southeastern Anatolia
Nemrut Dağı's famous statues sit on two terraces flanking Antiochus I's giant gravel-covered, mountaintop burial mound. Their 2m-high heads, toppled from…
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…
İzmir
It’s difficult to imagine life in İzmir without its iconic seafront kordon (promenade), which stretches north from Cumhuriyet Meydanı to Alsancak and…
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…
Bursa
Built for Mehmet I, the Yeşil (Green) Cami was completed in 1422 and represents a departure from the previous, Persian-influenced Seljuk architecture that…
Istanbul
Vividly coloured spices are displayed alongside jewel-like lokum (Turkish delight) at this Ottoman-era marketplace, providing eye candy for the thousands…
Kayaköy (Levissi) Abandoned Village
Turquoise Coast
The tumbledown ruins of Levissi are highly atmospheric. The roofless, dilapidated stone houses sit on the slopes like sentinels over the modern village…
Selçuk
Selçuk’s crowning achievement is accessed on the same ticket as the Basilica of St John, once the citadel's principal structure. Earlier and extensive…
Bursa
This Ottoman-era complex incorporates a stately medrese (seminary; 1426) and the equally handsome Sultan Murat II (Muradiye) Cami, also built in 1426, but…
Cappadocia
Some of Cappadocia's best-preserved and most captivating frescoes are hidden within this rarely visited rock-hewn monastery that was only rediscovered in…
Beyoğlu
This lavishly funded and innovative museum has an extensive collection of Turkish art and also stages a constantly changing and uniformly excellent…
Safranbolu
The real joy of Safranbolu is simply wandering the cobblestone alleys. Everywhere you look in Eski Çarşı (Safranbolu's old town) is a feast for the eyes…
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…
Selçuk
An essential stop on every Ephesus itinerary, this small museum contains artefacts from the ancient city, including scales, jewellery and cosmetic boxes…
Western Anatolia
Added to Unesco's World Heritage List in 2017, this remote site in the Anatolian hinterland trumps many of Turkey's ancient sites for its sheer scale and…
İzmir & the North Aegean
The evocative ruins of this ancient city, which was one of the 12 cities of the Ionian League, are spread over a low hilly isthmus now used as farmland. A…
Eastern Mediterranean
Tentatively listed for World Heritage status, this remarkable monastery perches on a terraced slope high above the Göksu Valley, northwest of Silifke…
Beyoğlu
Once called the Grand Rue de Pera but renamed İstiklal (Independence) in the early years of the Republic, Beyoğlu's premier boulevard is a perfect…
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…
Ephesus
Originally built under Hellenistic King Lysimachus, the Great Theatre was reconstructed by the Romans between AD 41 and 117 and it is thought St Paul…
Eastern Mediterranean
Yılankale, an impressive castle rising boldly from a rocky ridge in the middle of modern-day corn fields, is a fantastic example of medieval Armenian…
Central Anatolia
Excellent information boards provide a thorough grounding in both Hittite history and culture while the pieces on display – all unearthed at Hattuşa –…
Cappadocia
One of the best views of Kızılçukur (Red) Valley's fang-like rock cones and wavy cliff ridges is from this lookout point, signposted off the highway,…
Dalyan
An excellent swimming beach, İztuzu (Turtle) Beach is one of the Mediterranean nesting sites of the loggerhead turtle, and special rules to protect it are…
Eastern Mediterranean
About 8.5km northeast of Kızkalesi at Kumkuyu is the 33-54, the road leading 3km to the ruins of Kanlıdivane, the ancient city of Kanytelis.
Şanlıurfa
Dive into Urfa's bazaar alleys to find stalls selling everything from sheepskins and pigeons to jeans and handmade shoes. It was largely built by Süleyman…
Göreme
The Buckle Church is 50m back down the hill towards Göreme and across the road from the main Open-Air Museum complex, but is covered by the same entrance…
Far Northeast
Appealingly sited overlooking a stretch of river gorge, this 13th-century church appears relatively intact, though the current main door is within what…
Black Sea Coast
If you're driving between Amasra and Inebolu, the greatest highlight is gazing out across the paradise cove of Gideros. It's a timelessly photogenic spot…
Eastern Mediterranean
Don't miss the opportunity to visit this often overlooked ancient port city in Rough Cilicia, which was settled in the 7th century BC but abandoned in the…
Central Anatolia
Amid rolling hills and fertile fields, the hamlet of Kasaba, 17km northwest of Kastamonu, is a pretty but unlikely place to find one of Turkey's finest…
Ayvalık
Ayvalık’s old town is a joy to explore. A maze of cobbled streets east of the liman, it is full of market squares, atmospheric cafes, Greek Orthodox…
Dalyan
Dalyan's famous Carian rock tombs are carved into cliffs across the Dalyan River, southwest of the centre. You can get good views of the tombs by walking…
Central Anatolia
Tokat's impressive museum is housed within the beautifully restored Arastalı Bedesten (covered market). The collection packs in intricately decorated…
Black Sea Coast
The region's most spectacular man-made attraction is the neatly restored 13th-century shell of Zil Castle, a fine stone tower surrounded by sturdy walls…
Gallipoli Peninsula
Reopened in 2019 as a museum focussing on Ottoman and maritime history, this sprawling castle was originally built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452 and…
