Must-see attractions in Black Sea Coast

  • Gideros

    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…

  • Zilkale

    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…

  • Aya Sofya Camii

    Trabzon

    Standing in walled gardens amid symphonies of birdsong, 4km west of centre, is this fine 13th-century church-turned-mosque retaining some carved reliefs…

  • Ziraat Botanik Tea Garden

    Black Sea Coast

    At the summit of a steep urban hill, this unexpected little paradise is primarily a delightful teahouse beneath a big, fragrant magnolia tree, but there…

  • Boztepe Cable Car

    Black Sea Coast

    Ordu's top attraction, this seven-minute teleferik (cable-car) ride whisks you 2.3km from the seafront promenade to Boztepe, at an altitude of nearly 500m…

  • sümela monastery

    Sumela Monastery

    Black Sea Coast

    The extensive ruins of Sumela Monastery, founded by Greeks in the 4th century, cling improbably to a sheer cliff, high above evergreen forests. This is…

  • Sinop Fortress

    Black Sea Coast

    Giving definition to much of central Sinop are the very hefty remnants of stone walls. With origins dating back four millennia, these once ran 3km,…

  • Pokut

    Black Sea Coast

    On clear days, the views from this summer shepherds' hamlet (elevation 2030m) seem to stretch to infinity with a foreground of typical bungalows climbing…

  • Sinop Archaeological Museum

    Black Sea Coast

    Highlights of this excellent museum include the fabulous Meydankapı mosaic from the 4th century AD, depicting the four seasons and seven muses; a marble…

  • Kanuni Park

    Trabzon

    One of Trabzon's most charming corners, this little park falls within the fortress walls of Ortahısar. It is ringed by fine old buildings including a…

  • Yason Burnu

    Black Sea Coast

    This low-lying, grassy cape is a very pleasant place for sea-view strolls, watching cormorants on the off-shore rocks and visiting a well maintained…

  • Amisos Tepesi

    Black Sea Coast

    For extensive views down between conifers onto a sweep of coastline, take the five-minute cable-car ride from Batıpark to this hilltop with its twin…

  • Amasra Castle

    Black Sea Coast

    The northern section of Amasra is a citadel of mixed Roman, Byzantine and Genoese heritage with heavy grey-stone walls that are often woven into today's…

  • Atatürk Mansion

    Trabzon

    This three-storey, blindingly white late-19th-century mansion has fine views and lovely formal gardens. Built for a wealthy Greek banking family in the…

  • Ünye Castle

    Black Sea Coast

    On a steep, green-sided crag about 7km inland from the town stand the ruins of Ünye Castle, founded by the Pontics and rebuilt by the Byzantines. There's…

  • Samsun Kent Müsesi

    Black Sea Coast

    In a pair of historical wooden houses, this extensive museum appealingly lays out Samsun's commerce, history and culture with an audio guide and booklet…

  • Tarihi Sinop Cezaevi

    Black Sea Coast

    This once infamous prison (1887 to 1997) incarcerated many famous Turkish writers. Though the extensive site has little in English, the grim, bare blocks…

  • Çarşı Camii

    Trabzon

    Recently restored with intricate ceiling paintings and back-lit panels in the spired minbar (pulpit), Çarşı Camii was till recently the largest mosque in…

  • Ünye Müze Evi

    Black Sea Coast

    This ambitious little museum occupies a handsome, breezy, 250-year-old Ottoman house, with displays bringing to life the history, lifestyles and folklore…

  • Taşbaşı Kilesisi

    Black Sea Coast

    Standing in a hilltop garden overlooking the sea, this hefty former stone building was built as a Greek church (1853) and is undergoing extensive long…

  • Kalepark

    Black Sea Coast

    Named for the remains of the castle (kale) that historically dominated the hill, this pleasant green space benefits from its perch above Giresun,…

  • Rize Castle

    Black Sea Coast

    Built by the Byzantines on the steep hill at the back of town, Rize's modest kale (castle) has two concentric sections. The upper, inner fortress might…

  • Amasra Museum

    Black Sea Coast

    This excellent little museum showcases Amasra's multilayered Roman, Byzantine, Hellenistic and Ottoman history with valuable statuary, coins and…

  • Yukarı Kavron

    Black Sea Coast

    One of the most popular day-trip driving destinations from Ayder (13km by unpaved track), Yukarı Kavron is a slightly scrappy seasonal yayla village in a…

  • Gülbahar Hatun Camii

    Trabzon

    Sultan Selim I the Grim, the Ottoman conqueror of Syria and Egypt (and known as Yavuz, or 'The Great' to the Turkish), built this mosque southwest of the…

  • Huser Yaylası

    Black Sea Coast

    The Kaçkar region's full glory becomes most apparent when you climb high above the treeline to one of the upland meadows (yayla) from which the beautiful…

  • Paşaoğlu Mansion & Ethnography Museum

    Black Sea Coast

    Occupying a handsome stone mansion built in 1896, this ethnographic museum provides a glimpse into the life of upper-class Ottoman society, before it all…

  • Bedesten

    Trabzon

    One of the most distinctive buildings of the bazaar area, the Bedestan is a 16th-century covered market hall – though, from its heavy octagonal uppers,…

  • Archaeology & Ethnography Museum

    Black Sea Coast

    At the time of research, Samsun's foremost museum was closed pending long-term reconstruction and extension. Its most striking attraction is a huge Romano…

  • Ortahisar Fatih Büyük Camii

    Trabzon

    Originally known by the rather breathless name of the 'Church of the Golden-Headed Virgin Mary', this mosque started out as a church, possibly built by…

  • Alaca Han

    Trabzon

    This single-domed han (caravanserai), built in the 18th century, is fronted by a cute little 1807 mosque. It gives its name to Çarşı's best-preserved…

  • Alaaddin Camii

    Black Sea Coast

    Entered from the north through a delightful oasis of a garden-yard, this historic mosque was first constructed for Süleyman Pervane in 1267. The local…

  • İskender Paşa Camii

    Trabzon

    Commissioned in 1529 by the governor (Pasha) of Trabzon, this fine stone mosque has twin tiled domes and an imposing gateway.

  • Tütün İskele

    Black Sea Coast

    In May 1919, when Turkey was under the essential control of post WWI allied powers, Atatürk was dispatched by steamer to Samsun to quell a minor uprising…

  • Giresun Museum

    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…

  • Palovit Şelalesi

    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…

  • Samsun Panorama

    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…

  • Çat Yayla

    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…

  • Batıpark

    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 …

  • Trabzon Şehir Müzesi

    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…