Country guide
Türkiye is 783,562 km² across 81 provinces, most of it Anatolia in West Asia with East Thrace on the European side of the straits. It has three coasts to choose...
Photograph · Benh LIEU SONG · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Türkiye is 783,562 km² across 81 provinces, most of it Anatolia in West Asia with East Thrace on the European side of the straits. It has three coasts to choose between — the Black Sea to the north, the Aegean to the west, the Mediterranean to the south — and an interior plateau that behaves like a different country in winter. Istanbul is the largest city and the economic centre, Ankara the capital and the second-largest, and the December 2025 population of 86,092,168 is weighted heavily to the west. A first trip is usually Istanbul and one coast; the plateau is the second trip.
Checked 2026-08-25
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Ben Morlok · CC BY-SA 2.0
Photograph · Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · REHBER0770 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Anonymous · CC0
Photograph · Dan Taylor · CC BY 2.0
Photograph · Dogaaunlu · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Egemenakgul · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
421 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Uçhisar Kalesi
Uçhisar Castle is a massive volcanic tuff formation rising from the centre of Uçhisar village in Cappadocia. It is not a separate masonry building: rooms, tunnels, stairways and lookout spaces were carved directly into the soft rock.
Yumurtatepe Tümülüsü
Yumurtatepe Tumulus is a protected archaeological mound in Ankara’s Yenimahalle district, at the Çiftlik–Demetevler junction. Its identity is tied to an urban landform that survives beside a busy road, rather than to a museum building or reconstructed monument.
Zank Höyük is a substantial archaeological mound near Sarılar in Avanos district, Nevşehir. Rising approximately 29–30 metres and measuring about 300 metres across, it reads as a broad settlement landscape rather than a standing monument.
Su kemeri
The Aspendos Roman aqueduct, locally known as Su kemeri, stands as an ancient engineering landmark near Antalya. This surviving remnant of Roman infrastructure once formed part of an extensive water-supply network serving the ancient city of Aspendos.
Afkule Monastery
The Monastery of Afkule is a remote religious ruin above Kayaköy in Fethiye district, reached through woodland rather than by a formal museum entrance.
Ağıl Höyük
Ağıl Höyük (Mucur) is a named archaeological mound in Mucur district, near Küçükburunağıl and Kırlangıç Hill.
Ahi Ebubekir Türbesi
Ahi Abu Bakr Tomb is a small local shrine on Ahi Sokak in Akyol Mahallesi, Yatağan, Muğla. Local historical accounts connect Ahi Abu Bakr with the founding of the settlement once known as Ahiköy, alongside his brother Ahi Sinan.
Dağdeviren Höyüğü is a registered archaeological mound in the Kayalıoğlu area of Akhisar, Manisa Province. It is also known as Dağdeviren Çiftliği Höyüğü, while older references call it Akırbey Çiftliği.
Doğala Han is a Seljuk-period caravanserai ruin in Doğala village, Derinkuyu district, Nevşehir, with its surviving remains inside the village cemetery.
Dolayhan
Dolay Han is a ruined Seljuk caravanserai southeast of Til Village, in Derinkuyu district, approximately 30 kilometres southeast of Nevşehir.
El Nazar Kilisesi
El Nazar Church is a small Byzantine sanctuary carved into a fairy chimney in Zemi Valley, east of Göreme in Nevşehir.
Herkül Köprüsü
Hercules Bridge, known locally as Herkül Köprüsü, is a historical bridge in Antalya. It is best approached as a short architectural stop rather than a major attraction with a formal visitor programme.
Kalecik Kalesi
Kalecik Castle is a ruined historic site in the centre of Kalecik, Ankara, occupying a steep rocky rise above the town. Public descriptions connect the remains with the Roman or Byzantine period and later Ottoman repairs.
Korucu Köprüsü
Korucu Bridge, known locally as Korucu Köprüsü, is a historical stone bridge located in the Antalya region of Türkiye.
Doyran Monastery
Monastery of Doyran is a named historical and cultural point of interest in the Doyran area of Antalya Province. Its identity is tied to this locality and to a mapped place associated with the region’s religious heritage.
Naras Köprüsü
Naras Bridge, locally known as Naras Köprüsü, is a historic stone bridge in Antalya Province. It offers a compact encounter with traditional Ottoman bridge engineering in a rural setting.
Ömer Dede Türbesi
Ömer Dede Tomb is a small, named religious heritage site in Eskicami Mahallesi, within Selendi İlçe Mezarlığı in Manisa. Its character comes from the place itself: a tomb set inside an active cemetery, rather than a museum or formal exhibition.
Mylasa
Pilav Hill, also known as Pilavtepe, is a modest natural rise near Milas with an unusually specific archaeological story.
Aziz Basil Şapeli
Aziz Basil Chapel is a compact rock-cut Byzantine chapel at the entrance to Göreme Open-Air Museum.
Yeni Han
Yeni Han is a two-storey trading inn in Şehzadeler, Manisa, organised around an internal courtyard. Its identity comes from this inward-facing arrangement: rooms and businesses meet the open centre, creating a compact architectural space within the city’s everyday commercial fabric.
Side
The Agora of Side is a distinct civic and commercial space within the ancient city on Side’s peninsula. Its surviving footprint is read through foundations, column drums, stone blocks, and architectural fragments rather than a complete standing building.
Myra Antik Kenti
Myra’s ancient theatre is a Roman-era performance building within Myra Antik Kenti, near Demre in Antalya province. Its semicircular cavea is carved into the hillside, placing the surviving public architecture directly beneath the rock-cut necropolis.
Karatay Medresesi
The Antalya Karatay Madrasa, known locally as Karatay Medresesi, stands as a historic Islamic educational institution in Antalya, Turkey. This architectural monument represents the Seljuk period heritage of the region, reflecting the scholarly traditions that once flourished here.
Antiphellos Ancient Theatre
The Greek Theatre of Antiphellos is an ancient open-air theatre in Kaş, Antalya Province. It belonged to the Lycian settlement of Antiphellos, the ancient town beneath modern Kaş.
Termessos Tiyatrosu
The Greek Theatre of Termessos is an ancient amphitheatre located within the archaeological site of Termessos, situated in the Taurus Mountains near Antalya. Termessos was a Pisidian city known for its formidable defensive position and resistance to Alexander the Great.
Ten to fourteen days allows about four days in İstanbul and at least three around Antalya when coastal archaeology is included. Cappadocia needs its own regional stay, and a one-way coastal route is more workable than returning to the same city each night.
Türkiye's visa position varies by passport and purpose. Verify the rule through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, when eligible, use only the official e-Visa service rather than an intermediary.
İstanbul's two airports and Antalya are the principal gateways for this itinerary. Domestic flights cover long cross-country legs, coaches serve many city pairs, and high-speed rail is most useful on the İstanbul-Ankara axis rather than as a universal substitute.
April to May and September to October are broad choices for combining İstanbul with the Mediterranean coast. Cappadocia nights, inland heat, and Antalya's coastal conditions differ, so confirm weather for each overnight base.
Türkiye uses the Turkish lira (TRY). Keep lira available for smaller transport and market transactions even when cards are accepted, and review the displayed amount in TRY before agreeing to any card conversion.
Dial 112 for emergencies in Türkiye. Electricity is 230 V through Type C and F sockets; tap-water safety is not recorded here, so obtain current local advice at each stop.
