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.
378 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Kurşunlu Hanı is a late-fifteenth-century Ottoman han in Manisa, built in 1488 as part of the Hatuniye Külliyesi beside Hatuniye Mosque. Hüsnüşah Sultan, the wife of Sultan Bayezid II, commissioned the building.
Kurşunlu Şelalesi is a natural waterfall landscape in Allahdiyen Mahallesi, within the Kurşunlu mevkii of Salihli district in Manisa. Kurşunlu Creek runs through a wooded setting where waterfalls, stream beds and dense tree cover define the experience.
Kuş Cenneti is a wetland in Davutoğlan village, within Ankara’s Nallıhan district, where the Aladağ Stream meets the Sarıyar Dam. Its character comes from the meeting of flowing water, reservoir shoreline, reed beds, rocky ground and bird habitat.
cave house
Local Cave House is a twelve-room hotel built into the rock-carved hillside above Göreme. The operator describes a traditional family home restored in 1998, bought by the Kocaturk Family in 2004, and transformed into a cave hotel.
Love Valley, also called Bağlıdere Valley, is a natural valley near Göreme in Cappadocia. It is an open outdoor landscape with walking paths, fairy chimneys, tall rock formations and changing views.
Hekatomnos Anıt Mezarı ve Kutsal Alanı
Hekatomnos Anıt Mezarı ve Kutsal Alanı is the archaeological centrepiece of the Uzunyuva complex in Milas, Muğla. The monument is associated with Hekatomnos and is encountered within a town-based museum setting rather than as an isolated countryside ruin.
Beçin Ortaçağ Kenti
Beçin Medieval City is an archaeological settlement in Beçin Mahallesi, about 5 km south of Milas in Muğla Province.
Merkez Çarşı'yı Canlandırma Projesi (Özhan) identifies an urban redevelopment project in Akhisar’s Merkez Çarşı, within Şeyhisa Mahallesi, rather than a completed visitor attraction. The project concerns an excavation area in the town centre where commercial renewal intersects with archaeological history.
M.Kemal Atatürk Havuzu is a compact civic memorial in Salihli, Manisa, positioned at approximately 38.48308° north and 28.12486° east.
Anıtsal Çınar / memorial Platan tree
Anıtsal Çınar is a recognised memorial plane tree near Hisarönü in Marmaris district, Muğla. Its identity is unusual because the landmark is both a living tree and a recorded monument: the OpenStreetMap entry applies the tags historic=monument and natural=tree.
Schlammbad
Schlammbad is a mud-bath stop across the Dalyan channel from Dalyan, within Köyceğiz district of Muğla Province.
Müftü Alim Efendi Evi is a registered historic residence in Çarşı Mahallesi, within Manisa’s Şehzadeler district, at the junction of Dr. Sadık Ahmet Caddesi and Dumlupınar Caddesi.
Mushroom-like ruins is a small, distinctive remnant near Sart in Salihli district of Manisa, within the wider archaeological landscape of Sardes.
Odeon is a compact ancient performance building within Aigai, near Yuntdağıköseler Mahallesi in Yunusemre, Manisa. Its importance comes from being a distinct cultural space inside a hilltop settlement, not from functioning as a modern theatre.
Park Otel (Demokrat Parti Lokali) is a compact two-storey masonry heritage building at the corner of Atatürk Bulvarı and 1205 Sokak in Manisa’s Nişancıpaşa neighbourhood.
Pashaba Valeri
Paşabağları, also called the Valley of the Priests, is the distinctive landscape represented by this Pashaba Valeri listing within the officially named Zelve–Paşabağlar Archaeological Site.
Pasşabağ Vadisi
Pasşabağ Vadisi, also known as the Zelve–Paşabağları archaeological site, is a Cappadocian valley shaped by pale volcanic rock and groups of tall fairy chimneys. Several formations have multiple heads, creating the unusual silhouette associated with Paşabağ.
GÜVERCINLIK VADISI başl.
Güvercinlik Vadisi, or Pigeon Valley, is a Cappadocian landscape route linking Uçhisar and Göreme. Its identity comes from numerous pigeon houses carved into the valley rocks, combining natural scenery with visible traces of how people adapted to the terrain.
Çarıklı Kilise Yemekhanesi
Çarıklı Kilise Yemekhanesi is a long, rectangular communal dining hall cut directly into the rock at the Göreme Open-Air Museum in Göreme, Nevşehir.
Ankara Roma Tiyatrosu
Ankara Roma Tiyatrosu is an archaeological theatre in Ulus, Ankara’s historic core, within Altındağ district.
Güllüdere
Güllüdere is a Cappadocian valley between Göreme and Çavuşin, best experienced as an outdoor walk rather than as a single enclosed monument. Official regional material identifies two established trekking routes, Güllüdere-I and Güllüdere-II.
Rum Mehmet Paşa Hanı, also known as Rum Mehmet Paşa Bedesteni, is a restored historic covered commercial building in Manisa’s Çarşı Mahallesi.
Saklıkent Kanyonu
Saklıkent Kanyonu is a water-shaped gorge in Seydikemer, Muğla, beside the Antalya provincial border. Its documented length is about 18 kilometres, with canyon height varying roughly from 200 to 600 metres.
Sandikkale
Sandıkkale is the inner citadel of the Byzantine-era Manisa Kalesi, on the north slope of Spil Dağı immediately above Manisa city centre, in the Turgutalp neighbourhood.
Sart Kalesi
Sardis Acropolis — Sart Kalesi on the road signs and local maps — is the fortified hilltop above Sardis, the citadel the Lydian capital was built around and the last stronghold the city ever held.
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.
