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.
431 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
The Ancient Theater is a roughly 5,000-seat performance space within Kaunos Ancient City in Çandır, across the Dalyan River from Dalyan in Muğla Province.
Ancient Water Reservoir
Ancient Water Reservoir is a small water-management structure on Gemile Island, off Fethiye in Muğla Province. Its importance comes from its setting: an inhabited island needed dependable ways to collect and store water alongside churches, tombs and settlement buildings.
Ancient water well is a mapped archaeological feature in the Söğüt area of Marmaris district, Muğla, at 36.65638, 28.08556. It is associated with the ancient settlement known as Thyssanos, also called Saranda in municipal visitor material.
Annex Church is a named archaeological ruin within the Gemiler Island archaeological area, off the Fethiye coast in Muğla Province. Its identity is tied to a particular island settlement and to the water approach from Gemiler Cove, near Kayaköy.
Apollonis is an ancient settlement in Manisa Province’s Akhisar district, identified with the rural remains around Konurca Kalesi. The site is reached from the vicinity of Mecidiye/Palamut village, with the archaeological area lying approximately 2 kilometres north of the village.
Aptalhöyük is an archaeological mound near Gökçetoprak village in Gülşehir district of Nevşehir. Its identity is tied to the mound itself and to the cultivated landscape around it, rather than to a museum, restored monument or visitor centre.
Akvaryum Koyu
Akvaryum Koyu is a natural cove in Muğla’s Datça district, on the coast east of Palamutbükü.
Arkeoloji Müzesi
Arkeoloji Müzesi is an archaeology museum identified by this Muğla record. The place should be treated as its own museum entry, separate from Marmaris Museum and the locations associated with Marmaris Castle, Tepe Mahallesi, Kaleiçi Mevkii, and Kemeraltı Mahallesi.
Asaardi Yolu
Asaardi Yolu is a named rural junction on the Lycian Way in Muğla Province, where an outdoor road connection meets a long-distance walking route. Its identity comes from movement through the landscape rather than a building, collection or staffed attraction.
Asarburnu Kalesi is an open-air archaeological ruin in the Kapıkırı–Bafa surroundings, within the wider Herakleia–Latmos historic landscape. The surviving castle remains stand in open countryside rather than inside a restored monument, museum or enclosed attraction.
Asarlik Kale is a hilltop archaeological ruin near Taşlıca in Marmaris district, where the remains are encountered in their original rural setting rather than inside a restored building or museum.
Asklepion
Asklepion is Pergamon’s ancient healing sanctuary, founded in the 4th century BC for Asklepios, the god associated with medicine. Its identity comes from the way a sacred precinct organised healing, movement and public experience together.
Aşıklı Dağı Günbatımı Alanı
Aşıklı Dağı Günbatımı Alanı is an open-air sunset viewpoint on the slopes of Aşıklı Dağı, in Nevşehir’s Merkez district near Göre and Güvercinlik.
Asklepion is a healing sanctuary near Bergama, arranged as a connected landscape of approach, worship, public gathering and treatment. The long Via Tecta leads towards the monumental propylon and the principal sacred area.
Asmalı Konak is a historic Ürgüp building now presented by its operator as Asmalı Konak Cave Suites, a hotel with restaurant and cafe services.
Atatürk Anıtı, officially named Atatürk ve Milli Egemenlik Anıtı, stands in Cumhuriyet Meydanı in Manisa’s Şehzadeler district.
Atatürk Anıtı
Atatürk Anıtı is an outdoor civic monument in the open area before Nevşehir Hükümet Konağı. It is not a museum or enclosed attraction; its significance comes from its place within the city’s administrative landscape and public commemorative life.
Avcılar vadisi
Avcılar vadisi is a named open-air valley in the Göreme area of Nevşehir, positioned at 38.63975° north and 34.82005° east. Its identity comes from the landscape itself: pale eroded tuff, valley cuts, ridges and the fairy-chimney scenery associated with Cappadocia.
Ayvali Kilise
Ayvali Kilise is a rock-cut church in Güllüdere 2 Valley, on the eastern side of Güllüdere Valley near Çavuşin village in Avanos, Nevşehir. Its inscription dates the church to 913–920, during Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos’s reign.
Teleferik
Teleferik is Balçova’s enclosed cable-car attraction, with its lower facility on Sakarya Caddesi opposite İzmir University of Economics.
The Balloon Viewing Area is a dedicated outdoor lookout in Göreme, Nevşehir, for seeing Cappadocia’s hot-air balloons above the region’s valleys and rock formations.
Balon Kalkış Alanı
Balon Kalkış Alanı is an outdoor launch point in the Göreme area of Nevşehir, at 38.65482, 34.83946. It belongs to Cappadocia’s regulated commercial hot-air-balloon activity, where visitors may watch preparation, inflation, and departures against the region’s distinctive terrain.
Akropoldeki Bazilika
Akropoldeki Bazilika is an exposed basilica ruin in the acropolis of Iasos, the ancient settlement at Kıyıkışlacık in Muğla’s Milas district.
The Basilica of St John stands in the middle of modern Alaşehir, on the ground of ancient Philadelphia, one of the seven cities addressed directly in the Book of Revelation.
The Bath-Gymnasium Complex is one of the major surviving architectural groups at Sardes, the ancient city known today as Sardis, near Sart in Manisa Province.
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.
