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
Göreme Valley is a carved-rock settlement and archaeological landscape in Cappadocia, presented by the responsible ministry through the Göreme Open-Air Museum.
Göre Açık Hava Müzesi
Göre Açık Hava Müzesi is a rock-settlement heritage area within Göre, in Nevşehir Central District. Its defining sights are spaces cut directly into soft volcanic rock: former homes, openings and animal shelters shaped around everyday domestic and agricultural needs.
Great Caves is a distinctive open-air rock settlement on the Çavuşin slope, where carved spaces and weathered volcanic surfaces meet the edge of a living Cappadocian village.
HACI BEKTAŞ VELİ
Hacı Bektaş Veli is a historic dergah complex and museum in Hacıbektaş, associated with the 13th-century mystic and the Bektashi tradition.
Manisa Hafsa Sultan Şifahanesi
The Hafsa Sultan Hospital Museum is the surviving hospital wing of the Sultan Camii complex, the külliye Ayşe Hafsa Sultan — wife of Selim I and mother of Süleyman the Magnificent — commissioned in Manisa in 1522, where she lived…
Hallaç Manastir
Hallaç Manastir is an 11th-century monastic complex carved into a tuff rock mass in the Hallaç Deresi area, about 1 kilometre northeast of Ortahisar in Nevşehir’s Ürgüp district.
Hamam Bay is a sheltered coastal cove in Muğla Province’s Dalaman area, also known locally as Kleopatra Hamamı. Pine-covered slopes descend towards a natural beach and clear water, while ancient Cleopatra Hamamı ruins stand beside the shore.
Hermesin Çizmesi, or Hermes’ Boot, is a natural rock formation near Kazıklı Mahallesi in Selendi district. It stands in the Selendi Çayı Canyon, where the rock’s outline is traditionally understood as Hermes’ right foot.
Saklı Kilise
Saklı Kilise is a rock-cut Byzantine church in Göreme’s El Nazar Mevkii, near El Nazar Church in Nevşehir Province. Its name is linked to its discovery in 1957.
BALONY TURCJA
BALONY TURCJA is a named outdoor balloon-viewing position near Göreme in Nevşehir, at 38.65492, 34.82824, in the Sunrise Viewpoint area.
Iasos is an archaeological site in Kıyıkışlacık Mahallesi, in the Milas district of Muğla, set on a peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides.
İnözü Vadisi
İnözü Valley is an open rural landscape in Rüstempaşa, about 3 km from Beypazarı district centre. Its character comes from the meeting of rocky valley walls, village views, cultivated fields and visible birdlife.
İStasyon binası ve lojman is a railway heritage complex in central Manisa, at Fabrika Tımarı Mevkii in 2. Anafartalar Mahallesi. Its identity comes from the relationship between historic architecture and a working station, rather than from a separate museum function.
Juliopolis is an archaeological site in the Gülşehri area of Çayırhan, within Nallıhan district in Ankara Province. Set beside Sarıyar Dam, it combines an ancient settlement with a necropolis on limestone rock along the reservoir’s northern shore.
jupiter launch base 5
Jupiter Launch Base 5 is the mapped location of a former Turkish launch position associated with the United States Jupiter intermediate-range ballistic-missile deployment. It was the fifth of five positions established in Turkey near İzmir during the Cold War.
Kayaköy is a preserved archaeological settlement on a hillside about 8 km south of Fethiye, where the remains of Levissi meet the older place-name Karmylassos.
Church
Church, also known as Kaymaklı Church, is a twentieth-century heritage building in Kaymaklı, within Nevşehir’s Merkez district. The heritage record connects it with the Greek Rum community.
Kızkumu is a natural shallow sandbar extending about 600 metres through Orhaniye Cove near Marmaris. Its low strip of sand creates the memorable impression of walking across the sea, while the cove’s wooded slopes frame the route from every angle.
Koca Bektaş Dede Türbesi stands in Beyoba Mahallesi, within Manisa’s Akhisar district. The municipality presents the site as the Koca Bektaş Dede Dergâhı and a hayır alanı, meaning that the tomb belongs to a wider devotional and charitable setting.
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.
Manisa Mevevihane Müzesi
The Manisa Mevlevihane is a Mevlevi dervish lodge built in 1368-69 by İshak Çelebi, grandson of the Saruhanoğlu ruler Saruhan Bey, on a slope at the foot of Spil Mountain.
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.
