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.
619 places match
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Teuthrania is an archaeological site identified with Kalerga Tepe, also written Kalarga Tepe, in İzmir’s Bergama district. The remains occupy an elevated rural hill rather than a formal museum building or a compact visitor complex.
Alara Kalesi
Alara Castle is a hilltop fortress ruin above the Alara River in Antalya Province. The castle’s character comes from its position: elevated ground overlooks the river corridor and separates the site from the province’s coastal resort landscape.
Atatürk Anıtı
Atatürk Monument is the equestrian civic sculpture in İzmir’s Cumhuriyet Meydanı, on Kordon at Atatürk Bulvarı, in front of Swissôtel. Its subject is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as a commander, giving the waterfront square a distinctly republican and military memorial character.
Bubon is an ancient archaeological settlement in Antalya Province, Türkiye, encountered as a quiet rural heritage site rather than a developed attraction with museum galleries, extensive interpretation or a large visitor complex.
Or Yehuda Tarım Okulu
Or Yehuda Agriculture School is the surviving building of a Jewish agricultural colony and school founded near Akhisar in 1899, in what is today the Kayalıoğlu neighbourhood of Akhisar district.
Iotape
Aytap, known locally as Iotape, is an ancient archaeological site on the Mediterranean coast near Alanya in Antalya Province. The settlement occupies a coastal promontory with natural harbour advantages that attracted ancient populations.
Akköprü is a Seljuk-era stone bridge over the Ankara Çayı in Varlık Mahallesi, Yenimahalle. It was built in 1222 during the reign of Sultan I.
Acıgöl-Nevşehir is a volcanic maar in Nevşehir Province, set beside the Nevşehir–Aksaray road and about 3 km east of Acıgöl district centre. Unlike a conventional lake destination, its basin is now dry, giving the site a distinctly geological character.
Özkonak Yeralti Şehri
Özkonak is an underground city on the northern slopes of İdiş Dağı, near Avanos in Nevşehir Province. It was carved into thick volcanic, granite-like tuff layers and opened to visitors in 1972.
Kadyanda is an elevated ancient settlement in the mountains north of Fethiye, approached through Üzümlü rather than from the coast.
Çeşme Kalesi
Çeşme Castle is a six-towered Ottoman fortress built in 1508 during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II. Moats remain on three sides, framing a historic defensive site in the centre of Çeşme.
Atatürk, Annesi ve Kadın Hakları Anıtı
Atatürk, His Mother and Women's Rights Monument is a landmark in Anayasa Meydanı, Tuna, on Karşıyaka’s İzmir waterfront. Its present structure reopened in 2018 after the original 1972 monument was rebuilt.
Çamlık Eski İstasyonu
Çamlık Railway Museum is an open-air railway collection beside TCDD’s Çamlık station, approximately 7 kilometres from Selçuk in İzmir Province. It opened to visitors in 1991 and preserves steam-era railway heritage in the setting of a real railway yard.
Altınbeşik Mağarası Millî Parkı
Altınbeşik Cave National Park is a protected natural area in Antalya Province, Turkey, centered on the Altınbeşik Cave system. The park lies within the Taurus Mountains and features significant karst topography.
Pydnai
Pydnae is an abandoned Hellenistic fortress settlement on the Lycian coast, at İnce Burun where the Eşen River reaches the sea.
Marmaris Kalesi
Marmaris Castle is a historic hilltop fortress behind Marmaris Harbour, in Tepe Mahallesi’s Kaleiçi Mevkii.
Kuğulu Park is a compact public green space on Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi in Kavaklıdere, Çankaya, Ankara.
İsa Bey Camii
İsa Bey Mosque is a 14th-century Aydinid mosque on the south-western slope of Ayasuluk Hill in Selçuk, İzmir.
Göksu Parkı
Göksu Park is a distinctive lakeside recreation area in Göksu Mahallesi, Etimesgut, shaped by a 1.6-kilometre route around its lake rather than by a single building or monument.
Dikmen Vadisi
Dikmen Valley is a large public green corridor in Ankara’s Çankaya district, extending between the Dikmen and Ayrancı neighbourhoods. It follows a long, sloping valley rather than forming one enclosed attraction.
Karşı Kilise
St. John is a rock-cut church in Gülşehir, within Nevşehir Province, known locally as St. Jean Church and Karşı Kilise. Cut into a rock chimney, it forms a compact but layered historic site with two levels.
Gagai
Gagae, known locally as Gagai, is an ancient archaeological site situated in the Antalya region of southern Turkey. This ruined settlement represents a former Lycian city that once held significance in the classical Mediterranean world.
Balbura is identified in OpenStreetMap as a historical site in the Antalya region of southern Turkey. The record preserves a named, fixed mapped location, but does not establish a securely documented date, monument list, excavation history, or visitor interpretation.
Neonteikhos
Neonteichos is an archaeological settlement in the mountainous landscape around Yanıkköy, within İzmir’s Menemen district.
Muradiye Cami
The Muradiye is the mosque Mimar Sinan designed for Manisa, built between 1583 and 1586 for Sultan Murad III. It replaced a smaller mosque begun on the site in 1571 and is the finest Ottoman building in the city.
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.
