A photograph of Türkiye

Country guide

Theme: History in Türkiye — page 14

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

26,399 Places
7Cities

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

Cities

Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.

Practical information

Language spoken
Turkish
The official language of the Republic of Turkiye
Dialling code
+90
The international dialling code for Turkiye
Currency
Turkish lira (₺, TRY)
The official currency; one lira is divided into 100 kurus
Emergency number
112
One number for ambulance, fire and police
Plug type
European two-pin · 220 V
The national living guide records 220 V and European-style two-pin plugs
Tap water
Not recorded
No verified national source in the dataset

Top things to see

Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.

  1. Agora
    326 45 min

    Agora

    Agora is a principal surviving civic space within Euromos Ancient City, near Milas in Muğla Province. Its approximately 95 by 83 metre plan is nearly square, giving the remains a strong sense of order.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  2. Agora
    327 45 min

    Agora

    The Agora is the civic square at the centre of ancient Euromos, in Selimiye near Milas, Muğla. Its almost square plan measures approximately 95 by 83 metres, giving the ruin a clearly defined footprint within the wider archaeological site.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  3. Ahlatlı Tepecik
    328 45 min

    Ahlatlı Tepecik

    Ahlatlı Tepecik is a höyük, or settlement mound, on Marmara Lake’s southern shore, about 800 metres west of Tekelioğlu Mahallesi in Manisa’s Salihli area. Its significance lies in the archaeological evidence preserved within a modest rise beside the lake.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Manisa
  4. Airbus A300
    329 45 min

    Airbus A300

    Airbus A300 is a full-size 1985 aircraft installed as a roadside landmark in Kızılyaka Mahallesi, Ula district, beside the Muğla–Fethiye road. Brothers Cemal Işıldak and Nurettin Işıldak bought the aircraft for an alternative-tourism project and converted it for restaurant-cafeteria use.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  5. Akhisar Kalesi
    330 45 min

    Akhisar Kalesi

    Akhisar Kalesi is the separately mapped castle feature that gives a physical focus to Akhisar’s name in central Manisa.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Manisa
  6. Akhisar Sinagogu Akhisar Sinagogu
    331 45 min

    Akhisar Sinagogu

    Akhisar Sinagogu is a surviving Jewish-heritage fragment in Paşa Mahallesi, Akhisar, rather than a complete synagogue preserved as a conventional attraction. Historical material identifies it with Akhisar’s former Jewish community, while the visible survival is chiefly the historic doorway.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Manisa
  7. Akropol
    332 45 min

    Akropol

    Akropol is the walled upper settlement within Pedasa, a Lelegian archaeological site in the wooded hills north of Bodrum.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  8. Akropolis
    333 45 min

    Akropolis

    Akropolis is the elevated fortified quarter within the Iasos archaeological site at Kıyıkışlacık in Milas, Muğla. Unlike a standalone monument, it is one identifiable part of a peninsula settlement surrounded by sea on three sides.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  9. Aktüel Traverten Oluşumu
    334 45 min

    Aktüel Traverten Oluşumu

    Aktüel Traverten Oluşumu is the Cambazlı travertine formation near the Urganlı geothermal area in Turgutlu district, Manisa. It is an outdoor geological landscape within the Turgutlu Neogene basin, at the western end of the Gediz Graben.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Manisa
  10. Akvaryum bay
    335 45 min

    Akvaryum bay

    Akvaryum Koyu

    Akvaryum Koyu is a natural cove on the Bozburun Peninsula, reached as a sea stop rather than a conventional beach complex. Its identity comes from the contrast between clear-looking water and an undeveloped coastal setting.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  11. Akyapı
    336 45 min

    Akyapı

    Akyapı is a large Roman-period building complex within Ören, a settlement in Muğla’s Milas district and the setting associated with ancient Keramos.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  12. Alakilise
    337 45 min

    Alakilise

    Alakilise is an Early Byzantine basilica in the Belören area, preserved as part of the wooded Lycian Way landscape. The responsible public body dates the church to the 5th–6th centuries.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  13. Alazeytin Kalesi / Syangela
    338 45 min

    Alazeytin Kalesi / Syangela

    Alazeytin Kalesi / Syangela is a Leleg settlement spread over a conical hill in Çiftlik Mahallesi, within Bodrum district of Muğla Province.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  14. Ali Guven
    339 45 min

    Ali Guven

    Ali Guven is a named outdoor monument in Bodrum’s Çarşı, commemorating a local sandal-maker rather than a military leader, ruler, or archaeological site.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  15. Altıkapı Türbesi
    340 45 min

    Altıkapı Türbesi

    Altıkapı Türbesi is a 13th-century Seljuk-era tomb in Kavaklıönü, within Ürgüp town centre in Nevşehir Province. Ürgüp Municipality identifies it as a monument known to belong to a mother and her two daughters.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Nevşehir
  16. Altınköy Açık Hava Müzesi Altınköy Açık Hava Müzesi
    341 1 hr 30 min

    Altınköy Açık Hava Müzesi

    Altınköy Açık Hava Müzesi is a reconstructed Anatolian village landscape in Beşikkaya, Altındağ, dedicated to rural life in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

    • Notable
    • Museum
    • Ankara
  17. Amazing cave under water. You can swim in an underwater tunnel 3m long.
    342 45 min

    Amazing cave under water. You can swim in an underwater tunnel 3m long.

    This mapped feature is a short natural underwater tunnel in the Kabak coastal area near Faralya, within the wider Fethiye diving zone. It is reached through the sea rather than through a land entrance.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  18. Ambar gediği
    343 45 min

    Ambar gediği

    Ambar gediği is an open-air memorial recorded as a historic=memorial feature near Bozkonur Tepesi in Dalaman district, Muğla Province, Türkiye. It is a small, place-specific point of interest rather than a museum, staffed monument complex or enclosed attraction.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  19. Amfi Tiyatro
    344 45 min

    Amfi Tiyatro

    Amfi Tiyatro is the open-air performance venue within Milas Municipality’s Atatürk Kültür Merkezi complex in Hayıtlı Mahallesi.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  20. Amos Ancient Theatre
    345 45 min

    Amos Ancient Theatre

    Amos amphitheatre

    Amos amphitheatre is the surviving theatre of an ancient Hellenistic settlement on Asarcık Hill, above the north-western side of Kumlubük Bay near Marmaris.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  21. Amphitheatre
    346 45 min

    Amphitheatre

    amfi tiyatro

    Amfi Tiyatro is the surviving theatre within Kadyanda, also known as Cadianda Ancient City, in the uplands near Fethiye, Muğla.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  22. Amphitheatre
    347 45 min

    Amphitheatre

    Bodrum’s Amphitheatre is the ancient theatre of Halicarnassus, built into the southern slope of Göktepe in Yeniköy Mahallesi. Dating to the 4th century BC, it connects modern Bodrum with the classical city.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  23. Anchor
    348 45 min

    Anchor

    Anchor was a former restaurant, cafe and bar at Manastır Caddesi 3 in Güllük, within Milas district of Muğla. Its recorded identity belongs to a casual coastal hospitality venue, not to a monument, museum or ticketed attraction.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  24. Ancient Loryma
    349 45 min

    Ancient Loryma

    Ancient Loryma is the archaeological site identified with Bozukkale, on the hill at the entrance to Bozukkale Bay on the Bozburun Peninsula in Marmaris district of Muğla.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Muğla
  25. Ancient Sardis Ruins Ancient Sardis Ruins
    350 45 min

    Ancient Sardis Ruins

    Ancient Sardis Ruins preserve Sardis, capital of the Lydian Kingdom, in Sart in Salihli district of Manisa. Lydian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine layers meet across this open archaeological landscape.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Manisa

Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·

Common questions

How long should a first trip to Türkiye be?

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.

What entry documents are needed for Türkiye?

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.

What is the best way to travel around Türkiye?

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.

When is a practical time to visit Türkiye?

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.

What money and payment basics apply in Türkiye?

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.

What practical safety details should I save for Türkiye?

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.