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.
514 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
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.
Schlammbad is a mud-bath stop across the Dalyan channel from Dalyan, within Köyceğiz district of Muğla Province.
Şehitlik Anıtı is a memorial landmark at the lower part of Alparslan Türkeş Meydanı on Turhan Alakent Caddesi in Alaşehir, Manisa.
Şevket Sabancı Parkı is a public outdoor park and event venue in Turgutreis, on Muğla’s Bodrum peninsula. Opened on 19 July 2003, it bears the name of Şevket Sabancı and occupies a distinctly civic waterfront setting beside Turgutreis Marina.
Şeyh İsa ve Şeyh İlyas Çelebi Türbesi is a compact religious heritage site at Şeyh İsa Mosque in Şeyhisa Mahallesi, Akhisar, Manisa.
Tarihi Lokomotif 56507
Tarihi Lokomotif 56507 is a preserved steam locomotive displayed beside Manisa railway station in Şehzadeler. Henschel & Sohn of Kassel built the engine in 1943, and its builder’s construction number is 27741.
Tarihi Lokomotif 56550
Tarihi Lokomotif 56550 is a preserved railway object displayed beside Soma Railway Station in Soma, Manisa.
Sultan Hamamı is a protected Ottoman double bathhouse in central Manisa, built in 1539 according to the official cultural inventory.
Suluhan is a sixteenth-century urban han in Ankara’s Ulus district, known in historical records and local heritage inventories as Hasanpaşa Hanı and Ankaravî Hanı.
Tabak Deresi Dev Kazanları is a natural geosite in Manisa’s Kula-Salihli UNESCO Global Geopark, shaped by the Tabak River rather than built as a conventional attraction.
Tavşan Adası
Tavşan Adası, also called Tavşan/Asar Adası in Bodrum Municipality material, is a rocky island within Gümüşlük Bay and part of the harbour landscape of ancient Myndos.
Teleferik is Balçova’s enclosed cable-car attraction, with its lower facility on Sakarya Caddesi opposite İzmir University of Economics.
Temple of Apollon is the monumental sanctuary of Apollo at ancient Didyma, in today’s Didim.
Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis at Sardis is an unfinished sanctuary within the Sardes Archaeological Site at Sart Mahallesi in Salihli, Manisa.
The Temple of Zeus Lepsynos is Euromus’s defining monument, standing outside the ancient city rather than within its central civic area.
Tepe Mezarı is a compact archaeological site in Ragıpbey Mahallesi, at the heart of Akhisar in Manisa. Its remains belong to Thyateira, the ancient city whose name survives in Akhisar’s historical identity.
Sultaniye Kaplıcaları
Sultaniye Kaplıcaları is a municipal thermal-bath facility near Köyceğiz in Muğla. Visitors come to bathe in naturally warm source water, pause in a peaceful setting and combine the visit with a wider outing around Köyceğiz, Dalyan or Ekincik.
Three beauties
Three Beauties is a compact outdoor viewpoint at Ürgüp’s western entrance, centred on three fairy chimneys standing together at different heights. Their unequal sizes create the silhouette associated with the Turkish name Üç Güzeller.
Tribal Collections Nomadic Rugs & Textiles is a specialist gallery set in a restored cave dwelling in Göreme, where the architecture is part of the setting rather than a neutral shop interior.
Alyattes'in Tümülüsü
The Tumulus of Alyattes — Alyattes'in Tümülüsü on local maps — is the largest of the Bin Tepe mounds and one of the largest burial tumuli known anywhere, traditionally identified with the Lydian king Alyattes, father of Croesus, who died…
Giges Tümülüsü
The Tumulus of Gyges — Giges Tümülüsü on local maps, and known archaeologically as Karnıyarık Tepe — is the second-largest of the more than a hundred royal Lydian mounds gathered in the Bin Tepe field north of Sart, in Salihli…
Turgutlu Saat Kulesi
Turgutlu Saat Kulesi is a civic clock tower in Orta Park, central Turgutlu. The landmark belongs to the town’s public centre and is best visited as part of an urban walk.
Underground City Kayaşehir is a historic subterranean settlement beneath Nevşehir Castle, in the centre of Nevşehir.
Usturumcalı Halil Efe Anıt Mezarı is an outdoor memorial grave on Yağcı Dağı, in the Eşemenler hamlet of Yenice Mahallesi in Selendi district.
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.
