92 Best Sights in The Turquoise Coast, Turkey

Although a Greek-speaking city called Knidos has existed on the Datça Peninsula since at least the 6th century BC, the Knidos at this site was founded circa 330 BC and prospered because of its excellent location on shipping routes between Egypt, Rhodes, Ephesus, the Greek mainland, and other major ports. Enter the archaeological site near the large agora (marketplace) down by the water and continue up the hill on the ancient main street, with its views over the water and the modern lighthouse.

Pass the Temple of Apollo and then reach the ruins of a circular temple, which many believe stands on the site of Knidos' famed Temple of Aphrodite. Knidos's two ancient harbors are below; the Mediterranean laps the southern (left-hand) harbor while the waters of the northern (right-hand) harbor belong to the Aegean. Knidos was abandoned in Byzantine times (around the 7th century AD), which is part of why the site has remained as romantically unspoiled as it was when travelers first sketched it in the early 1800s: the only denizens you're likely to encounter are grazing goats.

For many Turks, Antalya is synonymous with the thick crowds of vacationers on Konyaaltı Beach, and the packed pebble strand is a stiflingly hot and busy sight in high season. The city has worked hard to improve the quality of the beach experience though, with especially impressive results on the 1 km (½ mile) section starting after the museum and ending under the Hotel Su. The beach is largely divided up by concessions, each with its own restaurant, deck chairs, umbrellas, and showers. Energetic and often noisy, this is not the spot for a quiet, solitary swim. The city-run "nostalgic tram" from just outside Kaleiçi will take you right above the beach, or you can take a cab. Amenities: food and drink; parking; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; swimming; walking.

Near the Great Mosque stands a covered bazaar dubbed Kırkkaşık, or "40 Spoons," which dates from the 16th century. Small shops inside sell local souvenirs at reasonable prices.

Just off the coast, an island—known to have been settled as early as the 4th century BC—is home to an evocative castle called Kızkalesi. Several offshore castles in Turkey bear this same name, which is derived from a legend about a king, a princess, and a snake. The beautiful princess, apple of her father's eye, had her fortune read by a wandering seer who declared she would die of a snakebite. The king therefore sent her to a castle on a snake-free island. Destiny, however, can never be avoided, and the offending serpent was accidentally delivered in a basket of grapes sent as a gift from her father's palace.

More prosaically, this particular castle was an important part of the row of defenses built and rebuilt over the centuries to stop invaders from Syria entering Anatolia via the coast route to Antalya. What you see dates mostly from the 11th century and was constructed by Byzantines to keep out Antioch-based Crusaders. Boatmen will offer to take you here, but hiring a paddleboat is the most popular way to explore.

A minor masterpiece of Mediterranean military architecture, the 100-foot-high Kızıl Kule (Red Tower) was built by the Seljuks in 1226 to defend Alanya's harbor and the nearby shipyard known as the tersane. Sophisticated technology for the time was implemented by an architect from Aleppo who was familiar with Crusader castle building. The octagonal redbrick structure includes finely judged angles of fire for archers manning the loopholes, cleverly designed stairs to cut attackers off, and a series of troughs to convey boiling tar and melted lead onto besieging forces.

Today, the Red Tower's passages are a cool relief from the summer heat, and the view from the top is captivating. Don't miss taking the short walk south along the fortified sea walls to the tersane, where waves crash into the old shipyard's five workshops, each under a vaulted stone arch. Ships could be pulled up into each for building or repairs, and the cover was likely also useful for storing war supplies. They now contain replica ship hulls and equipment, with explanations about their construction and use.

Excavations have revealed three temples in Letoon. The first dates from the 2nd century BC and was dedicated to Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis, and the namesake of the site. She was believed to have brought the infant twins here while hiding from Zeus's jealous wife, Hera. The middle temple, the oldest, is dedicated to Artemis and dates from the 5th or 4th century BC. The last, dating from the 1st century BC, belongs to Apollo and contains a replica of a mosaic depicting a bow and arrow (a symbol of Artemis), and a sun and lyre (Apollo's emblems). These are the three gods most closely associated with Lycia.

Re-erecting some columns of the Temple of Leto has made the site more photogenic. There is also a well-preserved Roman theater, right after the site entrance. The once-sacred pool where Leto sought to quench her thirst lends atmosphere. It's now filled with ducks and chirping frogs—which ties in playfully with the local legend that when villagers tried to chase Leto away, she turned them into frogs. About 6 km (4 miles) south of Letoon, the road continues to a beach. Across a rickety bridge at the river mouth are the ruins of an early Lycian fort called Pydnai.

Right in the midst of Kaş's restaurants and cafés is a monumental sarcophagus with four regal lions' heads carved onto its lid. It's a local landmark and one of the most prominent remnants of ancient Antiphellos. In 1842, a British naval officer counted more than 100 sarcophagi in Kaş, but most have been destroyed over the years as locals nabbed the flat side pieces to use in construction projects.

A modest, crenellated, 16th-century citadel near the Netsel Marina is one of the few historic sites within Marmaris town, and it has splendid views of the city, sea, and mountains. First built by Süleyman the Magnificent, then shelled to bits by the French in the First World War, the castle was rebuilt in the 1980s. A small museum gives context to the region's importance in antiquity with displays of sarcophagi, pottery, and other finds from area archaeological sites such as those at Knidos.

Marmaris has its own crowded beach, but many prefer to take a water taxi or minibus to this cleaner, somewhat quieter stretch in the nearby resort town of İçmeler, 8 km (5 miles) down the coast and backed by high, tree-covered mountains. Rent a beach chair and sit amid the palm trees for only 15 TL on the public beach, or nab a spot at one of the many beachfront bars and restaurants. Amenities: food and drink; parking; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

If you didn't know that Mermerli Beach was there, you'd never guess it. This tiny strip of sand and pebbles outside the harbor wall is reached via the Mermerli Restaurant, halfway up the hill east of the harbor. If you're staying in Kaleiçi, this is the ideal way to escape the bustle. The admission price to this quiet oasis in the heart of town includes loungers and umbrellas. Lovely as it is, do be aware that the beach is accessible only by several flights of stairs. Amenities: food and drink; toilets. Best for: swimming.

Remnants of ancient Antioch uncovered accidentally during construction of the Museum Hotel Antakya have been preserved in situ underneath the hotel as a museum, with walkways above impressively large and detailed Roman mosaics, the remains of a Roman bath, and sections of the old stone streets. A small display area contains a handful of the 30,000 artifacts found here, and video depictions of the history of the site, the excavation, and the construction of the museum and hotel.

This large cave dappled with stalactites and stalagmites is tucked away in the forested hills of Yıldız Adası (Star Island), which is linked by a causeway to the mainland south of Marmaris town. To reach the cave, follow the signs off the road to a rocky path and then up a set of wooden stairs. Most of the “island” is part of Marmaris National Park and can be explored via a variety of steep but scenic hiking and biking paths.

On the way to Knidos, a road heads south past many small villages and to the tiny Palamutbükü Beach, a nice place to stop and take a dip in the sparkling blue (but sometimes chilly) waters. Behind the beach are several restaurants, each serving their own zone of pebbled shorefront. Amenities: food and drink; parking (free); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

The ancient city of Patara is slowly emerging from the sands near Patara Beach under an ongoing excavation by Antalya's Akdeniz University. The heavy stones that make up the front of the monumental bathhouse are impressive, and a triple arch built by a Roman governor in AD 100 seems a tenth of its age. Beyond is a theater, the assembly hall of the Lycian League, several churches, and an impressive section of a colonnaded street. Follow the path west and you'll see the Roman lighthouse, which is being reconstructed from stone blocks unearthed in 2000. Still waiting to be found is the Temple of Apollo; Herodotus wrote that its oracle worked only part-time, as Apollo spent summers away in Delos (probably to escape the heat).

At some point, one of the city's Roman towers gained a clock and was dubbed the Saat Kulesi (Clock Tower). Several of the old town's cobbled lanes pass through the wall here. The area, also known as Kalekapısı (Castle Gate), serves as one of the interfaces between the old town and the new.

On the banks of the Seyhan River sits Adana's most prominent building, the Sabancı Merkez Camii. Very similar in style to the 16th-century Selimiye Mosque of Edirne, it was the largest mosque in Turkey when it was completed in 1998, but it has since been surpassed by the Çamlıca Camii in Istanbul (making it the second-largest). The large Merkez Parkı (Central Park) spreads north along the river from the mosque, with walking paths, fountains, and gazebos making for a pleasant green respite in the city center.

If you continue south from Tlos, you'll reach this spectacular gorge. It's a popular spot for picnicking and a wonderful place to cool off on a hot summer's day. The first section goes over a walkway above the torrent to a pleasant leafy tea garden, beyond which the adventurous can cross the glacial water and continue up the canyon. The first 30 minutes are straightforward; then the wading gets deeper and the rock scrambles more difficult, so know your limits—and expect to get wet. The road here heads south to Çavdır, which is just across the highway from Xanthos. If you don't have your own car, plenty of tour operators offer day trips. You need water shoes for this adventure; you can buy an inexpensive pair for around 200 TL in local clothes or convenience stores.

The Samandağ district of Hatay province, located between Antakya and the Mediterranean Coast, is rich in historic sites and natural beauty and makes for a worthwhile day trip with a guide or in your own car. On a windswept hill east of Route 420 sit the ruins of the Monastery of Symeon Stylites the Younger (free, about 20 km/12.5 miles southwest of Antakya, look for the modern windmills), an important pilgrimage center in early Christianity named for an ascetic monk who lived atop a pillar. On the other side of the highway, a winding road leads into the green foothills of Musa Dağı (Mt. Musa), home to Turkey’s last Armenian village, Vakıflı, a bucolic little spot with breakfast cafés; a small museum; and a shop selling local jams, spices, olives, and fruit liquors. The cafés in the shade of Musa Ağacı (Moses Tree), a giant plane tree said to be 3,000 years old, are another popular place to stop.

From Kapısuyu, the last village before the road heads down to the coast, there’s the scant remains of the ancient temple site Dor Mabedi and a panoramic viewpoint from which you can see where water running off the mountains once entered the Titus Tunnel. The tunnel itself, an eye-poppingly massive piece of Roman engineering, is part of the Çevlik Archaeological Site along with the rock tombs of Beşikli Cave (15 TL admission, about 6 km/4 miles north of Samandağ town). You can easily stop off in Harbiye on the drive back to Antakya.

The city's best achievement is a 10-km (6-mile) seafront promenade that stretches all the way from the easternmost marina known as Netsel, past the old castle, along the palm-lined main boulevard of town, out between the beach and the fancy hotels that line the coast, and then all the way west to the outlying resort of Içmeler. Along the way are cafés and bars at which to pause for refreshment or to take in fine views of sea and mountains. For 15 TL, you can ride back in one of the deniz taksi (shared water taxis) that run up and down the coast in season (usually April–October).

Remains found throughout the town of Silifke, in the vicinity of the castle, indicate that there was a settlement here as far back as the Bronze Age. Most of what can be seen today is from the Roman city known as Seleuceia Trachea, or Calycadnos Seleuceia, and include Corinthian columns from the 2nd-century AD Temple of Zeus, a stone bridge, and an ancient water cistern. A few kilometers out of the village, you'll find the remains of a basilica dedicated to St. Thecla, St. Paul's first convert, and the first female Christian martyr. Most interesting is the cave church below it where Thecla lived—the Patriarchate in Istanbul now organizes services here occasionally. There is a 6th-century cistern at the site as well.

Just east of Aspendos, a turnoff leads north to Köprülü Kanyon (a popular spot for white-water rafting) and the ruins of Selge. Just before Beskonak (30 km/18 miles), the road splits, and one branch crosses the river, passing a couple of pleasant riverside restaurants. After 10 km (6 miles), the two roads meet again at the start of the canyon proper—you'll drive over a remarkably well-preserved Roman bridge.

From here you head another 15 km (9 miles) up a steep road through rock formations to the village of Zelve, the site of the Roman city of Selge. Just before you reach town, take the left turn, and the impressive Roman theater will soon come into view. Most visitors are happy to clamber over the theater, but from the top you can see the ruins of the city itself on the hill opposite.

There are dozens of raft operators on the river, which runs through the 14-km (8.5-mile) canyon. The area is also part of the St. Paul Trail long-distance trekking route.

On the northern edge of town is Sen Piyer Kilisesi, or Saint Peter Church—a tiny cave high up on a cliff, blackened by centuries of candle smoke and dripping with water that seeps out of the rocks. According to tradition, this is where the apostle secretly preached to his converts and where they first came to be called Christians. Now operated as a museum, it is one of the oldest churches in existence; the facade you see, however, was added by the crusaders in the 11th to 12th century. The area around it was a cemetery in classical times, and there are numerous rock-cut tombs and tunnels.

A scrambly path leads up to the giant carved face of Charon, the legendary boatman who took the dead across the River Styx. Adventurous visitors can follow the valley just south to view a large section of the Byzantine walls, which also served as a bridge and dam. The church was declared a site of pilgrimage by Pope Paul VI, and the Catholic Church traditionally holds a religious service here on the 29th of June.

Across the street from the theater, the Side Museum is housed in a restored 2nd-century AD Roman bath that was expanded in the 5th or 6th century. The collection of Roman statuary and other artifacts is small but interesting, featuring a gorgeous group of marble torsos that includes the Three Graces; various cherubs; a brilliant satyr; a bust of Emperor Hadrian; a Roman sundial; and the usual smattering of inscriptions, amphorae, columns, and sarcophagi. The sculpture garden behind the museum is larger than the museum itself and overlooks the Mediterranean.

Local finds, some dating as far back as the Bronze Age, are displayed in the small Silifke Müzesi, just on the edge of the city center towards Anamur. The specimens of Roman jewelry are particularly lovely, and there is also a folkloric exhibit.

Also known as Sura, this was ancient Myra's most important pre-Christian holy site. Priests of Apollo would release fish into the sacred pool here, and then "read" the future from their movements. It still has Lycian tombs and a small acropolis, from which the temple of Apollo is visible in the overgrown valley below.

Opened at the end of 2020, Tarsus’s impressive archaeological museum makes a fine first stop—for understanding the history of the city, which has been settled for 9,000 years, and for putting together the jigsaw puzzle of relics scattered around town. A video reconstruction shows what the stone platform that remains of the Donuktaş Temple might have looked like with the temple building on top. Other videos tell the stories of figures both historical and mythological that are important to the region. The artifacts on display range from prehistoric pottery and tools from Gözlükule Höyüğü (Mound); the 1st-century AD Roman mosaic in the entry atrium depicting a banquet scene; the small but well-preserved Hellenistic terracotta figures; and traditional Yörük (nomad) textiles.

South along the river from the Merkez Camii is another civic symbol: the impressively long Taş Köprü, or "stone bridge," built by the Emperor Hadrian in AD 125 and restored by later rulers.

Follow the main street filled with shops selling jewelry and clothing until you reach the water and turn left. You'll reach the picture-postcard ruins of Side's Roman Temple of Apollo, its gleaming white marble columns set off beautifully by the blue ocean behind it. Millions of visitors a year visit the sun god's ruined temple—come at first light to avoid the crush. Beside it lie the ruins of the temple of Apollo's half-sister Athena, goddess of wisdom and war.

This pleasant resort town is only about 19 km (12 miles) from Marmaris. Come for the bustling Monday market where you can shop for local produce and trinkets or lounge on the free sun beds at the pretty Blue Flag beach. With a car, you can reach the little-known ruins of Amos, about 4 km (2.5 miles) up into the hills, with sweeping views over the bay. A water taxi will take you to Turunç from the Marmaris seafront promenade in season; a 20 TL dolmuş also runs from central Marmaris.

As historic and lively as the city itself, Antakya’s Uzun Çarşı (Long Bazaar) is a feast for the senses, a maze of covered and open streets full of shops piled high with spices, handmade soaps, clothes, kitchenware, jewelry, and much more. Tucked among them are multiple small mosques, quiet little courtyards, lively eateries, snack vendors, and traditional wood-oven fırıns (bakeries). The restored Kurşunlu Han near the center of the bazaar houses cafés and more tourist-oriented stores selling local handicrafts. At its northern end, the bazaar spills out into Antakya’s open-air produce market.