316 Best Sights in Turkey

The heart of Trabzon's social activity is its pleasing central square, Atatürk Alanı, also known as simply Meydan. In Byzantine and Ottoman times, the camel caravans assembled here before heading across the mountains. Today the square is full of shady tea gardens and surrounded by restaurants and most of the city's hotels. Regular minibuses headed for the bus station and other local destinations leave from beneath the overpass at the southern end.

Trabzon's wealthy citizens once retreated to villas in the hills above town and Greek banker Konstantin Kabayanidis built this attractive white mansion, set in a small forest with nice views of the city below, in the beginning of the 20th century. Atatürk stayed here during visits to the city in 1930 and 1937, and the house became a museum in 1943. Much of the original furniture remains in place.

The primitive mosaic floor is believed to date from the church's construction in the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian. The church was later reconstructed in the 11th century, after an earthquake toppled the original edifice. A faded fresco of Jesus, Mary, and John the Baptist at ground level on the north wall and some rather poorly preserved frescoes in the domes on either side of the apse date from the Byzantine era. In a controversial move, authorities converted this former museum into a mosque in 2011. Try to arrange your visit outside of prayer times, when you can explore the site freely and take photographs.

Trabzon's best-known Byzantine monument is this well-preserved 13th-century church that was converted into a mosque in Ottoman times. It sits on a bluff overlooking the Black Sea and inside, the highlights include wonderful Byzantine frescoes housed in the west porch: technicolor angels on the ceiling, Christ preaching in the Temple, the Annunciation, and the wedding at Cana—all executed in a style that shows strong Italian influences. Often overlooked is the graffiti of ships, carved into the outside of the apse by sailors for good luck. A shaded tea garden near the entrance is a popular place for breakfast. Some of the Byzantine-era frescoes in the central dome have been covered by white, umbrella-like fixtures because images are forbidden in mosques.

The most sheltered water and trendiest spot for a dip is at this dazzling turquoise bay named after St. George, Turkey's legendary dragon-slayer. A quick drive from Çeşme center, near Boyalık Bay, Ayayorgi Bay's beach clubs and restaurants are ever-popular with hip İzmirians and Istanbullus. There's no public beach, so plan to hang out at one of the swanky beach clubs (Paparazzi is a snazzy favorite, while Kafe Pi has a more youthful vibe), which metamorphose into beach bars as the sun goes down, often with live music. Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; swimming.

Named for St. Charalambos (also known as Haralambos), a local bishop martyred at the age of 113, and whose skull is still venerated in Greece, this large, early-19th-century Greek basilica church is a relict of Çeşme's former Greek Orthodox inhabitants, and was restored by the municipality in 2012. The space is now used as a cultural center that hosts art exhibitions and handicrafts bazaars. If it's open for one of these events, it's worth taking a peek inside as you stroll down the main street of Çeşme's shopping district; look up to see painted saints peering down at you from the ceiling.

In an unusual historical-preservation choice, Cunda's Taxiarchis Church, a landmark dating from 1873, was wonderfully restored and reopened in 2014 as a museum that also houses an array of objects belonging to the collection of Turkish businessman and philanthropist Rahmi M. Koç. On the one hand, the restoration preserved the church's elegant neoclassical architecture and decor, as well as its religious iconography; on the other hand, the display of vintage cars and vehicles, ship anchors, nautical instruments, antique dolls and toys, and other curiosities overwhelms the space.

Opened in 2021, this aerial tramway whisks you up to the 1,900-meter (6,200-foot) mountain Babadağ, the main launching point for paragliding over Ölüdeniz. There are four stations on the mountain, including the one at the peak, and each has its own restaurant, access to walking paths, and of course sweeping views. From November through March, only the lowest station (at 1,200 meters/3,930 feet) is open.

Just off İstiklal Caddesi, next to the entrance to the Çiçek Pasajı, the Balık Pazarı makes for great street theater: it's a bustling labyrinth of streets filled with stands selling fish, produce, spices, sweets, and souvenirs, and there are also a couple of eateries specializing in kokoreç (grilled lamb intestines). The adjacent Second Empire–style arcade, known as Çiçek Pasajı, was one of Istanbul's grandest shopping venues when it was built in 1876. In the early 20th century, it was gradually taken over by flower shops run by White Russian émigrés—earning it the name "Flower Arcade." In later decades, the arcade became dominated by famously boisterous meyhanes, or tavernas. It now houses about a dozen rather touristy meyhane-style restaurants offering meze and fish. For a more authentic local vibe, continue toward the end of the Fish Market and turn right on narrow Nevizade Sokak, a lively strip of bars and meyhanes, all with tiny sidewalk tables packed with locals in summer.

The heart of the bazaar is the Zincirli Bedestan, with shops selling copper work, mother-of-pearl inlay, saddles, and Ottoman-style leather shoes. Beyond the bedestan is the Bakırcılar Çarşısı, the market of the coppersmiths, where an orchestra of craftspeople tap out bowls and coffee cups between customers. From here you emerge at the Tahmis Coffee House, one of the most traditional places to try the local menengiç (wild pistachio) coffee and where, legend has it, the Sultan Murat IV dropped in for coffee on his way to conquer Baghdad in 1638 (the current shop was built after a fire destroyed the original in the 19th century). The neighboring Sufi lodge, now the Mevlevihanesi Vakif Museum, has historic Korans and kilims (along with free admission).

Diyarbakır's bazaar encompasses the half dozen streets surrounding Ulu Cami; most stalls are shrines to wrought metal—gates, picks, shovels, plumbing fixtures, plastic shoes, and other things you probably would not want to carry home in your luggage. Across the street from the mosque is the grand 16th-century Hasan Paşa Hanı, a photogenic kervansaray (a roadside inn), housing a few carpet and souvenir dealers. It's a tranquil place to stop for tea or a generous brunch.

Mardin's lively bazaar runs parallel to the old town's main street, Birinici Caddesi, and is refreshingly free of the stalls selling the usual tourist gifts. This is the place to come if you're looking to buy a new saddle for your donkey or a copper urn—or as is more likely, if you just want to get the feel of an authentic town bazaar. There are also spice shops, fresh fruit and vegetable stands with the produce of the season piled high, and assorted other shops catering to local needs. In the center of the bazaar is the 12th-century Ulu Camii, with its beautifully carved minaret.

A short walk east from the park leads to Urfa's bazaar, where in summertime merchants wait patiently in the hot sun for the occasional tour group. The bazaar is filled with small hans—a collection of stores and workshops built around a central courtyard—that have tailors, coppersmiths, and other artisans working away, using what seem like ancient machines and tools. At the literal heart of the bazaar is the wonderful Bedesten and adjacent Gümrük Han, a large courtyard filled with chatting men playing backgammon or chess and sipping tea. Around the courtyard are the small workshops of tailors sewing inexpensive suits. The bazaar is a good place to shop for spices and copper items and you can usually find bargains, especially on carpets and kilims.

The pedestrian-only Kunduracılar Caddesi leads into the maze of the covered bazaar, which includes a 16th-century bedestan, or covered market, that has been restored and now houses several cafés and a number of gift shops. The bazaar predominantly sells inexpensive clothes to locals, but does have a small but appealing section of coppersmiths, who make a variety of bowls, trays, and pots. The city's largest mosque, the Çarşi Cami, was built in 1839 and is joined to the market by an archway.

One of Istanbul's most fashionable suburbs is 20 to 30 minutes by taxi from central Istanbul and is especially popular with the affluent boating set, thanks to the area's pretty, natural harbor. The European-side neighborhood has a number of cafés and restaurants, as well as a few upscale boutiques selling clothing and jewelry, on both sides of the main coastal road. There's also a small, shaded public park on the waterfront. The stretches of coastline both north and south of Bebek are perfect for a promenade.

From the intersection of İstasyon Caddesi and Atatürk Bulvarı, head southwest into the rabbit warren of the Bey neighborhood. Many of the old houses here have been turned into cafés, which allow the passing visitor to nose about inside. One of the cafés, Papirus Cafeteria on Noter Sokak, is especially popular and features faded frescos in the upstairs rooms. The Bey neighborhood was largely Armenian and three old churches survive. The easiest to find is the Kendirli Church on Atatürk Caddesi built in 1860 with the support of Napoleon III for Armenian Catholics. The main Armenian Orthodox Cathedral, also built in the 19th century, is farther south on Hapişhane Caddesi, now in use as the Kurtuluş Mosque. Farther along this street on the far side is another former church, now the Ömer Ersoy Cultural Centre. Back on Atatürk Caddesi is the City Museum (1 TL). There are very few actual exhibits here; each room has a video screen with an accompanying sound track of the free English-language audio guide. The most interesting rooms are dedicated to Antep's traditional crafts. Free tours of the city depart from the museum every morning.

Inspired by Aya Sofya and completed in 1506, this domed mosque holds the distinction of being the oldest of the Ottoman imperial mosques still standing in the city. Though the inside is somewhat dark, it has an impressively carved mihrab and the large courtyard has 20 columns made of verd antique, red granite, and porphyry that were taken from ancient buildings.

Built as a summer residence for Sultan Abdülaziz in 1865, this palace is like Dolmabahçe in that incorporates a mix of European and Turkish styles, but it is smaller, less grandiose, and has a more personal feel. You must join a tour to see Beylerbeyi, which has ornately painted ceilings, Baccarat crystal chandeliers, gold-topped marble columns, and intricately carved wooden furniture. In addition, its central hall has a white-marble fountain and a stairway wide enough for a regiment. The magnolia-shaded grounds on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, underneath the first bridge, are also pleasant. Two waterfront bathing pavilions (one was for men, the other for women) stand out for their fanciful architecture.

Just west of Ilıca, Boyalık Bay has a 5-km (3-mile) beachfront of warm turquoise waters and pale, smooth sand. Boyalık Bay has many private and public beaches and hotels, as well as a campground. You may have to walk between summer residences to reach the sea. But once you reach the shore, you will find clear, relatively calm waters over smooth, almost milky-colored sand, with umbrellas and beach chairs available to rent. Boyalık Bay is getting better known, but its relaxing waters are not yet as crowded as Ilıca beach. Amenities: food and drink; toilets. Best for: swimming.

Heading south from Troy, you'll pass through Ezine or Geyikli. In either case you'll see a signpost for Bozcaada, one of the two Aegean islands that belong to Turkey. If you have time, spare a day for this island (though you'll probably then want to spare another), with its unspoiled harbor town, beautiful old houses, pristine sandy beaches, and lovely vineyard-covered countryside. The local wine may be the best you'll taste in Turkey without having to spend a fortune.

A tantalizing glimpse into Istanbul's pre-Ottoman past, the small but well-done Mosaic Museum can be reached via an entrance halfway through the Arasta Bazaar. The museum houses a fascinating display of early Byzantine mosaics—some presented in situ—from the Great Palace of Byzantium, the imperial residence of the early Byzantine emperors when they ruled lands stretching from Iran to Italy and from the Caucasus to North Africa. Only scant ruins remained by 1935, when archaeologists began uncovering what is thought to have been the floor of a palace courtyard, covered with some of the most elaborate and delightful mosaics to survive from the era, most dating from the 6th century. They include images of animals, flowers, hunting scenes, and mythological characters—idylls far removed from the pomp and elaborate ritual of the imperial court. As you walk the streets of Sultanahmet, you'll see many fragments of masonry and brickwork that were once part of the palace, and several cisterns, some of which are open to visitors, have been found under hotels and carpet shops.

Down a narrow alleyway north of the Ulu Cami in the old city, the Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Müzesi is a historic home dating back to 1734 that has been renovated and turned into an ethnographic museum, with rooms displaying scenes of life as it once was in Diyarbakır. The museum, which has a pleasant courtyard with a fountain, offers the best opportunity in town of seeing what an old Diybarbakır house looked like.

Letters from soldiers on both sides of the Gallipoli tragedy are among the most moving of the objects at this interpretive center, which also displays uniforms, weapons, and other findings from the battlefields. An 11-part, hour-long, immersing simulation of the Gallipoli campaign—which some have criticized as being too focused on "entertainment"—completes the experience.

Dominating a peninsula 16 km (10 miles) south of Dikili, the castle maintains its regal appearance after 700 years. Originally built by the Genoese and later strengthened by the Ottomans, the massive stone fortress impresses with its five towers and thick, crenellated walls. The interior, although restored, remains mostly open space, but strolls along the walls are possible and the views are excellent.

The cape on the southernmost tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula has a massive, four-pillared memorial to Turkey's World War I dead. No one knows how many fell in battle, though estimates suggest there were around 250,000 Turkish casualties, including at least 85,000 deaths. If you take the ferry from Gallipoli to Çanakkale, look for the memorials to the campaign carved into the cliffs. The large one at Kilitbahir reads: "Stop, O passerby. This earth you tread unawares is where an age was lost. Bow and listen, for this quiet place is where the heart of a nation throbs."

Aside from Akdamar, there are several other small islands on Lake Van, with their own Armenian churches. While none are quite as glorious as Akdamar, the most interesting is Çarpanak Island, north of Van, often visited in combination with Adır Island. At Çarpanak Island, a strip of land extends into the water and you can wade for several hundred feet as the water is quite shallow. If you have the time and money, it can make a nice excursion where you'll likely to have the whole island to yourself. You need to hire a whole boat to visit, which costs around 250 or 350 TL.

According to the legend attached to the Cave of the Seven Sleepers (and immortalized in a poem by Goethe), seven young Christian men hid in a cave to avoid persecution by the Romans in the 3rd century AD. They fell into a sleep that lasted 200 years, waking only after the Byzantine Empire had made Christianity the official state religion. When they died, they were buried here, and a large church and monastery complex was built over them. The site has unfortunately been closed off due to the collapse of much of the cave but it's still interesting to peek through the fence at the ruins or look down at them from the adjacent hillside.

This column stood at the center of what was a large circular marketplace or forum where Constantine formally rededicated the city on May 11, 330 AD. Carved out of blocks of a reddish-purple stone called porphyry that was especially prized by the ancient Romans, the column is 115 feet high and was once topped by a golden statue of Apollo, to which Constantine added his own head. Constantine was said to have placed various relics under the column, including an ax used by Noah to make the ark, a piece of the True Cross, and some of the leftover bread from the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

At the far southern end of Çıralı, an evening scramble up a sometimes steep path will bring you to the Chimaera (Yanartaş in Turkish), named after the ferocious fire-breathing beast of legend. Flames can still be seen rising from cracks in the rock, apparently also burning the gas deep below, since they reignite even if covered. In times past, the flames were apparently even more vigorous, visible by sailors offshore, and the ruins of an ancient stone building can be seen near the flames.

To reach the Chimaera, take either of the main roads to the end of Çıralı, and then head inland. If you're staying in Olympos it's a 7-km (4.5-mile), 90-minute walk, so you may want to drive or bike to the bottom of the hill, or take a tour, which most hotels in the area will arrange. You can see the flames in the day, but they're best at night. Bring a flashlight for all the stairs, since there's no lighting. In peak season, you'll need to choose between going as late as possible to avoid the crowds or in daylight so you can see the pretty mountainside.