6 Best Sights in Turkey

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.

The major problem with the site of Byzantium was the lack of fresh water. So, for the city to grow, a great system of aqueducts and cisterns was built. Impeccably restored and opened to the public in 2018, the Theodosius Cistern dates from the 5th century to the reign of Theodosius II. A steep staircase leads you down into the cistern, where 32 marble columns support the Byzantine arches and domes overhead. The cistern occasionally hosts concerts and art exhibitions.

One way to enter the old town is via Hadrian's Gate, a short walk from the main Saat Kulesi intersection along pleasant palm-lined Atatürk Caddesi. The gate was constructed in honor of a visit by the Roman emperor in AD 130 and has three arches (hence its Turkish name, Üçkapılar), each now restored, with coffered ceilings decorated with rosettes. Ruts in the marble road show where carts once trundled through. From here, turn left onto a straight road that leads through town past Kesik Minare Camii (Şehzade Korkut Camii) to the Hıdırlık Kulesi and the sea.

The town's castle looms over the area from its high, rocky vantage point. Though it dates from the 10th century, in 1386 Tamerlane swept violently through the region and razed the original structure, and most surviving fortifications were commissioned by Lala Mustafa Paşa in 1579. The castle has gone through some restoration in recent years and the panoramic views of Kars merit the 10-minute walk uphill. There's a large café/restaurant where you can enjoy a reasonably priced lunch or a drink with an impressive view.

Fortified since Byzantine times, this little islet off the Asian shore guarded busy shipping lanes and has a restored, lighted, 18th-century tower that is now the star of the lower Bosphorus. Leander's Tower, as it was known in antiquity, ties the island to the legend of Leander, who was said to have swum the strait each night guided by the lamp of his lover, Hero—though this myth was, in fact, set in the Dardanelles to the southwest. The Turkish name "Maiden's Tower" comes from another legend, this one associated with several offshore castles. As the story goes, a princess was placed on an island to keep her safe after a prophecy foretold her death from a snakebite. Despite this precaution, she was bitten anyway, when a snake came ashore in a basket of fruit.

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.