Attractions of Turkey

Istanbul

Turkey's most important city spans Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus and has been capital of three empires - Eastern Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman throughout its history (including its previous incarnations as Byzantium and Constantinople). This has left it with an incredibly rich historical heritage that makes it one of the great cities of the world. The Blue Mosque is perhaps the city's most famous sight, built by the Sultan Ahmet I in the 17th century, with a stunningly impressive scale and elegant design. Aya Sophia was built as a Byzantine Christian church in the 6th century, converted to a mosque after the Islamic takeover in the 15th century and now a museum. Its huge dome and walls include some superb mosaics. The 4th century Hippodrome of Constantine was the site of political demonstrations, chariot races and polo matches. Topaki Palace, built in Islamic style, was the home of the Ottoman sultans for four centuries. Other buildings of note include Suleymaniye Mosque, the Kariye Camii church and the ancient ramparts and aqueduct. One of Istanbul's most famous attractions is the vast Grand Bazaar, a labyrinth of some 4000 covered shops, cafés and restaurants, where you can haggle for jewellery, clothes, sweets and spices.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Historic Areas of Istanbul

Archaeological Site of Troy

The mythical ancient city of Troy was once thought to be merely a legend until archaeological work by Heinrich Schliemann in the 19th century identified its site near Çanakkale, uncovering extensive remains of nine cities built on top of one another. The history of Troy covers some 4,000 years, extending back to 3000 BC. Troy VI is assumed to be the walled city of King Priam (1800-1275 BC), immortalised by Homer in The Iliad when Odysseus used the wooden horse to help the Spartans and Achaeans break the siege of Troy and rescue Helen. The remains of the ancient city walls can still be seen which enclosed a citadel with palaces and administrative buildings. Further ruins exist from the Greek and Roman periods.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Archaeological Site of Troy

Ephesus

Ephesus was one of the great cities of the ancient world and the ruins here are some of the best preserved of any Roman site in the Mediterranean. Ephesus was founded by Ionian Greeks in the 11th century BC and flourished as a major city and sea port. The Temple of Artemis built by the Greeks was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The city came under Roman control in the 2nd century BC, reached its zenith in the 2nd century AD with a population of 300,000 and later became an important centre for Christianity. The Library of Celsus is the most impressive single ruin at Ephesus, a two-storey front facade of the original building with pillars, statues and windows. The Street of Curetes climbs upwards from the library, lined by columns and facades of shops, temples, houses, public baths and a brothel. The vast amphitheatre seats 25,000 people and still holds concerts today. The Ephesus Museum in nearby Selcuk has an excellent collection of artefacts and statues from the ancient city.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Ephesus

Pamukkale and Ruins at Hierapolis

Pamukkale, meaning 'cotton castle' in Turkish, is a bizarre and spectacular natural phenomenon where mineral-laden hot spring waters have created a landscape of petrified waterfalls, mineral forests and a cascade of terraced pools. The waters have supposed therapeutic qualities that have been used since Roman times. The ruins of the thermal spa of Hierapolis are close to Pamukkale. Founded in the 2nd century BC by the King of Pergamon, it soon came under Roman control and prospered as a cosmopolitan city. Among the ruins are a theatre, temple, monumental fountain, bath, basilica and necropolis.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Hierapolis-Pamukkale

Xanthos-Letoon

Xanthos was the capital of Lycia, whose people invaded the Hittite Empire around 1200BC. The site contains some fascinating sarcophagi with epigraphic inscriptions that have been crucial in the understanding of the history and language of the Lycian people.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Xanthos-Letoon

Cappadocia

One of Turkey's most iconic sights is the lunar like landscape of Cappadocia. Formed by wind and water erosion of tuft (soft compacted volcanic ash), the landscape comprises bizarre rock formations shaped like pillars, cones, towers, domes and pyramids, some up to 40 metres high. For centuries man has carved dwellings, churches, troglodyte villages and even entire subterranean cities into these rocks, particularly Byzantine monks and hermits from the 4th century onwards. Many of the rock churches in the Göreme Valley contain richly decorated religious frescoes from the post-iconoclastic period (10th-12th centuries). The underground cities of Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, built by Christians seeking refuge from Arab oppression, are fascinating places to explore with several levels of tunnels extending for many kilometres.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia

Hattusha was capital of the Hittite Empire which was a prominent civilisation in Anatolia and northern Syria in the 13th century BC. The city was surrounded by 8km of fortified walls with sculptured friezes, which surrounded the lower town with its great temple and the upper town with the royal residence of Buyukkale.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Hattusha: the Hittite Capital

Safranbolu

Safranbolu, near Turkey's Black Sea coast, is an example of a typical Ottoman city, renowned for its beautifully restored traditional buildings. Safranbolu was an important caravan station on the main East–West trade route from the 13th century to the early 20th century. Its most prominent historical buildings include the Old Mosque, Old Bath and Süleyman Pasha Medrese from the 14th century, the Cinci Inn and Koprulu Mosque from the 17th century and the 18th century Let Pasha Mosque.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: City of Safranbolu

The Selimiye Mosque was built in the 16th century in the former Ottoman capital of Edirne. Designed by the famous Ottoman architect Sinan, it comprises a single great dome and four slender minarets, as well as madrasas (Islamic schools), a covered market, clock house, outer courtyard and library. It is considered the finest example of an Ottoman külliye, a group of buildings constructed around a mosque and managed as a single institution.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex

The neolithic site of Çatalhöyük is located on the southern Anatolian plateau and comprises two mounds. The taller eastern mound contains eighteen levels of Neolithic occupation between 7400 BC and 6200 BC, including wall paintings, reliefs, sculptures and other symbolic and artistic features, while the western mound shows the evolution of cultural practices in the Chalcolithic period, from 6200 bc to 5200 BC. They testify to the evolution of social organization and cultural practices as humans adapted to a sedentary life and the transition from settled villages to urban agglomeration.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük

Nemrut Dag

Nemrut Dag (or Mount Nemrut at 2,150 metres) contains the remains of the great temple mausoleum of Antiochos I of Commagene (69-34BC). Commagene existed as a semi-independent state from 162 BC to AD 72 following the breakup of Alexander the Great's empire and ruled in the region north of Syria and the Euphrates. The site consists of a manmade burial mound containing the King's tomb and five huge 10 metre stone heads of the gods Apollo, Zeus, Hercules, Tyke and Fortuna. The site is best viewed at sunset when the heads are bathed in golden light.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Nemrut Dag

Located on a dramatic ravine close to the Armenian border, Ani was a once prosperous town that was abandoned when it was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. The ruins include the citadel and eight churches, some of which retain their decoration and wall paintings and whose design inspired many western European churches over the following centuries. Mount Ararat, the legendary resting place of Noah's Ark, can be seen from the town.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Archaeological Site of Ani

The 13th century Great Mosque of Divrigi was founded by Emir Ahmet Shah, along with a marestan or hospital for the insane endowed by his wife and designed by the same architect. Divrigi is an outstanding example of Selcuk mosques in Anatolia.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi