Crusader Castle

Turkey

　　The ruins of ancient Simena include this impressive fortress perched on top of the hill looking out to sea. Within the castle a couple of canons are mounted on its battlements, and the ancient world's tiniest theatre is cut into the bedrock. Nearby you'll find ruins of several temples and...

Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum

Turkey

　　This museum does a stellar job of displaying one of the world's most important mosaic collections, most of which was unearthed at the Roman site of Belkıs-Zeugma and brought to safety before the Birecik Dam flooded much of the site forever. Its most famous exhibit is the 'Gypsy Girl', which...

Weekly Market

Turkey

　　Fethiye's enormous market takes place on Tuesday along the canal between Atatürk Caddesi and Pürşabey Caddesi, next to the stadium. ...

Olympos Ruins

Turkey

　　The rambling ruins of ancient Olympos are scattered beside the trickling Ulupınar Stream and set inside a deep, shaded valley that runs directly to the sea. If you plan to visit a few times, you will save money by buying a long-stay ticket allowing 10 entries over 10 days. 　　Olympos...

Göbeklitepe

Turkey

　　Around 11km northeast of Urfa, 'Pot Belly Hill' was first excavated in 1994 by a team led by Professor Klaus Schmidt. Their discovery of a ritual complex dated to the pre-pottery Neolithic era (around 10,000 BC) has turned the previously accepted theory that religion followed the evolution of agriculture on...

Derinkuyu Underground City

Turkey

　　Derinkuyu underground city, 10km south of Kaymaklı, has cavernous rooms arrayed on seven levels reached by skinny long tunnels. When you get all the way to the bottom, look up the ventilation shaft to see just how far down you are. This is not one for the claustrophobic; tour groups...

Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum

Turkey

　　This domed structure protects the excellent Haleplibahçe (Aleppo Gardens) mosaics, part of a Roman villa complex discovered in 2006 when construction started on a planned theme park as part of an urban renewal project on this site. Instead, archaeologists moved in and began excavating, resulting in a haul of highly...

Terraced Houses

Turkey

　　The roofed complex here contains seven well-preserved Roman homes built on three terraces, which are well worth the extra visiting fee. As you ascend the stairs through the enclosure, detailed signs explain each structure's evolving use during different periods. Extensive use of glass flooring allows you to step all over...

Çatalhöyük

Turkey

　　Rising 20m above the surrounding flat Konya plains, the East Mound at Çatalhöyük is one of the most important, and largest, Neolithic settlements on earth. About 9500 years ago, up to 8000 people lived here, and the mound comprises 13 levels of buildings, each containing around 1000 structures. Little remains...

Knidos

Turkey

　　The ruins of Knidos (kuh-nee-dos), a once-prosperous Dorian port city dating to 400 BC, lies scattered across the western tip of the Datça Peninsula. Steep terraced hillsides, planted with olive, almond and fruit trees, rise above two idyllic bays where yachts drop anchor and a lighthouse perches dramatically on a...

Ephesus

Turkey

　　Of Turkey's hundreds of ancient cities and classical ruins, Ephesus is the grandest and best preserved. A Unesco-listed World Heritage Site, it's the best place in the Mediterranean to get a feel for what life was like in ancient times. Ancient Ephesus was a great trading city and a centre...

Patara Beach

Turkey

　　Backed by large sand dunes, this splendid, 18km-long sandy beach is one of Turkey's best. Due to its length, you can find a quiet spot even in the height of summer. Sunshades (₺10) and loungers (₺10) can be rented and there's a cafe for when you get peckish. Depending on...

Nemrut Dağı Summit

Turkey

　　Nemrut Dağı's famous statues sit on two terraces flanking Antiochus I's giant gravel-covered, mountaintop burial mound. Their 2m-high heads, toppled from their bodies by earthquakes, now sit silently on the ground in front of their colossal, throned bodies. The Eastern Terrace has the better-preserved thrones and bodies; the heads on...

Hatay Archaeology Museum

Turkey

　　This incomparable museum contains one of the world's finest collections of Roman and Byzantine mosaics, covering a period from the 1st century AD to the 5th century. Many were recovered almost intact from Tarsus or Harbiye (Daphne in ancient times), 9km to the south. The entire collection from the old...

Bergama Acropolis

Turkey

　　One of Turkey's most impressive archaeological sites, Bergama's acropolis is dramatically sited on a hill to the northeast of the town centre. There's plenty to see in this ancient settlement, with ruins large and small scattered over the upper and lower cities. Chief among these are the Temple of Trajan,...

Hierapolis

Turkey

　　This ancient spa city's location atop Pamukkale's tourist-magnet travertines is quite spectacular. Founded as a curative centre around 190 BC by Eumenes II of Pergamum, it prospered under both the Romans and Byzantines, when large Jewish and Orthodox Christian communities comprised most of the population. Recurrent earthquakes brought disaster, and...

Clock Tower

Thrace & Marmara

　　The five-storey Ottoman saat kulesi (clock tower) near the harbour was built in 1897. It was paid for by an Italian consul and Çanakkale merchant who left 100,000 gold francs in his will for this purpose. ...

Korfmann Library

Thrace & Marmara

　　Housed in a 19th-century former school in the old town, this library opposite the Tıflı Camii was the bequest of the late Manfred Osman Korfmann (1945–2005), archaeological director at Troy from 1988 to 2003. It contains 6000 volumes on history, culture, art and archaeology. ...

Trojan Horse

Thrace & Marmara

　　Wolfgang Petersen's 2004 movie Troy had a big impact on the Çanakkale region, including boosting visitor numbers to the archaeological site and endowing the northern stretch of the waterfront promenade with this wooden horse, which was used in the film shoot. There are information displays and a model of the...

Nusrat Mine-Layer

Thrace & Marmara

　　Board the replica of the Nusrat mine-layer, which played a significant role in the Çanakkale Naval Victory. Admission is included in the ticket for the Dardanelles Straits Naval Command Museum. ...

Çimenlik Kalesi

Thrace & Marmara

　　This compact castle was built by order of Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452, and is now a small military museum containing exhibits on the Gallipoli battles and some war relics. Admission is included in tickets to the Dardanelles Straits Naval Command Museum. ...

Kent Müzesi

Thrace & Marmara

　　The lives of Çanakkale's residents since Ottoman times are the focus of this small museum, which has drawn on oral histories for the content of many of its display panels. There are photographs, newspaper articles and a few artefacts on show. Ask for the English-translation texts to get the most...

Çanakkale'nin Evlatları

Thrace & Marmara

　　Located right on Çanakkale's waterfront, this compact installation combines black and white battle footage and contemporary interviews to tell the story of the 1915 Gallipoli campaign from both sides. Interactive maps also offer excellent insights into the conflict; the exhibition's bilingual website is a valuable online resource if your want...

Dardanelles Straits Naval Command Museum

Thrace & Marmara

　　At the southern end of the kordon (waterfront promenade), a park lies dotted with guns, cannons and military artefacts. Near the park entrance is this small military museum containing exhibits on the Gallipoli battles and some war relics. Museum ticket-holders can also board the replica of the Nusrat mine-layer, which...

Atatürk Statue

İzmir & the North Aegean

　　As is the case in almost every town in this region, there is a statue of the great man in the main square. ...

Saatlı Camii

İzmir & the North Aegean

　　Originally built as the Ayios Yannis Kilise, this imposing stone building with its ugly freestanding minaret was converted into the Saatli Cami in 1923. ...

Broken Chimney

İzmir & the North Aegean

　　Broken brick chimneys like this one are scattered throughout the old Greek quarter, all that remains of the olive-oil factories that have now relocated to the outskirts of town. ...

Broken Chimney

İzmir & the North Aegean

　　The tapering brick chimneys that are scattered throughout the old Greek quarter are remnants of the olive-oil factories that once operated here. These days, the oil is processed in factories on the town's outskirts. ...

Köy Pazarı

İzmir & the North Aegean

　　On Thursdays, a 'village market' is held in this square next to the main pazar yeri (marketplace), which is also filled with market stalls. ...

Çınarlı Cami

İzmir & the North Aegean

　　Built in 1790 as the Greek Orthodox church of Ayios Yorgis and converted to a mosque in 1923, this lovely building has three naves and three apses and retains the soaring stone iconostasis that once separated the nave from the chancel. Sadly, its icons have long since been removed. The...

Taksiyarhis Memorial Museum

İzmir & the North Aegean

　　This erstwhile Greek Orthodox cathedral, built in 1844 but never used as a place of worship, was completely renovated in 2013 and positively shimmers in the midday sun. Note the catedra (bishop’s seat) decorated with pelicans and a crown, the wonderful pulpit and the 18th-century icons in the apse. The...

Old Town

İzmir & the North Aegean

　　Ayvalık’s old town is a joy to explore. A maze of cobbled streets east of the liman, it is full of market squares, atmospheric cafes, Greek Orthodox churches and pretty stone houses built by Greek residents during the Ottoman era. Be sure to wander along Barbaros Caddesi, home to historic...

Havra Sokağı

İzmir

　　One of Kemeraltı's most interesting pockets, this stretch of produce stalls links the centre of the bazaar with the Agora and the eastern stretch of Anafartalar Caddesi. Locals head here to purchase fresh fish, fruit and vegetables, olives and helva (sweet made with sesame seeds). It takes its name from...

Kızlarağası Hanı

İzmir

　　This restored Ottoman-built bedesten (warehouse) dates from 1744 and is similar to the İç (Inner) Bedesten in İstanbul's famous Grand Bazaar. It's touristy, with most items for sale harking from the far end of the Silk Road (China), but the building itself – which also functioned as a kervansaray (caravansarai)...

Church of St Polycarp

İzmir

　　Built in the early 17th century, this Catholic church is the oldest still-functioning Christian house of worship in the city. Its survival during the 1922 fire, which razed all neighbouring buildings to the ground, was nothing short of miraculous. Inside, the walls are covered in frescoes that were restored and...

Hisar Mosque

İzmir

　　Surrounded by popular coffeehouses, this mosque in the Kemeraltı Market is the largest in the city and dates from 1597. The interior is quintessentially İzmiri, with blue-and-gold motifs on the domed ceiling that are simpler and less Oriental than classic Ottoman designs. Also of note are the roses and grapes...

Agora

İzmir

　　Dating from the end of the 4th century BC, Smyrna's ancient agora was ruined in an earthquake in AD 178 but soon rebuilt by order of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. The reconstructed Corinthian colonnade and Faustina Gate are eye-catching, but the vaulted chambers and cisterns in the basements of...

Kordon

İzmir

　　It’s difficult to imagine life in İzmir without its iconic seafront kordon (promenade), which stretches north from Cumhuriyet Meydanı to Alsancak and south from Konak Pier to Konak Meydanı. A triumph of urban renewal, these two stretches are grassed, have bicycle and walking paths, and are lined on their eastern...

Kemeraltı Market

İzmir

　　A labyrinthine bazaar stretching from Konak Sq through to the ancient Agora, Kemeraltı dates back to the 17th century and is home to shops, eateries, artisans' workshops, mosques, coffeehouses, tea gardens and synagogues. Spending a day exploring its crowded and colourful streets, historic places of worship, hidden courtyards and grand...

İzmir Museum of History & Art

İzmir

　　This museum is overlooked by many visitors to the city, who do themselves a great disservice in the process. Spread over three pavilions, it is one of the richest repositories of ancient artefacts in the country and its Sculpture pavilion – crammed with masterpieces from ancient Smyrna, Teos, Miletos and...

Wednesday Market

Istanbul

　　This busy weekly market sells food, clothing and household goods. It's held in the streets behind and to the north of Fatih Mosque. ...

Yıldız Park

Istanbul

　　This large and leafy retreat is alive with birds, picnicking families and young couples strolling hand in hand. The best time to visit is in April, when the spring flowers (including thousands of tulips) are in bloom. At the park's highest point is Yıldız Şale, built as a hunting lodge...

Akbank Art Centre

Istanbul

　　Turkey's big banks and philanthropic trusts vie to be seen as the greatest sponsor of the arts. İstiklal is a showcase for their generosity, and with this venue Akbank joins other institutions in offering a stage for the city's thriving arts scene. It has an art gallery, performance hall, dance...

Women's Bazaar

Istanbul

　　Though it's a wonderful spot to observe local life, the vibrant Women's Bazaar isn't for the faint-hearted. Freshly slaughtered sheep carcasses swing in the wind and shops sell dried sheep heads, pungent tulum cheese and other unusual produce. Most shopkeepers are from the southeastern corner of Turkey – specifically Siirt...

Aşiyan Museum

Istanbul

　　It’s quite a hike up to this small house-museum, named after the Turkish word for ‘bird’s nest’, but the stunning Bosphorus views may well inspire you to verse. They did for poet Tevfik Fikret, the house’s former resident, whose life and times are detailed on an extensive audio tour that...