Things to see in Turkey

1,724 places worth seeing in Turkey on an illustrated map: Hagia Sophia, Selimiye Mosque, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Sultan Ahmed Mosque and Topkapı Palace, and more. Zoom in and watch the landmarks, museums, nature and fun appear.

Highlights

Hagia Sophia The third and grandest of the churches on this site, completed in 537 AD. The 30-m diameter dome covers what was for over 1000 years the lar
Selimiye Mosque Magnificent mosque that dominates the city skyline, approach from northwest to appreciate the full effect and miss the shops. It's the maste
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Mausolos was satrap (regional governor) here for 18 years. Before his death in 353 BC, he commissioned a tomb for himself so grand that it w
Sultan Ahmed Mosque The defining image of Istanbul, dominating the skyline with its great dome and six minarets. Completed in 1617 for Sultan Ahmed I, it's stil
Topkapı Palace The imperial enclave of the Ottoman emperors for four centuries. Lavishly decorated, with exhibitions of fine craftmanship and four courts o
Gordion This large settlement was the chief city of the Phrygians, and previously a stronghold of the Hittites. It suffered a devastating fire in 80
Hattusa Foundation courses of the Hittite capital, partly reconstructed.
Süleymaniye Mosque On top of a hill overlooking the Golden Horn, this is a magnificent mosque built by Sinan in the 1550s. It was centrepiece of a large külliy
Galata Tower It was built by the Genoese in the 14th century on the city walls of Galata, marking the highest point of their territory. Ride an elevator
Dolmabahçe Palace This lavish palace with 285 rooms and 43 halls was the admin centre for the Ottoman Empire in its last 60 years. The palace government block
Lake Tuz A name applied to dozens of saline lakes in Turkey but in season this is the largest, some 40 km north-south by 20 km east-west. In summer i
Maiden's Tower Masyaf key location.
Atatürk Olympic Stadium An Olympic venue. Home court of the national team.
Chora Church Chora means countryside, and when built as a monastery in the 4th century it stood outside the Constantine walls; a century later, it was in
Basilica Cistern Vast underground cistern built by Justinian in 532 to store the city's water, the largest and best-known of the hundreds constructed. It's a
Library of Celsus The magnificent facade is known from all the tourist brochures. It looks timeless yet is a modern reconstruction. Celsus was a Roman general
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations Excellent display ranging from prehistory to the proto-Greek and Roman eras.
Kocatepe Mosque This had been in the planning since 1944, but attempts at a modern style were thwarted by the conservatives. So what was built from 1967 to
Beşiktaş Stadium Homecourt of Beşiktaş JK
Fatih Istanbul Mosque The original mosque was built between 1463-1470 by the Greek architect Atik Sinan, by order of Sultan Mehmet II the Conqueror, on the site o
Mount Hasan The twin-peaked dormant volcano looming southwest of town. The east summit is at 3,069 m and the west at 3,253 m—the prominence is only 1,00
Letoon This was a religious site for Xanthos and populated over the same timescale. There's an amphitheatre, a Roman Christian basilica, and ruins
Little Hagia Sophia Built as the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus around 530 AD, the same time as Hagia Sophia, but their styles differ. Transformed into a
Istanbul Archaeology Museums Turkey was slow to protect its antiquities and to display them properly, but in 1867 Sultan Abdülaziz toured the museums of Paris, London an
Rüstem Pasha Mosque Built in 1564 by Mimar Sinan for Rüstem Pasha, Grand Vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent, this small mosque has an interior covered by beauti
Derinkuyu underground city Largest known underground city in Turkey, accommodating 20,000 people with an array of living, working and other spaces going down five leve
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha I Mosque Sokollu Mehmet Pasha was the grand vizier and de facto ruler of the Ottoman Empire during its 16th century golden age. He commissioned this
Beylerbeyi Palace The Ottoman summer residence from 1861 is on an impeccable setting on the Asian bank of the Bosphorus, and is a relatively scaled-down versi
Yıldız Palace A vast complex of former imperial Ottoman pavilions and villas in Istanbul, Turkey, built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was used
Bursa Grand Mosque This was built by Sultan Beyazid and completed in 1399. He then suffered a calamitous defeat by Timur, who wrecked it, and later the Karaman
Pammakaristos Church The Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos ("All-Blessed Mother of God") was built between the 11th and 12th centuries. The parekklesion or side-
Nuruosmaniye Mosque Built 1748-55, this launched the style we call Ottoman Baroque, with its grand central dome and pencil-thin minarets. It was copied througho
Eyüp Sultan Mosque This is the main attraction around this part of the city. The holiest Islamic shrine in the city, the complex includes, right next to the mo
Hagia Sophia, Trabzon The city's top sight, a Byzantine church built in the 1250s, with beautiful frescoes, arches and friezes. It became a mosque in 2013 whereup
Sabancı Merkez Camii Built in 1998, this huge mosque dominates the skyline with its six minarets, the four inner minarets being 99 m. The interior is richly deco
The Museum of Innocence Opened in 2012, this museum is unique and a must-see when you are in the Beyoğlu area. It was created by Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk
Bodrum Mosque Mosque in İstanbul, Turkey.
Yazılıkaya Foundations of a Hittite religious site, with intricate stone reliefs.
Dara Impressive ruins of a Byzantine fortress and garrison town, founded against the Persians who held nearby Nisibis / Nusaybin. It was built sh
Bursa Green Mosque This mosque was built 1419 to 1424 at the behest of Sultan Mehmed I Çelebi, who re-united the Ottomans after their fratricidal wars. Its str
Old Mosque (Edirne) This was built in the 15th century, so it's the oldest and smallest of the city's three imperial mosques. It's a low building with nine dome
Sherefeli Mosque Mosque built 1438-1447, its name refers to the three balconies or galleries on its tallest minaret. The other three minarets are all of diff
Arab Istanbul Mosque The building was erected as a Roman Catholic church in 1325 by the friars of the Dominican Order, near or above an earlier chapel dedicated
Church of St. Anthony of Padua Although not at the size of Hagia Sophia, this is the largest active church in Turkey. It’s directly on Istiklal St, but somewhat hidden fro
Palace of the Porphyrogenitus The Byzantines built several great palaces in Constantinople and this is the only one to survive almost intact. It's from the late 13th cent
Mevlâna Museum Rumi (1207–1273) was a Persian poet, philosopher and teacher who lived in Konya after the Byzantine Romans had been ousted but the area was
İstanbul Modern A nice, organized museum with contemporary installations. It may be seen as overpriced given its small size. It also has a simple cafe.
Ishak Pasha Palace Looming high over the town, this fortified complex was begun in 1685 but is named for the fellow who completed it in 1784: pashas were hered
Kalenderhane Mosque Built circa 1200 as the Eastern Orthodox Theotokos Kyriotissa Church, after the Ottoman conquest it was handed over to the Qalandari, a Sufi
Pera Museum A private museum with a large painting collection and archaeological collections of measurement units and tools used in Asia Minor since ant

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