The Türkiye Travel Blog
In-depth guides, practical tips, itineraries and fun facts about travelling in Türkiye. Everything you need to know before, during and after your trip.
Galata Tower, Istanbul: History, Views and Tips to Avoid the Queue
The Genoese tower that has watched over the Golden Horn since 1348 offers Istanbul's most sought-after viewpoint. What y
Ihlara Valley: Cappadocia's Green Canyon and Its Rock-Cut Churches
A hundred metres of rock wall, a river lined with poplars and willows, and painted churches hidden in the cliffs. The Ih
Pigeon Valley, Cappadocia: Dovecotes, Views and the Walk to Uçhisar
Cappadocia's farmers carved thousands of dovecotes into the walls of this valley to fertilise their vineyards with pigeo
Love Valley (Aşk Vadisi), Cappadocia: How to Get There and When to Go
Cappadocia's tallest and most famous fairy chimneys stand in a free valley between Göreme and Uçhisar. Here is where to
Red and Rose Valleys: Cappadocia's Best Sunset and Hidden Churches
When the sun goes down, the rock in these two valleys glows red and pink. Where to find the sunset viewpoint, what the t
Ani, Kars: The City of a Thousand Churches on the Armenian Border
An abandoned medieval capital on a plateau above the river that now marks the Armenian border: a cathedral, frescoed chu
Göbekli Tepe: How to Visit the World's Oldest Temple
Seven thousand years before the pyramids, hunters with no towns raised circles of stone pillars carved with animals on a
Akdamar Island: the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross on Lake Van
A twenty-minute boat ride across an alkaline lake 1,650 metres up leads to an island with a 10th-century church covered
Ishak Pasha Palace: An Ottoman Jewel Facing Mount Ararat
On a mountain terrace above Doğubayazıt stands an 18th-century palace of golden stone, with courtyards, a mosque, a hare
Izmir and the Aegean Coast: What to See in the City and Beyond
Izmir is Türkiye’s most laid-back city and the best base for the Aegean coast: Pergamon, Alaçatı, the Kemeraltı bazaar a
Şanlıurfa and Göbekli Tepe: The Oldest Temple in the World
Built 12,000 years ago, Göbekli Tepe forced archaeologists to rethink how civilisation began. Nearby, Şanlıurfa (Urfa, a
Mardin: The Golden Stone City Overlooking Mesopotamia
Mardin clings to a hillside above the plain of Mesopotamia, with carved stone houses, 1,500-year-old Syriac monasteries
Antalya Coast: Roman Ruins, Turquoise Beaches and What to See
Within a hundred kilometres, the Antalya coast packs in an Ottoman old town, one of Türkiye's finest archaeological muse
Ankara: What to See in Türkiye’s Capital in Two Days
Ankara is no postcard city, but it has Atatürk’s mausoleum and the world’s finest museum of Anatolian civilisations. Spe
Bodrum: Crusader Castle, Hidden Bays and Long Summer Nights
Bodrum was once Halicarnassus, home of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders. Today it brings together a crusader cast
Gallipoli: Visiting the Trenches That Forged Two Nations
In 1915 the fate of the Ottoman Empire was decided at Gallipoli, and the legends of the Anzacs and of Atatürk were born.
Mount Nemrut: Sunrise Among the Heads of the Gods
At 2,134 metres, the king of a forgotten realm had himself buried among statues up to ten metres tall. Watching the sun
Kaş: The Slow Side of the Lycian Coast, with Kekova and Patara
Kaş is the most laid-back town on the Turkish coast: bougainvillea, a small harbour and, all around it, the sunken city
Hatay (Antioch): Mosaics, St Peter's Church and Türkiye's Best Food
Antioch was the third city of the Roman Empire and the place where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians.
Trabzon and Sümela: The Black Sea and the Cliffside Monastery
Trabzon is Türkiye's green side: tea on the hillsides, misty mountains, the Byzantine Hagia Sophia of the Black Sea and,
Kars and Ani: The Ghost City of a Thousand Churches
On the border with Armenia, the ruins of Ani, a medieval capital once home to some 100,000 people, stand alone on the st
Gaziantep: The Zeugma Mosaics and the Baklava Capital of Türkiye
Gaziantep has one of the largest mosaic museums in the world, a bazaar of copper and pistachios that smells of spice, an
Adana: Kebab, the Seyhan River and the Ruins of Cilicia
Adana is the home of the kebab that bears its name, a Roman bridge that has spanned the Seyhan for more than eighteen ce
Mersin: The Castle in the Sea, Tarsus and St Paul's Cilicia
Mersin is the great port of the eastern Mediterranean, with a castle on an island, Tarsus, where St Paul was born, and a
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