Turkey is home to many ancient places left over from a parade of empires and has amazing sceneries that impress everyone. Turkey’s famous food, vibrant culture, and vast history, as well as its glorious landscapes, Mediterranean outlook, mountains, and arid steppe, attract all who venture here. You can enjoy Turkey’s Ottoman and Byzantine glories, explore historical places, or laze on the beach. Turkey is a stunning destination in Asia and Europe, offering travelers various activities. If you want to know about the best tourist attractions in Turkey, we’ve listed them here.
Pamukkale
Pamukkale, located in the west of Turkey, is famous for its white terraces. Pamukkale means “cotton castle” in Turkish and is an unreal site. The white terraces of Pamukkale are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited from the hot spring water with high mineral content. It has some specific pools that people bathed for years. The kings of Pergamon built the ancient Greek city of Hierapolis at the top of the hot springs. There are more than pools in Pamukkale to visit, like temples, remains of the baths, and other Greek monuments, which make it more interesting.
Pamukkale in Turkey
Sumela Monastery
Sumela Monastery, or Monastery of the Virgin Mary, is located along the Black Sea Beach. This place is one of the most well-favored monasteries in the world and was established by two monks who dreamt they found the Virgin Mary painting at the monastery’s location, on top of a jaw-dropping hill. The monastery has a holy spring, rock-cut design, chapel, library, student rooms, and guest house and provides plenty of activities in its place. At first, during the time of the Eastern Roman Emperor, Sumela Monastery was used for education and showing respect; the Ottoman sultans delivered some gifts to the monastery.
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is known to be among the most beautiful Mosques in the world; the mesmerizing Byzantine glory of this place is one of the most extraordinary things to do in Istanbul, Turkey. Hagia Sophia remained the most significant church for 1,000 years and was built in 537 CE by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. It is well-known as the most outstanding architectural achievement of the Byzantine Empire. The astonishing part of the building’s exterior is rimmed by the delicate minarets added after the Ottoman victory, and the best part of the interior is the cave fresco, which is a reminder of Constantinople’s power. This popular location is highly recommended for all tourists.
Blue Mosque
The Sultan Ahmed, known as the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, is a perfect attraction from the outside due to its six minarets and excellent architecture. This Mosque is used as a mosque and a tourist attraction in Turkey. The Blue Mosque was built by Sultan Ahmed from 1609 to 1616 and contains the tomb of Sultan Ahmed. As its name suggests, this Mosque has 20,000 blue tiles with different patterns that add to its beauty.
Cappadocia
The fantastic beauty of the rock valleys of Cappadocia attracts every traveler. It also catches every photographer’s attention. Cappadocia has been formed by thousands of wind and water actions, creating impressive cliff ridges and hill crests. In this top destination in the world, you can enjoy a hot-air balloon ride and a unique landscape of wave-like rock or wacky-shaped pinnacles. Moreover, you can see and enjoy frescoed rock-cut churches and cave-cut architecture in the Byzantine Era. In this area, we can mention the churches that look like caves and Ihlara Valley as some of the best samples of remaining mid-Byzantine-era religious art worldwide.
Library of Celsus
The library of Celsus was built in 125 AD and was used to maintain 12,000 scrolls. Today, this library is one of the remaining places in Ephesus City, a well-known city famous for its Artemis Temple and one of the seven wonders of the Old World. The town was destroyed by a mob in 401 AD, and the remaining ruins of this city have made it a wonderful tourist attraction in Turkey. The Great Theater and the Library of Celsus were two buildings that can still be usable after the destruction, but they were cautiously reconstructed in the 1970s.
Troy
Troy is a familiar name for most people thanks to Homer’s classic epic “The Illiad.” it has been said that Troy is an authentic town in northwestern Turkey. Although the army of King Agamemnon destroyed the empire of Troy, travelers can still visit the exact location of the ancient kingdom, Hisarlik. Remember that it is a long journey from Istanbul to visit Hisarlik, and you should allocate at least a day to commute to this city.
Topkapı Palace
Topkapı Palace, another fantastic attraction in Turkey, takes you into the extraordinary, opulent world of the Sultans. This palace is magnificent beyond belief. The lavish world of the sultans started in the 15th and 16th centuries when the Ottoman sultans carved out an empire, expanding from Europe to the Middle East and Africa. The inside of the building was designed with decadently exuberant tiling and magnificent jeweled decor. You can also enjoy the dazzling Harem rooms and the world-class collection of miniature paintings that Sinan, a famous Ottoman architect, designed.
Oludeniz
Ölüdeniz is located on the southwestern part of the beach on the Aegean Sea. It is a small village with a quiet sandy spot on a blue lagoon. This coast is renowned because of the shades of turquoise and is one of the most remarkable shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Ölüdeniz is also considered the best place worldwide to paraglide because of its unique views.
Antalya
This active Mediterranean center always offers something for everyone. There are two central coasts outside the city, which attract travelers from all over Europe to sun-sloth in summer. On the other side, the old area of the town, with its cobblestone alleys, is a fantastic location to explore. Moreover, another famous country spot in Antalya is its Museum, which has an extravagant collection. In particular, Antalya is the best place to visit some of Turkey’s most famous for a one-day trip.
Gobeklitepe
Gobeklitepe is six miles from Sanliurfa and is known as the “world’s first temple.” The site dates back 11,000 years and includes many pillars that different animals have carved on them. This place was selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site In 2018. There’s an argument about the meaning of these pillars and the animals on the pillars, like vultures and scorpions. Gobeklitepe is very close to Sanliurfa Airport and is easily accessible for enjoying a daily tour from Istanbul. Another must-visit place that is highly recommended is the new Sanliurfa Museum, where a lot of excavated remains, and ruins from Gobeklitepe are displayed.
