Most beautiful places
Cities, monuments, nature and holy sites
CityIstanbulA city on two continents, split by the Bosphorus into a European and an Asian side. Capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1453 to 1922 and today Türkiye's largest city.Read more →
MonumentHagia SophiaA vast domed building completed in 537: a church for nearly a thousand years, a mosque from 1453, a museum from 1934 and a mosque again since 2020.Read more →
MonumentTopkapı PalaceThe palace where Ottoman sultans lived and ruled for about 400 years; a museum since 1924.Read more →
NatureCappadociaA land of "fairy chimneys" carved from volcanic tuff, rock-cut churches and underground cities. Göreme has been a UNESCO site since 1985.Read more →
NaturePamukkale and HierapolisWhite travertine terraces formed by hot mineral springs, with the ancient city of Hierapolis above them. A UNESCO site since 1988.Read more →
MonumentEphesusAn ancient port city on the Aegean: the Library of Celsus, the great theatre and the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders. A UNESCO site since 2015.Read more →
MonumentGöbekli TepeStone circles raised about 11,600 years ago — among the oldest known monumental structures in the world. A UNESCO site since 2018.Read more →
MonumentMount NemrutThe tomb-sanctuary of King Antiochus I of Commagene at 2,134 metres, with giant stone heads lined up on its terraces. A UNESCO site since 1987.Read more →
CityAnkara and AnıtkabirTürkiye's capital since 1923. Its emblem is Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.Read more →
CityKonya and the Mevlana MausoleumCapital of the Anatolian Seljuks and the city of Rumi. The green-domed mausoleum welcomes millions of visitors every year.Read more →
CityBursa and CumalıkızıkThe first capital of the Ottoman state. "Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire" has been a UNESCO site since 2014.Read more →
MonumentSelimiye Mosque, EdirneThe mosque Mimar Sinan called his masterpiece (1568–1575). With its complex, a UNESCO site since 2011.Read more →
Why Türkiye?
Discover the culture
Instruments, dances, crafts and carpets
InstrumentBağlamaThe main instrument of Turkish folk music — a long-necked, fretted lute. By size it is called divan saz, bağlama or cura.Read more →
CraftEbru (Turkish marbling)The art of sprinkling paint onto thickened water to make patterns and transferring them to paper. UNESCO heritage since 2014.Read more →
DanceHalayA group dance performed shoulder to shoulder or hand in hand, led by a halaybaşı waving a handkerchief.Read more →
DanceHoronThe fast, shivering group dance of the Black Sea coast, accompanied by the kemençe or the tulum bagpipe.Read more →
CraftHüsn-i hat (Ottoman calligraphy)The art of beautiful writing in Arabic script with a reed pen, brought to its peak by Ottoman calligraphers. UNESCO heritage since 2021.Read more →
InstrumentNeyAn end-blown reed flute, regarded as the soul of Mevlevi and classical Turkish music.Read more →
CarpetTurkish carpets and kilimsAnatolian carpet weaving, with schools such as Uşak, Hereke, Konya and Milas — even painted by European masters.Read more →
CraftKaragöz and HacivatTurkish shadow theatre: colourful figures cut from leather are moved behind a white screen. UNESCO heritage since 2009.Read more →
National cuisine
The taste and tradition of the table
DishDöner kebabMeat roasted on a vertical rotating spit and shaved in thin slices — a dish that spread from Türkiye around the world.Read more →
Dishİskender kebabBursa's famous dish: thin slices of döner over pide bread with tomato sauce, sizzling butter and yoghurt.Read more →
DishAdana kebabA spicy minced-meat kebab of hand-chopped lamb and tail fat, grilled over charcoal on a wide flat skewer.Read more →
DishLahmacunA thin dough spread with spiced minced meat, tomato and peppers and baked in a stone oven.Read more →
DishPideA boat-shaped open dough topped with minced meat, cheese, egg or kavurma and baked in an oven; the Black Sea pide is especially famous.Read more →
DishKayseri mantıTiny meat-filled dumplings topped with garlic yoghurt and sizzling butter; in Kayseri they say forty should fit on one spoon.Read more →
DishBörekA pastry of thin yufka sheets filled with cheese, meat, spinach or potato; the most famous is su böreği.Read more →
DishSimitA ring of bread dipped in grape molasses and coated in sesame — a symbol of Istanbul's streets.Read more →
Notable people
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From places to visit to national days: every section of the country in one place.
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AnkaraWeather in the capital · Ankara
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