Places to visit in

Turkey

Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi) in Ankara is one of Turkey's premier archaeological museums, documenting the long and varied history of Anatolia from the Paleolithic and Neolithic through the Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian, Lydian, Classical (Greek and Roman) and Byzantine periods. Its collections—assembled from excavations across Anatolia—are crucial for understanding early urbanization, trade networks (including Assyrian merchant colonies), and the development of complex societies in the region.

The Hacı Bayram Mosque and the adjacent Temple of Augustus form a unique historical and cultural ensemble in the Ulus district of Ankara, illustrating a continuous urban fabric from the Roman period (ancient Ancyra) through the Ottoman-Islamic era to the present. The Temple of Augustus preserves inscriptions (the Monumentum Ancyranum) associated with Emperor Augustus and represents Ankara’s Roman past, while the Hacı Bayram Mosque is a prominent 15th-century Ottoman religious site associated with the influential Sufi saint Hacı Bayram-ı Veli. Together they highlight religious, political and social layers of Anatolian history and are central to local identity and tourism.

Cappadocia is a region of outstanding historical, cultural and natural importance: its surreal volcanic landscape of 'fairy chimneys' and sculpted valleys was formed by millennia of erosion of soft tuff. It has been a crossroads of civilizations (Hittites, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, Ottomans) and is notable for its extensive rock-cut architecture—churches, monasteries and dwellings carved into soft stone. The Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia are UNESCO World Heritage sites, recognized for both cultural heritage (early Christian frescoes and cave monastic complexes) and unique geology. The region also contains vast underground cities built for refuge and survival, illustrating local adaptation to historical conflicts and climate.

Göreme Open-Air Museum is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Cappadocia, central Turkey. It is a unique complex of medieval cave churches carved into volcanic tuff, dating mainly from the 10th to 13th centuries. The site illustrates Byzantine monastic life, Christian worship practices, and the region's adaptation to its geological environment. Its frescoes are important examples of Byzantine art and iconography, documenting theological themes and local artistic styles.

Uçhisar Castle is a natural rock citadel carved from volcanic tuff and is the highest point in the Cappadocia region. It has served for centuries as a strategic lookout, refuge and residential complex, reflecting the area's Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman layers of history. The castle and surrounding honeycombed rock formations are also important for the region's unique geology and scenic landscape.

Derinkuyu Underground City is one of the most remarkable examples of the extensive subterranean settlement systems in Cappadocia. Carved from the region's soft volcanic tuff, it served as a large, multi-level refuge and living complex from Hittite to Byzantine times, with major use during the early Christian era to escape persecution and raids. Its size, engineering (ventilation shafts, water access, and defensive rolling stone doors), and continuity of use make it both historically and culturally significant.

Kaymaklı Underground City (Kaymaklı Yeraltı Şehri) is one of the largest and most famous subterranean settlements in the Cappadocia region of central Turkey. Carved into the soft volcanic tuff by successive civilizations, it served as a refuge and living complex—especially for early Christian communities—during periods of invasion and persecution. The site illustrates advanced subterranean engineering (ventilation shafts, rolling stone doors, multi-level planning) and offers important insights into daily life, defense strategies, and the social organization of its inhabitants.

Zelve Open-Air Museum is one of Cappadocia's oldest and most extensive cave settlements, showing continuous human habitation from the Byzantine era through the 20th century. It served both as a monastic center and a village, illustrating how people adapted to the region's soft volcanic tuff by carving homes, churches, stables and storage cells into the landscape. The site is important for understanding the region's religious history, vernacular architecture and human-environment interaction.

Paşabağ (Monks Valley) in Cappadocia is one of the region's most iconic landscapes, celebrated for its dramatic fairy chimneys—tall, conical rock formations topped by harder capstones. The valley preserves evidence of early Christian hermit life: monks carved cells, chapels and living spaces into the tuff, using the natural formations for seclusion and worship. The area is part of the greater Göreme National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape that illustrates long-term human adaptation to a volcanic, erosional terrain.

Ihlara Valley is a deep volcanic tuff canyon carved by the Melendiz River in the Cappadocia region (Aksaray Province). It is important for its combination of geological features and rich cultural history: the valley hosts hundreds of Byzantine-era rock-cut churches, monastic complexes and frescoes dating from the 9th–13th centuries, reflecting early Christian monastic life and regional pilgrimage routes. The valley’s lush riverine microclimate and unique tuff formations also make it a notable natural corridor in an otherwise semi-arid landscape.

Love Valley (Aşk Vadisi) in Cappadocia is renowned for its extraordinary geological formations—tall, conical 'fairy chimneys' formed by volcanic tuff erosion over millennia. The valley represents an important natural landscape within the Cappadocia region, illustrating volcanic, erosional, and human history of settlement and adaptation (nearby cave dwellings and ancient routes). Its striking shapes and open landscapes have made it an iconic natural and cultural symbol of Cappadocia and an important site for tourism, photography, and geological study.

Rose Valley (Güllüdere) in Cappadocia is important for its exceptional geology—soft volcanic tuff sculpted by erosion into unique pinnacles, ridges and canyons—and for its cultural history as part of the early-Christian landscape of rock-cut churches, monasteries and hermitages. The valley illustrates millennia of human adaptation to a fragile volcanic landscape and is part of the larger Cappadocian cultural landscape that is a major UNESCO tourist region.

Pigeon Valley (Güvercinlik Vadisi) is a notable valley in Cappadocia, between Göreme and Uçhisar, formed by soft volcanic tuff that has been eroded into dramatic rock formations and fairy chimneys. Historically the valley's carved dovecotes (pigeon houses) were an important part of local agricultural practice: residents collected pigeon droppings as a high-quality fertilizer for orchards and vineyards. The area also contains traces of cave dwellings and small rock-cut chapels used by past rural communities, linking it to the broader cultural and historical landscape of Cappadocia.

Avanos is a town in Central Anatolia, Turkey, on the banks of the Kızılırmak (Red River). It has been an important pottery and crafts center since Hittite and Phrygian times due to the rich alluvial clay deposits of the river. Avanos' cultural importance stems from its continuity of traditional pottery-making techniques, historic Ottoman houses, and its role as a crafts and trade hub in Cappadocia. The town also serves as a gateway to the unique geological formations and valleys of Cappadocia, making it significant for both cultural heritage and natural tourism.

Ürgüp is a key town in the Cappadocia region of central Turkey, renowned for its unique volcanic landscape of fairy chimneys, rock-cut dwellings, and historic cave churches. The area has been inhabited since Hittite times and later became an important Byzantine and early Christian center. Ürgüp also played a role in Ottoman-era trade routes and retains a mix of Turkish and Greek cultural heritage visible in its old stone houses and neighborhoods.

Ortahisar Castle (Ortahisar Kalesi) is a large natural rock formation carved and used as a fortress and communal shelter in the Cappadocia region of central Turkey. It is significant for its combination of natural geological features (volcanic tuff shaped into a towering rock mass), historical continuity (used from Byzantine through Seljuk and Ottoman periods), and cultural value as part of the living cave-village tradition of Cappadocia. The castle served defensive, storage, and residential functions and remains a focal point of Ortahisar town’s identity.

Soğanlı Valley is a lesser-known but historically rich part of the Cappadocia region in central Turkey, notable for its Byzantine-era rock-cut churches, cave dwellings, and dovecotes carved into volcanic tuff. The valley preserves important examples of early Christian monastic life and frescoes, and offers striking volcanic landscapes and hiking opportunities away from the busiest tourist sites.

Mount Erciyes (Erciyes Dağı) is a dominant stratovolcano rising to 3,917 m in central Anatolia near Kayseri. It is the highest peak in Central Anatolia, an important natural landmark visible across the Cappadocia region. The mountain is significant for its volcanic geology, seasonal glaciers/snowfields that support winter sports, and as a longstanding navigation and cultural landmark for communities and travelers in the region.

Lake Tuz (Tuz Gölü) is one of Turkey's largest saline lakes and an important natural, economic and ecological landmark in Central Anatolia. It has been a major source of salt since ancient times and continues to supply a significant portion of Turkey's salt. Ecologically, the lake and its surrounding wetlands are a crucial habitat and breeding ground for many waterbirds, notably greater flamingos, making it an important site for biodiversity and migratory species. The lake's vast white salt flats form a striking landscape that is both scientifically interesting (hypersaline ecology) and culturally significant to local communities involved in salt harvesting.

Pamukkale ("Cotton Castle") is a unique natural site in Denizli Province, southwestern Turkey, known for its white travertine terraces formed by calcium-rich thermal waters. The terraces and hot springs have been used as a spa since the Roman and Byzantine periods and are linked to the ancient Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis, whose ruins sit above the terraces. Pamukkale is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (together with Hierapolis) recognized for its outstanding natural thermal formations and the cultural landscape combining ancient ruins and geological features.