Things to do in Türkiye

25 things to do in Türkiye

Listed in full below. The running order is set by votes and loads with the page.

• Hot Air Balloon Over Cappadocia

  Drift above Cappadocia's surreal fairy chimneys and rock formations at dawn as hundreds of colourful balloons fill the sky. The landscape of ancient volcanic tuff eroded into pillars and valleys is unlike anywhere else on Earth.

  Göreme, Nevşehir

• Visit Hagia Sophia

  Step inside this 6th-century marvel that has served as a Byzantine cathedral, Ottoman mosque, museum, and mosque again. Its soaring dome, golden mosaics, and massive calligraphy medallions span 1,500 years of layered history.

  Istanbul

• Lose Yourself in the Grand Bazaar

  Navigate the labyrinthine covered market with over 4,000 shops selling hand-painted ceramics, lanterns, spices, leather goods, and jewellery. Built in 1461, it remains one of the world's oldest and largest covered markets.

  Istanbul

• Walk the Ancient Streets of Ephesus

  Stroll past the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre seating 25,000, and marble roads rutted by Roman chariot wheels. Ephesus was once the second-largest city in the Roman Empire and a centre of early Christianity.

  Selçuk, İzmir

• Bathe in Pamukkale's Travertine Terraces

  Wade through warm, mineral-rich pools cascading down brilliant white calcium terraces overlooking the Lycus Valley. The adjacent ancient spa city of Hierapolis adds Greco-Roman ruins to the otherworldly landscape.

  Denizli

• Eat İskender Kebab in Bursa

  Watch thinly sliced döner meat laid over torn pide bread, doused in rich tomato sauce and browned butter, at its birthplace. The original İskender restaurant in Bursa has been serving this dish since 1867.

  Bursa

• Admire the Blue Mosque at Sunset

  Marvel at the cascading domes and six slender minarets of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, named for the 20,000 hand-painted İznik tiles lining its interior. It remains an active mosque, open to visitors between prayer times.

  Istanbul

• Tour Topkapı Palace and Its Harem

  Explore the sprawling Ottoman palace complex overlooking the Golden Horn and Bosphorus, home to sultans for nearly 400 years. The lavishly tiled Harem quarters and the Treasury housing the 86-carat Spoonmaker's Diamond are unmissable.

  Istanbul

• Sweat It Out in a Traditional Hammam

  Lie on a heated marble göbektaşı in a domed, steamy chamber while an attendant scrubs your skin with a coarse kese glove and covers you in clouds of soap foam. Çemberlitaş Hamamı, built in 1584 by the architect Mimar Sinan, offers an authentic Ottoman bathing ritual.

  Istanbul

• Wander Antalya's Kaleiçi Old Town

  Stumble through narrow cobblestone lanes lined with red-roofed Ottoman-era houses, crumbling Roman walls, and the elegant fluted minaret of Yivli Minare. The old harbour below bustles with fishing boats and waterfront cafés.

  Antalya

• Hike the Lycian Way

  Trek along clifftop paths above turquoise coves, through pine forests and abandoned Lycian rock tombs on one of the world's great long-distance trails. The 540-km route from Fethiye to Antalya passes through ghost villages and remote beaches.

  Fethiye, Muğla

• Watch Whirling Dervishes in Konya

  Witness the mesmerising Sema ceremony of the Mevlevi order at the Mevlana Museum, founded by the 13th-century poet Rumi. The spinning white-robed dervishes perform a spiritual meditation ritual accompanied by haunting ney flute music.

  Konya

• Descend into Derinkuyu Underground City

  Venture up to 85 metres below ground through a claustrophobic network of tunnels, chambers, stables, churches, and wine cellars carved from volcanic rock. This city could shelter around 20,000 people from invaders.

  Nevşehir

• Visit Göbekli Tepe

  Stand before the world's oldest known monumental structures, massive T-shaped limestone pillars carved with reliefs of foxes, lions, and vultures, built around 9600 BC — before agriculture, pottery, or writing existed.

  Şanlıurfa

• Party on Beyoğlu's İstiklal Avenue

  Join the evening crowds streaming down this 1.4-km pedestrian boulevard lined with Art Nouveau buildings, rooftop bars, historic cinemas, and meyhanes pouring rakı. The nostalgic red tram still rattles down the centre of the street.

  Istanbul

• Feast on Baklava in Gaziantep

  Watch layers of paper-thin yufka pastry being hand-stretched at legendary shops like İmam Çağdaş, then bite into pistachio-loaded baklava dripping with syrup. Gaziantep's baklava tradition earned the city a UNESCO Creative Cities designation for gastronomy.

  Gaziantep

• Watch Sunrise at Mount Nemrut

  Climb to the 2,134-metre summit in predawn darkness to see colossal stone heads of King Antiochus I and Greek and Persian gods silhouetted against the rising sun. The 1st-century BC tumulus tomb is one of Turkey's most dramatic archaeological sites.

  Adıyaman

• Sail the Turquoise Coast on a Gulet

  Board a traditional wooden gulet from Göcek or Fethiye and spend days hopping between secluded bays with crystal-clear water, ancient Lycian ruins, and pine-forested islands. The coastline's vivid blue colour is not an exaggeration.

  Göcek, Muğla

• Visit Sumela Monastery

  Peer up at this Byzantine monastery clinging impossibly to a sheer cliff face 300 metres above the forest floor in the Pontic Mountains. Founded in 386 AD, its frescoed rock church and overhanging balconies look like something from a fantasy novel.

  Trabzon

• Explore the Ruins of Troy

  Walk among layers of nine destroyed and rebuilt cities dating back 5,000 years, marked by a modern replica wooden horse at the entrance. The actual site, a UNESCO World Heritage mound, rewards imagination with its defensive walls and sweeping views toward the Dardanelles.

  Çanakkale

• Sip Turkish Tea at Pierre Loti Hill

  Take the cable car up this steep hillside cemetery above the Golden Horn and sit at a terrace café named after the French novelist who loved this view. Glass after glass of dark çay arrives as you gaze across the water toward the Süleymaniye Mosque.

  Istanbul

• Descend into the Basilica Cistern

  Walk along raised wooden platforms in this vast underground reservoir, its ceiling supported by 332 marble columns recycled from ruined temples. Look for the two mysterious Medusa-head column bases at the far end, their origins still debated.

  Istanbul

• Wander Safranbolu's Ottoman Houses

  Stroll through a perfectly preserved Ottoman-era town where hundreds of whitewashed timber-frame mansions with overhanging upper storeys line steep cobblestone streets. The town's name comes from the saffron crocus once cultivated in its fields.

  Safranbolu, Karabük

• Kayak Over the Sunken City of Kekova

  Glide in a sea kayak over the submerged ruins of the ancient Lycian city of Simena, where earthquakes sank streets and buildings beneath turquoise shallow water. The sunken walls, staircases, and sarcophagi are clearly visible through the glass-clear sea.

  Kekova, Antalya

• Climb the Pergamon Acropolis

  Ascend to the hilltop ruins of this powerful Hellenistic capital, which once housed one of the ancient world's greatest libraries and invented parchment. The steeply raked theatre and foundations of the Altar of Zeus command sweeping views over the modern town below.

  Bergama, İzmir