An Istanbul stay
The historic peninsula, waterways and neighbourhoods can fill a rich journey of their own. Hagia Sophia is part of the broad Istanbul entry; allow time for the other layers rather than treating the city as a single monument.
Country guide
Türkiye
7 places across the five collections. Start with what draws you here, then build a journey that gives each place enough time.
Photograph
Adli Wahid · CC BY-SA 3.0Country orientation
Find the shape of your journey.
See how the 7 entries are distributed, then choose a cluster that suits the journey you want. Numbers on this map refer to the list alongside it.
Representative points, including broad regions and shared-border entries. A pin is not a visitor entrance or evidence of a direct travel connection.
- Istanbul & Hagia Sophia
The Original 100 · A city of domes, waterways and histories crossing the Bosphorus.
- Cappadocia
The Original 100 · Valleys carved by erosion, and entire worlds cut into the rock.
- Ephesus
Honourable Mentions · A Roman city that becomes more interesting beyond its famous façade.
- Pamukkale & Hierapolis
Honourable Mentions · White mineral terraces beside an ancient spa city.
- Göbekli Tepe
Extraordinary Discoveries · A prehistoric site that has changed questions about early monument building.
- Ani
Extraordinary Discoveries · A ruined medieval city on an exposed borderland plateau.
- Mount Nemrut
Extraordinary Discoveries · A mountain-top royal sanctuary of colossal stone heads.
Plan a country journey
Imperial layers and very different archaeological landscapes.
Western Anatolia
Ephesus and Pamukkale/Hierapolis suggest a western archaeological thread. Give the ancient cities time and use their landscapes to understand why people settled there.
Central and eastern routes
Cappadocia, Göbekli Tepe, Ani and Mount Nemrut are widely separated. Pick a coherent region and investigate the actual connections before combining them.
These are editorial starting points, not timed itineraries. Use the linked place guides for practical details, then build your own route in the travel workbench.
Find your way through Türkiye.
The country guide gathers The Original 100 and every alternative included elsewhere on the site. A shared regional wonder may appear in more than one country.
The Original 100
1–100 · 2 places in this country
Honourable Mentions
101–200 · 2 places in this country
Extraordinary Discoveries
201–300 · 3 places in this country
274 · Türkiye
Göbekli Tepe
A prehistoric site that has changed questions about early monument building.
Turn the collection into a journey.
Begin with an anchor place and its suggested base. Compare the guides’ seasonal notes and allow separately for time spent travelling. A collection of places in one country is not automatically a sensible route, particularly where islands, mountains or remote regions are involved.
Use the travel workbench to record your chosen overnight stops and the transport information you have checked. It keeps unresearched connections visible and produces a day-by-day outline you can print or export.
For international travel, check current entry requirements, regional advice and the operating details of the actual transport and visitor authorities. Country and territory labels here organise the guides; broad shared landscapes do not imply unrestricted border crossings.