The Ultimate Travel Guide to Turkey: History & Attractions

Where East meets West — Turkey is a treasure trove of history, incredible food, fairy-tale landscapes and stunning coastlines.

A Glimpse into History

Turkey sits at one of history's most critical crossroads — the meeting point of Europe and Asia, where civilisations have collided, merged, and transformed for 10,000 years. Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia is among the world's earliest known cities, dating to 7500 BC. The Hittite Empire (c.1600–1180 BC) was a superpower that challenged Egypt, and their iron-working techniques changed the world. The Trojan War's legendary city of Troy stood on Turkey's Aegean coast. Persian, Greek, and Roman empires all left their mark — Ephesus was one of the ancient world's greatest cities, and Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (today Istanbul) was the world's largest cathedral for 1,000 years. Emperor Constantine made Constantinople his Christian capital in 330 AD, and the Byzantine Empire ruled here for over a millennium. In 1453, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople, ending the Byzantine world and beginning the Ottoman Empire that would dominate three continents for 600 years — stretching from Budapest to Baghdad, controlling the spice trade and demanding tribute from Europe. The empire's collapse after WWI and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's revolution transformed the country into the secular Turkish Republic in 1923, adopting the Latin alphabet, abolishing the caliphate, and modernising at breakneck speed. Today Turkey bridges two worlds while being fully its own.

Top Attractions in Turkey

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Built by Emperor Justinian in 537 AD, the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) was the world's largest cathedral for nearly a millennium, then became an Ottoman mosque in 1453, a museum in 1934, and a mosque again in 2020. Its massive dome — spanning 31 metres — floats above glittering gold mosaics in what remains one of the greatest architectural achievements in human history.

Cappadocia Hot Air Balloons

The lunar landscape of Cappadocia — volcanic rock eroded into thousands of fairy chimney pillars, rose-coloured valleys, and underground cities carved by early Christians — is best seen from a hot air balloon drifting silently at sunrise. Over 100 balloons lift off simultaneously at dawn between April and October, creating one of earth's most magical spectacles.

Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

The world's oldest covered market has operated since 1461 with over 4,000 shops spread across 61 covered streets. Turkish carpets, hand-painted ceramics, gold jewellery, spices, leather goods, and blue evil-eye amulets fill every corner in a bewildering sensory overload where hard bargaining is both expected and enjoyed.

Pamukkale Cotton Castle

Pamukkale (Cotton Castle) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where calcium-rich thermal springs cascade down a white travertine hillside, forming terraced natural pools of turquoise water. At the top, the Roman spa city of Hierapolis contains remarkably preserved ruins including a theatre seating 15,000, a necropolis, and ancient bathhouses.

Ephesus Ancient City

Once the second-largest city in the Roman Empire with a population of 250,000, Ephesus contains some of the best-preserved Greco-Roman ruins anywhere in the world. The Library of Celsus, the Grand Theatre where St. Paul preached, marble-paved streets, and the imposing Hadrian's Temple bring ancient urban life vividly back to life.