Famous places in Turkey (Part 2)

24 Place in Turkey you should visit.

Ankara

Atatürk Mausoleum (Anitkabir)

Anıtkabir or Ataturk Mausoleum is situated in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.

This notable example of modern Turkish architecture was designed by Turkish architect Emin Onat and established between 1944 and 1953.

The museum contains Ataturk’s shave sets, sticks, gifts, and other his possessions like many photographs about him and his valuable family.

Moreover, there is a special library of him contains books about Turk and Islam History, Literature, Social Sciences, Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, French, English, German, Russian, Arabic, Persian, Slavic Books.

Totally 3115 books are found here.

It is an extremely important symbol honoring Atatürk's life and the birth of the new Republic.

Opening Hours: daily from 09:00 am to 17:00 in summer,

09:00 am to 16:00 pm in winter.

Closes for lunch from 12:00 noon to 13:00.

Entrance Fee: free.

Atakule

Atakule is an observation and communication tower, it is 125 meters, located in the Çankaya district of central Ankara.

The tower was designed by the architect Ragıp Buluç, it was completed in 1989.

It is the most famous landmark and tourist place in the city.

There is an outdoor terrace and a revolving restaurant named "Sevilla", which provides a complete panoramic view of the city.

There is another cafe there called "UFO café" which is serving under the terrace.

The base portion of the tower is a shopping mall, which houses different brand shops and other small and famous restaurants.

Opening Hours: from 10 am to 10 pm.

Ethnography Museum of Ankara

Ethnography Museum of Ankara is dedicated to the cultures and traditions of the ancient Turkish civilizations. The museum was built on Namazgah Hill in Ankara between the years of 1925 to 1928.

The museum exhibits artifacts belonging to the ancient civilizations and some belongings to the Ataturk Mustafa Kamal.

These artifacts include handwoven clothes, Turkish cultural glass and tiles, prehistoric manuscripts, ancient stone, and wooden art pieces, and weapons used by the ancient Turkish civilizations.

A method is also displayed about how Turkish civilization used to make coffee in earlier times.

The place is a completely informative and entertaining site for people of all age groups.

Opening hours: Daily from 8:30 am–5 pm

Entrance Fee: 12 Turkish Lira

Kocatepe Mosque

The mosque is the largest mosque in Ankara and is famous for its beautiful 88 meters high minarets around its main dome.

Its size and outstanding situation have made it a landmark that can be seen from almost anywhere in central Ankara.

It was built between 1967 and 1987. The Kocatepe Mosque is a masterpiece of Turkish architecture whereas the walls and the roofs of the mosque are decorated with various cultural ornaments.

Opening hour: always open.

Ankara Castle (Kalesi)

Ankara Castle enables you to see the 360 degrees of Ankara.

It is located in the district of Ulus, the castle was originally built as a military defense and is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Ankara.

In the past, Ankara Castle has hosted many different civilizations such as Hittite, Phrygia, Persian, Byzantine, Arab and Ottoman.

Every tribe left a trace upon that charming construction in order to reflect their own tradition, culture and architectural style.

Today it exhibiting various art and music masterpieces, the castle is also a place where the concert festivals were organized especially in summer. Opening Hours: 10:00 am - 06:00 pm.

Entrance Fee: Free.

Museum of Anatolian Civilizations

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, named as Museum of the Year in Switzerland in 1997, has a large collection of Anatolian archaeology exhibits chronologically arranged from the Paleolithic era to the present day. It acts as an introduction to the ancient history of Turkey and Ankara.

It housing many artifacts and Hittite figures, the origins of which can be traced as far back as the first millennium BC.

Opening Hours: 8:30 AM–17:30 PM.

Entrance Fee: 30 Turkish Lira.

Ataturk Forest Farm & Zoo

The Ataturk Forest Farm & Zoo is located in Ankara.

This farming area includes a small zoo, an aquarium, various agricultural farms, some greenhouses, and restaurants.

There is also a brewery and a dairy farm, which are administered by the Ministry of the Agriculture and Village Affairs of Turkey.

The zoo at the farm has covered an area of 79 acres, which is home to various birds, big cats, apes, monkeys, and snakes.

Visitors can taste the fresh products of dairy and brewery like a cup of beer and ice cream.

Restaurants serve meat rolls, charcoal kebabs, and other traditional foods to the visitors.

Aqua Vega Aquarium

The Aqua Vega Aquarium is the largest aquarium tunnel in Turkey and most probably in Europe too.

Situated in the most famous shopping mall (Nata Vega Outlet 2) in Dogukent Bulvari, Ankara.

This 98-meter long tunnel is formed by 24 aquariums, which are containing 4.5 million liters of fresh and saltwater along with various marine environmental characteristics.

The aquarium is home to 12,000 marine creatures.

It is one of the best places in Turkey to visit with family and children.

Opening Hours: Daily from 11 am–9 pm.

Entrance Fees: 15 Turkish Lira.

İzmir

Ephesus (Efeze)

Ephesus is an ancient Greek city that is also known as Efeze.

Being one of the world’s greatest cities in Roman times, it was ranked as the second-largest city in the world at that time.

In Eastern Mediterranean, Ephesus is the best-preserved ancient temple.

It holds the temple of Artemis, that believed to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Many people used to believe that Ephesus is the house of Mary, the mother of Jesus. According to the Bible’s book of revelation, Ephesus is listed as the 7th church of Asia.

There are many magnificent sites including the Library of Celsus, the Cave of the Seven Sleepers, a theater, the Church of Mary, the House of the Virgin, the Isa bey Mosque, the Basilica of St. John, and the Temple of Hadrian.

Opening Hours: 8 AM–7 PM.

Entrance Fees:

Ephesus: 60 Turkish Lira

House of Mary: 25 Turkish Lira

Temple of Artemis: Free of Charge

Sirince Village: Free of charge

Isa Bey Mosque: Free of Charge

Basilica of St. John: 15 Turkish Lira

Museum of Ephesus: 15 Turkish Lira​

Virgin Mary's House

The house is located in Ephesus.

The house has been noted as a pilgrimage center by Christians after long research by the Vatican in 1967 so almost 5 million visitors all over the world pay a visit to the house.

Opening Hours: From November - February 08:00 am to 17:00.

From March -October 08:00 am to 18:00 pm.

Entrance Fees: 25 Turkish Lira

İzmir Clock Tower

Izmir Clock Tower is a historic clock tower, also called Saat Kulesi is located at the Konak Square in the center of Izmir.

It was built by a French architect in 1901 to honor the 25th anniversary of Abdülhamid II’s succession to the throne.

The clock on the tower was gifted to the tower by German emperor Willhem II to the Sultan,

The height of the tower is 25 meters and it has four big fountains.

Asansör (The Lift)

Asansör is a historical building in İzmir's Karataş quarter, in Konak.

It was built in 1907 by Nesim Levi Bayraklıoğlu, as a public service in order to ease the passage from the summits of the cliff to the coastline of Karatas.

The elevator within the building serving to carry people and goods through the steep cliff between the two parts of the quarter.

At the top of the Asansor, there is a famous café of Izmir.

The design of the elevator has been drawn as castle-like structure having double lifts.

Kemeralti Bazaar

Kemeralti is a historical market in İzmir.

Being one of the liveliest places of Izmir, It is the oldest and most main landmark of the Ottoman Empire. The market is covering a huge area in İzmir.

Kemeraltı is existent since the 17th century and is the home of shops, artisans, workshops, coffeehouses, mosques, tea gardens, and eateries.

Opening Hours: 8 am-7 pm From Monday-Saturday.

St. Polycarp Church

The church was built in the 17th century; this Catholic Church is the oldest and still functioning Christian house of adoration.

The inside walls of the church are decorated with frescoes that were renovated further in the 19th century by a local architect named Raymond Charles Père.

The architect basically represents himself in the wall painting.

All the wall paintings and the color combination totally compliments the church.

The chandeliers hanging in the arches bring out the beautiful light and colors to it.

Sirince Village

Located in İzmir, this place is like a heaven on earth.

The village of Sirince is a good example of the tolerance and cultural heritage in the west of Turkey which reflects Turkish and Greek ways of life together.

This is the only village in the Aegean region that has both a Greek Orthodox church and a Muslim mosque side by side.

It is one of the World Heritage Sites of the United Nations and it has only 700 inhabitants.

Other Places To Visit In Turkey

Cumalıkızık

It is a village located around 10 kilometers from Bursa’s city center, Cumalıkızık goes back to the Ottoman Empire with a well-protected historical texture.

Visitors can walk around on historic cobblestone streets to see 270 Ottoman-era houses all around, which still have the original wrought iron door handles and knockers, as well as a historic mosque.

Mount Nemrut (Nemrut Dağ)

The mountaın is a 2,134 meter high located in southeastern Turkey, near the city of Adıyaman.

In 62 BC, King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene built a tomb and a huge statue of himself, two lions, two eagles, and various Greek and Persian gods on the top of the mountain.

Since their construction, the heads have toppled from the bodies and lay scattered throughout the site.

The summit of Mount Nemrut provides a great view of the surrounding mountains.

The main attraction is to watch the sunrise from the eastern terrace which gives the body-less heads a beautiful orange hue and adds to the sense of mystery of the place.

It is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites.

Uzungöl

Uzungöl (Long Lake), is a lake located in the south of Trabzon.

Uzungöl is also the name of the village on the lake's coast.

Over the years, the wonderful lake, its village, and the surrounding valley have become popular tourist attractions.

It was formed by a landslide, which transformed the stream bed into a natural dam, in the valley of the Haldizen Stream.

Cappadocia

This is one of the world's top destinations to take a hot air balloon ride.

People of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out houses, churches, and monasteries from the soft rocks of volcanic deposits.

Göreme became a monastic center in 300–1200 AD.

Bodrum Castle

Located in Bodrum in southwest Turkey, Bodrum Castle was built by the Crusaders in the 15th century as the Castle of St. Peter.

It is one of the world’s best-preserved monuments dating back to medieval times.

The castle now operates as a museum, with a focus on the Museum of Underwater Archaeology.

It overlooks the internal marina of Bodrum.

Opening Hours: Daily from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm.

Uludag Mountain

Well known as a favorite mountain and winter tourism, Uludag Mountain is the biggest center place of winter and nature sports in Bursa, Turkey.

Also called as Olimpos Mountain is 2543 meter high, 40 km long and approximately 15-20 km width.

Silk Market - Koza Han

Situated between Bursa Grand Mosque and Orhan Mosque, Koza Han was built by the great architect Abdul Ula Bin Pulat Sah as a foundation for historical works in Istanbul by the order of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II in 1491.

It was a place where pod (silkworm cocoon) was sold.

The silk fabrics obtained from the cocoons played the first role to be a textile center of Bursa.

Approximately, having lived around Bursa for a thousand year and called as ‘’Greengrocers’’, Turks have made the production of pod for centuries.

Silk Market (Koza Han in Turkish) is a two-story Han located in the rectangle yard.

The stores of Silk Bazaar contain high quality and cheap productions such as silk fabrics, silk scarfs, shawls, outfit materials, artistic goods, dowery, home textile products, underwear, silver, and other valuable souvenirs.

In the east of the Han, there is placed the second yard named Dıs (Out) Koza Han.

It is opened to Long Bazaar with its portal ornamented the blue charming tiles.

Selimiye Mosque

Selimiye Mosque was built by the order of Sultan Selim II between 1569 and 1575 at the center of the city in Edirne.

One of the main masterpieces in Ottoman Art and the history of architecture worldwide, the architect of the glorious buildings is Great Sinan.

It covers an area of 2.475 m2, the enormous construction was chosen as the largest mosque in the world.

When it is looked at the building history of the Selimiye Mosque, it is said that at the beginning there was a palace established by Ottoman Sultan Yıldırım Bayezid in the same place.

But then it was demolished due to not being durable.

Finally, genius artist Sinan succeeded in this magnificent mosque to get our day. Today, many engineers and architects coming from everywhere try to secret the mosque building but they cannot completely figure out it.

Therefore it took a place in UNESCO’s World History Heritage Candidate List.

Readers Also Read:

Quick Brief About Turkey

Facts About Turkey

Famous Food you should try in Turkey

Famous Places to visit in Istanbul

Famous Places to visit in Turkey

Traditions, Customs and Etiquette in Turkey

العادات و التقاليد في تركيا

أشهر الأكلات التركية

أشهر الأماكن السياحية في إسطنبول

أشهر الأماكن السياحية في تركيا (الجزء ال2)

#Anitkabir #Atakule #EthnographyMuseum #KocatepeMosque #AnkaraCastle #ÇengelhanRahmi #MuseumofAnatolian #AtaturkForestFarmZoo #AquaVegaAquarium #Ephesus #İzmirClockTower #Asansör #KemeraltiBazaar #StPolycarpChurch #Cumalıkızık #MountNemrut #Uzungöl #Cappadocia #BodrumCastle #VirginMarysHouse #SelimiyeMosque #SilkMarket #UludagMountain #SirinceVillage