What could be more exhilarating than floating over the geological wonders of landscape in Cappadocia balloons? Cappadocia Balloons Flight is something that should definitely be on your bucket list in Turkey! Imagine soaring over rock formations that look like fairytale castles, descending to land in […]
About 5 km from Avanos and 1 km from Paşabağlari, Zelve was founded on the steep northern slopes of Aktepe. Consisting of three separate valleys, the ruins of Zelve is the area with the most ‘fairy chimneys’ – a famous sight special to Cappadocia – […]
Sarıhan (Yellow Caravanserai), about 10km north of Ürgüp, was constructed by the Seljuk Sultan Alaattin Keykubat in 1217. It has a huge courtyard with an elaborate gateway, and was used for the loading of animals and as a resting place for travellers. It is also […]
The most stunning examples of the local landscape and the Fairy Chimneys can be seen along the route to Avanos. Many of these rock formations resemble animal (camels and rabbits can be seen frequently).
Located 14 km northeast of Avanos, this underground city was built on the northern slopes of Mt. Idis, in an area with strata made up of volcanic granite. The extensive galleries of the city are spread out over a large area and connected to each […]
This village, 3 km southeast of the Goreme Valley, is most famous for its 50m high rock-castle, which is visible from the main road. It is possible to climb the rock, which offers stunning views of the surrounding area. This attractive farming village also exhibits […]
Located 5km from Ürgüp, the small village of Mustafapasa has old stone houses with attractive carved facades dating back to the end of the 19th century, as well as a cluster of small churches. Once known as Sinasos, while it was a thriving Greek community […]
As a centre of grape and wine production, Kizilcukur, a couple of kilometres northwest of Ürgüp, contains churches cut into the strange rock formations and decorated with grape figures. The rocks are adorned by different colours, making them a spectacular sight at sunset.
Kaymakli underground city is on the Ihlara valley roadway and 20 km far from Nevsehir province. Ancient name was Enegup. Kaymakli people were built their homes around the underground city tunnels for security reason. Kaymakli underground city has 8 storey and 5000 peoples can live […]
Engraved in the tuffs, these basilica-type churches were thought to have been used as hospital buildings by the Christians, and are now almost destroyed. Similar structures can also be seen in Ortahisar, such as St Peter and St Paul Churches.
This ancient city is located in the far left draw of the Güllüdere valley, about 2 km from the village of Çavuşin. It was founded at the mouth of the draw on top of a steep slope. The shape of the nave is square, with […]
Firatkan is a small complex of churches, located on the road to the Göreme Open Air Museum. They have two storeys, consisting of a dormitory, dining hall, kitchen and storerooms. The storeys are connected to each other through tunnels.
Derinkuyu is situated on Nevsehir-Nigde roadway at 30 km in south region of Nevsehir. The history of the district of Derinkuyu named as Melagobia (Malakopi) which was meaning in the period of Eti the hard living is very old. In the district there are many […]
This ancient city is found beside the Göreme-Avanos road, 2.5 km out of Göreme. The narthex of this church has fallen down. It has tunnel vaults, a high nave and 3 apses. It dates back to 964-965 A.D.
Göreme, in which there are many fairy chimneys and churches, is declared as an open air museum. Tokalı Church, the Priestesses and Priests Monastery, Saint Basil Chapel, Elmalı Church, Saint Barbara Chapel, Yılanlı (Saint Onuphrius) Church, Karanlık Church, Çarıklı Church, El Nazar Church, Saklı Church, […]
Located 6 miles away from Selcuk town, popular village. First inhabitance dates back first century. The early christians from Ephesus escaping from the prosecutors founded the village. This was a Greek Orthodox village till 1924. Was named as “Cirkince” meaning the ugly for while. Indeed […]
Archeologists mention that there is a possibility of an Apollon temple in the place where the mosque was built. It was common in the ancient times to built an Apollon temple next to Artemis temple since they are considered as twins. Apollo was the twin […]
The Seven Sleepers, commonly called the “Seven Sleepers o Ephesus”, refers to 7 early christians who lived in Ephesus in the 3rd century A.D, in the time of the Roman Emperor Decius. This was the time of persecution to the Christains. These 7 young men […]
At his crucifixion Jesus asked his beloved disciple, John, to look after his mother. John and the Virgin went to Ephesus between 42 and 48 AD and lived there. John was martyred under the rule of the Emperor Trajan. There has been much discussion as […]
The Ephesus Museum is in the town of Selcuk at the eastern foothill of Ayasuluk Hill. The two best finds exhibited in the museum are the marble statues of Artemis. One is from the 1C AD and the other 2C AD. Rows of egg-shaped marble […]
The Artemis Temple or Artemision was one of the Seven Wonders of the World and located in Ephesus. Throughout the excavations in Ephesus, the actual location of the temple was presumed in different places. Its ancient cult dedicated to Artemis was famous in antiquity and […]
It is known with certainty that the Virgin Mary went to Ephesus and lived there for some time. Whether or not she died in Ephesus was not known until Anne Catherine Emmerich’s vision. The stigmatized German nun who had never been to Ephesus had a […]
The Nymphaeum of Trajan is a 2C AD building with two stories built by an Ephesian in memory of the Emperor Trajan. In front of the building there was a pool with water cascading from beneath the colossal statue of Trajan. One foot of his […]
The Hercules Gate can easily be identified by two reliefs of Hercules wearing lion’s skin. The pillars date from the 2C AD but were taken there to be used in the construction of a narrow gate house only in the 6C AD having originally stood […]
The Hadrian Temple was built in the 2C AD and renovated in the 4C ad in the name of the Emperor Hadrian. It was originally in Corinthian style consisting of a cella and a porch (pronaos). The facade of the porch had a pediment supported […]
The Theater is one of the most impressive buildings in Ephesus. It was originally a 3C BC Hellenistic theater which was later restored, adapted and expanded in the 1C AD by the Romans until it reached its present seating capacity of 24,000 people. It was […]
The Terrace Houses on the Curetes street belonged to the rich people of Ephesus. They date back to the 1C AD and some of them were used up to the 7C AD. Many of them were three-storied and had peristyles surrounded by rooms without windows […]
The State Agora was a vast public square laid out and remodeled during the reign of Augustus (27 BC-14 AD). It was a public area where people gathered for political, commercial and social reasons. The north stoa also had the function of a basilica, Ionic […]
The Celsus Library was built in the beginning of the 2C AD by Gaius Julius Aquila to be a memorial to his father Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, the proconsul of the Province of Asia. In the Roman period all but the bodies of heroes were […]
The Odeon in Ephesus was built in the 2C AD and had a double function. First it was a theater for theatrical performances as well as being the Bouleterion. It was the Senate House which was used by the boule, the advisory council of the […]
During the Roman period, Ephesians erected many buildings and temples, and dedicated them to emperors in order to secure good relations and the support of Rome. The Domitian Temple is one of them and is a 1C AD building. In the substructure of the building, […]
Suleymaniye, rather than a mosque, is an important historical symbol for the Turks. It unites Sinan with Suleyman, one representing the best of the arts and the other most powerful of political strength. Like other works of the time, Suleymaniye is not only a mosque […]
Unlike the Egyptian Obelisk, this is not a monolith but a column built of stones. Who erected it and when it was built are not known. According to the inscriptions, it was renovated and restored to have a more beautiful appearance by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus […]
During the Byzantine period the area of the Grand Bazaar was a trade center. After the Turks came to Istanbul, two bedestens which formed the essence of today’s Grand Bazaar were built between 1455-1461 by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in an attempt to enrich the […]
It was built in 1664 as a part of the Yeni Cami complex which is located next to it. Misir in Turkish means Egypt and it is called the Egyptian Bazaar because the shopkeepers used to sell spices and herbs which were brought from or […]
It was originally one of the two obelisks which were erected in the name of Thutmose III in front of Amon-Ra Temple in Karnak in the 15C BC. It is a monolith made of granite and the words on it are in Egyptian hieroglyphs which […]
Kariye Museum originally formed the center of a Byzantine monastery complex. Only the church section, which was dedicated to Jesus Christ the Savior, has survived. After the arrival of the Turks in Istanbul, this building, like the Hagia Sophia, was converted into a mosque. In […]
After defeating the Persians at the battles of Salamis (480 BC) and Plataea (479 BC), the 31 Greek cities, by melting all the spoils that they obtained, made a huge bronze incense burner with three entwined serpents to be erected in front of the Apollo […]
The Bosphorus is a narrow, navigable strait between Europe and Asia connecting the Black Sea (Pontus Euxinus) to the Marmara Sea (Propontis). It is about 31 km / 20 mi long and varies between 1 and 2.5 km / 0.5 and 1.5 mi wide. The […]
Built by Sultan Ahmet I as a part of a large complex, among the Turkish people it is called Sultan Ahmet Mosque. However, tourists fascinated with the beautiful blue tiles always remember it as the Blue Mosque. The complex consisted of a mosque, tombs, medreses, […]
