What are the 5 must see sites in Turkey?

A country cradled in love and situated between eastern Europe countries and western Asia is the land of the Ottomans also known as Turkey.  Turkey has a rich cultural past with connections to Ancient Greek, Byzantine, Persian & Roman Empires. 

Turkey is the home to outstanding archaeological structures and has been nominated by UNESCO as having the most number of UNESCO heritage sites. 

I will talk about the top 5 heritage sites to visit while in Turkey:

1. Troy

The Ancient City of Troy, famous for being the site of Trojan War that Homer described in his epic poem The Iliad, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998.

With its history dating back to 3000 BC, it is one of the most famous archaeological sites of the world. It is located within the boundaries of Çanakkale province. According to the foundation legend of Troy, the sea goddess Tethys and the titan of Atlantic Sea, Oceanus, had a daughter called Electra. Electra would become Zeus’s wife and would give birth to Dardanus. Dardanus’ son Tros would found the city called Truad, and his son Ilus would found the city of Troy.

2. Ephesus

Located within what was once the estuary of the River Kaystros, Ephesus comprises successive Hellenistic and Roman settlements founded on new locations, which followed the coastline as it retreated westward. Excavations have revealed grand monuments of the Roman Imperial period including the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre. Little remains of the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the "Seven Wonders of the World", which drew pilgrims from all around the Mediterranean. Since the 5th century, the House of the Virgin Mary, a domed cruciform chapel seven kilometres from Ephesus, became a major place of Christian pilgrimage. The Ancient City of Ephesus is an outstanding example of a Roman port city, with sea channel and harbour basin.

3. Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği

The first Turkish buildings inscribed on the World Heritage List are the Ulu (Great) Mosque and Hospital of Divriği. This building complex was commissioned in the 13th century by Ahmet Shah and his wife Melike Turan of the Principality of Mengücekli. Renowned for its monumental architecture and traditional stone carving decorations of Anatolia, this masterpiece, with its two-domed mosque, hospital and tomb, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.

4. Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape

Located on an escarpment of the Upper Tigres River Basin that is part of the so-called Fertile Crescent, the fortified city of Diyarbakır and the landscape around has been an important centre since the Hellenistic period, through the Roman, Sassanid, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman times to the present. The site encompasses the Amida Mound, known as İçkale (inner castle), the 5.8 km-long city walls of Diyarbakır with their numerous towers, gates, butresses, and 63 inscriptions from different periods, as well as Hevsel Gardens, a green link between the city and the Tigris that supplied the city with food and water.

5. Aphrodisias

Located in southwestern Turkey, the site consists of two components: the archaeological site of Aphrodisias and the marble quarries northeast of the city. The temple of Aphrodite dates from the 3rd century BCE and the city was built one century later. The wealth of Aphrodisias came from the marble quarries and the art produced by its sculptors. The city streets are arranged around several large civic structures, which include temples, a theatre, an agora, and two bath complexes. Aphrodisias was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to these world heritage sites. Do not miss traveling to these places whilst in Turkey.

Disclaimer: The above information and writing has been taken from another travel blog.