Unesco

As of 2022, Türkiye is home to 16 cultural and 2 mixed UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Mixed heritage sites contain elements of both natural and cultural significance. History comes alive as you travel within Türkiye. Sites with unique culture and historical significance can be admired and will enrich your knowledge of humanity’s extensive heritage.

Many civilizations from the earliest ages of humanity have settled in Türkiye and have left their mark across this beautiful country. Spectacular examples of natural wonders stand side by side with this rich cultural heritage.

Selimiye Mosque and Its Social Complex, Edirne

UNESCO World Heritage Site 2011

The most famous architect of the Ottoman period is without a doubt Mimar Sinan (Architect Sinan), who lived in the 16th century, during the peak of the Ottoman Empire under Süleyman the Magnificent.

Sinan considered Selimiye Mosque his “masterwork.” He constructed Selimiye Mosque (1568-1575) when he was 80 years old, under Sultan Selim II. The location of the mosque suggests Sinan was also a great city planner as the mosque can be seen from considerable distances.

The mosque is the culmination of Sinan’s centralized-domed plans, the great central dome rising on eight massive piers in between which are impressive, recessed arcades. The Selimiye Mosque is considered the best example of mosques with eight piers. Elegant domes, reaching to the heavens, and towering, slim minarets characterize Ottoman mosque architecture; few mosques, however, are as visually stunning and architecturally significant as this one.

Archaeological Site of Troy, Çanakkale

UNESCO World Heritage Site 1998

Troy, or Troia as it is mentioned in Homer’s epic Iliad, is located at the entrance of the Dardanelles, 30 km west of Çanakkale. The strait is the backdrop of the legend of Hero and Leander, the celebrated lovers of Greek mythology. It also holds a significant place in history.

Homer immortalized Troy in the stories of King Priam, Hector, Paris, and the beautiful Helen. A symbolic wooden Trojan horse commemorates the legendary war. Recent excavations have left no doubt that Troy was an Anatolian city. The discovery of a Chalcolithic mound on the Dardanelles closed the historical gap, and the Luwian seal discovered has proved the city’s Luwian connection. The Hittite texts talk about a treaty between the Hittites and Prince Alakşandu of Wiluşa who is identified as Alexander of Ilios, better known as Paris of Troy, in the Iliad.

Troy also officially claimed ancestry from the Roman Empire through Aeneas. Today, the city walls of Troy VI stand as a reminder of the great Homeric city that resisted the Greeks. The Temple of Athena, the central megaron complex of Troy II, the Palace of Priam from Troy VI, the Sanctuary of Demeter, the Odeon and the nearby Bouleuterion from the Roman period are still in relatively good condition.

The new museum at Troy houses precious items from the site and many of the treasures of Troy.

Pergamum and Its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape, İzmir

UNESCO World Heritage Site 2014

Bearing the traces of great civilizations to the present day, Pergamum was “the most illustrious city in Asia Minor” according to the ancient historian, Pliny the Elder, and still is as it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Pergamum was one of the oldest healing centres of the ancient world, the Asklepion, and the birthplace of Galen, the great physician, who led the way for modern medicine today. Classical splendour was so reflected in the city’s architecture, art, medicine, culture, and education that the invention of Pergamenese Paper, known as parchment, made the Library of Pergamum, the second largest in the ancient world challenged Alexandria with over 200,000 books.

The Acropolis of the city, built on terraces above a vast plain decorated by rivers from ancient times, offers visitors a unique view from the steepest theatre in the world. Located at the foot of the Acropolis – the upper city and initially dedicated to the Egyptian deities, the Red Hall later functioned as a church and mosque. Representing the traces of several beliefs and religions, Pergamum is one of the Seven Churches of Revelation that St. John wrote about in the bible. Modern Bergama town sheds light on the multicultural layers of the settlement with the Red Hall one of whose towers are still used as a mosque and the ruins of an ancient synagogue nearby.

Ephesus, İzmir

UNESCO World Heritage Site 2015

Fertile soil with peach orchards, olive groves, and poplars as far as the eye can see and a sprawling archaeological site – the UNESCO World Heritage Ancient City of Ephesus. Ephesus was an important port city settled continuously since the Neolithic period and became the Roman capital of Asia Minor.

Playing a vital role in the spread of Christianity, Ephesus was once home to two great Councils of the early Church and is one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. Visited by St. Paul on his missionary journeys and the final resting place of the Virgin Mary accompanied by St. John the Evangelist, Ephesus offers you a sophisticated journey in the footsteps of Early Christianity

Ephesus still bears the glamour of antiquity with its magnificent theatre where concerts and events are still held, the Celsus Library, well-preserved Roman houses, and the remains of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The floor mosaics of the Roman houses reveal the art and aesthetics of the period. The marbles shining under the Aegean sun and the cats of Ephesus waiting for the visitors in the shade of olive and fig trees will take you on a journey in the footsteps of ancient life.

Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia, Nevşehir

UNESCO World Heritage Site 1985

The town of Göreme resembles a fairy tale with its rock dwellings, the beautiful traditional houses made of the local tufa limestone, and the wonderful cave hotels providing travelers unique accommodation. The town’s fame derives from the nearby Christian monasteries that date back to the 8th – 11th century which have been declared an open-air museum.

The Göreme Open-Air Museum is located 4 km east of the town and can be easily reached. The site is a huge monastic complex composed of scores of refectory monasteries placed side-by-side, each with its own church. The rock-cut churches often feature beautiful frescoes. The Göreme Open-Air Museum was one of the first two UNESCO sites in Türkiye.

Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape, Diyarbakır

UNESCO World Heritage Site 2015

Diyarbakır is the principal town of Eastern Türkiye and one of the country’s largest cities. The fortified city and its surrounding landscape have been an important multicultural center starting in the Hellenistic period, through to the Roman, Sassanid, Eastern Roman, Islamic, and Ottoman times and continuing to the present day.

The city is a treasure of history and culture: ancient ruins, breathtaking architecture, flavorful dishes, famed exquisite gold and silver filigree work... Diyarbakır's extremely well-preserved fortifications and the Hevsel Gardens, the 700 hectares of cultivated, fertile lands near the Tigris River, make this city unique.

Archaeological Site of Arslantepe, Malatya

UNESCO World Heritage Site 2021

The Arslantepe archaeological site is at the heart of the fertile Malatya Plain, approximately 12 kilometers from the Euphrates. It is a 4-hectares and 30-meter-high tumulus (mound) dominating the plain.

In the earliest phases of its history, in the Chalcolithic period around the 5th millennium, the settlement had close links to the Mesopotamian world, with which it shared many cultural features. But in the beginning of the Bronze Age, in the early third millennium BC, important changes took place at the site that halted the development of the Mesopotamian-type centralized system and reoriented Arslantepe's external relations toward eastern Anatolia and Transcaucasia (South Caucasus).

A further radical change occurred in the second millennium BC, during the Hittite civilization, which exerted a strong influence on it. The unearthed king's palace is an open-air museum and the artifacts that have been excavated at the site are exhibited at the Malatya Archaeological Museum.