Anatolia / Middle East
Where civilization is oldest — and the archaeology is still being rewritten.
Turkey holds the world's oldest known temple complex (Göbekli Tepe, 12,000 years old), the world's oldest known city (Çatalhöyük, 9,000 years old), and more Greek and Roman ruins than Greece and Italy combined. Karahantepe, currently being excavated, may predate Göbekli Tepe. The history here is not ancient — it's prehistoric — and it's actively being rewritten by active digs.
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The places that make Turkey worth the trip — and the stories behind them.
01A Neolithic settlement in central Anatolia occupied from around 7500–5700 BCE — approximately 9,000 years ago. One of the first known urban settlements in human history, with densely packed mud-brick houses and an organized social structure archaeologists are still mapping.
02A site in southeastern Turkey near Göbekli Tepe, currently under active excavation, that appears to be a peer site to Göbekli Tepe and possibly older. The carvings include realistic human figures unlike anything previously seen at sites of this age. Follow the digs — this is where history is being rewritten.
03A Greek-Roman city on a mountain in the Taurus range at 1,700 meters elevation, abandoned in the 7th century CE and largely intact because no one built on top of it. The theater, baths, and agora survive. Almost no other tourists.
04One of the best-preserved Roman cities in the world, with a library facade that photographs dramatically. Two million visitors a year — go early morning to get anything approaching the real experience.
05A volcanic landscape carved over millennia into fairy chimneys and underground cities. The hot air balloon flights at sunrise are expensive and entirely worth it. The underground city of Derinkuyu descends 18 stories.
06The only city in the world that spans two continents. The Hagia Sophia, built in 537 CE, was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years. The Grand Bazaar has been operating continuously since 1461.
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Best Time to Visit
April–June or September–October — coastal summers are hot, interior Anatolia gets extremes
Currency
Turkish Lira (TRY)
Language
Turkish
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