Western Asia · Asia

Turkey

Discover Turkey - spanning two continents, where Byzantine mosaics meet Ottoman domes, kebabs are an art form, and every corner holds 10,000 years of history.

Where Is Turkey?

Turkey is a country in Western Asia. Its capital is Ankara.

Where Turkey isWestern Asia · Capital Ankara

Plan a trip · 4 guides Compare Turkey

Capital Ankara
Population 85.9M
Area 783,562 km²

Turkey is the hinge of history. Literally straddling Europe and Asia, with Istanbul split by the Bosphorus strait, it has been the crossroads of civilizations for 10,000 years. Catalhoyuk, one of the world's oldest towns, was thriving here 9,000 years ago. Troy, the city Homer wrote about, stood on Turkey's western coast. The Hittites, Lydians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans all built empires here. Constantinople was the greatest city on Earth for a thousand years. When the Ottomans took it in 1453, they renamed it Istanbul and kept right on building.

Modern Turkey is a country of dizzying contrasts. Istanbul is one of the world's great megacities - 16 million people, mosques with minarets piercing the skyline, bazaars selling everything from Turkish delight to counterfeit designer goods, and a food culture so rich it could fill a library. Cappadocia's fairy chimneys look like they were carved by aliens. The turquoise coast (which gave the color its name from the French turquois, meaning Turkish) has beaches to rival anything in the Mediterranean. The cuisine - kebabs, mezes, baklava, Turkish breakfast - is among the most varied and refined in the world. Turkey is not a bridge between East and West so much as the place where both meet and argue over tea.

At a glance

Language

Turkish

Currency

Turkish Lira (TRY)

Calling Code

+90

Drives On

Right

Internet

.tr

Timezone

TRT (UTC+3)

Script

Latin

Government

Unitary Presidential Republic

Independence

1923

Travel guides

Plan a trip to Turkey

All 4 Turkey guides All 1 comparisons

Aerial view of Sultanahmet at golden hour, with the Blue Mosque and its six minarets in front, Hagia Sophia behind it and the Bosphorus and the Asian shore beyond

Turkey · 5 days

5 Days in Istanbul

Two continents, three empires and a ferry ride between them. Five days in Istanbul, planned properly.

Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →

Dozens of hot-air balloons in a clear dawn sky over the fairy chimneys of Göreme, lit orange by the rising sun

Turkey · 5 days

5 Days in Cappadocia

Fairy chimneys, painted cave churches and a sky full of balloons. Five days in Cappadocia, planned properly.

Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →

Kaleiçi's old harbor seen from the cliff, with gulets and boats, a small lighthouse on the breakwater, the old walls and red roofs above

Turkey · 5 days

5 Days in Antalya

Roman gates, mountain ruins and a sea that stays warm into November. Five days in Antalya, planned properly.

Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →

By population

Largest cities in Turkey

Istanbul

City on two continents where the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, and Bosphorus create one of the world's most extraordinary skylines

16,000,000

Ankara

Capital since 1923, home to Ataturk's mausoleum and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations spanning 10,000 years of history

5,700,000

Izmir

Aegean port city with a vibrant waterfront promenade, Turkey's most liberal and cosmopolitan city after Istanbul

4,400,000

Bursa

First Ottoman capital at the foot of Uludag Mountain, famous for its silk bazaar, thermal baths, and the Iskender kebab

3,100,000

Antalya

Gateway to the Turkish Riviera with a stunning old town, Roman ruins, and turquoise Mediterranean waters

2,600,000

Konya

Spiritual center of Turkey and home of Rumi's mausoleum, where the Whirling Dervishes have spun in meditation for 800 years

2,300,000

People

Famous people from Turkey

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Politics
Founder of the Turkish Republic who transformed the Ottoman remnants into a modern secular state, replacing Arabic script with Latin
Rumi
Literature
Though born in Afghanistan, Rumi lived and wrote in Konya, Turkey, where his Sufi poetry and the Whirling Dervishes originated
Orhan Pamuk
Literature
Nobel Prize-winning novelist whose My Name Is Red and Istanbul captured the beauty and melancholy of Turkish culture
Sinan
Art
Chief architect of the Ottoman Empire who designed over 300 structures including the Suleymaniye Mosque, considered a masterpiece
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Film
Director who won the Palme d'Or at Cannes for Winter Sleep, making Turkish cinema a major force in world film
Hakan Sukur
Sport
Turkey's all-time leading goalscorer who scored the fastest goal in World Cup history at 11 seconds in the 2002 third-place match
Nazim Hikmet
Literature
Revolutionary poet described as the Romantic Communist, whose free verse transformed Turkish poetry and was translated into 50 languages
Aziz Sancar
Science
Nobel Prize-winning biochemist for his work on DNA repair mechanisms, one of Turkey's most celebrated scientists

Food

Traditional cuisine of Turkey

Kebab: Not one dish but hundreds - from Adana's spicy minced meat on a skewer to Iskender's sliced doner on bread with tomato sauce and yogurt
Turkish Breakfast: An extravagant spread of cheeses, olives, eggs, honey, clotted cream, sucuk sausage, tomatoes, and fresh bread that can last hours
Lahmacun: Paper-thin crispy flatbread topped with spiced minced meat and herbs, rolled with lemon and parsley - Turkish pizza
Manti: Tiny Turkish dumplings filled with spiced meat, served with garlic yogurt and red pepper butter sauce
Baklava: Layers of tissue-thin filo filled with pistachios and soaked in syrup, Gaziantep's baklava is considered the world's finest
Pide: Boat-shaped flatbread filled with cheese, meat, or egg, baked in stone ovens - Turkey's answer to pizza
Kofte: Grilled meatballs of minced lamb or beef mixed with spices and onion, served everywhere from street carts to fine restaurants
Turkish Tea: Strong black tea served in tulip-shaped glasses, consumed roughly 10 times a day, Turkey drinks more tea per capita than any country

Nature

Nature and landmarks in Turkey

CappadociaLandmark: Surreal landscape of fairy chimneys, underground cities, and cave churches, best seen from a hot air balloon at dawn
PamukkaleLandmark: White travertine terraces of thermal pools cascading down a hillside, a UNESCO World Heritage Site beside the ancient city of Hierapolis
Mount AraratMountain: Turkey's highest peak at 5,137 meters, traditionally considered the resting place of Noah's Ark, an iconic snow-capped volcano
Turquoise CoastCoast: Stunning Mediterranean coastline from Antalya to Fethiye, whose color gave the world the word turquoise
Nemrut DagMountain: Summit shrine with giant stone heads of gods built by a forgotten king in 62 BC, a UNESCO site at 2,134 meters
Sumela MonasteryLandmark: Byzantine monastery carved into a cliff face 300 meters above a forest valley in the Pontic Mountains of the Black Sea coast
Lycian WayCoast: 500-kilometer long-distance trail rated one of the world's best, following the ancient Lycian coast past ruins and beaches
Lake VanLake: Turkey's largest lake and the world's largest soda lake, surrounded by mountains and home to the 10th-century Armenian Church of the Holy Cross

Sport

Sports in Turkey

Football: Third place at the 2002 World Cup, with clubs Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, and Besiktas creating one of Europe's most passionate fan cultures
Wrestling: Oil wrestling (yagli gures) is Turkey's national sport, the Kirkpinar tournament has been held annually since 1362, making it the oldest sporting competition in the world
Basketball: Runner-up at the 2010 FIBA World Cup, with a growing basketball culture and players in the NBA and EuroLeague
Volleyball: Women's league is one of the strongest in the world, attracting top international players to Istanbul clubs

Facts

Did you know?

Istanbul is the largest city in the world that spans two continents - Europe and Asia, connected by three bridges and a tunnel
Turkey drinks more tea per capita than any other country in the world - over 3 kg of tea per person annually
The Kirkpinar oil wrestling festival has been held every year since 1362, making it the oldest continuously running sporting event
The word turquoise comes from the French pierre turquoise meaning Turkish stone, after the color of Turkey's Mediterranean coast
Santa Claus was born in Patara, Turkey - Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop in the ancient Lycian city of Myra
Turkey has 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites spanning from Neolithic settlements to Ottoman mosques
Catalhoyuk in central Turkey is one of the oldest known human settlements, dating to approximately 7500 BC
Turkish coffee, prepared in a cezve pot, is UNESCO-recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity