Türkiye is packed with legendary spots oozing history at every turn. Next time you’re planning a trip, make sure one of the country’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites makes the cut on your travel bucket list
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There are so many historical tales to unravel in Türkiye, a country sitting at the crossroads of civilisations, filled with the remnants of human history, in all the significant stages of its fascinating evolution. Next time you are making travel plans, make sure that one of the country’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites is on your shortlist.
Every corner of Türkiye has its famous historical remnants, quietly telling tales of powerful civilisations that once spread their influence and 21 of these hotspots have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The land of great transformation
The historical journey through Anatolia begins in the Neolithic period with Göbeklitepe, the world’s first known sacred site, going back to around 9600 BCE. At the foot of the majestic Taurus Mountains, looking out over the slopes of the Harran Plain, this is one of the most important sites of the Neolithic Age, predating both Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. The collection of circles formed by T-shaped stone pillars with intricate carvings expresses the mystic power of a site of worship older than history itself.
At the heartland of Türkiye, Çatalhöyük is another famous Neolithic excavation site where the world’s first urban settlement was unearthed. It is here that visitors can travel back in time to the beginnings of human history through the remnants of rooms believed to have been temples, elegantly decorated houses, and elaborate artefacts that clearly signal the sophistication of this ancient society.
Even though objects such as statues of the Anatolian Mother Goddess and fragments of elaborate wall paintings can be found at the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara, it is the excavation site itself that is so enthralling because of its immediacy, the act of walking through spaces where such early signs of human life once thrived.
Ancient kingdoms of Anatolia
The Arslantepe Mound is another UNESCO World Heritage Site with ties to the Mesopotamian world and, later, the Hittite civilisation, with an unearthed king’s palace that acts as an open-air museum today.
One of Anatolia’s greatest civilisations, the ancient capital city of the Hittites, is yet another discovery that’s essential for any history enthusiast. Hattusha is a UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with the beautiful ruins of temples, palaces, monumental sculptures, and enormous fortification walls with ceremonial gates and tunnels. Stunning pieces of visual evidence that this was the centre of a mighty empire.
Another new participant of the UNESCO WHL is Gordion, in Ankara, the ancient capital of the Phrygian civilisation. Gordion stands as a remarkable archaeological site providing insights into the Phrygian civilisation and its accomplishments.
The structures within its Early Phrygian citadel, along with the burial mounds of the city’s rulers, serve as exceptional examples of monumental architecture in the Iron Age of the Near East. The citadel’s entrance showcases the most well-preserved fortified gate complex from the Iron Age (10th-8th centuries BCE) that has been unearthed to date.
Of course, no act of time travel through Anatolia would be complete without a hike up to Mount Nemrut, soaring up to 2,400 metres above sea level, which is utterly rewarded with the monumental tomb sanctuary of King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene (69-34 BCE), the most famous ruler of the Kingdom of Commagene. The colossal statues of this sanctuary, unmatched in the ancient world, are like being present in another realm entirely, on top of a mountain, away from everything else, alone with history.
Cultural blossoming of the Classical Period
North of İzmir, the remnants of the Hellenistic period unveil themselves in the form of Pergamum, once a political and intellectual centre, a city of learning and culture, and the home of The Library of Pergamum, which contained almost 200,000 volumes of books. The city’s Asklepium (Sanctuary of Asclepius) was also one of the oldest and the largest healing centres in the ancient world.
More beauty from antiquity can be found at Aphrodisias, once famous for its Temple of Aphrodite and with its outstanding high-quality production centre for marble sculpture. Aphrodisias Stadium is the best-preserved ancient stadium of the Aegean in antiquity.
Of course, most notable in the list is the city of Ephesus, certainly the most well-preserved and the largest archaeological site in the eastern Mediterranean. The remnants of the Temple of Artemis, which was recognised as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre, and the Basilica of St. John are some of the main sights that have been gazed at in wonder by visitors from all over the world for so long.
Apart from the ancient spa city of Hierapolis in Pamukkale, which was founded as a thermal spa on hot springs in classical Phrygia and Xanthos-Letoon, the capital city of Lycian Civilisation, Anatolia is also home to the legendary Troy, mentioned in Homer’s epic Iliad, where a symbolic wooden Trojan horse commemorates the legendary war at the waterfront of Çanakkale.
Anatolia in the medieval times
Like a fairy tale world that rises out of the natural landscape, Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia and its Christian monasteries dating back to the 8th through the 11th centuries are a site of pilgrimage and wonder.
Another important archaeological site, Ani, was a great metropolis that was once known as the city of a thousand and one churches. A true Muslim stronghold, the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği, is one of Anatolia’s most important works of architecture, especially the three-dimensional ornamentation of the two entrances, which take a permanent place in the memory of everyone who sets eyes upon them.
Much like the city of Diyarbakır, a treasure of history, including the Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape, a fertile landscape near the Tigris River, also unforgettable due to their exceedingly well-preserved state.
Recently, Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia are the new addition from Türkiye to the UNESCO WHL. This serial property comprises five hypostyle mosques built in Anatolia between the late 13th and mid-14th centuries, each located in a different province of present-day Türkiye.
The mosques’ distinctive structural system integrates an outer masonry building envelope with several rows of interior wooden columns (referred to as “hypostyle”). These columns support a flat wooden ceiling and the roof. These mosques are renowned for their expert woodcarving and craftsmanship evident in their structures, architectural components, and furnishings.
The seats of the Ottoman throne
A historical journey through Türkiye is never complete without seeing the splendour of the Ottoman Empire. Bursa and Cumalıkızık are in the list as they showcase the heritage from the Birth of the Ottoman Empire.
Bursa was the first capital of the Empire between 1335 and 1363 and, nearby Cumalıkızık is also a showcase of Ottoman civic architecture, a village of colourful wooden houses, more of which can be found in the City of Safranbolu, one of the best-preserved Ottoman cities.
Yet, the Ottoman era cannot be discussed without mentioning the chief Ottoman architect and civil engineer Mimar Sinan, one of the most important representatives of the classical period of Ottoman architecture, who built more than 300 significant structures.
The Selimiye Mosque and Its Social Complex are among his most notable achievements, a true masterwork that leaves its visitors in awe in Edirne, the second capital of the Ottoman Empire.
The true beauty and influence of the Ottoman era begin when İstanbul became the seat of the Ottoman rulers. One of the world’s richest open-air museums, the Historic Areas of İstanbul (Historical Peninsula) is not only home to exquisite Ottoman monuments like Topkapı Palace, Sultanahmet Mosque (the Blue Mosque), and Süleymaniye Mosque, but also to the Eastern Roman marvels like the Hagia Sophia, Hagia Irene, Little Hagia Sophia, Zeyrek Mosque (Pantokrator Monastery), and Walls of Constantinople.
So much history dating back to the beginning of humanity, scattered around the country, waiting to be discovered and never forgotten.
For more information, please visit https://unesco.goturkiye.com/
