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Kemeraltı Market
Kemeraltı Market is İzmir’s heart and soul, and a great place to get lost for a few hours. There are bargains galore, especially in leather goods, clothing and jewellery. Seek out the flower and bead markets, then stop for a reviving shot of Turkish coffee and baklava in one of the
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Great Palace Mosaic Museum
When archaeologists from the University of Ankara and the University of St Andrews (Scotland) excavated around the Arasta Bazaar at the rear of the Blue Mosque in the 1930s and 1950s, they uncovered a stunning mosaic pavement featuring hunting and mythological scenes. Dating from e
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Taş Han & Around
The 17th-century Taş Han, is an Ottoman caravanserai and workshop with a cafe in the courtyard. Two floors of shops sell a mixture of local garb and copperware, and paintings of sailboats and doe-eyed puppies. Behind the Taş Han are streets lined with old half-timbered Ottoman hous
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Eyüp Sultan Mosque
This important complex marks the supposed burial place of Ebu Eyüp el-Ensari, a friend of the Prophets who fell in battle outside the walls of Constantinople while carrying the banner of Islam during the Arab assault and siege of the city from 674 to 678. His tomb is İstanbuls most
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Fethiye Museum
Not long after the Conquest, Mehmet the Conqueror visited this 13th-century church to discuss theological questions with the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church. They talked in the southern side chapel known as the parecclesion , which is decorated with gold mosaics and is now open as
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Beylerbeyi Palace
This opulently furnished 1865 building was designed by Sarkis Balyan, brother of Nikoğos (architect of Dolmabahçe). It delighted both Sultan Abdül Aziz (r 1861–76), who commissioned it, and the many foreign dignitaries who visited. Its last imperial guest was the former sultan Abdü
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Pamukkale
Calciums not just good for bones - the spa town of Pamukkale has built a centuries-long reputation on the stuff. The unique formations of travertine shelves, pools and stalactites, hugging the ridge above town like a white scar, were created by the areas warm mineral water, which c
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Gölbaşı
Legend claims that Abraham (İbrahim), the Islamic prophet, was in old Urfa destroying pagan gods when Nimrod, the local Assyrian king, took offence. Nimrod had Abraham immolated on a funeral pyre, but God turned the fire into water and the burning coals into fish. Abraham was hurle
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Muradiye Complex
This relaxing complex contains a shady park, a cemetery with historic tombs, and the Sultan Murat II (Muradiye) Camii (1426). Imitating Yeşil Camiis painted decorations, the mosque features an intricate mihrab .The cemeterys 12 tombs (15th to 16th century) include that of Sultan Mu
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Nemrut Dağı (Mt Nemrut)
Nemrut Dağı (3050m), rising to the north of Tatvan, is an inactive volcano with several crater lakes. On the crater rim (13km from the main road) are sensational views over Lake Van, Tatvan, and nearby water-filled craters. From the rim you can hike to the summit (about 45 minutes)
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Hacıbektaş Veli Museum
Right in Hacıbektaş centre is this tranquil dervish dergah (lodge), now a museum as well as a place of pilgrimage for those of the Bektaşı faith. Several rooms are arranged as they might have been when the Bektaşı order lived here, with dioramas of dervish life and beautiful exhibi
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Soğukçeşme Sokak
Running between the Topkapı Palace walls and Aya Sofya, this cobbled street is named after the Soğuk Çeşme (Cold Fountain) at its southern end. It is home to the new Carpet Museum, to a row of faux-Ottoman houses functioning as a hotel and to an undoubtedly authentic restored Byzan
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Ephesus
Ancient Ephesus was a great trading city and a centre for the cult of Cybele, the Anatolian fertility goddess. Under the influence of the Ionians, Cybele became Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt and the moon, and a fabulous temple was built in her honour. When the Romans took
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Iasos (Kıyıkışlacık)
Seaside Kıyıkışlacık village contains ancient Iasos, a Carian city that was once an island and prospered from fishing and the unique red-and-white marble in the nearby hills. A member of the ancient Delian League, Iasos participated in the Peloponnesian Wars, but later weakened. Ne
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Çiçek Pasajı
Back when promenading down the Rue de Pera (now İstiklal Caddesi) was the height of fashion, the Cité de Pera building was İstanbuls most glamorous address. Built in 1876 and decorated in Second Empire style, it housed a shopping arcade and apartments. The arcade is now known as th
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Little Aya Sofya
Justinian and his wife Theodora built this little church sometime between 527 and 536, just before Justinian built Aya Sofya. You can still see their monogram worked into some of the frilly white capitals. The building is one of the most beautiful Byzantine structures in the city d
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Alahan Monastery
This remarkable monastery complex perches on a terraced slope with tumbling views of the Göksu Valley below.Above the site entrance is a cave-church chiselled into the cliff face. A grand entry adorned with richly carved reliefs of angels and demons leads into the ruins of the west
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Yavuz Sultan Selim Mosque
The sultan to whom this mosque was dedicated (Süleyman the Magnificents father, Selim I, known as the Grim) was by all accounts a nasty piece of work. He is famous for having killed two of his brothers, six of his nephews and three of his own sons. Odd, then, that İstanbullus love
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Atik Valide Mosque
This is one of the two great İstanbul mosque complexes designed by Mimar Sinan. Though not as spectacular as the Süleymaniye , it was designed to a similar plan and built in a similarly commanding location. Its extensive külliye includes a now decommissioned hamam on Dr Fahri Atabe
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Ayasuluk Fortress
Selçuk’s crowning achievement is accessed on the same ticket as the neighbouring Basilica of St John. Excavation is ongoing and, at the time of writing, entry was by intermittent guided tours; hopefully regular access will soon be established. The digs here, begun in 1990, have pro
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