12 historic sites
Castles in Turkey
Istanbul sits at the crossroads of two continents — and its European shore (Thrace) contains some of the most extraordinary military architecture in history. The Theodosian Walls, built in 412 AD and unconquered for a thousand years, are the defining land fortification of the ancient world. Yedikule Fortress, Rumeli Hisarı on the Bosphorus, and the ruins of the Blachernae Palace trace the full arc of the city’s story from Roman capital to Ottoman empire.
turkey · Istanbul
Topkapi Palace
The seat of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years — a city within a city at the meeting point of three seas
turkey · Istanbul — Beyoğlu district (Galata/Karaköy neighbourhood), European side
Galata Tower
A 14th-century Genoese tower rising 67 metres above the Golden Horn — and the platform for the 17th century's most reckless flight
turkey · Istanbul — Beşiktaş, European shore of the Bosphorus
Dolmabahçe Palace
The Ottoman Empire's last imperial palace — 285 rooms of 19th-century opulence on the European shore of the Bosphorus, home to the last six sultans
turkey · Antalya Province, Turkish Riviera
Alanya Castle
A red sandstone promontory crowned with seven kilometres of Seljuk walls above the Turkish Riviera
turkey · Muğla Province / Aegean Coast
Bodrum Castle
The Crusader fortress that guards Bodrum harbour — now home to one of the world's greatest underwater archaeology museums
turkey · Istanbul — Asian shore, Bosphorus waterfront, Beylerbeyi neighbourhood, Üsküdar district
Beylerbeyi Palace
The Ottoman Empire's summer palace on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus — where Sultan Abdülaziz received Empress Eugénie, where Napoleon III's crystal chandeliers meet mother-of-pearl inlay, and where the strait's traffic is visible from the waterfront terrace
turkey · Central Anatolia, Nevşehir, Cappadocia
Üçhisar Castle
Cappadocia's highest peak — a volcanic rock fortress carved with a thousand rooms
turkey · Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey
Yıldız Palace
Sultan Abdülhamid II's secret city — the sprawling hillside palace that served as the last Ottoman Sultan's private capital for 33 years, away from the ceremonial grandeur of Topkapi and Dolmabahçe
turkey · Central Anatolia, Nevşehir, Cappadocia
Ortahisar Castle
Cappadocia's needle — a slender rock fortress piercing the valley sky
turkey · Ağrı Province — Doğubayazıt, far eastern Anatolia, near the Iranian border, directly facing Mount Ararat
Ishak Pasha Palace
Took 99 years and two generations to build — a palace at the edge of Anatolia where Ottoman, Persian, Armenian, and Georgian craftsmanship converge on a cliff directly facing Mount Ararat
turkey · Istanbul, European side
Yedikule Fortress
The Fortress of Seven Towers — where Constantinople's last emperors fell
turkey · Istanbul — Bosphorus waterfront, Beykoz district, Asian side, between Kandilli and Anadolu Hisarı
Küçüksu Palace
The smallest and most exquisite of Istanbul's imperial waterfront pavilions — built by the same architect as Dolmabahçe, decorated by the designer of the Paris Opéra, for a single season of Ottoman court leisure