# Explore Turkey

> Twelve plain-spoken guides to the places that hold Turkey’s memory. Independent editorial guides to Turkey's historic sites and its food, written in English for a first visit. No tours, hotels or tickets are sold.

Each guide covers one region or subject in about 1,200 words with dates, distances, opening practicalities and a short FAQ. Facts are checked against official museum and UNESCO sources.

## Guides

- [Istanbul](https://www.exploreturkey.com/istanbul/): A practical guide to Istanbul's historic core: the land walls, Chora, Sultanahmet, Süleymaniye, Dolmabahçe and the Bosphorus, with a three-day walking plan.
- [Hagia Sophia](https://www.exploreturkey.com/hagia-sophia/): Justinian's church of 537, its 31 m dome, the gallery mosaics that survived iconoclasm and 1453, and what to expect now that it is a working mosque again.
- [Topkapı Palace & the Harem](https://www.exploreturkey.com/topkapi-palace/): How the Ottoman palace worked, court by court: the kitchens and their Chinese porcelain, the Harem, the kaftans, the relics and the treasury and visiting tips.
- [Cappadocia](https://www.exploreturkey.com/cappadocia/): Cappadocia in two days: Göreme's painted rock churches, the Ihlara gorge, Soğanlı, Derinkuyu underground city, balloon mornings and where to stay.
- [Lycia & the Turquoise Coast](https://www.exploreturkey.com/lycia/): Turkey's Mediterranean coast, Fethiye to Antalya: Lycian rock tombs at Xanthos and Myra, Kekova's sunken city, Aspendos, and how a Blue Voyage gulet trip works.
- [Ephesus, Troy & the Aegean](https://www.exploreturkey.com/ephesus/): Turkey's Aegean coast in one sheet: how to walk Ephesus, what Troy's nine cities look like, Pergamon's acropolis and Bodrum's castle, with distances and timing.
- [Konya, Pamukkale & Inner Anatolia](https://www.exploreturkey.com/anatolia/): Mevlana's tomb and the whirling dervishes in Konya, Pamukkale's white terraces and Hierapolis, Ottoman Bursa, İznik tiles and Akdamar on Lake Van.
- [A Short History of Anatolia](https://www.exploreturkey.com/history/): Anatolia's history in eight eras, from the Hittite capital at Hattusa to the Republic of 1923, with the sites where each period can still be seen today.
- [Turkish Cuisine](https://www.exploreturkey.com/turkish-cuisine/): How the Turkish table works, region by region: meze and rakı, Adana and Urfa kebab, pide, the long breakfast, and how coffee and tea are brewed and served.
- [Baklava](https://www.exploreturkey.com/baklava/): Baklava from the Topkapı kitchens to Gaziantep: how forty layers of dough are made, the pistachio that defines it, the main types, and how to spot a good piece.
- [Turkish Delight](https://www.exploreturkey.com/turkish-delight/): What Turkish delight is, how lokum has been made since Hacı Bekir's 1777 shop, the types from rose to double-roasted pistachio, and how to buy a good box.

## About

- [About Explore Turkey](https://www.exploreturkey.com/about/): Explore Turkey is an independent guide to the country's historic sites and food, written and checked in Istanbul. We sell no tours, hotels or tickets.

## Optional

- [Full text of every guide](https://www.exploreturkey.com/llms-full.txt): all pages as plain Markdown in one file.
- [Sitemap](https://www.exploreturkey.com/sitemap.xml)

Contact: editors@exploreturkey.com