See our Turkey Map for a much larger map with cities and attractions marked.

Turkey

Founded in 1923 out of the remnants of the great Ottoman Empire, modern Turkey is a young country but a very historic land. The legacies of the Greeks, Romans, Christian apostles, Byzantines, Ottoman Turks, and the other peoples that have called this area home have made Turkey into a vast outdoor museum full of beautiful, intriguing religious sites.

Highlights of Turkey's many religious treasures include the spectacular Byzantine churches and beautiful mosques of Istanbul; the ancient city of Antioch where emperors lived and apostles preached; the ruins of the fabled city of Pergamum on a windswept hilltop; the Sufi holy city of Konya; the otherworldly landscape and cave churches of Cappadocia; and the colonnaded streets and great theater of Ephesus. With its unique fusion of Europe and Asia, West and East, exotic and familiar, ancient and modern, today's Turkey is a delight to travelers and pilgrims.

Turkey Guide

English Name:	Turkey
Local Name:	Turkiye
Time Zone:	EET (UTC+2); summer: EEST (UTC+3)
Calling Code:	90
Currency:	Turkish lira (TRY)
Area:	780,580 sq km
Population:	76,805,524 (July 2009 est.)
Languages:	Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages
Religions:	Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)

	Turkey Sacred Sites Index Browse our illustrated index of sacred sites and religious places
	Turkey Map A detailed interactive map of Turkey with major cities and religious sites marked, plus links to travel maps and more
	Turkey Books A hand-selected gallery of books on Turkey specially chosen for Sacred Destinations readers
	Turkey Photo Gallery Explore our large collection of quality photos from Turkey
	Turkey Timeline See the history of Turkey at a glance

Featured Destinations in Turkey (List All Destinations)

Antakya Archaeological Museum

Antioch

Built in 1938, this large museum displays Antioch's magnificent Roman mosaics as well as other important archaeological finds from Hittite to Byzantine times.

House of the Virgin

Ephesus

Discovered in a vision by a bedridden German nun in 1812, this stone building is believed by many Catholics and Muslims to be where the Virgin Mary lived her last years. There is also a healing fountain.

Akdamar Church

Eastern Anatolia

The Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island is a ruined Armenian cathedral dating from 921 AD. Beautifully situated on Lake Van, the church is famed for its fascinating medieval sculptures.

Turkey City Guides

Antioch
Antioch was an important city in the Eastern Roman Empire and an early center of Christianity. It was the headquarters for Paul's missionary journeys and the places where the apostles were first called "Christians". Nearby was Daphne, sacred to Apollo.

Ephesus
Ephesus was one of the great ancient cities of Asia Minor and home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Today, the ruins of Ephesus are a major tourist attraction and a sacred site for Christians.

Istanbul
Formerly the Byzantine imperial city of Constantinople, Istanbul is brimming with Byzantine churches, Ottoman mosques, world-class museums and more.

Konya
Once known as Iconium, Konya was one of the missionary destinations of St. Paul, the site of one of the first church councils, the capital of the Seljuk empire from 1150 to 1300, and the home of Rumi, the Sufi saint who founded the Whirling Dervishes.

Pergamum
Built on a conical hill rising 1,000 feet above the surrounding valley, Pergamum was an important capital city in ancient times. Its acropolis and Asklepion are among the most important historical sites on the Mediterranean.