Travel S Helper

High above Avanos, the three-tiered ravines of the Zelve Open Air Museum unfold as a labyrinth of eroded cliffs, cave chapels, and vanished villages. For nearly a millennium this was a living cave town – one of the oldest monastic settlements in Cappadocia – where Greeks and Turks lived side by side until the mid‑20th […]

Mor Gabriel Monastery (Syriac: Dayro d-Mor Gabriel; Turkish: Deyrülumûr), founded in AD 397, stands today as one of the world’s oldest surviving Christian monasteries and the oldest Syriac Orthodox monastery still in continuous use. Perched on the rocky Tur Abdin plateau in southeastern Turkey, roughly 20 kilometers east of Midyat in Mardin Province, it has […]

The Kordon (or Kordonboyu) of Izmir is far more than a mere waterfront promenade: it is the beating heart of the city’s social life. From dawn to dusk—and long into the night—locals and visitors alike flock here to stroll, socialize, and soak up the salty imbat sea breeze. Indeed, Kordon has become synonymous with Izmir’s […]

Rising above İzmir’s Konak Square, the İzmir Clock Tower (Turkish: İzmir Saat Kulesi) is a graceful marble octagon 25 metres tall, designed by Raymond Charles Péré in 1901 for the silver jubilee of Sultan Abdülhamid II. Its tiers of pointed arches and arabesque detailing blend Ottoman tradition with Moorish flair, and four small domed fountains […]

Şanlıurfa’s Balıklıgöl (also called Halil-ür Rahman Lake, literally “Lake of the Friend of God”) is a shimmering sanctuary at the edge of the old city. Fringed by gardens and historic mosques, it is one of Şanlıurfa’s most visited spots. The pool’s fame stems from a foundational legend of Abraham and King Nimrod: according to tradition, […]

The Valide Sultan Mosque, commonly called the Yeni Cami (New Mosque), dominates the southern end of the Galata Bridge, where the old city of Istanbul spills into the Golden Horn. Its vast gray domes and soaring minarets emerge from the Eminönü quarter, forming a majestic counterpoint to the bustle of ferries and markets below. Built […]

The Kadıköy Bull Statue stands at the intersection of Altıyol Meydanı, where six principal avenues converge on Istanbul’s Anatolian shore. Though its bronze bulk may appear inert to the uninitiated, the sculpture embodies centuries of geopolitical shifts, imperial patronage, and the spirited identity of Kadıköy’s denizens. Cast in 1864 by the French animalier tradition, this […]

Dominating the Sixth Hill of Istanbul’s historic peninsula, the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque (Edirnekapı) stands like a crown upon the city’s ancient walls. This elegant 16th-century mosque was commissioned by Mihrimah Sultan – the beloved daughter of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent – and designed by the empire’s chief architect, Mimar Sinan. Perched just inside the Theodosian […]

Ankara Castle (Ankara Kalesi) crowns the rocky heights of the Altındağ district, overlooking the Turkish capital’s Old Town. Perched on a steep hill of andesite and basalt, the medieval citadel is woven into the layers of Ankara’s story – from Hittite and Phrygian beginnings through the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Ottoman and Republican eras. Today it […]

Located in the town of Demre (ancient Myra) on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, the Church of St. Nicholas is nothing less than the real-world origin of the legend of Santa Claus. Here lies the tomb of a 4th-century bishop whose life and generosity inspired centuries of devotion. Through the ages this modest basilica was renowned as […]

Çeşme Castle stands as a rugged sentinel on the Aegean shore – its 16th-century stone walls framing a panorama of turquoise sea, red-tiled rooftops and the busy marina. From the castle’s hilltop terraces one surveys the sweep of the bay, a scene little changed since Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa battled Venetian corsairs off these coasts. […]

Boztepe is a modest residential neighborhood and hilltop park in the Altınordu district of Ordu province. Administratively it is a mahalle (neighborhood) about 6 km inland from Ordu’s coastal center. In 2022 the Boztepe neighborhood population was recorded as only around 599 people, underscoring that this is primarily a scenic and recreational site rather than […]