Travel S Helper

Çorlulu Ali Paşa Medresesi, an 18th-century Ottoman school complex near Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, stands today as a serene enclave of tea gardens and nargile (hookah) lounges. This guide explores every facet of the Medresesi – its centuries-old history, architectural splendor, and modern incarnation – in exhaustive detail. Drawing on archival scholarship, contemporary reports, and eyewitness […]

The dramatic cliff above ancient Telmessos (modern Fethiye) is honeycombed with Lycian tombs, but none so arresting as the tomb of Amyntas. Carved into the limestone rock, its intact in antis temple façade – complete with Ionic columns and triangular pediment – seems to emerge from the mountain itself. Viewed from the town below or […]

The Fatih Mosque in Istanbul commands attention from afar: its soaring lead-covered dome and twin ivory-colored minarets dominate the Fatih district skyline. Named after Sultan Mehmed II (“Fatih” means “Conqueror”), the mosque was first begun immediately after the Ottoman capture of Constantinople in 1453. This imperial foundation was far more than a place of prayer. […]

Şirince is more than a mere tourist waypoint; it is a living mosaic of history and culture. Its narrow flagstone alleys wind through tile-roofed houses that recall an Ottoman-Greek heritage. Olive groves and vineyards terrace the hillsides, framing vistas of distant mountains and the Aegean Sea. Each turn seems to offer a new scene: a […]

Set like a marble jewel among the ruins of Ephesus, the Library of Celsus commands immediate attention. This two-story façade, carved from white Proconnesian and Phrygian marble, is one of the most iconic relics of the ancient world. The library stands in what is now Turkey’s İzmir Province (near the modern town of Selçuk) and […]

The restored stone chapel of Meryem Ana (the House of the Virgin Mary) perches high on Bülbüldağı (Mount Nightingale) overlooking the plains of ancient Ephesus. The modest structure and its red-tile roof merge into the wooded slopes, evoking a sense of calm centuries removed from modern bustle. Here, among olive groves and pine, pilgrims of […]

Perched on the steep flank of Mount Pion, the Great Theatre of Ephesus commands the ancient city’s skyline with a silent grandeur. Today, travelers pause on Ephesus’s marble-paved streets and look up at this massive stone amphitheater in awe. It stands as a remarkable testament to the grandeur and cultural ambition of antiquity. Historians and […]

Church of St. Anthony of Padua stands as a bastion of serenity and devotion. This imposing red‑brick basilica – Istanbul’s largest Roman Catholic church – rises on No. 171 İstiklal Avenue in Beyoğlu. Its towering spires, flanked by Gothic‑style pinnacles and a vast rose window, proclaim an architectural lineage more Venetian than Ottoman. Yet inside, […]

An Introduction to a Masterpiece: The Selimiye Mosque of Edirne Crowning the Cityscape of a Former Ottoman Capital In the heart of Edirne – once the thriving capital of the Ottoman Empire – the Selimiye Mosque rises majestically above the city, its soaring dome and pencil-thin minarets defining the skyline. As UNESCO notes, the mosque […]

Göbekli Tepe is a Neolithic ritual site in southeastern Turkey that has radically changed our understanding of prehistoric society. Literally “Potbelly Hill,” Göbekli Tepe sits atop the Germuş Mountains above Şanlıurfa and comprises a series of large circular and later rectangular megalithic enclosures. These stone structures were not the habitation of a city but communal […]

In the late 19th century, the Izmir district of Karataş was literally cut in two. A high cliff separated a bustling seaside neighborhood from the upper city, and the only connection was a steep staircase of exactly 155 steps – nicknamed the “Devidas’ın Merdiveni” (Devidas’s Ladder) by locals. For the working people of Karataş and […]

The Red Tower (Turkish Kızıl Kule) stands sentinel at the edge of Alanya’s ancient harbor, its lofty red-brick silhouette instantly recognizable as the city’s emblem. Completed in 1226–1227 under the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Kayqubad I, the octagonal tower was built to guard the port and shipyard from seaborne attack. Rising 33 meters above its rocky […]