Travel S Helper

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 […]

Soğanlı Valley lies in southeastern Cappadocia, in Kayseri Province’s Yeşilhisar district. Often called a hidden Cappadocian gem, it is set amid soft tuff cliffs crisscrossed by two creeks. In this peaceful V-shaped gorge stand scores of rock-carved houses, dozens of Byzantine-era churches, and countless painted pigeon-houses, all hewn from the creamy volcanic rock. Unlike the […]

Nestled atop Tophane Park on the citadel ridge of Bursa, the twin mausoleums of Osman I (Osman Gazi) and his son Orhan Gazi stand as the imperial founders’ final resting places. From this hilltop view, Bursa’s Ottoman-era skyline stretches out below (see image), reminding visitors that Bursa was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. […]

Nestled along the storied waters of the Golden Horn on Istanbul’s European side, Eyüpsultan is a district where the city’s deep past meets its everyday present. This neighborhood grew around a mosque and tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, a revered companion of the Prophet Muhammad, giving it an aura of sanctity that sets it apart […]