TurkTravelRadar Blog
Articles to explore Turkey
Travel ideas, local food and things to know before your trip.
497 articles
History & Culture · 7 min read
Sultanahmet and Sarayburnu: A Walk Through the Heart of Empires
Begin in the square where Constantinople gathered, pass the monuments of Byzantine and Ottoman Istanbul, and follow the old city toward the water at Sarayburnu.
Burak Çınar
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History & Culture · 3 min read
Fatih Is More Than a District of Istanbul: A Story Thousands of Years in the Making
Walk through the historic heart of Istanbul, where imperial landmarks, neighbourhood streets, markets, and ancient walls reveal different chapters of the same city.
Burak Çınar
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History & Culture · 10 min read
Köprülü Canyon National Park: The River That Cut Through the Taurus Mountains
Köprülü Canyon is famous for rafting, but the story runs much deeper. Follow the Köprüçay through the Taurus Mountains to discover turquoise water, Roman bridges, ancient routes toward Selge and a landscape people have crossed for nearly two thousand years.
Burak Çınar
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History & Culture · 9 min read
Konyaaltı Beach: Where Antalya's Mountains Meet the Mediterranean
Konyaaltı is more than Antalya's famous city beach. Discover its clear Mediterranean water, pebble shoreline, dramatic Beydağları mountain backdrop, different beach sections and what first-time visitors should know before swimming.
Burak Çınar
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History & Culture · 9 min read
Chimaera Flames: The Mountain in Antalya That Has Been Burning for Thousands of Years
Above Çıralı, flames emerge naturally from cracks in a rocky mountainside — a phenomenon known since antiquity. Discover the science behind Yanartaş, the Lycian legend of the fire-breathing Chimaera and why this mysterious mountain still feels otherworldly after dark.
Burak Çınar
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History & Culture · 10 min read
Church of Saint Nicholas: The Real Place Behind the Story of Santa Claus
Santa Claus's story does not begin at the North Pole. It leads back to Saint Nicholas, the 4th-century bishop of ancient Myra. Step inside his church in Demre to discover his tomb, Byzantine frescoes, the removal of his relics to Bari and how a Mediterranean saint became a global Christmas icon.
Burak Çınar
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History & Culture · 10 min read
Termessos Ancient City: The Mountain City Alexander the Great Chose Not to Conquer
High in the Taurus Mountains above Antalya lies Termessos, a fortified ancient city that Alexander the Great never captured. Climb through its forests to discover a spectacular mountain theatre, vast necropolis, hidden cisterns and the geography that made the city so difficult to attack.
Burak Çınar
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History & Culture · 8 min read
Temple of Apollo at Side: Five Columns That Have Watched the Mediterranean for Nearly 2,000 Years
The Temple of Apollo is famous for Side's Mediterranean sunsets, but its surviving columns once belonged to a much larger Roman sanctuary beside one of Pamphylia's busiest harbours. Reconstruct the temple, discover who Apollo really was and separate its real history from the Cleopatra legend.
Burak Çınar
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History & Culture · 11 min read
Side Ancient City: Behind the Sunset Temple Was One of Pamphylia's Great Port Cities
Side's Temple of Apollo is famous for Mediterranean sunsets, but behind those columns once stood a wealthy port city of merchants, theatres, Roman baths, monumental fountains and a darker connection to ancient piracy and the slave trade.
Burak Çınar
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