Home Hidden gems
What makes a place a hidden gem here
Few foreign visitors compared with the big sites Open to visitors — nothing on the operator's page says otherwise Reachable by road or public transport Every name links to a place page with the ticket, hours and closing days we could confirm on the operator's own page — and "Not verified" where we could not.
Harran: The Ministry's museum page lists the archaeological site as closed, so we leave it out for now.
Selçuk · on the Ephesus map
Why go A hill village of old Greek houses and fruit wines, ten minutes above Ephesus yet a different world in the early morning.
Getting there Minibus or taxi from Selçuk, 8 km up a winding road.
Best time Weekday mornings; spring and autumn.
Ticket Free
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Ödemiş · on the Ephesus map
Why go A former beylik capital with a fourteenth-century mosque, painted Ottoman mansions and a village-square breakfast — seldom on tour itineraries.
Getting there Minibus from Ödemiş, which has buses and trains from İzmir.
Best time Spring and autumn; weekdays are quietest.
Ticket Free
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Karacasu · on the Pamukkale map
Why go A marble city of sculptors with a huge, nearly intact stadium and one of the finest museums of ancient portraits — far quieter than Ephesus.
Getting there By car or tour, about 100 km west of Pamukkale via Karacasu.
Best time Spring and autumn; early in the day in summer.
Ticket €12
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Fethiye · on the Fethiye map
Why go A ghost village of roofless stone houses and chapels on a hillside, a short hop from the beaches of Ölüdeniz.
Getting there Minibus from Fethiye, about 8 km; or walk the old path over the hill from Ölüdeniz.
Best time Late afternoon light; spring and autumn.
Ticket €3
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Yeşilova · on the Lake Salda map
Why go A turquoise crater-like lake with white mineral shores, often compared with Mars.
Getting there By car or tour; near Yeşilova, about 90 km east of Pamukkale.
Best time Late spring to early autumn, when the water is at its bluest.
Ticket Not verified
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Ağlasun · on the Lake Salda map
Why go A Roman city high in the Taurus mountains, where a rebuilt fountain runs again in the agora — spectacular and rarely crowded.
Getting there By car or taxi from Ağlasun, about 35 km east of Burdur.
Best time May to October; the site is high and cold in winter.
Ticket €8
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Bursa · on the Bursa map
Why go An early Ottoman village of timber-framed houses and cobbled lanes on Uludağ's slopes — part of the Bursa World Heritage Site.
Getting there City bus or a 20-minute taxi from central Bursa.
Best time Weekday mornings; weekends bring breakfast crowds from the city.
Ticket Free
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Ayvacık · on the Çanakkale map
Why go A restored stone village above the Gulf of Edremit with olive groves, sea views and the rock called the Altar of Zeus.
Getting there By car or taxi from Küçükkuyu on the coast road.
Best time Spring and autumn for walking.
Ticket Free
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Ürgüp · on the Cappadocia map
Why go The old Greek town of Sinasos: carved stone mansions and rock churches, a calm alternative to Göreme.
Getting there Minibus or taxi from Ürgüp, 6 km.
Best time Spring and autumn; it is on the way to Soğanlı.
Ticket Free
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Yeşilhisar · on the Cappadocia map
Why go Two quiet valleys of painted rock churches and dovecotes at the southern edge of Cappadocia.
Getting there By car, about 45 km south of Ürgüp via Mustafapaşa.
Best time Spring and autumn; bring water in summer.
Ticket Free
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Güzelyurt · on the Ihlara map
Why go A green gorge with painted rock churches along a river path — Cappadocia's best walk.
Getting there By car or day tour; about 90 km from Göreme.
Best time April to June and September to October.
Ticket €15
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
İhsaniye · on the Eskişehir map
Why go A cliff of rock-cut houses, tombs and a Byzantine church in the Phrygian Valley — Cappadocia-like landscapes with almost no visitors.
Getting there By car, about 30 km north of Afyonkarahisar.
Best time Spring and autumn.
Ticket Free
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Han · on the Eskişehir map
Why go The towering carved façade of the Phrygian kings on a tuff plateau, with tunnels and altars around it.
Getting there By car, about 70 km south of Eskişehir.
Best time Spring and autumn; late afternoon light on the façade.
Ticket Free
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Divriği · on the Divriği map
Why go A thirteenth-century mosque and hospital whose stone portals are carved like lace — a World Heritage Site in a remote mountain town.
Getting there By road from Sivas, about 170 km; or on the Eastern Express, which stops at Divriği.
Best time May to October; the Eastern Express makes it a winter trip too.
Ticket Not verified
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Borçka · on the Artvin map
Why go A forested valley of wooden villages on the Georgian border, a UNESCO biosphere reserve with its own honeybees.
Getting there By car only, over the Karçal pass from Borçka.
Best time June to September; the pass can be snowbound in winter.
Ticket Free
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Before you go: read what the UK and German governments' travel advice says about this region — our summary is on the Eastern Anatolia page . We do not rate safety ourselves.
Kars
Why go The ruined medieval capital on the Armenian border: cathedral, churches and walls on a windswept plateau above a gorge.
Getting there By car or taxi from Kars, about 45 km.
Best time May to October; in winter it is snowy and very cold.
Ticket €8
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Doğubayazıt · on the Van map
Why go An eighteenth-century palace on a ledge above Doğubayazıt with Mount Ararat on the horizon.
Getting there Taxi or minibus from Doğubayazıt, about 6 km up the hill.
Best time May to October.
Ticket €3
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Before you go: read what the UK and German governments' travel advice says about this region — our summary is on the South-East page . We do not rate safety ourselves.
Halfeti · on the Şanlıurfa map
Why go A terraced stone town on the Euphrates, half drowned by a dam lake, with boat trips past a sunken minaret to the cliffs of Rumkale.
Getting there By car or dolmuş via Birecik; about 110 km from Şanlıurfa and 90 km from Gaziantep.
Best time Spring and autumn; summer is very hot.
Ticket Free
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Mardin · on the Mardin map
Why go A Byzantine frontier city with vast underground cisterns and a rock-cut necropolis at the edge of a village.
Getting there By car or taxi, about 30 km south-east of Mardin.
Best time Spring and autumn.
Ticket Not verified
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Hasankeyf · on the Mardin map
Why go The monuments of a town drowned by the Tigris dam, moved uphill beside a new museum telling its story.
Getting there By car or minibus from Batman or Midyat.
Best time Spring and autumn.
Ticket €5
Tickets, hours & tips + Add to trip ✓ In your trip
Hidden gems itinerary · 6 days by car
Hidden Aegean & Anatolia
Six days from Selçuk to the Phrygian Valley by car: hill villages, a city of sculptors, a turquoise lake, a mountain-top Roman city and rock-cut Phrygian monuments.
Day 1 Şirince village Selçuk → Şirince (morning) · Ephesus in the afternoon if you have not seen it
Day 2 Birgi Selçuk → Birgi via Tire and Ödemiş · night in Birgi or Ödemiş
Day 3 Aphrodisias Birgi → Aphrodisias via Nazilli · night near Pamukkale
Day 4 Lake Salda Pamukkale → Lake Salda · night in Burdur
Day 5 Sagalassos Burdur → Sagalassos above Ağlasun · drive on towards Afyonkarahisar
Day 6
Tickets on this route: €20 + not verified: Lake Salda. Free: 4 places. Driving times are not included.
Use this route Opens the planner with these days; change anything there.
