HIDDEN TURKEY
Turkey is a country you probably never really knew. Not only you, even the most of the residents of this country, either! It hides countless treasures everywhere and actually they are all hiding in plain sight.
From the oldest temple of the world to the rock tombs under the sea, from the whirling dervishes to the Turkish nomads, traveling in felt tents and moving herds of sheep, goats, and cattle from horseback, Turkey is waiting for visitors to unroll all its tangible&intangible treasures.
Hidden Turkey tours immerse you in Turkey’s evolving story and rich culture, composed of thousands years of history. You will set on a number of life-changing journeys among the country’s different destinations.
Explore Turkey’s treasure trove of natural wonders and ancient sites – everything from diverse architecture, to otherworldly landscapes, steeped in history and legend.
SOME IDEAS
Turkey (Türkiye) is really a huge country, packed with world-famous destinations&places. Most tourists stampede into those popular places. However, there are also many undiscovered locations, ancient ruins, natural beauties and cultures that most visitors have not seen yet.
Anyone who goes off the beaten path in Turkey gets to enjoy some of the most beautiful villages in Turkey, an authentic way of life, and some stunning natural scenery, as well as less visited ancient ruins and less known Turkish cuisine.
Here we offer you just a few destinations&ideas for an authentic visit to Turkey.
GÖBEKLİTEPE “Humanity’s oldest structures and temple”
When German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt first began excavating on a Turkish mountaintop 25 years ago, he was convinced the buildings he uncovered were unusual, even unique.
Atop a limestone plateau near Urfa called Gobekli Tepe, Turkish for “Belly Hill”, Schmidt discovered more than 20 circular stone enclosures. The largest was 20m across, a circle of stone with two elaborately carved pillars 5.5m tall at its centre. The carved stone pillars – eerie, stylised human figures with folded hands and fox-pelt belts – weighed up to 10 tons. Carving and erecting them must have been a tremendous technical challenge for people who hadn’t yet domesticated animals or invented pottery, let alone metal tools. The structures were 12,000 years old, making them humanity’s oldest known monumental structures, built not for shelter but for some other purpose.
Visit this unique discovery of the archeologist, near Şanlıurfa, an ancient city which hosted religions from primitive to polytheist and monotheistic and civilisations connected to these religions for thousands of years… In the lands where wheat was first domesticated, where the first university was founded, many states and principalities established over it, on the the silk road, 22 km southwest of Göbeklitepe, in Turkey’s southeastern Anatolia region, in the lands of Mesopotamia where the history of humanity began, one of the oldest settlements in the world, Şanlıurfa…
KEKOVA “The sunken city”
Kekova is known for its gorgeous turquoise sea and also for its ancient and mysterious sunken city, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coastline. It is also one of Blue Cruises’ essential stops.
Every summer, visitors arrive on boat tours to look out over the water to see the remains of a once flourishing city, now completely underwater with only a few remnants on land. On the northern side of the island of Kekova, you’ll come across the underwater ruins of Dolchiste, an ancient Lycian settlement, which was partly overtaken by the sea due to an earthquake that occurred during the 2nd century.
Apart from the beautiful sunken city in the iridescent turquoise waters, Kekova is also famous for its small coves and bays as well as the Kaleköy (Simena) village with its historic fortress. The theatre carved into the rock is the most surprising piece of work in Simena. From the castle, you can embrace stunning Mediterranean views. The waterfront restaurants adorned with flowers, the small houses with terracotta roofs, and narrow streets are also standouts in this idyllic village by the water. Additionally, goat’s milk ice cream and Turkish coffee with carob accompanied with the small chit-chats of locals in a traditional kahvehane, tea houses will help you feel relaxed during your break in Kaleköy.
SAFRANBOLU (UNESCO World Heritage)
Having perfected their ultimate forms between the 17th and 18th centuries, there are currently 2000 traditional Turkish houses in Safranbolu, 800 of which are legally protected. They were built with the concern of not preventing other houses from receiving an equal amount of sunlight. Some of the houses here have inner pools situated to protect against fire. With its cobblestone streets, gorgeous architectural finesse, and the urban space of which still retains some of the traditional ways of living, Safranbolu is surely a traveller’s delight!
CUMALIKIZIK (UNESCO World Heritage)
Cumalıkızık is one of the first places where the Ottomans have settled in Bursa, their first capital. Therefore, the houses of Cumalıkızık are some 700 years old! There is a total of 270 houses that date to the first periods of the Ottomans, and 180 of them are still in use while the rest is under conservation and being renovated. As Cumalıkızık is a town almost untouched, you can observe the space it provides to be a venue for old market interactions and traditions. Having a deeply-rooted history, the town has been recognized in the UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2014. If you wish to take a journey where you glimpse into the civil lives at the dawn of one of the mightiest empires of the past, you should come and see this sight.
AMASYA YALIBOYU HOUSES
Known as the city of Ottoman princes, Amasya is one of the most precious cities of the Black Sea region in northern Turkey. It is just like an open-air museum with its history of 7,500 years, extraordinary atmosphere, natural and cultural assets surrounding the city. Amasya’s Yalıboyu houses, elegant examples from the Late Ottoman Era, can best be visited at the Yeşilırmak riverfront in the city centre. Houses here are usually attached, and the interior design is made to divide the apartments as haremlik and selamlık, respectively, partitions for women and men. As the houses are made mostly of wood, some houses have an inner pool as a measure for fire breakouts. These houses usually have a courtyard and a garden; and as characteristic of Turkish houses, the second floor has a cumba, a jetting, which enables for a larger space. When you come to Amasya, these river-front houses will delight you with their beauties, and of course, there are accommodation options as well!
Amasya is located in a unique landscape, offering great insight into the past and provides an idiosyncratic lushness.
THE EARTH MOTHER CULT IN ANATOLIA (Kubaba/Kybele/Artemis/Aphrodite/Demeter)
Türkiye is the home of the earliest human farming settlements in the world. Early farmers worshipped a mother god, who they symbolically saw as a personified Earth giving them food. The earliest shrine of this Earth Mother is at Çatalhöyük. She was the major divinity for over 6,000 years and was worshipped under different names. Her earliest name is Kubaba. Sometimes she is Kybele, sometimes she appears in the form of Greek goddesses such as Artemis, Aphrodite, or Demeter. One of her most recent great shrines was the Temple of Artemis (Artemisium) in Ephesos, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
You will get to know this “earth mother cult” during your journey in Turkey, especially in Hattusa/Alacahöyük, Çatalhöyük and Ephesus.
HATTUSA: The Ancient Capital of The Hittites (UNESCO World Heritage)
Hattusa, located in Türkiye’s Anatolian heartland province of Corum, is definitely worth visiting. The remnants of the Hittite Capital date back to the Bronze Age, around 2000 BC. The Hittites were a remarkable civilization. The kingdom stretched from the Aegean across Anatolia, northern Syria and to the Euphrates river.
It is notable for its urban organization, the types of construction that have been preserved (temples, royal residences, fortifications), the rich ornamentation of the Lions’ Gate and the Royal Gate, and the ensemble of rock art at Yazilikaya. The city enjoyed considerable influence in Anatolia and northern Syria in the 2nd millennium B.C.
Hattusa is a wonderful Turkish tale of endurance, mystery and deeply layered history. Discovered only in 1834, Hattusa, the capital city of the Hittite Empire, had long been believed a myth. As excavation continues, more and more is being uncovered about this ancient city, those who lived there and how they interacted. We know they were already crafting tools and were a mighty military power in the age of horses and chariots – what else will be discovered?
Archaeologists are still working to uncover more about the Hittites and their capital. Thus far, excavations have found extensive royal archives of clay tablets, known collectively as the Bogazkoy Archive. The tablets feature official correspondence, contracts, legal codes, ceremonial procedures, prophecies, peace settlements and literature of the time. In addition to the extensive clay documentation, a variety of large sculptures were discovered in the ancient capital.
The site is renowned for signs of significant urbanisation, varied types of construction and the ornamental structures like the Lions Gate and the Royal Gate which must have been very grand and imposing indeed. The city was surrounded by a huge wall, 8 km in length, with older walls found throughout the city and walls dividing the city into distinct districts. The city was heavily fortified, with a double wall, over 100 towers and 5 gateways including 3 richly decorated: the Lions Gate, the Kings Gate and the Sphinx Gate. Some of the walls of the Upper City feature the longest known Hittite hieroglyphic inscription from the Hittite Empire.
Hattusa is a fascinating example of a Bronze Age city and its people. To have endured for millennia as it has is a true testament to the might of the Hittites.
MOUNT NEMRUT (UNESCO World Heritage)
The mausoleum of Antiochus I (69–34 B.C.), who reigned over Commagene, a kingdom founded north of Syria and the Euphrates after the breakup of Alexander’s empire, is one of the most ambitious constructions of the Hellenistic period. The syncretism of its pantheon, and the lineage of its kings, which can be traced back through two sets of legends, Greek and Persian, is evidence of the dual origin of this kingdom’s culture.
The haunting sculptures overlooking Mount Nemrut are some of the most magnificent that you’ll find anywhere in the world. Giant heads built in the 1st century B.C. under the Commagene Kingdom look out over an incredible sunrise and sunset every day. These massive sculptures are like just about nowhere else in the world, weighing at 6 tons and are a full 10 meters tall.
But where do these mysterious sculptures come from? What is the Commagene Kingdom? Who was King Antiochus I Theos? Why were they built? What purpose do they serve? And why on this spot? It’s one of the few examples in history where we have the remnants of the history and not the memory, so it’s up to us to set the record right and discover the history of this land all over again.
What was the Commagene Kingdom?
This kingdom was an ancient Armenian kingdom that essentially served as a buffer state between ancient Rome and Persia. In fact, the kings of Commagene claimed ancestry from Darius I Persia.
Its capital was the grand city of Samosata, of which just about nothing remains. The valley at the bottom of Mount Nemrut is likely the location for the city. As you can see, even the known history of the kingdom is a little shrouded in history, but it’s reckoned that the kingdom remained relatively independent until 17 AD, when it was conquered by the Roman emperor Tiberius. It regained independence for a couple decades before being incorporated in the Roman Empire once and for all in 72 AD by the emperor Vespasian.
The kings of the kingdom appear to have been extremely powerful and wealthy, and certainly the sculptures and Mount Nemrut speak to this.
What are the sculptures exactly?
The sculptures were built by King Antiochus I Theos of Commmagene as a tomb-sanctuary for himself. The sculptures are of himself, of himself, two lions, two eagles and various Greek, Armenian, and Medes gods, such as Zeus-Aramazd or Oromasdes (associated with Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda), Hercules-Vahagn, Tyche-Bakht, and Apollo-Mihr-Mithras.
The sculptures themselves show the “East meets West” nature of the kingdom, as the facial features are Greek but the clothing they’re wearing is decidedly more Eastern. They are no longer standing in their original positions, but the scattered effect of the sculpture’s current positions is almost more jarring than if they were neatly in a row as they almost certainly were originally intended.
The site as a whole is massive, with a 49-meter-tall tumulus on site (mound of earth and stones raised over tombs).
SUMELA (VIRGIN MARY) MONASTRY (Tentative UNESCO World Heritage)
One of the most admirable relgious structures in Turkey is the Sumela Monastry in Trabzon, in the Black Sea region (north) of the country. It is a Greek Orthodox monastry located at 1200 meters height on the Zigana Mountains. The estimated date of the foundation is AD 386, during the reign of emperor Theodosius I.
Constructed on rocks, it is reached by a path through the forest. The monastry is a site of great historical and cultural significance within Altındere National Park. The beautiful frescoes dating from the 18th century on the walls of the monastry are biblical scenes of Christ and Virgin Mary. The site became a museum in 1923 and soon after a popular tourist attraction because of its breath taking location, structure and scenery.
AMASRA – The Eye of the World* (Mentioned as by Niketas, a Byzantine Greek government official and historian)
Considered one of the most beautiful destinations in the Black Sea Region, Amasra is a perfect destination for a holiday off the beaten track, a lovely fishermen&resort town situated on a peninsula lagoon. It is popular among Turkish people to eat fresh fish&local salad, walk in old narrow streets, take a boat tour, swim and do some shopping for wooden souvenirs.
In the history, Amasra was known as Amastris, which means “strong woman”. It was located in the ancient Paphlagonia. During the ages it was ruled by Amazons, Kingdom of Pontus, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans. The historical town and the beautiful nature will be relaxing during your journey in the northwest of Turkey.
ANİ “The city of a thousand and one churches” (UNESCO World Heritage)
Situated on the eastern border of Turkey, across the Akhurian River from Armenia, lies the empty, crumbling site of the once-great metropolis of Ani, known as “the city of a thousand and one churches.” Founded more than 1,600 years ago, Ani was situated on several trade routes, and grew to become a walled city of more than 100,000 residents by the 11th century. In the centuries that followed, Ani and the surrounding region were conquered hundreds of times; Byzantine emperors, Ottoman Turks, Armenians, nomadic Kurds, Georgians, and Russians claimed and reclaimed the area, repeatedly attacking and chasing out residents. By the 1300s, Ani was in steep decline, and it was completely abandoned by the 1700s.
MEVLANA “The Sufi Path of Love” (UNESCO Intangible Heritage)
When Turks arrived to Anatolia in the 11th century, philosophers like Mevlana Cellaledin-i Rumi (Jalal ad-Din Rumi), Hacı Bektaş Veli, and their disciples, dexterously combined elements of Islam and the traditional Turkish culture. The soil of Anatolia, where they also had access to ancient sources and beliefs, was the perfect place for these ideas to integrate.
The full name of Mevlana, the 13th-century Sufi poet, was Celaleddin-i Rumi. He is considered one of the world’s great mystic philosophers, and his poetry and religious writings are among the most beloved and respected in Islam and beyond. Sema, the whirling dervish ceremony is credited to Rumi and has become a part of Turkish customs, history, beliefs, and culture. The Sema ceremony represents the mystical journey of man’s spiritual ascent through mind and love to perfection.
Konya, one of Türkiye’s most important pilgrimage centers, is the location of the former lodge (dergah) of the whirling dervishes and home to the Mevlana’s Mausoleum. The mausoleum and the former lodge can now be visited as a museum by visitors of all faith.
The Mevlevi Lodge of İstanbul, located in Galata, is the oldest Mevlevi Lodge of İstanbul. It was built in 1491. The lodge was built as a complex and contained rooms and spaces for Sufi chanting, dervish cells, quarters for the master (şeyh), a special prayer (namaz) area for the sultan, a section for female members, a library, a fountain for the public, a clock room, a kitchen, mausoleums, and an enclosed graveyard.
You can embark on this spiritual journey by visiting the major Mevlevi lodges (Dergahs) located in different parts of Türkiye.
TURKISH NOMADS “Yörüks”
Turkish nomads are a group of people who have been living a nomadic lifestyle for centuries. The Turkish nomads are known for their horsemanship and archery skills, which they use to hunt wild game.
Their traditional way of life is centered around herding livestock. They travel with their animals in search of fresh pastures and water sources. The Turkish nomads are also known for their colorful tents, which they use as temporary homes.
They have a rich culture and traditions passed down from one generation to another. Their way of life is based on the principles of hospitality, generosity, and respect for others. They are also known for their love of music and dance and often celebrate special occasions with traditional songs and dances.
They have a strong sense of community and family values. They often live in close-knit groups, and everyone in the group contributes to the well-being of the whole. They are hospitable people and often welcome strangers into their homes.
They have been adapting to modern life over the past few decades, but many of them still maintain their traditional ways of living. There are now more than 100,000 Turkish nomads living in Turkey. Some have moved to cities and towns, but many still live a nomadic lifestyle.
The Turkish nomads are proud people with a rich culture and history. They have survived for centuries by following their traditions and staying true to their values.