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Map of Turkey

Turkey is a country in Asia with its capital at Ankara, home to about 85.88 million people across 783,562 km². The interactive map below plots 84 cities and towns, 11 rivers, 7 lakes, 7 mountain summits, 2 major dams and 49 ports recorded for Turkey in YearMaps.

Population
85.88 million
#18 of 225 · World Bank, 2025
Area
783,562 km²
#38 by area
Capital
Ankara
Largest city: Istanbul
Continent
Asia
110 people per km²

Interactive Map of Turkey

4.4

Centred on Ankara at 39.9292° N, 32.8625° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.

Wonders & Great Monuments of Turkey

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) are marked on the map above. Click a pin or use "Show on map" to fly to each one.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Photo: autor fotografie Zee Prime Original uploader was Zee Prime at cs.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Ancient WonderBuilt 550 BCESeven Wonders of the Ancient WorldLost

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Lydian & Ionian Greeks (King Croesus) · Archaic Greece

The Temple of Artemis or Artemision, also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to a localised form of the goddess Artemis (equated with the Roman goddess Diana). It was located in Ephesus, near modern-day Selçuk in Turkey and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The temple was destroyed and rebuilt many times in antiquity; the last incarnation of the temple was destroyed in 262 AD, although Artemis continued to be worshipped at the site until around 401 AD. Only foundations and fragments of the last temple remain in the present day.

The beginning of the history of the temple is unclear. It is known, however, that the earliest version of the temple was destroyed by a flood in the 7th century BC. A more elaborate reconstruction of the temple began around 550 BC under the leadership of the Greek architect from Crete Chersiphron, funded by Croesus of Lydia. This version of the temple lasted until 356 BC, when it was burned down by an arsonist, popularly identified as Herostratus.

The final form of the temple was funded by the people of Ephesus. The temple was central to Ephesian life, as it had great political and social value to its citizens. The Ephesian Artemis, which was considered as separate from the Hellenic version of the god, had unique features and artifacts associated with her and was seen as a protector of the city.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Temple of Artemis (CC BY-SA 4.0).

View on the live mapWikipedia article
Built by
Lydian & Ionian Greeks (King Croesus)
Built
550 BCE
Era
Archaic Greece
Type
Ancient Wonder
Status
UNESCO World Heritage Site (Ephesus)
Coordinates
37.9497° N, 27.3639° E

Architectural Significance

One of the first Greek temples built of marble, with a double colonnade of some 127 Ionic columns about 18 meters tall.

Photos of Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

  • Column drum from the temple of Artemis at Ephesus.Subject unidentified, possibly l-r Thanatos, Alkestis, Hermes, Persephone and Hades (unseen), ca. 320 BC.
    Unknown artist Unknown artist · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Temple of Artemis, Ephesus, Turkey
    FDV · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Photo: Jona Lendering, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Ancient WonderBuilt 351 BCESeven Wonders of the Ancient WorldLost

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Achaemenid Caria (Mausolus & Artemisia II) · Classical Antiquity

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus was a tomb built between 353 and 351 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an Anatolian from Caria and a satrap in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and his sister-wife Artemisia II. The structure was designed by the Greek architects Satyros of Paros and Pythius of Priene. Its elevated tomb structure is derived from the tombs of neighbouring Lycia, a territory Mausolus had invaded and annexed c. 360 BC, such as the Nereid Monument.

The Mausoleum was approximately 45 m (148 ft) in height, and the four sides were adorned with sculptural reliefs, each created by one of four Greek sculptors: Leochares of Athens, Bryaxis of Halicarnassus, Scopas of Paros, and Timotheus of Epidaurus or Athens. The Mausoleum contained 400 freestanding sculptures. The mausoleum was considered to be such an aesthetic triumph that Antipater of Sidon identified it as one of his Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was destroyed by successive earthquakes from the 12th to the 15th century; it was the last surviving of the six destroyed wonders.

The word mausoleum has now come to be used generically for an above-ground tomb.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (CC BY-SA 4.0).

View on the live mapWikipedia article
Built by
Achaemenid Caria (Mausolus & Artemisia II)
Built
351 BCE
Era
Classical Antiquity
Type
Ancient Wonder
Status
Archaeological site; foundations and museum in Bodrum
Coordinates
37.0379° N, 27.4241° E

Architectural Significance

A podium, an Ionic colonnade and a stepped pyramid roof topped by a four-horse chariot, decorated by the leading Greek sculptors Scopas, Bryaxis, Leochares and Timotheus.

Photos of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

  • Amazons Halicarnassus Caria 4th century BC.
    Ben Pirard · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Amazonomachy. Block of the frieze running along the top of the podium of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.
    Unknown artist Unknown artist · Public domain
  • Amazonomachy. Block from the frieze running around the top of the podium of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassos.
    Unknown artist Unknown artist · Public domain
History & architecture of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Construction

It is likely that Mausolus started to plan the tomb before his death, as part of the building works in Halicarnassus, so that when he died, Artemisia continued the building project. Artemisia spared no expense in building the tomb. She sent messengers to Greece to find the most talented artists of the time. These included Scopas, the man who had supervised the rebuilding of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The famous sculptors were (in the Vitruvius order): Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas, and Timotheus, as well as hundreds of other craftsmen.

The tomb was erected on a hill overlooking the city. The whole structure sat in an enclosed courtyard. At the center of the courtyard was a stone platform on which the tomb sat. A stairway flanked by stone lions led to the top of the platform, which bore along its outer walls many statues of gods and goddesses. At each corner, stone warriors mounted on horseback guarded the tomb. At the center of the platform, the marble tomb rose as a square tapering block to one-third of the Mausoleum's 45 m (148 ft) height. This section was covered with bas-reliefs showing action scenes, including the battle of the centaurs with the lapiths and Greeks in combat during the Amazonomachy.

On the top of this section of the tomb thirty-six slim columns, ten per side, with each corner sharing one column between two sides; rose for another third of the height. Standing between each pair of columns was a statue. Behind the columns was a solid cella-like block that carried the weight of the tomb's massive roof. The roof, which comprised most of the final third of the height, was pyramidal. Perched on the top was a quadriga: four massive horses pulling a chariot in which rode images of Mausolus and Artemisia.

History

Modern historians have pointed out that two years would not be enough time to decorate and build such a complex and extravagant building. Therefore, it is believed that construction was begun by Mausolus before his death or continued by the next leaders. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus resembled a temple and the only way to tell the difference was its slightly higher outer walls. The Mausoleum was in the Greek-dominated area of Halicarnassus, which in 353 was controlled by the Achaemenid Empire. According to the Roman architect Vitruvius, it was built by Satyros and Pytheus who wrote a treatise about it; this treatise is now lost. Pausanias adds that the Romans considered the Mausoleum one of the greatest wonders of the world and it was for that reason that they called all their magnificent tombs mausolea, after it.

It is unknown exactly when and how the Mausoleum came to ruin: Eustathius, writing in the 12th century on his commentary of the Iliad, says "it was and is a wonder". Because of this, Fergusson concluded that the building was ruined, probably by an earthquake, between this period and 1402, when the Knights of St John of Jerusalem arrived and recorded that it was in ruins. However, Luttrell notes that at that time, the local Greeks and Turks had no name for – or legends to account for – the colossal ruins, suggesting a destruction at a much earlier period.

Many of the stones from the ruins were used by the knights to fortify their castle at Bodrum; they also recovered bas-reliefs with which they decorated the new building. Much of the marble was burned into lime. In 1846, Lord Stratford de Redcliffe obtained permission to remove these reliefs from the castle.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom)
Photo: Adli Wahid, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Temple ComplexBuilt 537 CE

Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom)

Byzantine Empire (Justinian I) · Late Antiquity

Hagia Sophia, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, is a mosque and a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. It was formerly a church (360–1453) and a museum (1935–2020). The last of three church buildings to be successively erected on the site by the Eastern Roman Empire, it was completed in AD 537, becoming the world's largest interior space and among the first to employ a fully pendentive dome. It is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of architecture". From its dedication in 360 until 1453, Hagia Sophia served as the cathedral of Constantinople in the Byzantine liturgical tradition, except for the period 1204–1261 when the Latin Crusaders installed their own hierarchy. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, it served as a mosque, having its minarets added soon after. The site became a museum in 1935, and was redesignated as a mosque in 2020.

The current structure was built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I as the Christian basilica of Constantinople between 532–537 and was designed by the Greek geometers Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. It was formally called the Temple of God's Holy Wisdom, (Greek: Ναὸς τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Σοφίας, romanized: Naòs tês Hagías toû Theoû Sophías) the third church of the same name to occupy the site, as the prior one had been destroyed in the Nika riots. As the episcopal see of the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, it remained the world's largest church for more than five hundred years, until the abbey church at Cluny was completed in the 12th century.

Hagia Sophia became the quintessential model for Eastern Orthodox church architecture, and its architectural style was emulated by Ottoman mosques a thousand years later. The Hagia Sophia served as an architectural inspiration for many other religious buildings including the Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki, Panagia Ekatontapiliani, the Şehzade Mosque, the Süleymaniye Mosque, the Rüstem Pasha Mosque and the Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex.

As the religious and spiritual centre of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly one thousand years, the church was dedicated to Holy Wisdom. The church has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world", and as "an architectural and cultural icon of Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox civilization". It was where the excommunication of Patriarch Michael I Cerularius was officially delivered by Humbert of Silva Candida, the envoy of Pope Leo IX in 1054, an act considered the start of the East–West Schism. In 1204, it was converted during the Fourth Crusade into a Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire, before being restored to the Eastern Orthodox Church upon the restoration of the Byzantine Empire in 1261. Enrico Dandolo, the doge of Venice who led the Fourth Crusade and the 1204 Sack of Constantinople, was buried in the church.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Hagia Sophia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

View on the live mapWikipedia article
Built by
Byzantine Empire (Justinian I)
Built
537 CE
Era
Late Antiquity
Type
Temple Complex
Status
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Coordinates
41.0086° N, 28.9795° E

Architectural Significance

Revolutionary pendentive dome transition transferring radial thrust to four massive piers, allowing a ring of 40 arched windows to flood the interior with light.

Photos of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom)

  • Seraph angel. 13th century CE. Ceiling mosaics, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.
    Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Part of the domes of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.
    Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • The Virgin and Child ( Theotokos ) mosaic, in the apse of Hagia Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey)
    Photograph: Myrabella · Public domain
History & architecture of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom)

History

The first church on the site was known as the Magna Ecclesia (Μεγάλη Ἐκκλησία, Megálē Ekklēsíā, 'Great Church') because of its size compared to the sizes of the contemporary churches in the city. According to the Chronicon Paschale, the church was consecrated on 15 February 360, during the reign of the emperor Constantius II (r. 337–361) by the Arian bishop Eudoxius of Antioch. It was built next to the area where the Great Palace was being developed.

According to the 5th-century ecclesiastical historian Socrates of Constantinople, the emperor Constantius had c. 346 "constructed the Great Church alongside that called Irene which because it was too small, the emperor's father [Constantine] had enlarged and beautified". A tradition which is not older than the 7th or 8th century reports that the edifice was built by Constantius' father, Constantine the Great (r. 306–337).

Hesychius of Miletus wrote that Constantine built Hagia Sophia with a wooden roof and removed 427 (mostly pagan) statues from the site. The 12th-century chronicler Joannes Zonaras reconciles the two opinions, writing that Constantius had repaired the edifice consecrated by Eusebius of Nicomedia, after it had collapsed. Since Eusebius was the bishop of Constantinople from 339 to 341, and Constantine died in 337, it seems that the first church was erected by Constantius.

Architecture

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture. Its interior is decorated with mosaics, marble pillars, and coverings of great artistic value. Justinian had overseen the completion of the greatest basilica ever built up to that time, and it was to remain the largest church for 500 years until the completion of the abbey church at Cluny in the 12th century.

The Hagia Sophia uses masonry construction. The structure has brick and mortar joints that are 1.5 times the width of the bricks. The mortar joints are composed of a combination of sand and minute ceramic pieces distributed evenly throughout the mortar joints. This combination of sand and potsherds was often used in Roman concrete, a predecessor to modern concrete. A considerable amount of iron was used as well, in the form of cramps and ties.

Justinian's basilica was at once the culminating architectural achievement of late antiquity and the first masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. Its influence, both architecturally and liturgically, was widespread and enduring in the Eastern Christianity, Western Christianity, and Islam alike.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Hagia Sophia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

About Turkey

Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a smaller part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; and the Aegean Sea, Greece, and Bulgaria to the west. Turkey is home to over 86 million people; most are ethnic Turks, while Kurds are the largest ethnic minority. Officially a secular state, Turkey has a Muslim-majority population. Ankara is Turkey's capital and second-largest city. Istanbul is its largest city and economic center. Other major cities include İzmir, Bursa, and Antalya.

First inhabited by modern humans during the Late Paleolithic, present-day Turkey was home to various ancient peoples. The Hattians were assimilated by the Hittites and other Anatolian peoples. Classical Anatolia transitioned into cultural Hellenization after Alexander the Great's conquests, and later Romanization during the Roman and Byzantine eras. The Seljuk Turks began migrating into Anatolia in the 11th century, starting the Turkification process. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into Turkish principalities. Beginning in 1299, the Ottomans united the principalities and expanded. Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) in 1453. During the reigns of Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire became a global power. From 1789 onwards, the empire saw major changes, reforms, centralization, and rising nationalism while its territory declined.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, persecution of Muslims during the Ottoman contraction and in the Russian Empire resulted in large-scale loss of life and mass migration into modern-day Turkey from the Balkans, Caucasus, and Crimea. Under the control of the Three Pashas, the Ottoman Empire entered World War I in 1914, during which the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian subjects. Following Ottoman defeat, the Turkish War of Independence resulted in the abolition of the sultanate and the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne. Turkey emerged as a more homogenous nation state. The Republic was proclaimed on 29 October 1923, modelled on the reforms initiated by its founder and first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Turkey remained neutral during most of World War II, but was involved in the Korean War. Several military interventions interfered with the transition to a multi-party system.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Turkey (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Turkey
Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Geography and Climate of Turkey

Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire by reformer and national hero Mustafa KEMAL, known as Ataturk or "Father of the Turks." One-party rule ended in 1950, and periods of instability and military coups have since fractured the multiparty democracy, in 1960, 1971, 1980, 1997, and 2016. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and NATO in 1952. In 1963, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; it began accession talks with the EU in 2005. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a US-designated terrorist organization, began a separatist insurgency in Turkey in 1984, and the struggle has long dominated the attention of Turkish security forces. In 2013, the Turkish Government and the PKK conducted negotiations aimed at ending the violence, but intense fighting resumed in 2015. The Turkish Government conducted a referendum in 2017 in which voters approved constitutional amendments changing Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential system.

Location
Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria.
Climate
Temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior.
Terrain
High central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges.
Highest point
Mount Ararat 5,137 m.
Lowest point
Mediterranean Sea 0 m.
Coastline
7,200 km.
Land borders
Total: 2,816 km; border countries: Armenia 311 km; Azerbaijan 17 km; Bulgaria 223 km; Georgia 273 km; Greece 192 km; Iran 534 km; Iraq 367 km; Syria 899 km.
Major rivers
Euphrates river source (shared with Syria, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 3,596 km; Tigris river source (shared with Syria, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 1,950 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth.
Major lakes
Fresh water lake(s): Lake Beysehir - 650 sq km; Lake Egridir - 520 sq km; salt water lake(s): Lake Van - 3,740 sq km; Lake Tuz - 1,640 sq km;.
Natural resources
Coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower.
Land use
Agricultural land: 50.1% (2023 est.); arable land: 26.3% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 4.8% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 19% (2023 est.); forest: 29.3% (2023 est.); other: 20.5% (2023 est.)
Natural hazards
Severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van; landslides; flooding volcanism: limited volcanic activity; the three historically active volcanoes (Ararat, Nemrut Dagi, and Tendurek Dagi) have not erupted since the 19th century or earlier.
Geographic note
Strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link the Black and Aegean Seas; the 3% of Turkish territory north of the Straits lies in Europe and goes by the names of European Turkey, Eastern Thrace, or Turkish Thrace; the 97% of the country in Asia is referred to as Anatolia; Istanbul, which straddles the Bosporus, is the only metropolis in the world located on two continents; Mount Ararat, reputed to be the landing place of Noah's ark, is in the far-eastern part of the country.
Languages
Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages.
Religions
Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Ethnic groups
Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 19%, other minorities 6-11% (2016 est.)
Economy
Upper-middle-income, diversified Middle Eastern economy; industrializing economy that maintains large agricultural base; key energy, tourism, and construction sectors; high inflation, interest rates, and foreign debt pose risk to financial stability.

From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.

Turkey in Numbers

Population
85.88 million
2025
GDP
US$1.60 trillion
2025
GDP per person
US$18,599
2025
Life expectancy
77.4 years
2024
Population growth
0.42% a year
2025
Population density
111 per km²
2024
Urban population
89.5%
2025
Surface area
785,350 km²
2024
Forest cover
29.5%
2024
Arable land
26.3%
2024
Access to electricity
100.0%
2024
Internet users
89.8%
2025

Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.

Turkey in Depth

History

Present-day Turkey has been inhabited by modern humans since the late Paleolithic period and contains some of the world's oldest Neolithic sites. Göbekli Tepe is close to 12,000 years old. Parts of Anatolia include the Fertile Crescent, an origin of agriculture. Other important Anatolian Neolithic sites include Çatalhöyük and Alaca Höyük. Neolithic Anatolian farmers differed genetically from farmers in Iran and Jordan Valley. These early Anatolian farmers also migrated into Europe, starting around 9,000 years ago. Troy's earliest layers go back to around 4500 BC.

Anatolia's historical records start with clay tablets from approximately around 2000 BC that were found in modern-day Kültepe. These tablets belonged to an Assyrian trade colony.

Geography

Turkey covers an area of 783,562 square kilometres (302,535 square miles). With Turkish straits and Sea of Marmara in between, Turkey bridges Western Asia and Southeastern Europe. Turkey's Asian side covers 97% of its surface, and is often called Anatolia. Another definition of Anatolia's eastern boundary is an imprecise line from the Black Sea to Gulf of Iskenderun. Eastern Thrace, Turkey's European side, includes around 15% of the population and covers 3% of the surface area. The country is encircled by seas on three sides: the Aegean Sea to the west, the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Turkey is bordered by Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran to the east. To the south, it's bordered by Syria and Iraq.

Economy

Turkey is an upper-middle-income country and an emerging market. A founding member of the OECD and G20, it has the 16th-largest economy by nominal and 11th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP in the world. It is classified among newly industrialized countries. The service sector accounts for 61% of the economy, whereas industry accounts for 32% and agriculture contributes about 7%. According to IMF estimates, Turkey's GDP per capita by PPP is $43,790 in 2025, while its nominal GDP per capita is $18,200. Potential growth is weakened by long-lasting structural and macro obstacles, such as slow rates of productivity growth and high inflation.

Turkey has a diversified economy; main industries include automobiles, electronics, textiles, construction, steel, mining, and food processing.

Demographics

According to the Address-Based Population Recording System, the country's population was 86 million in 2025, excluding Syrians under temporary protection. 94% lived in province and district centers. People within the 15–64 and 0–14 age groups corresponded to 69% and 20% of the total population, respectively. Those aged 65 years or older made up 11%. Between 1950 and 2020, Turkey's population more than quadrupled from 20.9 million to 83.6 million; however, the population growth rate was 0.1% in 2023.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Turkey (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Turkey: Key Facts

Key facts about Turkey
CurrencyTurkish lira
Official languageTurkish
Head of stateRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
Head of governmentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
Form of governmentunitary state, presidential system
Calling code+90
Internet domain.tr
Highest pointMount Ararat
Lowest pointBlack Sea
Established29 October 1923

Facts from Wikidata Q43 (CC0).

History of Turkey: Empires and States

The atlas records 80 polities whose mapped territory included part of Turkey, from Akkadian Empire in 2300 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Turkey, in chronological order
PolityPeriod here
Akkadian Empire2300–2201 BCE
Hittites1600–1151 BCE
Mitanni1500–1301 BCE
Ancient Egyptian Kingdoms1400–1301 BCE
New Kingdom of Egypt1400–1301 BCE
Assyria1240–1001 BCE
Neo-Hittite states1150–801 BCE
Tabal Kingdom900–701 BCE
Phrygia900–676 BCE
Neo-Assyrian Empire900–601 BCE
Kingdom of Urartu750–551 BCE
Lydia700–541 BCE
Greek City-States700–78 BCE
Assyrian Egypt650–616 BCE
Neo-Babylonian Empire600–531 BCE
Achaemenid Persian Empire550–330 BCE
Achaemenid Empire550–327 BCE
Odrysian Kingdom450–338 BCE
The Macedonian Empire of Alexander337–302 BCE
Kingdom of Bithynia333–67 BCE
Ptolemaic Kingdom331–31 BCE
Kingdom of Armenia326 BCE – 646 CE
Kingdom of Lysimachus323–282 BCE
Seleucid Empire301–64 BCE
Kingdom of Pontus281 BCE – 67 CE
Paphlagonia279–127 BCE
Galatia279–26 BCE
Kingdom of Sophene256 BCE – 113 CE
Kingdom of Cappadocia239 BCE – 22 CE
Kingdom of Pergamon225–127 BCE
Rhodes188–165 BCE
Roman Republic164–32 BCE
Parthian Empire110 BCE – 164 CE
Kingdom of Gordyene63 BCE – 259 CE
The Roman Empire30 BCE – 476 CE
The Sasanian Empire260–643 CE
Palmyrene Empire261–269 CE
Eastern Roman Empire395–632 CE
The Byzantine Empire395–1374 CE
Huns396–406 CE
Rashidun Caliphate638–665 CE
The Umayyad Caliphate656–750 CE
The Abbasid Caliphate751–946 CE
Bagratid Armenia886–1045 CE
Hamdanid Emirates936–1249 CE

Also recorded: Buyid Dynasty, Great Seljuk Empire, Danishmendids, Sultanate of Rum, County of Edessa, Kingdom of Georgia, Zengid dynasty, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, Ayyubid Sultanate, Latin Empire, Nicaean Empire, Mamluk Sultanate, The Mongol Empire, Ilkhanate, Beylik of Hamid, Kastamonu, Germiyanids, The Ottoman Empire, Beylik of Karaman, Beylik of Isfendiyar, Qara Qoyunlu, Ramadanid Emirate, Vassalage of Kingdom of Georgia to Timurid Empire, Timurid Empire, Vassalage of Qara Qoyunlu to Timurid Empire, Aq Qoyunlu, Samtskhe-Saatabago, Safavid Dynasty, Muhammad Ali dynasty, The Russian Empire, The British Empire, The French Colonial Empire, French Third Republic, French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon, Republic of Turkey.

Historical Maps of Turkey

Turkey on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Visiting Turkey

Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), officially the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti), is a bi-continental country: an oft-repeated cliché about Turkey is that it is the bridge between Europe and Asia. This is true not only geographically, but also culturally, and many Turks value their European and Asian identities equally. Therefore, Turkey is the ultimate "exotic — but with a twist" destination for many: plenty of travellers to the country will find a charming novelty in every corner, yet at the same time, will have a feel of comforting familiarity, regardless of which direction or how far they are arriving from. Add the Turks' legendary warmth towards the visitors to the mix, and you get the idea.

From the dome-and-minaret filled skyline of Istanbul to the ancient ruins alongside the western and southern coasts, heavily indented against a craggy backdrop in Lycia and wide and sunny in Pamphylia, to the cold and remote mountains of the East, Turkey offers a wealth of destinations.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Turkey (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Largest Cities in Turkey

84 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Turkey
#NamePopulation
1Istanbul10.06 million
2Ankara3.72 million
3İzmir2.59 million
4Bursa1.49 million
5Adana1.29 million
6Gaziantep1.04 million
7Konya919,000
8Tarsus894,318
9Antalya783,000
10Trabzon764,714
11Diyarbakır644,763
12Icel616,990
13Samsun609,339
14Kayseri592,840
15Eskişehir514,869
16İzmit466,504
17Malatya461,574
18Şanlıurfa449,549
19Erzurum420,691
20Kahramanmaraş376,045
21Denizli372,344
22Van371,713
23Hatay305,564
24Batman302,074
25İskenderun297,943
The other 59 (population, region, role)
  1. Sakarya · 286,787 · Sakarya · Admin-1 capital
  2. Rize · 279,450 · Rize · Admin-1 capital
  3. Elâzığ · 271,492 · Elazig · Admin-1 capital
  4. Sivas · 264,022 · Sivas · Admin-1 capital
  5. Balıkesir · 261,516 · Balikesir · Admin-1 capital
  6. Adapazarı · 260,109 · Sakarya · Populated place
  7. Manisa · 243,971 · Manisa · Admin-1 capital
  8. Adıyaman · 223,744 · Adiyaman · Admin-1 capital
  9. Kırıkkale · 211,138 · Kinkkale · Populated place
  10. Aydın · 198,857 · Aydin · Admin-1 capital
  11. Kütahya · 185,008 · Kütahya · Admin-1 capital
  12. Corum · 183,418 · Çorum · Admin-1 capital
  13. Isparta · 172,334 · Isparta · Admin-1 capital
  14. Afyon · 156,992 · Afyon · Admin-1 capital
  15. Zonguldak · 156,918 · Zinguldak · Admin-1 capital
  16. Ordu · 155,117 · Ordu · Admin-1 capital
  17. Antioch · 154,803 · Hatay · Admin-1 capital
  18. Uşak · 152,862 · Usak · Admin-1 capital
  19. Nusaybin · 152,668 · Mardin · Populated place
  20. Tokat · 129,702 · Tokat · Admin-1 capital
  21. Erzincan · 129,407 · Erzincan · Admin-1 capital
  22. Karabük · 128,564 · Zinguldak · Populated place
  23. Edirne · 126,470 · Edirne · Admin-1 capital
  24. Tekirdağ · 122,287 · Tekirdag · Admin-1 capital
  25. Karaman · 120,399 · Karaman · Populated place
  26. Siirt · 114,034 · Siirt · Admin-1 capital
  27. Giresun · 98,864 · Giresun · Admin-1 capital
  28. Bafra · 97,452 · Samsun · Populated place
  29. Bolu · 96,629 · Bolu · Admin-1 capital
  30. Kırşehir · 94,336 · Kirsehir · Admin-1 capital
  31. Samandagi · 93,638 · Hatay · Populated place
  32. Polatlı · 93,262 · Ankara · Populated place
  33. Ereğli · 92,117 · Konya · Populated place
  34. Niğde · 91,039 · Nigde · Admin-1 capital
  35. Lüleburgaz · 90,899 · Kirklareli · Populated place
  36. Yozgat · 87,881 · Yozgat · Admin-1 capital
  37. Ağrı · 87,854 · Agri · Admin-1 capital
  38. Çanakkale · 87,791 · Çanakkale · Admin-1 capital
  39. Amasya · 82,896 · Amasya · Admin-1 capital
  40. Muş · 82,536 · Mus · Admin-1 capital
  41. Kilis · 82,301 · Gaziantep · Populated place
  42. Bingöl · 80,568 · Bingöl · Admin-1 capital
  43. Hakkâri · 77,699 · Hakkari · Admin-1 capital
  44. Kars · 77,486 · Kars · Admin-1 capital
  45. Söke · 77,341 · Aydin · Populated place
  46. Nevşehir · 75,527 · Nevsehir · Admin-1 capital
  47. Tatvan · 73,222 · Bitlis · Populated place
  48. Çankırı · 71,379 · Çankiri · Admin-1 capital
  49. Mardin · 71,373 · Mardin · Admin-1 capital
  50. Kastamonu · 70,402 · Kastamonu · Admin-1 capital
  51. Burdur · 66,158 · Burdur · Admin-1 capital
  52. Bitlis · 62,811 · Bitlis · Admin-1 capital
  53. Kırklareli · 58,223 · Kirklareli · Admin-1 capital
  54. Muğla · 48,183 · Mugla · Admin-1 capital
  55. Bilecik · 40,285 · Bilecik · Admin-1 capital
  56. Sinop · 34,834 · Sinop · Admin-1 capital
  57. Artvin · 32,272 · Artvin · Admin-1 capital
  58. Gümüşhane · 32,250 · Gümüshane · Admin-1 capital
  59. Tunceli · 29,062 · Tunceli · Admin-1 capital

Highest Mountains in Turkey

7 mountains recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.

More on these mountains →
Highest Mountains in Turkey
#NameElevation
1Mount Ararat5,137 m
2Kackar Dagi3,931 m
3Erciyes Dagi3,917 m
4Kizilkaya3,767 m
5Demirkazik3,756 m
6Kizlar Sivrisi3,070 m
7Uludag Tepe2,543 m

Major Dams in Turkey

2 dams recorded. Ranked by structural height.

Major Dams in Turkey
#NameHeight
1Atatürk Dam169 m
2Ilısu Dam135 m

Largest Lakes in Turkey

7 lakes recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.

More on these lakes →
Largest Lakes in Turkey
#NameSurface Area
1Lake Van3,503 km²
2Lake Tuz1,564 km²
3Keban Baraji733 km²
4Beysehir652 km²
5Ataturk Barajt652 km²
6Egridir458 km²
7Saksak Dagi304 km²

Rivers in Turkey

11 rivers recorded. Listed alphabetically. A river is listed where its mapped reach lies, so long rivers appear under more than one country.

See all 11 rivers →
Rivers in Turkey
NameType
ArasRiver
Byk MenderesRiver
CeyhanRiver
EuphratesRiver
EvrosRiver
KelkitRiver
Kiz?lirmakRiver
KuraLake reach
MuratRiver
SakaryaRiver

Ports in Turkey

49 ports recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.

Ports in Turkey
#NameChannel Depth
1Sinop53 m
2Derince Burnu49.4 m
3Golcuk Burnu49.4 m
4Inebolu49.4 m
5Karabiga49.4 m
6Ayvalik49.4 m
7Izmit49.4 m
8Zonguldak49.4 m
9Kusadasi38.4 m
10Izmir38.4 m
The other 39 (channel depth, class, sea, max vessel)
  1. Trabzon · 38.4 m · Very Small · Black Sea & Sea of Azov · large vessels
  2. Kaba Burnu · 34.7 m · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · large vessels
  3. Mersin · 34.7 m · Minor · Eastern Mediterranean · medium vessels
  4. Samsun · 34.7 m · Major · Black Sea & Sea of Azov · large vessels
  5. Iskenderun · 34.7 m · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · medium vessels
  6. Nemrut Limani Bay · 23.8 m · Minor · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · large vessels
  7. Yakacik · 20.1 m · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · medium vessels
  8. Eregli · 12.8 m · Very Small · Black Sea & Sea of Azov · medium vessels
  9. Bandirma · 5.5 m · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  10. Hopa · 5.5 m · Very Small · Black Sea & Sea of Azov · medium vessels
  11. Erdek · 5.5 m · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  12. Haydarpasa · 5.5 m · Minor · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  13. Mudanya · 5.5 m · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  14. Marmaris · 5.5 m · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · medium vessels
  15. Aksaz Limani · 5.5 m · Small · Eastern Mediterranean · large vessels
  16. Fethiye · 5.5 m · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · medium vessels
  17. Tasucu · 5.5 m · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · medium vessels
  18. Istinye · 5.5 m · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  19. Rize · 5.5 m · Very Small · Black Sea & Sea of Azov · medium vessels
  20. Ordu · 5.5 m · Very Small · Black Sea & Sea of Azov · medium vessels
  21. Giresun · 5.5 m · Very Small · Black Sea & Sea of Azov · medium vessels
  22. Aliaga · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  23. Gebze · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · large vessels
  24. Gemlik · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  25. Ambarli · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · point_of_interest
  26. Botas Dortyol Oil Terminal · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · medium vessels
  27. Toros Gubre · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · point_of_interest
  28. Botas · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · large vessels
  29. Botas Natural Gas Terminal · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  30. Delta Terminal · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · medium vessels
  31. Yarimca · Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · point_of_interest
  32. Gelibolu · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  33. Borusan Fertilizer Jetty · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  34. Dikili · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels
  35. Gulluk · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · point_of_interest
  36. Bodrum · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · large vessels
  37. Alanya · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · medium vessels
  38. Antalya Offshore Terminal · Very Small · Eastern Mediterranean · medium vessels
  39. Eceabat · Very Small · Aegean Sea & Sea of Marmara · medium vessels

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Turkey

21 World Heritage Sites recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.

See all 21 World Heritage Sites →
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Turkey
#NameInscribed
1Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital1985
2Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia1985
3Historic Areas of Istanbul1985
4Hattusha: the Hittite Capital1986
5Mount Nemrut1987
6Hierapolis-Pamukkale1988
7Xanthos-Letoon1988
8City of Safranbolu1994
9Troy1998
10Selimiye Mosque2011

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Turkey

5 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.

More on these mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms →
Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Turkey
#NameArea
1Asia46.28M km²
2Europe11.24M km²
3Anatolia97,961 km²
4Pontic Mountains1,812 km²
5Taurus Mountains—

States and Provinces of Turkey

1 first-level divisions with their own map.

Countries Bordering Turkey

Land and maritime neighbours.

More Maps in Asia

Turkey: Quick Answers

What is the capital of Turkey?
The capital of Turkey is Ankara.
What is the population of Turkey?
Turkey has a population of about 85.88 million, the #18 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
How big is Turkey?
Turkey covers 783,562 km², ranking #38 by area, with about 110 people per square kilometre.
Which continent is Turkey in?
Turkey is in Asia.
Which countries border Turkey?
Turkey shares a land or maritime border with Greece, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Syria.
What is the largest city in Turkey?
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, with a metropolitan population of about 10.06 million.
What is the highest mountain in Turkey?
The highest summit recorded for Turkey in YearMaps is Mount Ararat at 5,137 m (16,854 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.
What is the largest lake in Turkey?
The largest lake recorded in or bordering Turkey is Lake Van, at roughly 3,503 km².
What are the famous wonders and monuments of Turkey?
Turkey's great monuments in YearMaps are Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom). Each is written up on this page with photographs and its history.
What is the tallest dam in Turkey?
The tallest dam recorded for Turkey is Atatürk Dam at 169 m, on the Euphrates.