Sacred and spiritual destinations in Turkey off the beaten path.
What are some less-touristed spiritual destinations in Turkey, for travelers seeking beautiful places with fewer crowds? Answer
Options include Eyüp, a Golden Horn district with a major pilgrimage tomb; Selçuk, an Aegean town near Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis; and Divriği, an iron-mining town with a 13th-century Great Mosque and Hospital. This page includes 8 options.
Divriği
The 13th-century Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sivas Province, draw visitors to this little iron-mining town in mount…
Demre
Demre, on the Mediterranean coast of Antalya Province, stands over the ruins of ancient Myra and is home to the tomb of Saint Nicholas — the 4th-century bish…
Kaunos
This ancient Carian port city near Dalyan in Muğla Province, Kaunos dates its history to around the 10th century BC and is still under active archaeological…
Gümüşhacıköy
A town in the westernmost part of Amasya Province in northern Türkiye, Gümüşhacıköy — still commonly known by its older name Hacıköy — sits in a mountainous…
Didim
Didim is an Aegean resort city on Turkey's western coast whose main draw is the ruined Temple of Apollo at ancient Didyma, one of the great sanctuaries of th…
Selçuk
Selçuk, a town on Turkey's Aegean coast in İzmir Province, sits within easy reach of the ancient city of Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven…
Claros
This ancient Greek sanctuary on the Ionian coast, Claros was home to a temple and oracle of Apollo — rivaling Delphi and Didyma as a center of prophecy — fro…
Eyüp
Eyüp, on Istanbul's European shore at the head of the Golden Horn, draws visitors above all to the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari — companion and standard-beare…