Turkish lakeside and river towns off the beaten path.
Less-touristed lakeside and river towns in Turkey, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Pottery wheels have turned on the banks of the Kızılırmak in Avanos since Hittite times, and that depth of waterside purpose runs through all 44 towns on this page. Amasya's Pontic rock tombs rise above Ottoman houses that now serve coffee along the Yeşilırmak; Yusufeli relocated its entire centre in 2022 when the Çoruh Dam rose around it; Milas holds the shores of Lake Bafa alongside a UNESCO-listed mausoleum. Bitlis, Adana, and Artvin each contribute multiple picks to a list shaped less by scenery than by the particular ways Turkish towns have built their lives around moving or standing water.
Amasya
Rock tombs of the Pontic kings carved into cliffsides above the Yeşilırmak River make Amasya one of northern Turkey's most visually striking cities.
Çaykara
Tiny district town in Trabzon province set in a V-shaped valley along the Solaklı River, with old-growth temperate forest rising toward alpine tundra in the…
Yusufeli
A small town in Artvin Province where the Çoruh River meets the Barhal, Yusufeli sits in a valley flanked by the Kaçkar Mountains to the north.
Bayburt
Sitting on the Çoruh River in northeast Turkey, Bayburt was a stop on the ancient Silk Road, visited by Marco Polo in the 13th century and Evliya Çelebi in t…
Artvin
A compact town in northeastern Turkey's mountains, Artvin sits on a hill above the Çoruh River with a centre concentrated enough for easy walking between caf…
Milas
Ancient Caria's first capital and later seat of the medieval Menteşe beylik, Milas is a historically dense town in southwest Turkey with more than two dozen…
Avanos
Pottery workshops line this little Cappadocian town on the banks of the Kızılırmak — Turkey's longest river — where red clay from the riverbed has fuelled a…
Bolu
A city in northern Turkey on the main corridor between Istanbul and Ankara, Bolu sits at the edge of forested mountains dotted with lakes, ski resorts, and v…
Kütahya
Kütahya, a city in western Turkey on the Porsuk River, is renowned for its decorated tiles and has a well-preserved old quarter to explore.
İspir
This working town on the Çoruh River in eastern Turkey's upland country, where a ruined hilltop fortress with a surviving minaret tower rises dramatically ab…
Tunceli
This compact town in the mountains of Eastern Anatolia, Tunceli sits on the banks of the Munzur River with cafés and restaurants concentrated in its centre.
Adilcevaz
On the northern shore of Lake Van in Turkey's Bitlis Province, Adilcevaz sits directly at the water's edge with mountains close by.
Suşehri
A compact Turkish town in Sivas Province where a river and reservoir cut through broad upland valleys, backed by bare mountain ridges, with a distinctive arc…
Goelbagi
This modest lakeside village in eastern Türkiye's Adıyaman province, where flat-roofed white houses and slender poplars sit directly at the water's edge bene…
Boyabat
A town in Sinop Province's Gökırmak valley, Boyabat sits along the "blue river" at the foot of the Isfendiyar Mountains, roughly midway between the Black Sea…
Kesmekoeprue
A modest Kurdish village in southeastern Türkiye's Batman Province, where dramatic eroded limestone cliffs drop to a wide river, ancient cave openings dot th…
Bayramiç
A broad reservoir-like waterway winds through green farmland below snow-dusted mountain ridges in this Çanakkale Province town, making it a rewarding stop fo…
Cizre
Founded in the 9th century by the Emir of Mosul on a manmade island in the Tigris, Cizre is a Kurdish-majority city in southeastern Türkiye sitting on the ri…
Çamlıyayla district
High in the Taurus Mountains above Mersin, Çamlıyayla is a summer highland district whose lakes, streams, and pine forests draw crowds escaping coastal heat…
Palu
A town in eastern Turkey's Elazığ Province set on the banks of the Murat River, Palu carries a history stretching back to around 2000 BCE and served at diffe…
Mopsuestia
An ancient city in Cilicia Campestris on the Ceyhan River (the classical Pyramus), Mopsuestia — now called Yakapınar — sits on what was once a Silk Road rout…
Yahyalı district
A district in southern Kayseri Province where the Aladağlar Mountains — part of the rocky Taurus range — rise across the southern terrain and the Zamantı Riv…
Aksaray
This Silk Road stopover city in Central Anatolia, Aksaray has a walkable centre with cafés, restaurants, and monuments predating the Ottoman era, plus early…
Kemaliye
Sitting above a dramatic gorge carved by the Karasu (Western Euphrates) river in Eastern Anatolia, Kemaliye is a modest Turkish town of Ottoman-era houses an…
Burdur
This mid-sized Turkish city spread across low hills above a broad inland lake, with terracotta rooftops, a domed mosque and minaret at its centre, and mounta…
Tatvan
This town on the western shore of Lake Van in eastern Türkiye, Tatvan has a walkable centre with a good spread of cafés and restaurants.
Isparta
Rose oil production defines Isparta, a highland city in Turkey's Lakes District known as the "City of Roses." Set at elevation in western Turkey, it is also…
Uzunköprü
Uzunköprü takes its name from a 15th-century stone bridge across the Ergene River, claimed to be the longest of its kind in the world, and the structure rema…
Heraclea at Latmus
Ancient Greek and Roman ruins line the shore of Lake Bafa at Heraclea at Latmus, a site in Mugla province where substantial city walls and other remains surv…
Patnos
This city on the Patnos plain in eastern Turkey, ringed by high mountains including the extinct volcano Süphan to the south and watered by a tributary of the…
Bitlis
A highland city in southeastern Türkiye, Bitlis sits in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis River — a tributary of the Tigris — high in the mountains and cl…
Kozan
Formerly known as Sis, Kozan was the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, and the fortress built on a long rocky ridge at the centre of the modern cit…
Yeşilhisar district
Compact Anatolian town spread across a green river valley between bare rolling hills, Yeşilhisar sits within easy reach of Kayseri's wider region of UNESCO W…
Ceyhan
A city on the Ceyhan River in Adana Province, southern Türkiye, Ceyhan serves as a major transportation hub for Middle Eastern and Central Asian oil and natu…
Biga
Compact Turkish town on the Biga River, its broad cobbled central square framed by palm trees and a handsome late-Ottoman stone building alongside modern apa…
Şefaatli
Compact Central Anatolian town spread across a broad valley between rolling, sun-dried hills, with a river threading through its mix of red-tile houses and l…
Oltu
A town in northeastern Türkiye's Erzurum province, Oltu sits in the valley of the Oltu River at the crossroads of the Eastern Anatolia and Eastern Black Sea…
Köse
A turquoise reservoir winds through steep, scrub-covered mountain slopes in this high-altitude tiny town in Türkiye's Gümüşhane province, offering raw upland…
Birecik
Sitting on a limestone cliff above the east bank of the Euphrates, Birecik is a town in southeastern Turkey's Şanlıurfa Province that has served as a transfe…
Karkamış district
A modest town on the Euphrates River in southeastern Turkey, Karkamış sits beside the ruins of ancient Carchemish, a Bronze Age city that some traditions ass…
Nusaybin
One of the ancient world's most contested cities, Nusaybin sits on the Jaghjagh River at the foot of the Mount Izla escarpment in Mardin Province, southeaste…
Kemah
This modest town on the Karasu River in eastern Turkey's Erzincan Province, Kemah carries an unusually dense layered heritage for its size: open-air temples…
Haliliye district
This large urban district forming the eastern heart of Şanlıurfa, Haliliye sits close to a reservoir-dotted landscape and serves as a gateway to the wider re…
Sultangazi
A large district on Istanbul's European side, Sultangazi is home to the Alibey Reservoir, built between 1975 and 1983, where amateur fishing and water sports…