Pamukkale is a town in western Turkey known for the mineral-rich thermal waters flowing down white travertine terraces on a nearby hillside. It neighbors Hierapolis, an ancient Roman spa city founded around 190 B.C. Ruins there include a well-preserved theater and a necropolis with sarcophagi that stretch for 2km. The Antique Pool is famous for its submerged Roman columns, the result of an earthquake.

Marmaris is a Mediterranean resort town along the Turkish Riviera (also known as the Turquoise Coast) with a busy, pebbly beach and long seafront promenade. It’s known for buzzing nightlife on Bar Street, which is home to open-air clubs and music venues. It sits in a valley between pine-forested mountains and clear waters, which are popular for sailing and diving.

Ankara, Turkey’s capital, sits in the country’s central Anatolia region. Vibrant and cosmopolitan, it’s a center for the performing arts, home to the State Opera and Ballet, the Presidential Symphony Orchestra and several national theater companies. Overlooking the city is Anitkabir, the enormous hilltop mausoleum of Atatürk, modern Turkey’s first president, who declared Ankara capital in 1923.

Bursa is a large city in northwest Turkey, lying in the foothills of roughly 2,500m-high Mount Uludağ near the Sea of Marmara. The city is known for its mosques and historical sites from the early Ottoman Empire. It’s nicknamed “Yeşil Bursa” (Green Bursa), owing to its many parks and trees, as well as its dramatic mountain backdrop.

Antalya is a resort destination in Turkey and gateway to its southern Mediterranean region, known as the Turquoise Coast for its blue waters. During the Roman era Antalya was a major port city; today a modern metropolis surrounds ancient fortifications. Beaches are flanked by large hotels, and popular outdoor activities include golfing, diving and hiking the 500km Lycian Way footpath.