Turkey is a nation straddling eastern Europe and western Asia with cultural connections to ancient Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Cosmopolitan Istanbul, on the Bosphorus Strait, is home to the iconic Hagia Sophia, with its soaring dome and Christian mosaics, the massive 17th-century Blue Mosque and the circa-1460 Topkapı Palace, former home of sultans. Ankara is Turkey’s modern capital.

Istanbul 15

Blue Mosque 14

Bosphorus 18

Dolmabahçe Palace 20

Hagia Sophia 15

Süleymaniye Mosque 13

Topkapi Palace 17