Section iii · The Cities

The cities of two Anatolias

The cities the ancients built — Ephesus, Pergamon, Hattusha, Troy — and the cities Türkiye lives in now. Each gets a full page, in time.

Ancient cities · of Asia Minor

The Greek, Roman, and Byzantine cities of the western and southern coasts, and the great inland archaeological sites. Some are now archaeological parks; some live on under different names.

Modern cities · of Türkiye today

The provincial centres where Anatolia lives in 2026 — each with a deep-dive page covering history, geography, the table, and how to visit today.

  • IstanbulMarmara · 16M
  • İzmirAegean · 4.4M
  • AnkaraCentral · capital
  • AntalyaMediterranean · 2.7M
  • BursaMarmara · 3.2M
  • KonyaThe Seljuk capital on the high plateau, where Mevlana's whirling and Çatalhöyük's earliest city both speak.
  • GaziantepBasalt citadel and pistachio orchards — the city that stood, and that feeds Türkiye still.
  • CappadociaCentral · region
  • İskenderunHatay · ancient port
  • BingölEastern · plateau
  • MersinWhere the Toros come down to the Mediterranean — Yumuktepe's seven thousand years and Türkiye's largest port.
  • TrabzonBlack Sea

More city essays are being added each week. The pages currently live — Konya, Gaziantep, Mersin, İskenderun, and Bingöl — show the template every page will follow.