The single best sunset in each Turkish city

Pick one sunset spot per Turkish city you're visiting and you've already done the hardest curation work. Here's mine, after standing in too many of them.

Istanbul — Galata Bridge, lower deck

Most rooftops are too high; you lose the human scale. Walk to Galata Bridge 30 minutes before sunset, descend to the lower deck where the fish restaurants are, take a chair on the Eminönü side. The sun sets behind the Süleymaniye Mosque silhouette, the boats line up between you and the photo, and the muezzin call from three mosques starts within a minute of each other. Stay in Beyoğlu or Sultanahmet to be 15 minutes' walk away.

Cappadocia — Lovers Hill (Aşıklar Tepesi), Göreme

Sunset Point and Red Valley are the famous ones. Lovers Hill is 20 minutes' walk from Göreme center, has half the crowds, and the view is across all three valleys at once. Bring a thermos of tea and arrive 45 minutes early. The colors on the fairy chimneys go from pink to orange to deep purple — the whole show takes 35 minutes.

Antalya — Mermerli Restaurant terrace, Kaleiçi

Most Kaleiçi restaurants face inland. Mermerli sits on the harbor cliff and faces west. Order a starter, sit on the terrace, watch the sun drop into the Mediterranean over the marina yachts. Reservation required for sunset table.

Bodrum — Yalıkavak windmill ridge

The five stone windmills above Yalıkavak village. Drive (or taxi €15 from town) up to the ridge, park, walk five minutes. The angle gives you Yalıkavak harbor, the Aegean, and the Greek islands of Kos and Kalymnos in the distance. Brings a flask — there's nothing else up there.

Fethiye — Babadağ, paragliding launch

You don't need to paraglide. Take the cable car up Babadağ (2,000 m, 12 minutes, €25 round-trip), get off at the upper station, walk to the launch viewpoint. Sunset over Ölüdeniz lagoon from 2 km up — there's no comparison. The cable car runs until sunset in summer; check times in shoulder season.

İzmir — Asansör (the historic elevator), Karataş

An old stone-and-iron elevator built into a cliff, 51 m up, free to ride. The terrace at the top has a small café, panoramic west-facing views over the Aegean and the Izmir bay container ships. Ten minutes' taxi from Konak.

Pamukkale — Hierapolis north terraces

Skip the south entrance crowds. Enter from the north (Karahayıt side), walk past the necropolis, find the upper terraces overlooking the white travertine pools. As the sun sets, the calcium pools reflect pink. Stay 30 minutes after sunset for the full color shift.

Marmaris — Marmaris Castle wall

The 16th-century Suleyman the Magnificent castle in the marina district. €2 entry, climb the seaward wall, west-facing over the bay and the Greek island of Symi.

Kaş — Kaputaş Beach overlook

A 15-minute drive from Kaş town toward Kalkan, you pass the famous Kaputaş cove. Park at the cliff lookout above (not the beach itself — beach loses the sun behind cliffs early). Best with a beer and binoculars for the Greek island of Kastellorizo.

Trabzon — Boztepe Hill

The Black Sea sunsets do exist; they're just shorter than the Mediterranean ones. Boztepe is the city's classic vista — Trabzon, the bay, the cargo ships, and on a clear evening the Pontic mountains catching the last light.

Alanya — Cleopatra Beach pier

Walk to the very end of Cleopatra Beach pier (~700 m). Sun sets behind the Alanya Castle silhouette to your west. Crowded but the photo is iconic.

Side — Apollo Temple ruins

The Roman Temple of Apollo at the western tip of Side peninsula. Free, open dawn-to-dusk, sun sets directly behind the columns. Get there 45 minutes before sunset to claim a column.

Kuşadası — Pigeon Island causeway

Walk to Güvercinada (Pigeon Island), the small fortress connected by causeway. West-facing wall over the Aegean. €3 entry, often a wedding party in the courtyard.

Mersin — Çamlıbel promenade

Mersin is an underrated coastal city. The Çamlıbel promenade west of the marina has the best uninterrupted sunset over the eastern Mediterranean.

Rize — Ayder valley high meadows (yayla)

For mountain sunsets — the Pontic Alps catching alpenglow. Drive to Avusor or Pokut yayla (1-hour drive from Ayder), park, walk to the highest meadow. Bring a fleece even in August.

Ankara — Anıtkabir (Atatürk Mausoleum) southwest gate

Ankara isn't a sunset city, but the Anıtkabir esplanade at sunset is monumental. The southwest gate has the city below and the citadel hill across the valley. Free entry, daily until dusk.

Gaziantep — Gaziantep Castle

The Roman-era citadel rising over the bazaar district. Climb the southwest wall as the muezzin calls — the spice market smells rise from below.

Bursa — Tophane Park

The historic park overlooks the Plain of Bursa with Mount Uludağ behind you. Watch the sun set over the plain while the mountain catches alpenglow above.

Mardin — Old City rooftops

Mardin's old stone city overlooks the Mesopotamian plain. Any rooftop café in the old town has the view; Cercis Murat Konağı's terrace is the textbook one. Sunset over the Syrian border in the distance.

Konya — Mevlana Museum gardens

The Rumi tomb gardens at sunset — green domes, low light, near-silence. Free, open until 6:30 p.m. in winter.

Şanlıurfa — Balıklıgöl (sacred fish pond)

The pools and the Halil-ur Rahman mosque catch warm light. Pack into the courtyard with the locals at maghrib (call to prayer at sunset).

Safranbolu — Hıdırlık Tepesi

The hill above the old Ottoman town. Watch the wooden mansions catch golden light from above. The classic Safranbolu postcard view.

Pack the right hotel for the sunset you came for. Coastal sunsets work best with a sea-facing room (Yalıkavak, Kaleiçi). Mountain sunsets need an unobstructed terrace (Uçhisar hotels above the village). Use our compare-cities tool to find the right city for your sunset trip.

Tagged: photographyall-cities