As of 2026, there are 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Turkey: 20 cultural and 2 mixed, which means cultural and natural together. The newest is Sardis with the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe, added in July 2025. My list below is from 2022, so the update with the newer sites comes after it.
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Currently, there are 19 locations in Turkey that are on the UNESCO world heritage sites list (out of 1,154 globally). Let’s name them all in order of being put on the list (the first one was added in 1985 and the latest was added in 2021).
List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Turkey
- Historic Areas of Istanbul
- Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia
- Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği
- Hattusha: the Hitite Capital
- Nemrut Mountain
- Hierapolis and Pamukkale
- Xanthos and Letoon
- City of Safranbolu
- The archaeological site of Troy
- Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex
- Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük
- Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire
- Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape
- Ephesus Ancient City and Surrounding Ruins
- Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape
- The archaeological site of Ani
- Aphrodisias
- Göbekli Tepe – Gobeklitepe
- Arslantepe Mound
Update 2026: New UNESCO Sites in Turkey Since 2022
Three sites joined the list after my 2022 post, so Turkey went from 19 to 22.
- Gordion (2023) was the capital of ancient Phrygia, about 90 kilometers southwest of Ankara. The wooden tomb inside its Midas Mound is one of oldest standing wooden buildings in the world.
- Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia (2023) are five mosques from the late 13th to the mid 14th century, each in a different province. Rows of carved wooden columns hold up their flat wooden roofs.
- Sardis and the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe (2025) was the capital of the Lydians, who are credited with the first coins. More than a hundred burial mounds lie nearby Sardis at Bin Tepe.
Nothing from Turkey was added in 2024, so the count stands at 22 in 2026.
When Was Each UNESCO Site in Turkey Added?
Istanbul, Göreme and Divriği were the first three UNESCO sites in Turkey, all added in 1985, and Sardis is the newest, added in 2025. This table shows every one of the 22 UNESCO sites in Turkey with its year and province, as the list stands in October 2026.
| Year | Site | Province |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Historic Areas of Istanbul | Istanbul |
| 1985 | Göreme and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia | Nevşehir |
| 1985 | Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği | Sivas |
| 1986 | Hattusha | Çorum |
| 1987 | Nemrut Dağ | Adıyaman |
| 1988 | Hierapolis-Pamukkale | Denizli |
| 1988 | Xanthos-Letoon | Antalya and Muğla |
| 1994 | Safranbolu | Karabük |
| 1998 | Troy | Çanakkale |
| 2011 | Selimiye Mosque | Edirne |
| 2012 | Çatalhöyük | Konya |
| 2014 | Bursa and Cumalıkızık | Bursa |
| 2014 | Pergamon | İzmir |
| 2015 | Diyarbakır Fortress | Diyarbakır |
| 2015 | Ephesus | İzmir |
| 2016 | Ani | Kars |
| 2017 | Aphrodisias | Aydın |
| 2018 | Göbekli Tepe | Şanlıurfa |
| 2021 | Arslantepe | Malatya |
| 2023 | Gordion | Ankara |
| 2023 | Wooden Hypostyle Mosques | Afyonkarahisar, Ankara, Eskişehir, Konya, Kastamonu |
| 2025 | Sardis and Bin Tepe | Manisa |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Turkey have any natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
Not purely natural ones. Two of the 22 are mixed sites, counted as both cultural and natural: Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia, and Hierapolis-Pamukkale. The other 20 are cultural.
Which UNESCO sites in Turkey are in the Aegean region?
They include the ancient cities of Ephesus, Pergamon, Hierapolis-Pamukkale, Aphrodisias and Sardis. They lie in the provinces of İzmir, Denizli, Aydın and Manisa, so they fit together in one western Turkey trip.
Which places could join the UNESCO list next?
Turkey has many more places on UNESCO’s tentative list, among them Termessos, Perge and Aizanoi.
Which is the oldest UNESCO site in Turkey?
Göbekli Tepe, added in 2018, is oldest of them. Its T-shaped pillars were put up by hunter-gatherers between about 9600 and 8200 BC, long before farming villages like Çatalhöyük. By the way, that is older than Stonehenge or the pyramids.
Is Istanbul a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
Yes, the Historic Areas of Istanbul have been on the list since 1985. The site has four areas: the Archaeological Park at the tip of the old peninsula, the Süleymaniye quarter, the Zeyrek area and the Theodosian land walls.
Which one of the above do you want to learn more about? Share your thoughts in the comment section with me and hire \ contact your English-speaking professional licensed tour guide to visit all of them!
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