Nine Turkish Cities from the Marmara Coast to the Tigris

Izmit lies on the Gulf of Izmit in Kocaeli Province, about 100 kilometers east of Istanbul. As ancient Nicomedia it was the senior capital of the Roman Empire under Diocletian from 286 to 324, and the 1999 earthquake centered here killed more than 17,000 people.

Bursa, once the first major capital of the early Ottoman Empire, is the fourth most populous city in Turkey, with 2,051,464 residents in 2022. It is known for its mosques, the tombs of early sultans, thermal baths and textile and automotive industries.

Eskisehir was founded by the Phrygians around 1000 BC and was the site of the Crusader victory at the Battle of Dorylaeum in 1097. Today it is a university city around Anadolu University, named UNESCO Capital of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013, with a metropolitan population of 921,630.

Denizli, at 324 meters in the Aegean region, was the Greek town of Attouda in antiquity. Its 2024 population was 1,061,371, and nearby thermal springs, the hillside of Pamukkale and the ruins of Hierapolis and Laodicea draw visitors.

Antalya, capital of the fifth most populous province in Turkey, sits on Anatolia's southwest coast and is called the capital of Turkish tourism. The cited Wikipedia lead gives a provincial population of 2,722,103.

Adana stands on the Seyhan River about 35 kilometers inland from the Mediterranean and serves the fertile Cukurova plain. Its metropolitan population was 1,816,750 at the end of 2024, and it is known for its Roman-era stone bridge over the Seyhan.

Sivas, at about 1,278 meters in the valley of the Kizilirmak, hosted the Sivas Congress from September 4 to 11, 1919, which confirmed Ataturk as chair of the executive committee of the national resistance. It recorded 365,274 residents in 2022.

Trabzon on the Black Sea coast was founded in 756 BC as Trapezous by Greek colonists from Miletus. It became capital of the Empire of Trebizond after the Fourth Crusade of 1204 and came under Ottoman rule in 1461.

Diyarbakir, on the Tigris river plateau in Southeastern Anatolia, is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey and has been inhabited since around 8,000 BCE. Its built-up area held 1,164,940 people in December 2024.