Thirteen Turkish Cities from Muğla to Kırklareli in Order of Latitude

Muğla, at about 37.22 degrees north, is the southernmost stop. Its center sits inland even though the province reaches the Aegean coast, and it replaced Milas as the seat of the Ottoman sanjak in 1420. Muğla Province today administers coastal destinations such as Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye and Dalyan.

Kahramanmaraş, at about 37.59 degrees north, was historically known as Marash and Germanicea and is the administrative center of its province in Turkey's Mediterranean region. It is known for dondurma, the stretchy traditional ice cream that began there. On 6 February 2023 a pair of major earthquakes devastated large parts of its urban area.

Erzincan, at about 39.75 degrees north, lies in a fertile valley of the upper Euphrates basin ringed by mountains. The city has a long history stretching back to antiquity and has been rebuilt more than once after severe earthquakes, most devastatingly in 1939. Today it is a provincial capital and a market center for the farmland around it.

Kırıkkale, at about 39.84 degrees north, is a Central Anatolian city roughly 80 kilometers east of Ankara, and its name means broken castle. A former village, it grew fast once steel mills opened in the 1950s, followed by chemical plants in the 1960s and an oil refinery in 1986. It became a provincial administrative center in 1989.

Tokat, at about 40.31 degrees north, stands at the confluence of the Tokat River and the Yeşilırmak in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia. It served as an administrative, commercial and military center under the Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans, thanks to its position on trade routes between Central Anatolia and the Black Sea. Landmarks include Tokat Castle, the 13th-century Seljuk Gök Medrese and the Ottoman caravanserai Taşhan.

Çorum, at about 40.55 degrees north, is a northern Anatolian city about 244 kilometers from Ankara. The surrounding area shows human presence since the Paleolithic and was central to the Hittite Empire from roughly 1650 to 1200 BC, with the Hittite capital Hattusa nearby. The city hosts an International Hittite Congress every three years and is known nationally for leblebi, a roasted chickpea snack.

Yalova, at about 40.66 degrees north, sits on the eastern shore of the Sea of Marmara and was known in antiquity as Pylai. It is a largely modern city and a spa destination, best known for the resort at nearby Termal, a longstanding summer retreat for residents of Istanbul reached by regular ferry. The city suffered severe damage in the August 1999 earthquake in northwestern Turkey.

Bolu, at about 40.73 degrees north, lies on the main highway between Istanbul and Ankara. The site was home to the Roman-era city of Claudiopolis and was the birthplace of Antinous, the favorite of the emperor Hadrian who was later deified. The E-80 motorway now bypasses the town center through the Mount Bolu Tunnel, while the older D-100 highway still climbs over Mount Bolu.

Ordu, at about 40.98 degrees north, is a port city on the Black Sea coast and the capital of Ordu Province. The site began as the ancient Greek colony of Cotyora, founded by settlers from Miletus in the 8th century BC, and the name was changed to Ordu in 1869. The province produces about 25 percent of the world hazelnut crop, which accounts for up to 80 percent of its local economic activity.

Artvin, at about 41.18 degrees north, lies about 30 kilometers inland from the Black Sea on a hill overlooking the Çoruh River near the Deriner Dam. The city passed through Ottoman, Russian and Georgian control before being ceded to the new Turkish state under the Treaty of Kars in 1921. It is home to Artvin Çoruh University.

Karabük, at about 41.20 degrees north, is a Black Sea region city near the Filyos River, formed by the Araç and Soğanlı rivers. It began as a settlement of only 13 houses in the early Turkish Republic and grew after one of the country's first steel factories was built there in 1939. It became a province in 1995, and the Kardemir iron and steel works remains its economic foundation.

Zonguldak, at about 41.45 degrees north, is a Black Sea port founded in 1849 as an outlet for coal mined near Ereğli. Coal mining has shaped the economy and identity of the city for more than 170 years, and it now faces the challenge of economic transition as coal jobs decline. It is also known as a producer of chestnut honey.

Kırklareli, at about 41.73 degrees north, is the northernmost stop and lies in the European part of Turkey. Byzantine Greeks called the settlement Saranta Ekklisies, meaning forty churches, which became Kırk Kilise in Turkish by the 14th century. Ottoman forces conquered the area in 1363 under Sultan Murad I, and the city took its present name on 20 December 1924.