Istanbul

Istanbul is the obvious case and still worth stating. Ankara has been Turkey's capital since October 13, 1923, but Istanbul remained the country's economic and cultural center. For a visitor that means Byzantine and Ottoman monuments, ferries across the Bosphorus between Europe and Asia, and long meyhane evenings over meze and rakı. Ankara rewards travelers interested in the Republic's own story, with Atatürk's mausoleum and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Almost everyone else should spend their days in Istanbul.