İstanbul: Once named Byzantium and Constantinople, Istanbul is Europe's most populous city with 12 million inhabitants. Being the center of Turkeys cultural, economical, business and social life, Istanbul is one of the most diverse and rich metropols in the world. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn. It is the only city in the world which is situated on two continents, extending on both Europe and Asia.

Istanbul served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330-395), the Byzantine Empire (395-1204 and 1261-1453), the Latin Empire (1204-1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453-1922).

Istanbul is uniquely surrounded by thousands years of historical and cultural heritage, mosques, churches and synagogues proving to be a junction point of civilizations.

The first human settlements in Istanbul date back to 5500-3500 BC. Today Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar stand out as the most important monuments among hundreds scattered throughout the city. The Topkapi Palace used to be the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans for 400 years. Hagia Sophia is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum. Hagia Sophia was the largest cathedral of the era, famous in having the widest massive dome, considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops hosting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. It is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops.

Today Istanbul hosts internationally renowned art festivals and thanks to its diverse cultural heritage and lively art scene, it has experienced European Capital of Culture in 2010. The historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985. Istanbul welcomed over 6,5 million tourists in 2007.

Ankara: The capital of Turkey, Ankara is the Turkey's second largest city after Istanbul with a population of 4,4 million.Centrally located in Anatolia, Ankara is an important commercial and industrial city. The oldest settlements in and around the city center of Ankara belong to the Hatti civilization which lived during the Bronze Age.Before getting under the Ottoman Empire's control, the city was ruled by the Roman and the Seljuk Empire.

Ankara is the center of the Turkish Republic's state and government, housing all foreign embassies. It is an important crossroads of trade, strategically located at the center of Turkey's highway and railway networks, and serves as the marketing center for the surrounding agricultural area. Ankara plays a leading role also in Turkey's cultural, social and educational advance by hosting 10 universities.

Antalya: Antalya is located on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey, celebrated as one of the most popular summer destinations throughout the world.

As of the 2009 census, Antalya had a population of 1,095,157. The city includes sites with traces of Lycian, Pamphylian, and Hellenistic -but mainly Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman- architecture and cultures.

Situated on coastal cliffs, Antalya is surrounded by Taurus mountains. Kaleiçi, the restored historical center of the city -with its hotels, bars, clubs, restaurants, and shopping- retains much of its historical character; its restoration won the Golden Apple Tourism Prize by FIJET, the European Association of Professional Travel Writers and Journalists.

İzmir: Historically Smyrna, Izmir today is the third most populous city of Turkey and the country's largest port after Istanbul. The city is the inheritor of almost 3,500 years of urban history and hosts a population of 3.7 million today. Izmir is located at the most western part of Turkey and as a result of this geographical position has a flora and fauna blended with Turkish customs and habits. This modern city still retains traces of its ancient, Ottoman and Levantine past. Being the hub of the Levantine community, Izmir has long been a centre of culture and civilization where Judaism, Christianity and Islam have always co-existed peacefully.

Adana: Reputed most with its extraordinarily fertile lands and broad range of agricultural products, Adana is the center of a region called “Cukurova”, the agricultural coastal lowlands.

It is said that the history of the city dates back to 8000 years, hosting more than 40 civilizations. In fact, throughout the history, the city itself and its surroundings have been highly attractive places for several reasons beyond the rich flora, such as the mild weather, rich underground and running water resources, its geographical position at the only passway to Mesopotamia in South Anatolia and finally rich mineral resources.

Adana, being one of the large towns of Asia Minor, about 40 kilometers inland from the sea, ranks as the fourth largest city of Turkey with its nearly 1,500.000 inhabitants. The Taurus Mountains, forming the northern border-lines of the province, exhibit altitudes as high as over 3000 meters.

Kayseri: Kayseri is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. In conjunction with the addition of new districts and first stage municipalities into the metropolitan area, the city's population, which was 690,000 in 2000, is currently 911 984.

Renowned for its culinary specialties such as mantı, pastirma and sucuk, the city is also rich in historical monuments (dating especially from the Seljuk period). While it is generally visited en-route to the international tourist attractions of Cappadocia, Kayseri has many visitor's attractions by its own right; Seljuk monuments in and around the center, Mount Erciyes as trekking and alpinism center, Zamantı River as rafting center, the historic sites of Ağırnas (Sinan the Architect's village), and Develi to name a few