Turkey’s focal points are its three largest cities: İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir which have become major urban centers by their historical heritage as well as modern design. Mythology and history are intermingled in Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, together with its beautiful beaches and seaside resorts. Myra (now called Demre), near Antalya, is where St. Nicholas is buried. “Cappadocia,” named during the Roman Empire, was a well-known religious center during the Byzantine Empire. Even today cave dwellings in rock cones and village houses of volcanic tuff merge harmoniously into the landscape. The Black Sea region is renowned for its mountainous green landscape. The 14th-century “Sumela Monastery” (Virgin Mary) is perched on a cliff-face 270 meters above a deep gorge. Nemrut Mountain in Adıyaman is where the tomb of King Antiokhos I was built two thousand years ago, surrounded by huge stoneheads of gods. In the east, Mount Ararat, where Noah’s ark is believed to be buried, rises to a height of 5,165 meters. On the ancient Silk Road, near Kars, lie the ruins of the medieval city Ani.