DESTINATIONS
TURKEY
Turkey is at the junction of two continents; Europe and Asia. Throughout recorded history it has seen people moving through both sides, leaving a trail of history and lasting culture.
Turkey’s prime location makes for a unique blend of tradition from the east and west and has allowed the country to gain strategic significance. Turkey has been looking to become more integrated with the western world, with the hope of becoming part of the European Union. More recently they have joined the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G20 Industrial Nations summit.
Turkey is divided into seven regions, Marmara, Aegean, Black Sea, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, South Eastern Anatolia and the Mediterranean. The European section of Turkey forms the borders of Turkey with Greece and Bulgaria. The country has a varied landscape, which can be attributed to the complex earth movements, including thousands of years of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Turkey has a continental climate, with contrasting seasons. Winters can be very severe, especially in mountainous regions, with snow lying on the ground for up to 120 days a year. Summers are very hot and dry, with the average temperature being above 30 °C.
Although Turkey has no official state religion, supposedly 99% of the Turkish population is Muslim, with over 75% belonging to a branch of Islam, known as Sunni. The remainder of the population belongs to varying faiths, including Christianity, Judaism and Yezidism. Religion is a very important part of Turkish culture. It is prohibited by law to wear religious head cover and theo-political symbolic garments for both genders in government buildings, schools and universities.
HISTORY
Turkey has a magnificent past, and is a land full of historic treasures from 13 successive civilisations spanning 10,000 years, leaving a lasting legacy.
The first empire in Turkey was the Hittites and they were present from the 18th to the 13th centuries BC. They were overtaken by the arrival of the Indo-European people; Phrygians, Lydians and Lycians, who were subsequently destroyed by the Cimmerians in the 7th century.
Around 1200 BC brought in the settlement of the Greeks, who were only overcome by the conquering of Alexander the Great in334 BC. This brought in the division of small Hellenistic kingdoms, including Buthynia, Cappadocia, Pergamon and Pontus, all of which succumbed to Rome by the mid first century. It was this time in Turkey’s history that the Roman Emperor Constantine I chose Byzantium to be the new capital of the Roman Empire.
During the centuries of Byzantine control a group of nomadic Turks encountered the Arabs and in turn converted to Islam. Vigorous and aggressive in nature, theses Seljuk people obtained control of parts of Turkey and slowly built their own empire based around Persia. Unfortunately in 1243 the Seljuk armies were defeated by the Mongols and the empire slowly fell apart. This collapse saw the evolution of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire ruled for 623 years and was among one of the most powerful political entities in the world, combating with the Holy Roman Empire, slowly advancing into the Balkans and Central Europe. Regrettably the Ottoman Empire rapidly declined in power and entered the First World War through the German Alliance and was defeated.
After the occupation of Istanbul, in the First World War, a Turkish National Movement was established, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Mustafa Kemal Pasha was a military commander, who became distinguished during the Battle of Gallipoli. The occupying armies were repelled by mid September 1922, which saw the birth of a new Turkish state. On the first of November the new parliament abolished the Sultanate, ending 623 years of Ottoman rule. On October 29, 1923 the Republic of Turkey was officially proclaimed, with Ankara named the new capital.
Mustafa Kemal became the first president, making radical changes to the foundations of the country. He wanted to see Turkey take its place among other modern, developed countries in Europe. Mustafa Kemal was given the honorific name of "Atatürk" (Father of the Turks) in 1934 and set up institutions of democracy. Turkey received a makeover on many levels, including reforms to; the calendar, alphabet, standardising the language, outlawing the Fez, institutionalising universal suffrage and introducing a decreed that Turks should take surnames. By the time Ataturk passed away in 1938, he had created a modern nation.
There is no doubt that one visit will not be enough, and you will want to come back again and again as you discover one extraordinary place after another. All of them, no matter how different, have one thing in common: the friendly and hospitable people of this unique country.
TURKEY IN BRIEF
Official Name The Republic of Turkey
Founder Mustafa Kemal ATATURK (1881 - 1938)
Capital Ankara
Population 71 million (as of 2007)
Language Turkish
Currency Turkish Lira (TL)
Location Eastern Mediterranean. Located on two continents, Europe and Asia.
Area 814 578 Km2 (314 500 square miles)
Major Cities Istanbul 9.2 million
Ankara 3.7 million
Izmir 3.1 million
Konya 1.9 million
Adana 1.7 million
Bursa 1.2 million
DID YOU KNOW THAT TURKEY…
- Is known as the cradle of civilisation? In fact, many civilisations have been here since 9000 BC
- Turkey was known as Asia Minor; The Asia side of Turkey is known as Anatolia
- Is where Alexander The Great cut the intricate Gordion Knot literally a phrase used for short cuts to “solving difficult problems”
- Is the birthplace of King Midas, who turned everything into gold
- 70% of its population IS under 35
- Provides 70% of the world’s hazelnuts
- Has a 650 year old covered shopping mall of 64 streets, 3.500 hops, 22 entrances and 25.000 workers – the famous grand bazaar
- Is the birth place and home of St. Nicholas – popularly known as Santa Claus (Demre – Southern Turkey)
- Is where Noah’s Ark landed; at Mt. Agri (Ararat) in Eastern Turkey
- Witnessed the first recorded international treaty between the Hittites and Egyptians in 1284 B.C. known as the treaty of Kadesh
- Is the originator of the popular Iznik ceramic Tiles. A perfect example of this are the 20.000 pieces found in the Blue Mosque (made in the 16 century). Many of the designs were inspired by the wall paintings from the Roman period
- Is the location for 2 of the 7 wonders of the ancient world; Temple of Artemis (Selcuk) and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (bodrum)
- Has the most valuable silk carpet in the world; in the Mevlana Museum, Konya with 144 knots per sq/cm. in the 13 century, Marco Polo wrote “The best and most beautiful of rugs are woven here, and also silks of crimson and other colours.”
- Is said to have provided the water for the Garden of Eden from its 2 great rivers Euphrates (Firat) and Tigris (Dicle).
- Is uniquely in two continents – Europe and Asia
- Gave the English language many words, like turquoise, parchment, and yoghurt
- Is the location of the first known beauty contest, judged by Paris, with Aphrodite, Hera and Athena
- Was producing wine as early as 4000B.C
- Has the first church ever built (St. Peters) in Antalya and is where the word Christian was born
- Is the only country that has a feast for children, on 23rd April
- Was where the cherry was first found, by the Romans who planted it throughout the world, at Giresun (Kerasos) along the Black Sea Coast
- Has earliest landscape painting, dating back to 6200 B.C. at Catal Huyuk one of the earliest settlements known to have made the transition from hunting-gathering to agrarian society developed as early as 7400 BC
- Has more ancient sites than any other country in the world (with over 300 on the Agean and Mediterranean coast alone)
- Was the first location for the production and usage of coins, about 2.700 years ago
- Is the location of the Seven Churches of Revelation (Apocalypse) and first 8 of 23 Ecumenical Councils which were held in Turkey
- Is the birth place of; Homer, Heradotus, Estragon, Diogen and Anatomist Galen
- Was the first place to host an international war (Trojan), build a university (2000bc. Harran) and produce a world map
Turkey has / had the biggest:
- First Orthodox church (Haigha Sofia)
- Porcelain collection (Topkapi Palace)
- And first sculpture schools of the ancient world (Bergama & Aphrodisias)
- Underground cisterns in the world (Yerebatan – Binbirdirek)
Turkey also plays host to:
- Steepest theater (Pergamum)
- One of the seven obelisks, which has an Egyptian origin erected all over the world (Sultanahmet)
- The heaviest chandelier (Dolmabahce Palace, 4.5 tons)
- Seven Sleepers Legend (Ephesus – Tarsus – Afsin )
- Grave of St. John (Selcuk)
