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Did you know? Turkey is the only secular muslim country in the world. Over two thirds of the Turkish Population is under the age of 30. The oldest known human settlement in Turkey is Catalhoyuk (7000 BC). St. Paul was born in Tarsus in the in South Turkey and Christianity was first bloomed in Anatolia with the first Christian Church dedicated to St. Peter. The Greek Orthodox church is still located in Istanbul. Mount Ararat, with a height of 5,166 meters is said to be the the place where Noah's Ark landed. The seven churches of the Book of Revelation are all located in West Anatolia-Ephesus, Smryna (modern Izmir), Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. St. Nicholas, in other words Santa Claus, was born in Patara and lived in Myra in South Turkey. Only in Istanbul, over 100 churches of Christianity are still active today. The oldest known shipwreck in the world was excavated in Kas. Many city names are actually originated in Anatolia such as Philadelphia, Paris, Antioch, Troy and the continental name "Europe". Two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was located in Anatolia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos at Bodrum. The famous words "Veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered) were said by Roman Emperor Caesar when he came to Anatolia in 47 BC. The Lycian Union's (in South Anatolia) federal system for governance with proportional representation was actually used as a model by the authors of the United States constitution in the 18th century. The famous Trojan War (Troy of Brad Pitt) took place in West Anatolia. The famous Dutch Tulip actually is originated from Turkey and was taken to Netherlands in the 16th century. The color of Turquoise comes from the clean see color on the Aegean Cost in Turkey. Kasikci diamond one of the greatest piece of diamond in the world is displayed in Topkapi Palace. Virgin Mary's House, near Ephesus, where she spent her last years and died in, was visited by Pope the 6th Paul and Pope Jean Paul. The best preserved Roman Theater is the Aspendos Antic Theater near Antalya. The first known University in history is in Harran, Southeast Turkey. |
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Turkish Cuisine Turkish cuisine, being one of the 3 major cuisines in the world (others Chinese and French), is a successful combination of Middle Eastern food (kebabs, lavash and houmous) and Mediterranean food (tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and grilled meat). Hot peppers, mint, parsley, dill and yoghurt are important ingredients in Turkish cuisine (actually yoghurt is made known to the world by Turks). Bread is an indispensable part of the Turkish daily diet. A "meze" consisting of a number of small dishes may be served before the main course of a meal as an apperative. Traditional mezes include slices of melon, feta cheese, pickles, nuts, salads and vegetables but pratically there are over 200 kinds of mezes. Soups, rice and wheat dishes, meats and seafood are prepared always with vegetables such as aubergines, artichokes, beans, beetroot, chard, chick peas, cucumbers, mushrooms, onions, peppers and spinach. The famous "kebab" is a favourite Turkish food which is prepared by marinating lamb roasted on a charcoal. Doner Kebap, already very famous in the western world, is practically a roll of lamb meat on a vertical skewer turning parallel to an hot grill. Raki, an anise flavoured spirit, is the national drink of Turkey. Boza, another traditional non-alcoholic drink is made from fermented wheat berries. Turkish coffee is quite thick and black and tea is prepared over boiling water and served in small glasses. The most well known Turkish desserts, baklava and Turkish Delight (lokum in Turkish) are also made known to the world by Turks). Please check the photo gallery for the Turkish Cuisine. |
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Climate All of the four seasons practically exist in Turkey. Surrounded by sea on three sides, the parallel location of the high mountains and the variety of geographical formations like valleys and plateous have led to this diversity. The climate is usually mild in the coastal regions due to the humidity from the sea. The central regions demonstrate typical characteristics of a continental climate. The Mediterranean and Aegean regions have the Mediterranean climate. Here, summers are hot and humid while winters are mild and rainy. The Black Sea climate occurs in the northern regions of Turkey towards the Black Sea. The summer is not as hot as the Mediterranean region (about 25-30 C). The winter is colder than the south. The main characteristic of this region is it the high amount of rainfall both in summer and winter. Because of this Black Sea Region has a high percentage of woodland. The continental climate is seen in regions far from the sea and also surrounded by mountains. Temperature differences between night and day and summer and winter in this climate are very high. Rainfall is infrequent. Winters are rather long and cold while summers are short but hot. |
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Geography Turkey has 80 cities (administrative provinces) and 7 regions with no administrative purposes. With a coastline of about 8,300 km (5,000 miles-more than 2/3 of the border), Turkey is surrounded by 3 seas (Black in the north, Aegean in the west and Mediterrenean in the south) Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is the highest point in Turkey with an height of 5,166 meters. Turkey is one of the highest countries in the world with an average height of about 1,500 meters. There are over 20 National Parks that are protected under laws. Turkey is one of the few countries that is agriculturally self sufficient. More than 30% of the country is covered with forests and woodlands. Because of the varied landscape and climate of Turkey, flora and animal species are very diversified. Only in Turkey, over 9,000 species of flowers exists whereas this is only 11,500 for whole Europe. |
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Quick Facts
Population Area Capital City Main cities Religion Currency GDP Per Capita Literacy % Time Zone Electricity |
about 72 million about 780,000 square kilometers Ankara (population about 4 million) Istanbul, Izmir, Adana, Bursa, Antalya Muslim YTL (New Turkish Liras) $1 = 1.45 YTL and EUR 1 = 1.87 YTL about $ 6,000 88% GMT + 2 220 volts AC |