Sunday, February 20, 2011
Turkey, Come Explore
Turkey is a vast and varied country boasting incredible landscapes and natural wonders bordered by four different seas. Well known as a great destination for relaxing beach holidays, it also offers many sporting activities, some of the world’s most important ancient monuments, welcoming Turkish hospitality and a delicious and varied national cuisine. Istanbul is also gearing up to be European Capital of Culture 2010 so it has never been a better time to visit this magical city!
WELCOME to TURKEY!
Explore the country that builds on old and rich history, at the same time is a member of modern world. Explore the country that represents a cultural mixture, a synthesis of east and west, while it geographically bridges Europe and Asia. Explore the country that combines natural beauties with its 10,000-year-old heritage. Thus giving today’s travelers a unique opportunity to learn and enjoy the life and culture in this geography called Asia Minor.Explore our site to discover beauties and secrets of Turkey. Explore Turkey covers all the important and famous historical and tourist sites and regions in detail in Turkey with the help of our sponsors. Explore Turkey site is dedicated to supply most in-depth and broad information on Turkey on the Internet. Enjoy your virtual visit to Turkey!
Traveler’s guide to Turkey
TurkeyForYou web site is an effort to give an introduction to the beautiful country of Turkey, which has for a long time been a well-hidden treasure of Eastern Medditerrenean. With a rich history, sandy beaches, wide variety of climate and landscapes, and several activities to do, Turkey is definitely a good option to have a remarkable vacation without straining your budget. On TurkeyForYou web site, you can also read our tips for travelling to Turkey or read about Turkish culture and history, and important Turkish people.Turkey lies on the ruins of many civilizations including Hittites, Trojans, Greeks, Romans, Byzantine Empire, Seljuks and Ottomans. You can feel this wealth of history everywhere you go in Turkey. Turks have a great cuisine, infamous baths, rich traditions associated with tea and coffee, evil eye pendants, high quality towels and bathrobes, traditional rugs, whirling dervishes, nargile (Turkish water pipe) and of course Turkish delight. You can get engaged in a variety of activities in Turkey including river rafting, skiing, scuba diving, cruising and hot air ballooning. You can travel thousands of years back in time at the historical sites, or enjoy the works of nature.
Why go to Turkey?
It’s friendly, beautiful, culturally rich and good value for money. It’s modern enough to be comfortable yet traditional enough to be interesting.Turkey is one of the world’s top 10 travel destinations, welcoming more than 23 million visitors every year.
Culture & Art: Turkey’s history of human habitation goes back 25,000 years. Some of the earliest-known human communities are here. Hittites, Phrygians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Seljuks, Mongols, Ottomans and others have all left their works of art and culture in what is now the Turkish homeland. Modern Turkey has all this—and more mobile phones than you’ve ever seen in one place before.
Special-Interest Activities: With nearly 8400 km (5200 mi) of coastline, water sports and yachting are big favorites. Hiking, white-water rafting, mountain-climbing and bicycling are all important, and growing, as is skiing. My favorite of all is hot-air ballooning.
Cuisine: Turkish food is now world-famous, and rightly so. The abundance of its fields, farms, orchards, flocks and fishing boats is exceptional, and Turkish chefs take full advantage of this bounty. Everyone comments on how good the food is. Not only that, the moderately-priced gourmet dinner (plus wine) is still easy to do. Then there’s Turkish tea….
Good Times: Sit at a long table in a meyhane (taverna) in Istanbul, Kusadasi, Bodrum, Antalya, order a glass of beer, wine or pungent raki and join in the songs and stories. Turks revel in good food, good friends, good times, and good nightlife.
For stories of life and travel in Turkey, read the excerpts from my travel memoir Bright Sun, Strong Tea.
About TURKEY
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey (
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast.
The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Eastern Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.[5] Turkey’s location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.[6][7]
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The predominant religion by number of people is Islam.[8] The country’s official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who comprise 18% of the population.[9]
Turks began migrating into the area now called Turkey (“land of the Turks”) in the 11th century. The process was greatly accelerated by the Seljuk victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert.[10] Several small beyliks and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol Empire‘s invasion. Starting from the 13th century, the Ottoman beylik united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed following its defeat in World War I, parts of it were occupied by the victorious Allies. A cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; in 1923, they would establish the modern Republic of Turkey with Atatürk as its first president.
Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic, with an ancient cultural heritage. Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organizations such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G-20 major economies. Turkey began full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005, having been an associate member of the European Economic Community since 1963 and having reached a customs union agreement in 1995. Turkey has also fostered close cultural, political, economic and industrial relations with the Middle East, the Turkic states of Central Asia and the African countries through membership in organizations such as the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Economic Cooperation Organization. Given its strategic location, large economy, and powerful military, Turkey is a major regional power.[11]
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast.The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Eastern Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.[5] Turkey’s location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.[6][7]
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The predominant religion by number of people is Islam.[8] The country’s official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who comprise 18% of the population.[9]
Turks began migrating into the area now called Turkey (“land of the Turks”) in the 11th century. The process was greatly accelerated by the Seljuk victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert.[10] Several small beyliks and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol Empire‘s invasion. Starting from the 13th century, the Ottoman beylik united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed following its defeat in World War I, parts of it were occupied by the victorious Allies. A cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; in 1923, they would establish the modern Republic of Turkey with Atatürk as its first president.
Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic, with an ancient cultural heritage. Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organizations such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G-20 major economies. Turkey began full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005, having been an associate member of the European Economic Community since 1963 and having reached a customs union agreement in 1995. Turkey has also fostered close cultural, political, economic and industrial relations with the Middle East, the Turkic states of Central Asia and the African countries through membership in organizations such as the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Economic Cooperation Organization. Given its strategic location, large economy, and powerful military, Turkey is a major regional power.[11]
A Country For All Tastes
Turkey has so much to offer her visitors: breathtaking natural beauties, unique historical and archeological sites, steadily improving hotel and touristic infrastructure, a tradition of hospitality and competitive prices. It is not surprising therefore that this country has recently become one of the world’s most popular tourism destinations. Due to Turkey’s diverse geography, one can experience four different climates in any one day. The rectangular shaped country is washed on three sides by three different seas. Its shores are laced with beaches, bays, coves, ports, islands and peninsulas. The summers are long, lasting as long as eight months in some areas. Turkey is also blessed with majestic mountains and valleys, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and grottoes perfect for winter and summer tourism and sports of all kinds.Fethiye
Skiing fans, mountain climbers, trekkers, hikers and hunters can enjoy new and unforgettable experiences in Turkey. But Turkey is, above anything else, a huge open-air museum, a repository of all the civilizations nurtured by the soils of Anatolia. The huge amount of historical and archaeological wealth in Turkey seems more appropriate for an entire continent than a single country. Recently, a new field of tourism has opened up — health tourism. The country is in fact rich with hot springs, healing waters and muds which come highly recommended by the medical authorities as a remedy for many diseases.
Konya / Mevlana
For centuries, Turkey has also been a crossroads of religions, not only of Islam and Christianity, but of many others now forgotten by history. Many religious devotees can find a site, a shrine, a monument, a tomb or a ruin connected with their faith or belief.
It is not possible in this page to represent all the touristic attractions of Turkey. So, we suggest you to spare more time browsing our portal further. If you are not quite familiar with what Turkey offers her visitors you may start with the menu contents on the left or if you are looking for more specific subjects you may use the top menu items:
Holiday Destinations: Where you can reach information about more than 50 destinations.
Tourist Guide: A collection of most popular attractions of Turkey, List of Turkish Tourism Offices of the Ministry around the globe, Useful Information and Frequently Asked Questions.
History & Culture: A collection of most popular historic and cultural attractions of Turkey.
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