Turkey, the country that occupies a unique geographic position, lies partly in Asia and partly in Europe. Throughout its history, it has acted as both a barrier and bridge

between the two continents. Overall, 95% of Turkey is in Asia and 5% is in Europe.

Turkey is situated at the crossroads of the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey is bounded on the north by the Black Sea, on the east by Azerbaijan and Iran, on the southeast by Iraq and Syria, on the southwest by Mediterranean Sea and on the northwest by Greece and Bulgaria. The capital is Ankara and its largest city and seaport are Istanbul. Turkey is a truly mountainous country with Turkey’s highest mountain being Mount Ararat. Also, there are so many beautiful rivers and lakes around the country.

Turkey is a country with a varied climate, so balanced in summer and winter. Turkey is famous for its hornbeam, sweet chestnut, oriental spruce, as well as its rich shrub layer of holly, myrtle, hazel and walnut. Turkey is fairly rich in wild animals and game birds.

The modern Turkish republic was founded in 1923 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire Mustafa Kemal and his successor. Turkish governments since 1950 have been produced by multiparty elections based on universal adult suffrage.

According to the Turkish population, the majority of the population claim Turkish as their mother tongue. Most of the remainder speaks Kurdish and a small minority

claim Arabic to be their first language. Tourism in Turkey has increased almost every year. Turkey is one of the world’s top ten destination countries, with the highest percentage of foreign visitors arriving from Europe.

Best places to visit in Turkey:

Hagia Sophia

The blue mosque

Topkapi palace Museum

Sulaymaniyah Mosque

Cappadocia

Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine. Baklava is one of the most famous foods from the ottoman empire periods. Some of Turkey’s famous foods are Kebab, Doner, Pidde and Dondurma.

Lokum is also more commonly known as Turkish Delight.

Some unknown facts about Turkey

*The original name of Istanbul is Byzantium.

*The story of Santa Claus originates from Turkey.

*Turkey has a young demographic.

*The national sport of Turkey is oil wrestling.

*There are 82693 mosques in Turkey.

*Turkey is the largest producer of hazelnuts.

*Noah’s Ark allegedly landed on Mount Ararat.

By Shihara Anver