About Turkey

Learning about Turkey is a wonderful and enriching experience as you discover ancient traditions, a friendly Turkish culture, historical sites as well as places and destinations that will make a wonderful location for your holidays or to live. In this article, I plan to give you some facts and figures about Turkey however within my blog, you can read more in depth about the places I have been and my experiences now that I have decided to make Turkey my permanent home.

About Turkey – Quick Facts and Figures

Religion – 99% of the country is Muslim

Population – 72,000 million as quoted on 2010.

Capital – Ankara

Currency – New Turkish Lira

Language – Turkish is the most popular language spoken. Kurdish is also spoken in many areas of the East of Turkey

Politics – Secular democracy

Geography – Turkey covers 72,454 sq kilometers which comprise of 81 provinces that are further divided into separate districts.

Time Difference – +GMT2

About Turkey – History

turkish history Turkey has a very colorful history and evidence has been found of the earliest forms of civilizations living in the lands that now are classed as part of this country.

Empires that have ruled over the times include, but are not exclusive to the Lycians, Romans, Greeks and Selcuk Dynasty. All over Turkey but specifically on the South West coast are a number of historical sites relating back to these periods.

One of the most prominent empires to rule was the Ottoman whose rule spanned over many countries for hundreds of years. If you visit Istanbul, one of the first sites to see is the Topkapi Palace which was home to the rulers of the Ottoman empire. They ruled for over 900 years however by the year 1918, the Ottoman sultans sided with the losing countries of the First World War and the Anatolia region was due to be separated for ruling by the winning countries.

This prompted the war of independence led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The war was won in 1923 so independence was declared and the Republic of Turkey was formed. One of Mustafa’s first decisions was to move the capital, formerly Istanbul to Ankara in the center of the country.

About Turkey – Turkish Culture and Traditions

Many people who have not visited Turkey before assume it to be a third world country however it has major cities such as Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara which are a thriving hub for local and international businesses as well as tourism. Turkey is also quite unique in that Turkish culture is a mix of Ottoman, Greek and western influences.

The west and south coast of Turkey as well as the Istanbul peninsula are mostly known for western influences while the east is classed as traditional Turkey which has influences from the Kurdish culture. The north of Turkey is called the Black Sea region and the towns along this area are known for their natural beauty and green hills thanks to the many months of rainfall. You may hear some people from the eastern Black sea region refer to themselves as Laz.

Overall, Turkish culture is welcoming to strangers and very friendly. The emphasis is on family and friends and you will find it easy to strike up a conversation or make friends with Turkish people, no matter which destination you decide to visit.

Famous Turkish People

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – Founder of the Republic of Turkey, now buried in the capital called Ankara

Orhan Pamuk - Writer and Nobel Prize Winner

Ara Guler – Born in Istanbul but of Armenian descent. Award winner photographer

Shaiba Gokcen – Adopted daughter of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the first female combat pilot in the world

Ibrahim Tatlises – Award winning singer who has survived three assassination attempts.

Mehmet Emin Karamehmet – Turkish business man with a net fortune of 4 billion USD

For an extensive list of famous Turkish people, please refer to Wikipedia

Popular Holiday Destinations within Turkey

Mt Tahtali There are many holiday destinations within Turkey that play host to over 25 million visitors a year. For a city break, you should consider visiting Istanbul or Ankara. The South-west and west coast of Turkey also has many holiday resorts such as Bodrum, Fethiye, Antalya and Marmaris.

Cappadocia is famous for its cave houses and an early morning balloon ride over the fairy chimneys The Black sea region is not mainly visited by foreigners however many Turks head there for their summer vacations. Visit the destinations category on my blog to discover more about ideal holiday destinations within Turkey.