Turkey

History Modern Turkey is located on the Anatolian peninsula. It s the bridge between Europe and Asia. Anatolia was the center of Ottoman Empire which was the most politically prominent and powerful in the world in the 16th and 17th century. When the Ottoman Empire allied with the German Empire in WWI the Empire began to fall. Turkish Nationalists resisted the allied powers, which began the turkish war for independence. In 1922, the turkish army defeated allied powers and the ottoman Empire became the new republic it is today.

Culture Being the bridge between Europe and Asia, Turkey has plenty of diversity due to the immigration over thousands of years. Turkey has been through many waves of immigration. Turks make up 80% of the population. The rest are mostly kurds and there is a significant amount of Greek and Roma in Istanbul. Turks descended from nomadic tribes, the Mongols and the Huns. After working with the Arab army, they converted to Islam in the 9th and 10th centuries. The Kurds are a nation that hasn t been politically unified as a state of their own. They identify with common language and culture. the kurds seek equality and sovereignty. Most Turkish art serves as a religious purpose.

Political Map

Physical Map

Regions

Tourist Places

Entertainment

Istanbul Archaeology Museum The Museum is three museums put together, the Museum of the Ancient Orient, the Archaeology Museum and the Tiled Pavilion. pre-islamic items from the Ottoman Empire collections of statuary, sarcophagi and an exhibit documenting Istanbul s history Seljuk, Anatolian and Ottoman tiles and ceramics Dating back from the end of the 12th and 17th century

Hodjapasha Cultural Center A 550 year old Hamam converted to a culture center Whirling Dervish performances and other Turkish dance performance on a glass stage

Istanbul Aquarium Worlds biggest thematic aquarium Contains 16 theme area from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean and an Amazon Rainforest Cinema, Diving, Mirror Maze and much more

Grand Bazaar Large colorful chaotic Market The heart of Istanbul s old city Became the center of trading in the Ottoman Empire

Antalya Museum The best artifacts from ancient Hellenic, Hellenistic and Roman cities, towns and other archaeological sites

Cappadocia Tour Cappadocia in a hot air balloon It s the most popular spot in the world to see from a hot air balloon It s known for it s distinctive tall cone rock formations

Karabas-i Veli Kultur Merkezi 600 year old Dervish Lodge Various Dervish group performances

Faruk Yalcin Zoo One of the biggest zoos in turkey Natural habitat of animals and plants More than 3,600 animals of over 286 species 8,000 plants of over 600 species

Historical Places

Dolmabahce Palace Built in the 19th century Administrative center of the late Ottoman Empire The last Sultans residing there After the foundation of turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk made the building the capital

Topkapi Palace The palace began constructing in 1460 and completed in 1478. Topkapi Palace was the administrative, educational and art center of the Empire for nearly 400 years. After the 17th Century the Ottoman Sultans began to move, which made the building lose importance The Palace transformed into museum in the 1920 s

Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) Built in the 6th Century A.D Was a Greek orthodox Christian Church The biggest church built by the East Roman Empire in Istanbul 1934 became a museum

Blue Mosque Most notable feature are the 6 minarets, most mosques have 2,4 or just one Feature cascades of domes Blue tiles on the interior hint the name

Anatolian Fortress Built in the 1390s by the Ottoman Sultan to pass the army from Anatolian to Europe Ottoman s first attempt to capture Istanbul Anatolian Fortress was established as a watch fort Today the Fort opened as an open air museum

Alanya Castle Alanyas peninsula is wrapped in 6.5km of walls The castle was used for military function during the seljuk and the Ottoman times

Ephesus Of all ruins and archaeology, Ephesus is the most popular Ephesus city dates back over 2,000 years old Ephesus was once the trade center of the ancient world, a religious center of the early christianity and today

Gobekli Tepe The oldest temple in the world Over 10,000 year old

Natural Places

Pamukkale White travertine terrace and warm clear pools of pamukkale hangs

The Turkish Riviera The most beautiful part of Turkey's Mediterranean Turquoise-blue sea, known as the Turquoise coast

Lycian Way Long distance footpath around the coast of Lyrica in southern turkey Goes through rocky coastlines, desert beaches, pine forests mountain peaks and ancient ruins.

Lake Van It s the largest body of water in Turkey The lake is triangle shaped and contains salt water

Mount Ararat Located in eastern turkey on the border of iran It s the resting place for Noah s Ark The mountain is dormant volcano, it last erupted in 1840

North Anatolian Mountains Chain of meanders for more than 600 miles of the country s Black Sea Coast. The mountains are covered in dense forests

Yanartas Known as the place of flames Natural rocky formation located along Cirali village Flames burn right on the rocks without any fuel or heat source According to the great myths of greek, the monster called the chimaera a fire breathing monster part lion, goat and snake

Myra Necropolis Ancient Greek town in Lyrica The tombs were placed at the top of the hills a belief that the dead would be transported to another world by a wing liked creature

Unique/Unusual places

Basilica Cisterns of Istanbul It s underneath the Soa Basilica The largest cistern of 700 ancient Cisterns underground Provided a water filter system for the building nearby

Kekova Island Sunken Ruins The remains of an ancient city is visible underwater The city was destroyed by an earthquake in the 2nd century

Harran Beehive houses A design dated back to the 3rd century BC most were mostly built in the last 200 years

City of Manazan The series of caves and tunnels housed churches, storage facilities, family homes and cemeteries above the ground It s no longer inhabited but locals still use the caves to store grain and wheats

Derinkuyu Underground City The deepest underground city in Cappadocia Was built in the soft volcanic rock in Cappadocia

Cave of the Seven Sleepers 7 young men who ve been enclosed in a cave during the persecution under Decius (c250). They fell asleep and woke up around 435 in the time of Theodosius II. The main part of the cave is a church.

Termessos Ancient ruin city that rests on a remote mountain top Alexander the Great refered this city the the Eagle s Nest

Cennet Cehennem 2 sinkholes Cultics places since prehistoric times Greek believed this was the place the Giant Typhon lived, killed by Zeus with help of Pan and Hermes. Typhon was the father to the Hellhound Kerberos.

Bibliography https://www.tripadvisor.com/tourism-g293969-turkey-vacations.html https://www.lonelyplanet.com/turkey http://ic.galegroup.com.proxy.elm4you.org/ic/suic/referencedetailspage/refe rencedetailswindow?disablehighlighting=true&displaygroupname=referenc e&currpage=&scanid=&query=&docindex=&source=&search_within_results= &p=suic&mode=view&catid=gale%7c00000000mmgt&u=mnsminitex&li miter=&displayquery=&displaygroups=&contentmodules=&action=e&sortby=&documentid= GALE%7CCX3652100229&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType =&commentary=