GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Turkey is a nation straddling eastern Europe and western Asia with cultural connections to ancient Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Cosmopolitan Istanbul, on the Bosphorus Strait, is home to the iconic Hagia Sophia, with its soaring dome and Christian mosaics, the massive 17th-century Blue Mosque and the circa-1460 Topkapı Palace, former home of sultans. Ankara is Turkey’s modern capital.
COUNTRY FACTS
POPULATION
72,907,000
CAPITAL
Ankara (3,428,000)
GDP PER CAPITA
U.S. $7,300
LANGUAGE
Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek
RELIGION
Muslim
LIFE EXPECTANCY
69
AREA
779,452 square kilometers (300,948 square miles)
LITERACY PERCENT
87
FABIO'S REVIEW
Coming soon!
LOCATIONS EXPERIENCED
ANKARA
Ankara, Turkey’s cosmopolitan capital, sits in the country’s central Anatolia region. It is a center for the performing arts, home to the State Opera and Ballet, the Presidential Symphony Orchestra and several national theater companies. Overlooking the city is Anitkabir, the enormous hilltop mausoleum of Kemal Atatürk, modern Turkey’s first president, who declared Ankara the capital in 1923.
ISTANBUL
Istanbul is a major city in Turkey that straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. Its Old City reflects cultural influences of the many empires that once ruled here. In the Sultanahmet district, the open-air, Roman-era Hippodrome was for centuries the site of chariot races. The iconic Byzantine Hagia Sophia features a soaring 6th-century dome and rare Christian mosaics.
KAPADOKYA
Cappadocia, a semi-arid region in central Turkey, is known for its distinctive “fairy chimneys”, tall, cone-shaped rock formations clustered in Monks Valley, Göreme and neighboring areas. Other notable sites include Bronze Age homes carved into valley walls by troglodytes (cave dwellers) and later used as refuges by early Christians. The 100m-deep Ihlara Canyon houses numerous rock-face churches.
KONYA
Konya is a city south of Ankara in Turkey’s Central Anatolia region. It is a pilgrimage destination for Sufis, focused on the tomb of the founder of the Mevlana order, Jelaleddin Rumi, in the Mevlana Museum. Sema whirling dervish ceremonies take place at the Mevlana Cultural Center, east of the museum. Nearby, the 12th-century Alaeddin Mosque is surrounded by the green parks of Alaeddin Hill.
ANKARA
Ankara, Turkey’s cosmopolitan capital, sits in the country’s central Anatolia region. It is a center for the performing arts, home to the State Opera and Ballet, the Presidential Symphony Orchestra and several national theater companies. Overlooking the city is Anitkabir, the enormous hilltop mausoleum of Kemal Atatürk, modern Turkey’s first president, who declared Ankara the capital in 1923.
ISTANBUL
Istanbul is a major city in Turkey that straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. Its Old City reflects cultural influences of the many empires that once ruled here. In the Sultanahmet district, the open-air, Roman-era Hippodrome was for centuries the site of chariot races. The iconic Byzantine Hagia Sophia features a soaring 6th-century dome and rare Christian mosaics.
KAPADOKYA
Cappadocia, a semi-arid region in central Turkey, is known for its distinctive “fairy chimneys”, tall, cone-shaped rock formations clustered in Monks Valley, Göreme and neighboring areas. Other notable sites include Bronze Age homes carved into valley walls by troglodytes (cave dwellers) and later used as refuges by early Christians. The 100m-deep Ihlara Canyon houses numerous rock-face churches.
KONYA
Konya is a city south of Ankara in Turkey’s Central Anatolia region. It is a pilgrimage destination for Sufis, focused on the tomb of the founder of the Mevlana order, Jelaleddin Rumi, in the Mevlana Museum. Sema whirling dervish ceremonies take place at the Mevlana Cultural Center, east of the museum. Nearby, the 12th-century Alaeddin Mosque is surrounded by the green parks of Alaeddin Hill.
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