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Who Are The Turks?
They are descendants of Turkic nomads from Central Asia and the many ethnic groups that inhabited the former Ottoman Empire. Today the term “Turk” commonly refers to citizens of the Turkish Republic represents a national rather than an ethnic identity. Most Turks are Muslim but Turkish Republic is a secular state. Turks are the heirs to the cultural traditions of The Ottoman Empire as well as to the democratic ideals of Ataturk and the West.
* Istanbul is the only city in the world located on two continents, Asia and Europe. Founded in 659 B.C. It was the capital of the Eastern Roman “Byzantine” and Ottoman Empires since 330 A.D.
* Every year, at least 150 archeological excavations are going on in Turkey.
* The largest Neolithic human settlement with the longest history of continuous habitation (since 7000 B.C.) was found in Catalhoyuk, Turkey.
* Two of the seven wonders of ancient world, The Temple of Artemis, and Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, are in Turkey.
* The Prophet Abraham (PBUH) is thought to have been born in Sanliurfa, Southeastern Turkey.
* Well known historical figures such as King Midas of the golden touch, Herodotus, the father of history, St. Paul the Apostle, and Omar Khayyam, the Persian poet came from Asia Minor; the part of Turkey now called Anatolia.
* Leonardo da Vinci drew designs for a bridge over the Golden Horn. It was never built.
* The first synagogue in Anatolia was built in 1324 with the permission of Sultan Orhan, as an en couragement to the Jewish community, which was suffering under Byzantine rule.
* Julius Ceasar proclaimed his celebrated words, "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered) in Turkey when he defeated the Pontus, which was a north-eastern province of Asia Minor on the southern coast of formidable kingdom in the Black Sea region of Turkey.
* The ancient city, founded in Gaziantep, on the shallowest part along the shores of the River Euphrates in 300 B.C. was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century B.C. and renamed Zeugma. At the time, with a population over 80000, Zeugma was one of the largest cities in the world, bigger than Pompeii and Londinium (London) and as big as Athens.
* St. Nicholas, who became popular as Santa Claus, was born in Demre on Turkey's Mediterranean Coast.
* Unveiled at the Topkapi Palace in 1929 and drawn by the renowned Turkish Sailor Piri Reis (1457–1555), this map bewildered the world of science, since the mountain ranges in Antarctica, northern and southern coasts of American Continents, even the mountain chains and their summits, only discovered in 1952 with acoustical devices, were accurately located and shown on it.
* Turks gave the Dutch their famous tulips.
* Virgin Mary's house where she spent her last days, situated on the top of Bülbüldag (Ephesus), is considered as a holy place for all religions.
* According to legend, Noah's Ark landed on Agri Dagi (Mount Ararat) in Eastern Turkey.
* Asure, a pudding with 40 ingredients, said to have been the last meal on Noah's Ark, is still served throughout Turkey.
* St. John, St. Nicholas, St. Paul and St. Peter have all lived and prayed in Southern Anatolia.
* Marc Anhtony gave Cleopatra part of Turkey's southwestern shore as a wedding gift.
* Homer was born in Izmir on the west coast of Turkey and he depicted Troy in his Epic the Iliad.
* Aesop, famous for his fables and parables, was born in Anatolia.
* Alexander the Great conquered a large territory in what is now Turkey and cut the Gordion Knot in the Phrygian capital (Gordium) not far from Turkey's present-day capital (Ankara).
* Early Christians escaping Roman persecution nearly 2000 years ago sheltered in the caves of Cappadocia in Central Anatolia.
* Legend has it that The Amazons originated in Turkey's northeastern region.
* Jews from many countries have been invited to take refuge in the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic:
- In 1367 from Hungary
- In 1394 from France
- In 1420 from Venice
- In 1492 from Spain
- In 1527 from Hungary
- In 1537 from Italy
- In 1542 from Bohemia
- In 1881 from Russia
- In 1917 from Russia
- In 1933 from Germany, this continued in the World War II, when they were forced to leave their homelands.
* For centuries Turkey has been a home and refuge to Jews, Christians, and non-Turkish muslims.
* The Famous Trojan Wars took place in western Turkey, around the site where a wooden statue of the Trojan Horse rests today.
* The first church built by man in the world (St. Peter's Church) is in Antioch (Antakya).
* The Nicean Creed was established in the 4th century A.D. by an ecumenical council held in what is now the Turkish town named Iznik.
* Suleyman the Magnificent (the famous Ottoman Sultan) was a poet who wrote over 3000 poems, some of them criticizing the greed of mankind.
* According to Turkish tradition a stranger at one's doorstep is considered "A Guest from God" and should be accommodated accordingly.
* Hezarfen Ahmed Celebi was the first man who flew a significant distance using wings across the Bosphorus.
* The Hittites sold Abraham the cave where he buried his wife Sarah, when the Israelites came to Palestine.
* Turkey houses one of the the richest flora and almost every year new plant species are gained to the world literature.
* Antalya Museum was rewarded specially by European Council as the best museum 1988 in Europe.
* The Color "Turquoise" comes from the clean see color on the Aegean Cost in Turkey.
* In Antalya, in the spring time you can both ski in the mountains & swim on the coast.
* UNESCO declares Pamukkale and Zelve Open Air Museum as world heritages.
* The millennium stone at Sultanahmet square Istanbul was the zero meridian point of the world once upon a time.
* Kasikci diamond one of the greatest piece of the world and is displayed in Topkapi Palace.
* Three of the 10 remaining icons of the world and according to the belief of Orthodox, Jesus Christ's cross which he was crucified are in Hagia Yorghi church.
* Hereke which is in the world carpeting literature with the quality of the wool and silk rugs is in Izmit (Kocaeli) Turkey.
* Homeland of Iskender Döner (Shorma/Gyro) which is very famous all around the world is Bursa Turkey.
* Lydia which is one of the greatest civilization lived in Anatolia has still got some remainings around Salihli (Sardis) and it's the first civilization which coined money.
* Virgin Mary's House in Ephesus is visited by Pope the 6th Paul and Pope Jean Paul as well.
* The world's greatest amphora and glass collection is in Bodrum Museum in Bodrum Castle.
* The Best preserved Roman Theater is located in Aspendos Antic City, Antalya, Turkey
* The First University in History is in Harran, Turkey
* The growing Turkish economy has the 16th largest GNP in the world.
* Turkey is one of the richest countries in the world in water resources and BOR minerals.
* The Ottoman Mehter (Janissary) was the first military band. Its music inspired many contemporary composers.
* Turkey is noted for having one of the three (together with French and Chinese) most famous and distinctive traditional cuisines in the world. Turkish cooks are heirs to one of the world's finest cuisines. The Turks brought a traditon of cooking with them out of Central Asia and discovered new foods and ways to prepare them in Asia Minor. In Turkish Cuisine, as in so many other things Turkish, East meets West in a delightful way.
* The rich tradition of the Turkish Cuisine is popular throughout the world. It includes a wide variety of hot and cold hors d'oeuvers known everywhere as “meze”, a wide selection of grilled meets (kebab), seafood, stuffed and wrapped vegetables (dolma), savory pastries (borek), pilav and dishes with olive oil and butter as well as a wide varietyof desserts among them Turkish Delight, baklava, helva, kadayif, and several other puddings.
* A good meal naturally ends with fine Turkish coffee or tea. Yogurt, now popular in the West, has been known to the Turks since ancient times.
* Turkey is a long-time member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) since 1952.
* Istanbul's Robert College (established in 1863), is the oldest American school outside the United States. Now with a new name “Boshporus University”, it is one of the most prestigious colleges in the world.
* The British Chamber of Commerce of Turkey (founded in Istanbul in 1887 by a group of British Businessmen) is the 2nd oldest British Chamber of Commerce outside of the United Kingdom.
* Turks introduced coffee to Europe.
* Turkey provides 70% of the world's hazelnuts; the nut in your chocolate bar was most probably grown in Turkey.
* Women in Turkey were given the right to vote and be elected to public office in 1934, well before these rights were granted to Swiss women.
* Turkey is the only democratic, secular nation in the world with a majority of its population being of the Islamic Faith.
* Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is a 540 year old, covered shopping mall of 64 streets, 4000 shops, 22 entrances, and 25000 workers.
* The most valuable silk carpet in the world, is in the Mevlana Museum, Konya with 144 knots per square centimeter. In the 13th century, Marco Polo wrote "the best and handsomest of rugs are woven here, and also silks of crimson and other rich colors".
* Dolmabahce Palace was believed to be the location where the legendary sailship “Argos” of the Argonauts, who were in search of the Golden Hide, had anchored. Built in 1856 by then famous Ottoman architects Karabet and Nikogos Balyan, the palace accomodates 285 rooms, 46 banquet lounges, 6 hamams (Turkish Bath), 68 bathrooms.
* Legend has it that Anatolia (Asia Minor) was the location of the first beauty contest, judged by Paris with the goddesses Aphrodite, Hera, Athena as leading participants.
* Seven Churches of Revelation are all in Aegean Region in Turkey (Ephesus, Sardis, Tyatira, Pergamon, Philadelphia, Smyrna, Collosae).
* Anatolia is the origin of the names of Paris, Philadelphia and Europe.
* Turkey is the first and only country to establish a “Children's Day”. Turkey receives children from around the world each year on 23rd April to "honor and cherish the freedom and independence of all people".
* Tolerance to other religious beliefs was a noteworthy attribute of The Ottoman Turkish Rule. The Turks of The Ottoman Empire were muslims, but they did not force their religions on others. Christians and Jews in the empire were allowed to pray in their own churches or synogogues, to teach their religions in their own schools and seminaries, and to establish their own businesses, sometimes allowing them to amass great fortunes. Ottoman tolerance was unique in early modern times and continues to be valued in Turkey today.
* Since the 1920's, the motto of The Turkish Republic has been the words of its founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk: “Peace at home, peace in the world.”
* Writing was first used by people in ancient Anatolia. The first clay tablets - in the ruins of Assyrian Karum (merchant colony) - date back to 1950 B.C.
* The Hittites sold Abraham the cave where he buried his wife Sarah, when the Israelites came to Palestine.
* One of the biggest and best preserved theatres of antiquity seating 15,000 is Aspendos on the southern coast of Turkey where international music festivals are held each year.
* President Woodrow Wilson was fond of telling some of the tales of Nasreddin Hoca (13th century Turkish wit and raconteur; UNESCO has declared a "Nasreddin Hoca year", 1996-1997).
* Smallpox vaccination was introduced to England and Europe from Turkey by Lady Montagu in early 18th century (after Turkish phsycians saved her son's life).
* Throughout history Anatolia - land of Turks has been a bridge between Europe and Asia where people of different origins have come together and mingled with the ones already settled each time creating a new synthesis.
* During the Gulf War in 1991, Turkey welcomed nearly half a million Kurds from Northern Iraq, who were fleeing the torment of Saddam.
* Turkey provided homes for some 313,000 Bulgarian refugees of Turkish origin expelled from their homelands in Bulgaria in 1989.
* According to Turkish tradition a stranger at one's doorstep is considered "A Guest from God" and should be accommodated accordingly.
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