Turkey at a Glance

There are museums to visit, snow-capped mountains to ski, ruins to explore, unique culinary dishes to
sample, crystal clear seas for swimming or diving, sultan palaces to overwhelm you, mosques to move
you, artwork to impress you, culture to inspire you, history to astound you, and people to delight you.
The country is bordered by three major seas… the Black Sea to the North, the Aegean Sea to the West and the
Mediterranean Sea to the South.

Turkey is bordered by the countries of Bulgaria, Greece, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan
(okay, find Azerbaijan on a map!).

The famous rivers of Tigris and Euphrates run through the Southeast area of the country.
Mountain ranges are Turkey’s most distinctive geographic feature, with the Taurus and Kuzey Anadolu Mountain
ranges enclosing the high Anatolian Plateau. The mountains are geologically young. In fact, 80% of the county lies
in an extremely active earthquake zone.

The entire country covers 314,533 square miles. A very small area called Thrace only occupies 3 percent of the
entire country, and is contained within the European continent. The remainder of the country, called Anatolia exists
within Asia.

The city of Istanbul is situated at the meeting point of Europe and Asia and is divided by the Bosphorus, the strait
linking the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara.

In Cappadocia, centuries of underground activity have resulted in entire cities carved deep into the porous rock,
while eons of erosion have carved the landscape into giant fairytale-like mushroom formations.
Most of Turkey’s population of 71 million people follow the Sunni branch of Islam. There are also Christian and
Jewish communities in Turkey. However, since the Turkish Republic was founded on secular (not religious) principles,

religion does not seem to hold the significance that it does in other Muslim countries.
The Turkish language is of Central Asian origin but uses the Latin alphabet. It has a natural vowel harmony that
makes it sound melodic and soft. Some Turkish words that have entered the English vocabulary include divan,
ottoman and yoghurt.

Throughout Turkey, groups of men enjoying cards or backgammon (known as tavla) are a common sight. Tight
family bonds cement the generations. Turkish tradition also embraces rich hospitality in which food and drink play
a central role. Respect for elders is sacred, and children are regarded as national treasures. Many families blame
the advent of television and the Internet for eroding these disciplines.

In 1952, Turkey became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO membership
contributed to advances in communications, transport and its defence policy. New roads, highways and projects to
improve the tourism infrastructure changed the face of the country.

Turkish music and dance are deeply rooted in history and tradition, influenced by Ottoman classics, mystical Sufi
chants and Central Asian folk tunes, as well as jazz and pop. Traditional instruments include the baðlama and ud
string instruments, kaval and ney wind instruments and davul and darbuka percussion instruments.

An enduring faith is attached to the blue bead, or mavi boncuk, an amulet that protects the wearer from the evil
eye. It may be seen dangling wherever good luck is needed.

All men over the age of 20 must serve 15 months of compulsory military service, and Turkish society still considers
this to be a fundamental rite of passage to manhood.

In Islamic art, the highest place is held by calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing, because a calligrapher’s prime
task is writing the Holy Koran.