English

Englanninkielisiä artikkeleita Turkista

§ General information about Turkey

Official name: The Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti).
Founder: Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK (1881-1938).
Location: Eastern Mediterranean. Located on two continents: Europe and Asia. The European part of Turkey is called Trakya (Thrace), while the Asian part is called Anadolu (Anatolia or Asia Minor). Area: 814 578 km2. 3% on the European continent. 97% on the Asian continent. 

§ Turkey factbook

Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk, or "Father of the Turks." Under his authoritarian leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power.

§ Antalya region

The southern cost of Turkey is one of the world’s most beautiful regions: sandy beaches offering eight month of swimming, wonderful landscapes and numerous historic sites. The region, which spread along 100-200 kilometer wide belt between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, has been a focal point of interaction, commercial relations and political confrontations throughout the history of mainland. There are quite a lot of interesting places which you might want to visit: Antalya, Alanya, Side, Belek....

§ Tips for travellers

Limits: There is no limit on the amount of foreign currency that may be brought into Turkey, but not more than 5 5,000 worth of Turkish currency may be brought into or taken out of the country.

§ First Acquaintance of the Europeans with Coffee

When Kara Mustafa Pasha came through Vienna, he was so sure that he would capture the city and he began to plan the parade he was going to do after the invasion. He brought the necessary objects, which he was taken from the Topkapi Palace. As Jean Sobiesky the King of Poland took the command of the ally armies, Pasha's hopes were broken.

§ Facts for the Traveler

Visas: Citizens from a long list of countries do not require a Visa to enter Turkey. This list includes some South American, European, Asian and Middle Eastern countries, so it is worth checking out whether or not you will need a Visa. However, travelers from Canada, the UK, the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, and a number of other countries do need a visa to enter Turkey. Holders of UK and American passports can obtain a Visa on arrival at the point of entry to Turkey. Those from the UK will pay 16 and Americans 20. All other travelers who require a Visa must apply for one before leaving for Turkey. Fees vary as do the lengths of time travelers are permitted to stay.

§ Attractions

Compared to Ephesus, Troy is quite dull. Some say that it loses something without Brad Pitt running around, others see this as an improvement on the representation. Either way Troy is no stunner - the drawcard is its sheer history. Excavations have revealed nine ancient cities on the site, with Troy VI or VII believed to be the setting for The Iliad.

§ Historical Setting

TURKEY IS A NEW COUNTRY in an old land. The modern Turkish state--beginning with the creation of the Republic of Turkey in the years immediately after World War I--drew on a national consciousness that had developed only in the late nineteenth century. But the history of nomadic Turkish tribes can be traced with certainty to the sixth century A.D., when they wandered the steppes of central Asia. Asia Minor, which the Turks invaded in the eleventh century, has a recorded history that dates back to the Hittites, who flourished there in the second millennium B.C. Archaeological evidence of far older cultures has been found in the region, however.

§ Ancient Anatolia

There is abundant archaeological evidence of a thriving neolithic culture in Anatolia at least as early as the seventh millennium B.C. What may have been the world's first urban settlement (dated ca. 6500 B.C.) has been uncovered at Çatalhüyük in the Konya Ovasi (Konya Basin). Introduced early in the third millennium B.C., metallurgy made possible a flourishing "copper age" (ca. 2500-2000 B.C.) during which cultural patterns throughout the region were remarkably uniform. The use of bronze weapons and implements was widespread by 2000 B.C. Colonies of Assyrian merchants, who settled in Anatolia during the copper age, provided metal for the military empires of Mesopotamia, and their accounts and business correspondence are the earliest written records found in Anatolia.

§ Turkish Origins and Seljuks

The first historical references to the Turks appear in Chinese records dating around 200 B.C. These records refer to tribes called the Hsiung-nu (an early form of the Western term Hun ), who lived in an area bounded by the Altai Mountains, Lake Baykal, and the northern edge of the Gobi Desert, and who are believed to have been the ancestors of the Turks. Specific references in Chinese sources in the sixth century A.D. identify the tribal kingdom called Tu-Küe located on the Orkhon River south of Lake Baykal. The khans (chiefs) of this tribe accepted the nominal suzerainty of the Tang Dynasty.

§ The Ottoman Empire

Documentation of the early history of the Ottomans is scarce. According to semilegendary accounts, Ertugrul, khan of the Kayi tribe of the Oguz Turks, took service with the sultan of Rum at the head of a gazi force numbering "400 tents." He was granted territory--if he could seize and hold it--in Bithynia, facing the Byzantine strongholds at Bursa, Nicomedia (Izmit), and Nicaea. Leadership subsequently passed to Ertugrul's son, Osman I (r. ca. 1284-1324), founder of the Osmanli Dynasty--better known in the West as the Ottomans. This dynasty was to endure for six centuries through the reigns of thirty-six sultans.

                                         www.tolerance-homes.com | info@tolerance-homes.com | yhteystiedot | yritys

Copyright© 2003-2006. Tolerance International Real Estate Co. Turkey. All Rights Reserved.
Tolerance Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Tolerance International Real Estate Co.