Facts about Turkey

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1. Mosques in Turkey

There are about 82,693 Mosques in Turkey. Most of these Mosques are located within the country’s capital, Istanbul according to the data from the Religious Affairs Directorate.

 2. A Trans-continental Eurasian Country

There are only five trans-continental countries in the world and Turkey is one of them. The Asian Turkey consists 97% of the country while the European Turkey covers only 3% of the country. These two parts are separated by the Sea of Marmara, Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

 3. A Robust Global Economy

Turkey ranks 6th among European’s biggest economies and 16th among the world’s economies.  The World in 2050 Report predicts that Turkey will rank 12th in the world and 5th in Europe by the year 2050. The FTSE Group graduated Turkey to an advanced emerging status from a secondary emerging status in September, 2010.

 4. Access to Huge Market

Within a distance of four hours flying time, Turkey accesses a market of more than 1.5 billion customers in Eurasia, Europe, North Africa and Middle East. These markets have a total GDP of more than $25 trillion. Turkey is also among the world’s top markets and has a population of more than 76 million including a 28 million labor force. Half of Turkey’s population is aged 30 years and below. The country has the largest youth population and the 4th biggest labor force out of the 27 European Union countries.

5. Big Cities

Turkey’s Ankara and Istanbul are some of the world’s largest cities in GDP terms. Istanbul has a GDP of $180 billion which is way beyond that of most EU countries like Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia and Hungary. In terms of population, Istanbul is the second largest European city after Moscow with about 13.7 million people.  Turkey has one of the lowest budget deficits to GDP ratios in Europe. About 145,000 entrepreneurs of Turkish decent operate in Europe. They run businesses worth 63 billion Euros and employ 627,000 people.

6. The Turkey-Australia Connection

Turkey and Australia have a special friendship bond. At least 66,919 Australians trace their ancestry in Turkey with 32,847 born in Turkey according to the 2011 Australian Census. Adana and Sydney are sister cities and both regard the Gallipoli Landings of 1915 as mutually important historic events. A big number of Turkish and Australian citizens participate in commemorative services each year at Gallipoli.

 7. Turkey’s Billionaires

The 2014 Forbes list of Billionaires in the World, Turkey has 43 Billionaires. Out of these, 37 live in Turkey’s capital, Istanbul. In addition, Turkey has 32,000 foreign capital businesses operating within its borders.

 8. The Birth of Christianity

It is believed that the Christian religion was born in Turkey. The country is home to Antakya, then called Antioch, where the Cave Church of St. Peter was built. The Church is cave crafted into Mount Starius’ side. The stone façade of this Church was constructed by Crusaders who ruled over Antioch in 1098 through to 1268 AD.

 9. Home to Catalhoyuk

Catalhoyuk was one of world’s first urban centers that existed between 7500 and 5700 BC. It has mural art and wall paintings that provide insight into how life was 9000 years ago. It is internationally recognized for the role it plays in understanding origins of civilization and agriculture.

 10. The 1st Underground Mosque in the World

Turkey is home to the 1st underground Mosque that is based in Istanbul’s Buyukcekmece district. The Sancaklar Mosque sits 7 meters below the surface and its construction was motivated by Cave of Hira. This building was the winner of 1st prize for religious places during the World Architecture Festival Competition.

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