The Turkish Delight
Well, here we did not mean the famous recipe. Rather it is due to the colorful and diverse history of Turkey.

Republic of Turkey or Turkey emerged in the European map in 1923 due to the Turkish hero Mustafa Kemal. Later, the nation conferred him with the “Father of the Turks” title. The country has a rich and long history dates back to the Paleolithic age where civilizations such as Anatolian, Armenian, Persians, Ionians Greeks and Thracians ruled. Modern Turkey has been built on the last remnants the Ottoman Empire.

After the regime of one-party rule, Turkey moved on to multi-party politics in 1950 election where the Democratic Party came to power. It started an era of “fragmented politics” as the number of political parties increased at a steady rate. However, democracy still remained a long shot due to instability caused by intermittent military coups from 1960s to 1990s.

One of the bloodiest insurgencies took place in 1984 where the clashes between Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish military claimed more than 30,000 lives. In 1999, after PKK’s leader was captured, the insurgents retreated from Turkey and moved to northern Iraq. In 2013, the Turkish government got into a cease-fire agreement with PKK. Still many places in Turkey are prone to violence and terrorist attacks, and various foreign governments such as the U.S. keep alerting their citizens to avoid visiting those places.

Facts About Turkey:

1. Turkey shares its borders with eight countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Iraq, Iran and Syria.
2. Turkey ranks 37th in the world in terms of country size. It is surrounded by three different seas, which are the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
3. Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey. This is the only city in the world’s that is spread over two continents.
4. In 1923, after the “War of Independence”, Ankara city became the capital of Turkey.
5. Turkey has three historically active volcanoes – Tendurek, Ararat and Nemrut Dagi. Though these volcanoes have not erupted since the 19th century.
6. The country has witnessed several earthquakes mainly in northern Turkey, along the extension from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van.
7. Noah’s Ark is said to have landed on Eastern Turkey’s Mount Ararat, which is also called “Agri Dagi”.
8. Turkey supplies 80 percent of the world’s hazelnuts.
9. The cave church of St. Peter in Antakya is one of the oldest churches in the world.
10. The world’s favourite Santa Claus (St. Nicholas) was born in Patara, Turkey. This country is also the birthplace of other famous personalities such as Aesop, Homer, St. Paul the Apostle.
11. The total number of mosques in Turkey is 82,693. Most of these mosques are located in Istanbul.
12. Two of the world’s seven wonders are located in Turkey. They are the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus in Bodrum.
13. The world’s oldest shipwreck was found in Turkey’s Mediterranean region.
14. The first Neolithic paintings were found in Turkey’s Çatalhöyük settlement.
15. Julius Caesar made his famous statement “Veni, Vidi, Vici” after defeating Pontus in Turkey.
16. The world’s oldest tin mine “Goltepe” is located in Turkey.
17. Istanbul Tunnel has the world’s second oldest underground railway, which started its operation in 1875.
18. Turkish alphabet does not have “Q” or “X”. However, it has other letters.
19. Interestingly, most of the people in Turkey did not have surnames until 1934.
20. The “Grand Bazaar” in Istanbul has 64 streets (or alleys), 4,000 shops and 25,000 workers.
21. Tulip flowers actually originated from Turkey and not from the This wild flower was growing in Central Asia when the Turks cultivated them in 1,000 AD.
22. Turkey has 383 beaches and they rank third in the world. In addition, the Antalya city holds the world record for being awarded the maximum number of ‘Blue Flag’ certifications.