A Country For All Tastes

Turkey has so much to offer her visitors: breathtaking natural beauties, unique historical and archeological sites, steadily improving hotel and touristic infrastructure, a tradition of hospitality and competitive prices. It is not surprising therefore that this country has recently become one of the world’s most popular tourism destinations. Due to Turkey’s diverse geography, one can experience four different climates in any one day. The rectangular shaped country is washed on three sides by three different seas. Its shores are laced with beaches, bays, coves, ports, islands and peninsulas. The summers are long, lasting as long as eight months in some areas. Turkey is also blessed with majestic mountains and valleys, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and grottoes perfect for winter and summer tourism and sports of all kinds.

Fethiye


Skiing fans, mountain climbers, trekkers, hikers and hunters can enjoy new and unforgettable experiences in Turkey. But Turkey is, above anything else, a huge open-air museum, a repository of all the civilizations nurtured by the soils of Anatolia. The huge amount of historical and archaeological wealth in Turkey seems more appropriate for an entire continent than a single country. Recently, a new field of tourism has opened up — health tourism. The country is in fact rich with hot springs, healing waters and muds which come highly recommended by the medical authorities as a remedy for many diseases.

Konya / Mevlana

For centuries, Turkey has also been a crossroads of religions, not only of Islam and Christianity, but of many others now forgotten by history. Many religious devotees can find a site, a shrine, a monument, a tomb or a ruin connected with their faith or belief.

It is not possible in this page to represent all the touristic attractions of Turkey. So, we suggest you to spare more time browsing our portal further. If you are not quite familiar with what Turkey offers her visitors you may start with the menu contents on the left or if you are looking for more specific subjects you may use the top menu items:

Holiday Destinations: Where you can reach information about more than 50 destinations.
Tourist Guide: A collection of most popular attractions of Turkey, List of Turkish Tourism Offices of the Ministry around the globe, Useful Information and Frequently Asked Questions.
History & Culture: A collection of most popular historic and cultural attractions of Turkey.

About TURKEY

Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast.


The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Eastern Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.^[5] Turkey’s location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.^[6][7]

Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The predominant religion by number of people is Islam.^[8] The country’s official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who comprise 18% of the population.^[9]

Turks began migrating into the area now called Turkey (“land of the Turks”) in the 11th century. The process was greatly accelerated by the Seljuk victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert.^[10] Several small beyliks and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol Empire‘s invasion. Starting from the 13th century, the Ottoman beylik united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed following its defeat in World War I, parts of it were occupied by the victorious Allies. A cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; in 1923, they would establish the modern Republic of Turkey with Atatürk as its first president.

Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic, with an ancient cultural heritage. Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organizations such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G-20 major economies. Turkey began full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005, having been an associate member of the European Economic Community since 1963 and having reached a customs union agreement in 1995. Turkey has also fostered close cultural, political, economic and industrial relations with the Middle East, the Turkic states of Central Asia and the African countries through membership in organizations such as the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Economic Cooperation Organization. Given its strategic location, large economy, and powerful military, Turkey is a major regional power.^[11]