Current affairs & history

Population: 73.3 million
Capital: Ankara
System of government Multi-party parliamentary republic
Currency New Turkish lira
Major language: Turkish
Life expectancy: 68 years (men), 73 years (women)
Main exports: Fruit and vegetables, textiles and clothing, iron and steel
GNI per capita: US $3,750 (World Bank, 2005)
Internet domain: .tr
International dialling code: 90


For centuries Turkey was the gateway to the east and an important meeting point between Europe and Asia. The land where Turkey stands today welcomed many big civilizations through the history. Hittites, Lydians, Phrygians, Trojans, Urartians, Byzantines, Selcuks and Ottomans are only some of the best known. They left unbelievably reach heritage behind them.

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War, the new Turkish Republic was born. It was founded by Muatafa Kemal Ataturk.

The Republic of Turkey is a democratic secular constitutional republic, since in inception in 1923. Turkey is a member state of the United Nations, NATO, OSCE, OECD, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Council of Europe. In December 1999, Turkey achieved a symbolic victory in its long march towards Europeanisation when it was accepted as a candidate for membership of EU. In October 2005, Turkey started negotiations with the EU, with the view to become a full member.

Historic Highlights

*  The oldest known human settlement is in Catalhoyuk, Turkey (7th Millennium B.C.)
* The famous Trojan Wars took place in Western Turkey, around the site where the Trojan horse rests today.
* Writing was first used by people in ancient Anatolia. The first clay tablets in the ruins of Assyrian Karum (Merchant Colony) date back to 1950 B.C.
* The first church built by man (St. Peter’s Church) is in Antioch (Antakya), Turkey.
* Ephesus and Halicarnasus (the place for the two of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world) are in Turkey.
* St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, was born in Demure, on Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast.
* Noah’s Ark landed on Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi) in Eastern Turkey.
* The last meal on Noah’s Ark, a pudding of sweet and sour taste (asure), is still served throughout Turkey.
* Turks introduced coffee to Europe.
* Turks gave the Dutch their famous tulips.
* Istanbul is the only city in the world built on two continents.
* Tradition in Turkey says that a stranger at one’s doorstep is considered "God’s guest" for at least three days.
* Turkey is noted for having one of the three most famous and distinctive traditional cuisines in the world.
* The First Ecumenical Council was held in Iznik, Turkey.
* The oldest tin mine was found in Göltepe, 60 miles south of Tarsus.
* The first Neolithic paintings found on man-made walls are in Catalhöyük, Turkey.
* Anatolia is the birthplace of historic legends, such as Homer (the poet), King Midas, Herodotus (the father of history), and St. Paul the Apostle.
* Julius Caesar proclaimed his celebrated words, "Veni, Vid, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered)" in Turkey when he defeated the Pontus, a formidable kingdom in the Black Sea region of Turkey.
* Female goddesses like Cybele dominated the Central Anatolian pantheon for thousands of years before these supernatural powers were transformed to male gods.
* The Hittites sold Abraham the cave where he buried his wife Sarah, when the Israelites came to Palestine.
* The first church dedicated to Virgin Mary is in Ephesus.
* Cherry was first introduced to Europe from Giresun (Northern Turkey)
* The first recorded international treaty in the world was the Treaty of Kadesh between the Hittite and Egyptian Empires, Hattusilis III and Ramses II, in c.1275 BC.
* The oldest known shipwreck on Earth was found and excavated in Uluburun near Kas, in the Mediterranean region of Turkey.
* In 640 BC, for the first time in history, coins made of electrum were used by the Lydian king Croesus in Sardis, in Aegean region of Turkey.
* Alexander the Great cut the Gordian knot near Ankara. The double knotting technique used in Turkish rugs is also called as Gordian Knot.
* The Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis was said to be watered by a river which separated into four streams as it left the garden; two of them the Tigris (Dicle) and Euphrates (Firat) rise from the mountains of Eastern Turkey.
* Early Christians escaping from Roman persecutions found shelter in Cappadocia.
* The Seven Churches of Apocalypse are all situated in the Aegean region of Anatolia; Ephesus, Smyrna (Izmir), Pergamum, Thyatira (Nazilli), Sardis, Philadelphia (Alasehir) and Laodicea.
* The number of species of flowers in Turkey is approximately 9,000, of which 3,000 are endemic. In the whole of Europe there are only 11,500 species.
* King Midas lived in Gordion, capital of Phrygia.
* Sultan Beyazit II dispatched the Ottoman Navy to bring the Jewish people who were expelled from Spain in 1492 and they were brought safely to the Ottoman lands.
* Istanbul has the historical building of Sirkeci Train Station. This was the last stop of the Simplon-Orient Express - "kings of trains and train of kings" - between Paris and Constantinople from 1883 to 1977.
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