Turkey

= ﻿ TURKEY =




 * Official Name:** Republic of Turkey
 * Capital:** Ankara
 * Population:** 77,804,122
 * Major Religion:** Islam
 * Language:** Turkish
 * Type of Government:** Republican parliamentary democracy




 * Place to Stay:** A house in Kas called Villa Dundar. It is about 20 dollars a night or 12.94 GBP. Cute and comfortable, in a beautiful area, and only a ten minute walk from the beach.

__Food__
//Simit// is a popular breakfast bread.

//Ayran// is a drink made from yogurt.

Example of a full turkish meal; includes grilled tomatoes, peppers, green salad and a certain type of meat called //Adana Kebap// served on flatbread.

__** Things To Do **__

In Ankara, you can go visit the Mausoleum of Ataturk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independencee and the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey.

Mostly around the town of Urgup, the fairy chimneys (or hoodoos) are naturally-formed rock spires that people actually carve into to make homes out of.



Visit the different sites around Istanbul, like the **Sultanahmet mosque,** the **Hagia Sophia mosque**, the ** Dolmabahçe Palace **( served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922), or the **Basilica Cistern** (the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul).

Also in Istanbul, you can visit **Topkapi Palace**, which was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years (1465-1856) of their 624-year reign.





.. in Istanbul, yet again, you can visit the **Grand Bazaar**, the oldest and largest covered bazaar in the world. It resembles a giant labyrinth with approximately sixty lanes and more than three thousand shops, and is a staple for anyone visiting Turkey.
 * Bodrum** is the site of the ancient city of **Halikarnassus**, the location of the famous Mausoleum of Halikarnassus (built after 353 BCE) - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Unfortunately, the ancient monument was destroyed by earthquakes in the Middle Ages - some of the remnants can be seen in London's British Museum. Still, there are a lot of things to do in Bodrum, like visiting the **Castle of St. Peter**. Built from 1402 by the Knights Hospitaller, the Castle is easily the most prominent landmark in the city. is one of the world's best preserved monuments dating back to medieval times. You could also go see the Bodrum Ampitheatre, the Bodrum Windmills, or the Myndos gate. (It also has a lot of less historic entertainment, like windsurfing, diving, boat tours, mud baths, or hamams; u nderwater divers, especially, will want to explore the numerous reefs, caves and majestic rock formations in the sea ).

The ancient city of **Aphrodisias**, dedicated to the goddess of love Aphrodite, was a Hellenistic city which also flourished under Roman and Byzantine rule. Excavations in the 24-meter-high (78 ft) theater hill have revealed layers of settlement going back to the Bronze Age (c. 2800-2200 BC). Aphrodisias was primarily known as a center for the arts, specifically sculpture, and the ruins are some of the best preserved in the eastern Mediterranean.

Make sure you visit one of the hamams, or **Turkish Baths**. Featured above is the Cagalogu hamam in Istanbul.

 In the ancient world, **Ephesus** was a center of travel and commerce. Situated on the Aegean Sea at the mouth of the Cayster River, the city was one of the greatest seaports of the ancient world. Ephesus contains the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean. Only an estimated 15% has been excavated.  Today, you can still visit countless ancient sites, like the Library of Celsus, the Basilica of St. John (where John the Apostle is supposed to have been buried), the Temple of Artemis (one of the ancient seven wonders of the world that, today, can only be recognized by a single column), the House of the Virgin Mary (supposedly the last home of Mary, the mother of Jesus), a huge theater (supposedly the largest outdoor theater in the ancient world), the Temple of Hadrian, the Gate of Agustus, and the Terrace Houses.





**Antalya **, Turkey' s principal holiday resort in the Mediterranean region, is an attractive city with shady palm-lined boulevards and a prize-winning marina on the Mediterranean. In the picturesque old quarter, Kaleici, there's narrow winding streets and old wooden houses abut the ancient city walls.The region around Antalya offers sights of astonishing natural beauty as well as awesome historical remains. Some sights you want to see between hitting up the beautiful beaches are the Düden Waterfalls (only one of many), the Karain Cave (a system of caves and chambers which are thought to have been settled at least f rom the Paleolithic Age [50,000 B.C.] and is the site of the oldest settlement in Turkey), or the Myra Necropolis (located within the Antalyan province). Around the area are also fantastic ski resorts, gorgeous national parks perfect for camping, and a cool museum.