Facts About Turkey
The names of countries are common, but it hides their true culture and civilization. Turkey is no exception. You know its name but you don’t know about mysterious ancient cultures. A rich country with rich people, ancient civilization, vast grounds, and old temples and mosques are worth knowing. Do you know where the first crop was initiated and harvested? Where was the first Christian church located?
What does the red colour in the flag of Turkey show? Where is the world’s largest and oldest bazaar located? Why is Turkey rich in Tulip and cherry production?
These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself. Because the more you know the more you know you don’t know. Turkey culture, its glorious past, and its rich traditions are open for us to explore the world that exists on this earth. Turkey has bustling cities, glamouring sounds of crowds, and beautiful beaches. With its rich history of the Ottoman empire, Turkey holds firm claws in global politics too.
How Turkey is impacting the world, and what facts can enlighten your life about Turkey are coming ahead. Let’s dive deep into Turkey to surprise you.
Meet the first farmers in prehistoric Turkey
Where is the World’s oldest Temple?
Wine and Vineyards; Turkey the biggest producer!
Turkey, the only connecting point between Europe and Asia
Turkey, Europe, Netherland, and the story of Tulips and Cherry
Booming agricultural production
What shows the red colour in the flag of Turkey?
Why did the Roman Empire fall?
World’s largest and oldest Bazaar!
Located in Antioch, the Grotto of St Peter is the first ever Christian church
Two of the Seven wonders of the world are in Turkey
From where numerous hazelnuts come from?
Turkey is a World’s cultural heritage
Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul
Turkish Airlines Business Lounge
Turkish Airlines Mile & Smiles Lounge
Turkish Airlines Domestic Lounge
Best places to visit in Istanbul
Information about Turkey
Turkey is a beautiful and friendly country that bridges roughly around the southeastern part of Europe and Asia. Surrounded by water on three sides, it has eight countries as its neighbouring countries. Turkey is a large country with a total area of 783,562-kilometre square.
Turkey 2023 population is estimated at 85,816,199 people at mid-year. Turkey's population is equivalent to 1.07% of the total world population. Turkey ranks number 18 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population. The population density in Turkey is 112 per Km2 (289 people per mi2).
YHowever, the current capital of Turkey is Ankara. When it comes to the economic aspect of the country, the country has been doing well for themselves.
Turkey's nominal GDP peaked at $1.154 trillion in 2023, and its nominal GDP per capita peaked at $13,383 in the same year. Turkey's GDP (PPP) increased to $3.613 trillion in 2023, and its GDP (PPP) per capitaincreased to $41,887 in the same year.
The official currency used in Turkey is the Turkish lira. Moving into the education sector, according to a report released by the Human Development Report in 2015, Turkey is said to have an education index of 0.668.
|
Education Indicator |
Turkey |
OECD Average |
|
Literacy rate (aged 15 and over) |
94.1% |
79% |
|
Upper secondary completion rate (aged 18-24) |
69.7% |
84% |
|
Pupil-to-teacher ratio (primary) |
22.3 |
17.2 |
|
Pupil-to-teacher ratio (secondary) |
24.8 |
19.3 |
Whereas their Human Development Index (HDI) rank is 59 out of 189 countries, this shows that the standard of living in Turkey is good enough. Making Turkey a viable place for residence or business.
|
Year |
HDI Value |
HDI Rank |
Life expectancy at birth (years) |
Mean years of schooling (years) |
Expected years of schooling (years) |
GNI per capita ($) |
|
2022 |
0.838 |
54 |
79.3 |
10.1 |
14.3 |
34,634 |
|
2021 |
0.837 |
55 |
79.2 |
10.1 |
14.3 |
34,254 |
|
2019 |
0.820 |
54 |
79.1 |
9.9 |
14.2 |
32,017 |
|
2015 |
0.773 |
65 |
77.9 |
9.7 |
13.8 |
26,704 |
|
2010 |
0.713 |
68 |
76.3 |
9.4 |
13.3 |
23,262 |
Turkey is also regarded as a beautiful and culturally rich country.
The number of foreign visitors to Turkey jumped 19.4 percent in the first eight months of 2023, compared to the same period last year, reaching nearly 11 million.
Before you consider Turkey as your next place for vacation, you need to know that the official language is Turkish, whereas there are other minority languages like Arabic, Kurmanji, Azerbaijani, Zazaaki, Pomak Bulgarian, Armenian, Greek, etc.
Although, most of the residents are bilingual – Turkish and Arabic. About 17% of the population understands English. Concerning time zone, they are GMT+03:00, three hours ahead of the Greenwich Meridian. As regards the ISD, the country’s code is +90. The climate and weather are also very conducive. Turkey is a nice place to visit. Here you can apply online for a Turkey visa click to apply for Turkey visa, why don’t you visit sometime?
Meet the first farmers in prehistoric Turkey
You’ll be surprised to know that prehistoric agriculture was started in south-eastern Turkey. When the humans were living a life of hunter-gatherers, they devised techniques to manage their sustenance for life to be still and in one place to get rid of hunting the animals and other moving species.
A study published in nature communication highlights the fact that the first seed was sowed in southeastern Turkey where humanity got the taste of wheat.
Where is the World’s oldest Temple?
What is older than Egypt’s wondrous gigantic pyramids? Did you think it will be in southeastern Turkey? Even before the invention of writing and the wheel, there is something phenomenal that was found in Turkey. What was that?
As things unfold, they show that the world’s oldest and antiquated, somewhat 12000 years old temple is located in southeastern Turkey. Its name is Göbekli Tepe. Archeologists confirmed the fact that Göbekli Tepe was built in the pre-pottery Neolithic period. The Göbekli Tepe became a UNESCO world’s heritage in July.
Wine and Vineyards; Turkey the biggest producer!
Turkey was the biggest producer of wine and is the fourth-largest producer of grapes in the world. Surprisingly, the local taste with the fertile and powerful soil adds taste to the cuisines.
When you visit Turkey, you shouldn’t miss the wines produced from the local grapes that have rich cultural traditions.
Turkey, the only connecting point between Europe and Asia
The largest city of Turkey is Istanbul, a city with rich historic and modern traditions and rituals. What sets this city apart from the other cities of the world is its peculiar, strategic and surprising location.
One side of Istanbul is in Europe and the other side in Asia, creating an amalgam of both cultures.
Turkey, Europe, Netherland, and the story of Tulips and Cherry
The smell and beauty of the tulips are life-taking and the taste of the cherry is breathtaking. Turkey is rich in both tulips and cherries.
They export tulips to Europe and Cherries to the Netherlands. They felt not only confident over their resourcefulness of the tulips and cherries, but to commemorate the joy they planted in the light bulbs throughout Istanbul.
Booming agricultural production
The title for the inception point of agriculture is not enough for the Turkish Nation. To take their grandeur to the next level they are the 10th biggest crop production in the world.
As a pioneer in agriculture, Turkey is well known for its cotton, grapes, dried fruits, apples, and livestock. The skyrocket production of the agricultural ingredients is enabling Turkey to widen its philanthropic character for the downtrodden regions of the world.
What shows the red colour in the flag of Turkey?
Tukey once upon a time was the flag-bearer of the fate of the Muslim world before the defeat from the hands of the Arabs and Britain. Turkey’s Ottoman Empire was the symbol of Muslim dominance over the world and was a symbol of their pride.
The red colour shows its imperial influence over the different regions of the world in times of its ruling over North Africa, Southeast Europe, and Western Asia from the 14th-20th century. It’s a nostalgic colour that shows their glorious past and domain after the fall of the Roman Empire.
Why did the Roman Empire fall?
In the 15th century, there was a strong competition between the roman and ottoman empire to expand their territories.
Under the sultanate of Mehmed II, the ottoman empire conquered Rome’s capital of Constantinople in 1453 and battered heavily the roman empire leaving them downtrodden and dilapidated. This was the initiation of the fall of the roman empire from the hands of the ottoman empire.
World’s largest and oldest Bazaar!
The Grand Bazaar, Turkish Kapalıçarşı, meaning ‘Covered Market’; also Büyük Çarşı, meaning ‘Grand Market) in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m2, attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among the world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazaar at Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world.
Located in Antioch, the Grotto of St Peter is the first ever Christian church
Now it's mind blowing to know that Turkey has too much land for us to visit. There are thousands of religions on the surface of the earth, and each has its own method of worship and life. Christian theology is the oldest and biggest religion in today’s world. The Muslim comes second after Christianity.
Hitherto all this, do you know where the first ever Christian church is? Its name is St Peter, and it is located outside of Antakya, also known as Antioch. This Christian worship place was believed to be created by Jesus’s disciple, Simon Peter.
When you visit this place, you’ll feel the archeological phenomenal design and a feeling of connectedness.
Two of the Seven wonders of the world are in Turkey
There are seven wonders in the world. What makes these wonders one to wonder and flabbergasted is their unique crafting, technical apogee, and archeological adroitness. Turkey contains two of the world’s seven wonders. They are the temple of the Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
These both wonders of Turkey are eye-opening because of their prehistoric symbols and the epitome of the human consciousness. When you visit these historic wonders and ancient sites, you’ll feel a sense of wisdom and a keen desire to see how prehistoric humans built it.
Where was Santa Claus born?
You might have been gifted from Saint Nicholas/ Santa Claus, a well-known Christian legendary figure who distributes the gifts on the morning of Christmas.
In Christendom this figure is very popular, but do you know where this figure was born? Santa Claus was born on the land of Patara, which is a resonating and flourishing maritime city on the southwest coast of Lycia.
From where numerous hazelnuts come from?
We know you love to eat delicious hazelnuts. But did you think where cornucopia amounts of hazelnuts come from?
Turkey is responsible for the presence of hazelnuts. According to the calculation, about 75% of exports of the hazelnuts comes from Turkey. There are abundant amounts and farms of hazelnuts in the Mediterranean basin, in Turney, Italy, and Spain. After turkey, Italy is the next largest producer of hazelnuts, which becomes 20% of the world’s supply.
Turkey is a World’s cultural heritage
Phenomenally Turkey is abundant in cultural sites. UNESCO lists.
There are twenty-one World Heritage Sites in Turkey, including nineteen cultural sites and two mixed sites.
Turkey has the wonders of the world, the oldest temples, and the biggest bazaars and antique churches. These ancient civilizations have placed Turkey in the most attractive visiting sites for tourists. Turkey is the Sixth most attractive and visited destination for tourists in the World.
After knowing these mind- blowing facts and mysterious ancient civilizations, why not visit the turkey?
Curiosity causes restiveness. Now you know how rich is the civilization of Turkey and how it is impacting the world then why not visit the turkey?
A good team to guide you to visit the cultural sites, exquisite beaches, and world’s wonders in Turkey can enhance your reliable and memorable experience. You must have a tour guide to visit Turkey, its historical sites, ancient civilization, buildings, mosques, and churches. We provide you with all the information about the country of your choice with complete reliability and safety.
New Turkish Airport
Total of 94.5 million passengers have gone through Turkey Airport in the first six months of 2023.
There are already two airports situated in Istanbul namely, Ataturk Airport and Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. Other than these two, a new airport is constructed named Istanbul Airport. İt is situated in the European side of the city. Istanbul Airport was officially inaugurated on 29th October 2018 but was not fully functional then. The first flight of this airport took off on 31st October 2018.
On 6 April 2019, all the flights were transferred from Ataturk Airport to Istanbul Airport. So basically, Istanbul Airport manages commercial passenger flights and Ataturk Airport is open for only cargo, maintenance, general aviation, and business flights. Istanbul Airport serves more than 350 domestic as well as international destinations in almost 110 countries.
This airport has become a transportation hub among the three continents, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Istanbul Airport is serving over 40 million passengers for one year. By the end of the year 2025, it will be able to serve 200 million passengers annually. It is going to become the biggest airport worldwide based on passenger traffic.
Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul
Turkish Airlines in Istanbul have facilitated passengers with three lounge categories i.e. Business, Mile & Smiles, and Domestic lounge.
Turkish Airlines Business Lounge
Turkish Airlines business lounge is comfortably spacious and quite pleasant specially designed for an idyllic tour. Its area is up to 5.600 metres per square and there are almost 765 seats for the passengers. Before your flight, you need to kill time and keep yourself relaxed and for that purpose Turkish airlines has partnered this lounge with a 130 metre per square museum.
Turkish Airlines business lounge facilitates you with private suites where you can enjoy a luxurious refreshing shower and some Turkish international savoury cuisine. It has a large play area for children and a gaming room too. You will be provided a WiFi network too even if you are not a Turkish airline passenger.
Turkish Airlines Mile & Smiles Lounge
Turkish Airlines Mile & Smiles lounge comprises 5.600 metres per square area and the seated area in this lounge consists of 765 seats. You may need to relax and seek pleasure before taking your flight. This lounge has 12 suites with 12 showers in it. You may spend your time enjoying the luxurious facilities including some exclusive treats in the form of world-famous international cuisines.
In the Mile & Smiles lounge, you may enjoy a cinema and console gaming experience. There is also a spacious children's playground present in the lounge where we can say fun never ends. You are welcome to spend your quality time being in our meeting rooms and library also. You will be provided a WiFi network too even if you are not a Turkish airline passenger.
Turkish Airlines Domestic Lounge
Turkish airlines facilitate its passengers with a domestic lounge which lets them spend some quality time and a relaxing hour before their flight. The domestic lounge has some very popular and interesting console games which you are going to love and enjoy to the fullest.
A children's playground is specially designed for those families who have kids with them for travelling. If you wish to spend your time other than entertainment, you are welcome to have our meeting rooms. You will be provided a WiFi network too even if you are not a Turkish airline passenger.
Best places to visit in Istanbul
Istanbul is a beautiful, tempting, and glorious city of Turkey. It reflects the cultural aspects of Turkish civilization. There are several historical places that tourists would find quite attractive to visit and explore. Some of them are depicted below:
1) Aya Sophia
Aya Sophia is a Holy Grand Mosque, a masterpiece constructed utilising Roman Engineering. It is also known as Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia is a Greek term that means "Holy Wisdom" and it refers to Jesus Christ. It has a massive dome with a diameter of about102 feet or 31 metres. It is also famous for over 1000 years to be the largest enclosed space in the world. Tourists are allowed to enter this monument from the Imperial Gate to the central nave from where they can look up to see the embellished dome's interior with its mosaic-covered ceiling.
2) Topkapi Palace
Topkapi Palace is a huge museum situated in the east of the Faith district of Istanbul. It is also known as "Seraglio". It exhibits the imperial as well as royal collections of the Ottoman Empire. It has stored extensive collections of books in its library. It has marble staircases and a reflecting pool.
3) Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque is beautifully adorned and attracts a large number of tourists. It is also known as Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Its interior is decorated with thousands of Iznik tiles within tulip designs also having stained glass windows with intricate designs. This mosque was built by Sultan Ahmet and it is named after its blue tiles on the dome.
4) Grand Bazaar
Tourists are always in search of shopping for cultural pieces wherever they travel. Grand bazaar must be kept on the list of places to visit while you are exploring Istanbul. This bazaar is composed of almost 5,000 shops consisting of a variety of jewellery, carpets, spices, antiques, and much other artwork.
5) Suleymaniye Mosque
Suleymaniye Mosque is considered the most beautiful and peaceful place in Istanbul as an inspiration in a spiritual way. It is located on the Third Hill of Istanbul. It is marked by four minarets and also built by the Sultan. This mosque is quite magnificent and it blends the fundamentals of Islamic and Byzantine architecture.