Turkey is surrounded on three sides by the sea: The Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the west coast, the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in the south and the Black Sea in the north. The population of the country is around 70 million. Turkey has little land in Europe (24.000 square kilometers), and most of its land in Asia (756.000 square kilometers) Thrace being the name of the European part and Anatolia being the name of the Asian part. Istanbul is the most important city in Turkey and rest of the world, the polulation is more than 12 million. Asian continent is connected to Europe in Istanbul, with two impressive suspented bridges across the Bosphorus, connecting European and Asian parts of Istanbul. It is hardly surprising that sea side resorts like Antalya, Alanya, Marmaris, Bodrum or Kusadasi are very popular with tourists from Europe. This may lead you to believe Turkey is very much oriented on the sea. You couldn't be more wrong: "Anadolu", the anatolian high central plateau is where turkish culture is rooted. The soul of the country is to be found in the green pastures of the hinterland, where shepherds still move their herds with the seasons.

This is why you shouldn't be surprised that the Turkish Republic chose Ankara as the capital. The city is located centrally in Anatolia. For travellers, the city offers some interesting sights and attractions, the most imporant ones being the Museum of Anatolian Culture and the Mausoleum of Ataturk.

Istanbul is Turkey's prime attraction. As Frank Sinatra says " I would like to wake up in a city which does not sleep" New York and Istanbul fit that catagory very well, to see that, cross the Bosphorus Bridge or drive along the Bosphorus at midnight !!. Istanbul has the most beautiful mosques (Blue Mosque) and palaces ( Topkapi and Dolmabahce) of the country, it has Byzantine churches (Kariye and St. Sophia) and Roman temples. Without fear of exaggeration one can say that Istanbul's claim to the title of Eternal city is as justified as Rome's. There are about 12 million people in the city. You can find all kinds of attractions in the city. Make sure that you shop and bargain in the Covered Bazaar (Kapali Carsi), which was built in early 15th century.

Cappadocia is another great sight: it is both a natural wonder and the result of human inventiveness. Soft volcanic rock, called tuffs, formed a landscape of bizarre beauty (fairy chimneys) , but it was man who made their homes, churches, shops and courtrooms in them. All of these are decorated in a highly original style. There are more than 1000 churches under ground.

In the South East of Anatolia you find the strange rock statues at Nemrut Dagi, which could remind you of Easter island, as well as ancient cities like Van, located on lake Van, and Dogubayazit. When you go west of eastern Anatolia you will find Turkey's "sports city", Erzincan.

On the South coast of Turkey you will find approximately 600 remains of old Greek and Roman buildings, mostly well preserved. About 1 hour west of Kemer there is the wonderfull Roman town Phasalis: this is a museum town, where you can see the remains of a complete Roman city, including a military harbour, an aquaduct, a theater and many more buildings. You will walk on the old Roman roads between those buildings.