Turkey is a transcontinental Eurasian country that links Europe and Asia continents through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. Its area is approximately 785,000 sq km. Check out Turkey photos to view the beautiful Black Sea and Mediterranean beaches, mountains, lakes and rivers.

The official name of Turkey is the "Republic of Turkey", also called the "Anatolian Peninsula" or the "Land of the Turks". The name is spelled in Turkish as Turkiye. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is considered the founder of modern Turkey.

Ankara is the capital of Turkey, and Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) is the largest and most important city. Other main cities in Turkey include Izmir, Adana, Bursa, Antalya, Gaziantep, Konya, Mersin, Tarsus, Antakya, Marmaris and Bodrum.

Turkey tourism is an important sector of the Turkish economy, in addition to services, agriculture and several other industries. Millions of tourists visit Turkey each year for business, culture, entertainment and leisure. Turkey hotels and resorts and restaurants offer high levels of service.

The Turkish Peninsula is one of the oldest continuously inhabited regions in the world. It was the home to many ancient civilisations, mainly the Ottoman Empire. Turkish history is rich in cultural hertiage, architecture, literature, art and historic achievments.

Turkey has a wealth of religious and historic sites and monumnets including the ancient city of Ephesus, the Agia Sofia, the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi. Also, the Ancient Greek Temple of Artemis one of the Wonders of the Ancient World and the archaeological sites of Troy, Hattusha, Safranbolu, Xanthos-Letoon and Cappadocia.

The population of Turkey is around 78.78 millions. The main spoken languages are Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek and English.

Turkish food is a mix of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. Kebab is a Turkish specialty with many flavors, other national dishes include mezze assortment, meat dishes, fish and salads. Turkish sweets and delights are also famous, such as baklava, lokum and icecream. Turkish coffee is very popular worldwide.