Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey (About this sound Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country situated in the Anatolian peninsula, located in Western Asia, and Eastern Thrace, located in southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Eastern Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.

MORE

Istanbul, Turkey

Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey (About this sound Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country situated in the Anatolian peninsula, located in Western Asia, and Eastern Thrace, located in southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Eastern Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.

Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in south-western Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley, which has a temperate climate for most of the year.

The ancient city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle" which is in total about 2,700 metres (8,860 ft) long, 600 m (1,970 ft) wide and 160 m (525 ft) high. It can be seen from the hills on the opposite side of the valley in the town of Denizli, 20 km away.

Tourism is and has been a major industry. People have bathed in its pools for thousands of years. As recently as the mid 20th century, hotels were built over the ruins of Heropolis, causing considerable damage. An approach road was built from the valley over the terraces, and motor bikes were allowed to go up and down the slopes. When the area was declared a world heritage site, the hotels were demolished and the road removed and replaced with artificial pools. Wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits.

MORE

Video presentation of Turkey

Bodrum (from Petronium), formerly Halicarnassus, from Ancient Greek: Ἁλικαρνασσός[1], (Turkish: Halikarnas), is a Turkish port town in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of the country. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova, and it faces the Greek island of Kos. Today, it is an international center of tourism and yachting. The city was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times. The Mausoleum of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was here.

Bodrum Castle, built by the Crusaders in the 15th century, overlooks the harbor and the International Marina. The castle grounds includes a Museum of Underwater Archeology and hosts several cultural festivals throughout the year.

READ MORE

İzmir, historically also Smyrna, is a city in western Turkey and the seat of İzmir Province.It is Turkey's third most populous city and the country's second largest port city. It is located along the outlying waters of the Gulf of İzmir, by the Aegean Sea.

The city of İzmir is composed of several districts. Of these, Konak district corresponds to historical İzmir, or what is generally referred to by "Smyrna" in the narrow sense, this district's area having constituted "İzmir Municipality" area until 1984, Konak until then having been a name for a central neighborhood around Konak Square, still the core of the city. With the constitution of "Greater İzmir Metropolitan Municipality", the city of İzmir became a compound bringing together initially nine, and since recently eleven metropolitan districts, namely Balçova, Bayraklı, Bornova, Buca, Çiğli, Gaziemir, Güzelbahçe, Karabağlar, Karşıyaka, Konak and Narlıdere. Almost each of these settlements are former district centers or neighborhoods which stood on their own and with their own distinct features and temperament. In an ongoing processus, the Mayor of İzmir was also vested with authority over the areas of additional districts reaching from Aliağa in the north to Selçuk in the south, bringing the number of districts to be considered as being part of İzmir to twenty-one under the new arrangements, two of these having been administratively included in İzmir only partially.

READ MORE

Bergama is a populous district, as well as the center city of the same district, in İzmir Province in western Turkey. By excluding İzmir's metropolitan area, it is one of the prominent districts of the province in terms of population and is largely urbanized at the rate of 53,6 per cent. Tire center is situated at a distance of 118 km (73 mi) to the north from the point of departure of the traditional center of İzmir (Konak Square in Konak, İzmir) and lies at a distance of 27 km (17 mi) inland from the nearest seacoast at the town of Dikili to its west. Bergama district area neighbors the areas of three districts of Balıkesir Province to its north, namely Ayvalık, Burhaniye and İvrindi, İzmir Province district of Kınık and Manisa Province district of Soma to its east, while to the south it is bordered by the central provincial of Manisa and two other İzmir Province districts along the coast that are Aliağa and Dikili from its south towards its west. The district area's physical features are determined by the alluvial plain of Bakırçay River.

READ MORE