10 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT TURKEY

Turkey is a beautiful nation located in the Middle East with a diverse geographical and cultural heritage. Turkey is a place full of exciting and mind-blowing adventures and a place to experience a world that seems like one, beyond reality! Today I bring to you some fantastic and intriguing facts about Turkey that will undoubtedly blow your mind away!

   1. HALF IN ASIA, HALF IN EUROPE!

Turkey is a country that has diverse geographic conditions, as we all know. But, did you know that the landmass in this diverse country, Turkey is divided between Europe and Asia? Yes! You guessed that right. Turkey’s mainland accounts for approximately 95% in Asia and about 5% in Europe. It is a transcontinental country. Half of it lies on the Anatolian Peninsula in Asia and the other remaining part on the Balkan Peninsula.

   2. SIXTH MOST VISITED

Turkey is the world’s sixth most travelled country in the world. Given its diverse heritage and nature gifted places that can be visited here, Turkey roughly attracts nearly 50 million people every year. With several attractive cities to visit, no wonder Turkey has reached up to till position.

   3. SO MANY LANGUAGES

Turkey is not only a place of diverse culture and landscape, but it also has a diverse range of languages that are spoken here. The official language of Turkey is Turkish, but even though there are around 30 other languages that are spoken here, including Kurdish, Arabic etc.

   4. HAZELNUTS EVERYWHERE

Hazelnuts are extensively and primarily grown in Turkey. Hence it doesn’t come as a surprise that this country accounts for the World’s highest export and production of hazelnuts.  According to statistics, almost 70% of the World’s hazelnut exports come from Turkey! Hence when you are discovering the beauty of Turkey, do not forget to get yourself a treat of hazelnuts.

   5. SANTA’S HOMETOWN

Did you know? That the person who gets a smile on your face and brings you lots of gifts on Christmas, was born in Turkey? Well, our dear Santa Claus and children’s favourite is a citizen of Turkey! Saint Nicholas, also famously known as Santa Claus, was born in Turkey around 300 AD. The name Santa Claus is a connotation of the Dutch word ‘Sinter Klaas’ which is a version for St. Nicholas.

   6. LOTS OF WORLD HERITAGE SITES

What makes Turkey more famous and renowned is that Turkey is renowned for some of the World’s Heritage Sites that have been listed by UNESCO. These are 16 cultural sites and 2 mixed sites.

   7. HOW SWEET!

Turkey has a wide range of traditionally made desserts and food. Tavuk Göğsü is a traditional sweet dish prepared in Turkey that is mouth-watering enough to make you fall in love with it. This is milk pudding that uses shredded chicken breasts in its preparation. Do not forget to try this yummy cuisine.

   8. TURTLE STORY OF BEACH

Iztuzu Beach in Turkey is famous for its relaxed and serene environment where people come to spend some relaxing time here. Apart from this, the beach is famous as a breeding ground for the loggerhead sea turtles that come here to lay eggs annually. These turtles are severely endangered, and hence their protection becomes crucial. Every year some places are marked during the breeding season where any activity is prohibited.

   9. TWO WONDERS OF THE WORLD!

Turkey is a wonder in itself. It is also the country that houses two of the seven wonders of ancient times. The temple of Artemis in Ephesus and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus are the two wonders of the world that are worth visiting. So, if you want to tick mark your list of seven wonders, then you should definitely visit these two sites.

   10. ONE CITY, TWO CONTINENTS?

Turkey’s city of Istanbul is the only city in the world that lies on two different continents! Yes! You read that right. Because Turkey has its landmass in Asia and Europe, so Istanbul is also divided between Asia and Europe.