Did you know that Turkey
- Is the home of civilizations that have been recorded to date as far back as 9000 B.C.
- Is the location of two of the seven wonders of the world: the Temple of Artemis and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
- Is the home of the first known Human Rights Declaration in 1463, 485 years before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Is where Alexander the Great cut the intricate Gordian knot – litteraly a phrase used for shortcut to ‘solving difficult problems’
- Is the birth place of King Midas – who in mythology turned everything he touched to gold
- Is one of the youngest nations in the world with 70% of its population under the age of 35
- Is the home of the oldest, biggest, and most diversified shopping space in the world – the Grand Covered Bazaar: 64 streets, 3500 shops, 22 entrances, and 25000 workers
- Is the birth place and home of St. Nicolas – popularly known as Santa Claus
- Is where Noah’s Ark landed – at Mount Agri (Ararat) Eastern Turkey
- Is the home of the first recorded International Treaty – in 1284 B.C.
- Is the home of the most valuable silk carpet in the world, located in the Mevlana Museum, Konya. It has 144 knots per sq. cm.
- Is whre Marco Polo described in the 13the century as “The best and handsomest of rugs are woven here, and also silks of crimson and other rich colors
- Is said to have provided the water for the Garden of Eden from its 2 great rivers: the Euphrates, and the Tigris
- Is the birth place of St.Paul
- Is the location of Troy: where the Trojan war was faught for ten years
- Is believed to be the producer of the firt wines: 4000 B.C.
- Has a city named Mardin, which is one of the few places in the world where you can hear the native language of Jesus Christ – Aramaic
- Is home to the ancient city of Ephesus where it is believed to be the final home of Virgin Mary, to which she traveled with St.John
- Is the home of the St.Peter’s Church located in Antioch, southern Turkey, which is considered to be the first church ever. It is also the site of the oldest temple at Urfa, dated between 8500 and 9000 B.C.
- Is the country that first introduced Tulips to Holland
- Is the home of the earliest landscape painting, dating from 6200 B.C.
- Reputidly has one of the world’s three greatest cuisines
- Approximately 21,000 tiles were used to decorate the Blue Mosque.
- The Turks first gave the Dutch their famous tulips that started the craze for the flower in England and the Netherlands. Bulbs brought to Vienna from Istanbul in the 1500s were so intensely popular that by 1634 in Holland it was called “tulipmania”. People invested money in tulips as they do in stocks today. This period of elegance and amusement in 17th century Turkey is referred to as “The Tulip Age.”
- Beşiktaş, meaning “cradle stone,” is named after the crib in which Jesus was born, which was thought to have been brought here by early Christians.
- Seven Churches of Revelation are all in Aegean Region in Turkey (Ephesus, Sardis, Tyatira, Pergamon, Philadelphia, Smyrna, Collosae).
- The Best preserved Roman Theater is located in Aspendos Antic City, Antalya, Turkey
- Whenever a sultan ordered the execution of someone abroad, he would require that the head be brought back to him as proof. The heads were dipped in wax to preserve them for the long—and sometimes hot—ride home.
- Virgin Mary’s house where she spent her last days, situated on the top of Bülbüldag (Ephesus), is considered as a holy place for all religions.
- The blue-and-white evil eye (nazar boncugu) has its roots in Anatolian culture, although the symbol has its variants throughout the Middle East. Turks believe strongly in the power of the evil eye (if you could only see the tattoos beneath the hijab . . .) to ward off negative energy, especially against young children. But the evil eye transcends this culture—just check the pyramid on the backside of your U.S. 1-dollar bill.
- Whenever a sultan ordered the execution of someone abroad, he would require that the head be brought back to him as proof. Tradition has it that one such victim was none other than Vlad Tepes, a Wallachian nobleman and tyrant better known as Vlad the Impaler (and later, as Dracula).
