Turkey is located where east meets west (ie where Asia and Europe join) and is also where people from different ethnic and cultural back grounds come together to live. Turkey is a paradise of sea, sun and mountains, at the same time offering visitors the pleasure of historical treasures and magnificent ancient cities. From April to November, most parts of Turkey have an ideal climate providing perfect conditions in which a visitor can enjoy sandy beaches and the unique atmosphere. The area of Turkey is 780,000 kms. 3% of the area is located in Thrace in Europe and 97% in Asia. The latter is generally called Anatolia. It borders 3 major seas: The Black Sea, The Aegean and the Mediterranean and was known as Asia Minor.Noah’s Ark landed at Mount Agri (Ararat), north eastern Turkey. Turkey was producing wine as early as 4000 BC, has more ancient sites than any other country and gave the English language many words such as turquoise, parchment, yogurt, meander, and angora. It has a 650-year old covered shopping mall of 64 streets, 3500 shops, 22 entrances and 25,000 workers - the famous Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. The city of Mardin in the South, is one of the few places where you can hear the native language of Jesus Christ - Aramaic. The final home of the Virgin Mary to which she traveled with St John is also in Turkey. Turkey is one of the safest countries in the world according to comparative statistics and was first to produce and use coins 2700 years ago.It is the location of the city of Troy in the North west of the country, where the Trojan War was fought and the birthplace of historic legends such as King Midas, Homer, Herodotus, Strabo and Thales. It boasts the first temple ever (Urfa - between 9000 and 8500 BC) and the first church built ever (St. Peters in Antioch). Turkey is also the location of the Seven Churches of Revelation Turkey is where Alexander the Great cut the Gordion Knot; literally a phrase used for a shortcut to solving difficult problems.

It was the center of two of the major empires in history: the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires and Istanbul is the only city in the world to straddle two continents! It provides 70% of the worlds hazelnuts and reputedly has one of the worlds 3 greatest cuisine’s. Turkey is the birthplace of St. Paul (of Tarsus) and has historical relics pertaining to three of the worlds greatest religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It is even said to have provided the water for the Garden of Eden from its two great rivers: the Euphrates and the Tigris. It had the worlds first female Supreme Court judge and gave women the right to vote in 1934. Turkey boasts two of the seven wonders of the world, Ephesus and Harlicanassus. It is also the location of the first known beauty contest, with Aphrodite, Hera and Athena as leading participants. It is the origin of the names Paris, Philadelphia and Europe, and is the birth place of St Nicholas, ie Santa Claus. Turkey is home to the most valuable silk carpet in the world in the Mevlana Museum (Konya): 144 knots per sq. cm - 13th century. It first introduced tulips to Holland and today still supplies them to the world. It is the worlds fourth largest producer of honey, and produces many different kinds. Honey made by bees from the nectar of specific flowers and tree blossoms, such as linden, mint, ash and orange are valued for their distinctive flavors and properties. Turkey has a modern cigar factory in Istanbul which uses a blend of the famous Havana, Java and home grown cigar tobaccos and produces five types of cigar, up to world standards.