The Republic of Turkey is located mainly in Western Asia on the peninsula of Anatolia. It is a transcontinental country. A small part of Turkey is located in East Thrace in Southeast Europe. Turkey is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. The country’s rich history played a very important role in agriculture, trade, and religion. There are some facts about Turkey below that make it special from other countries on the globe.
20 Facts about Turkey
1. Father of Agriculture
According to some historians, agriculture first started in Turkey around 11,000 years ago. There’s proof that old civilizations planted crops like barley and wheat in southern Turkey.
2. Biggest Crop Manufacturer in the World
Turkey is the world’s 10th largest crop producing country. It plays an important role in the agricultural world today. Turkey is well known for its dried fruits, sunflowers, legumes, cotton, grapes, apples, and livestock.
3. Connected Too Many International Destinations
From the Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Turkey, Turkish Airlines flies to as many as 250 global locations to 123 countries, and 50 Airlines cover domestic locations. Turkey’s geographical location in the middle of the world makes it easy to fly anywhere.
4. Flag Features
Turkey’s flag has a white star and crescent moon on it, with a strong dark red color background. The star on the flag was added during Constantine’s rule. The modern design of the Turkish flag is inspired by the Ottoman flag of the 18th century.
5. Turkey’s Red Color Flag
The red color in Turkey’s flag is historical. Red was a favorite color of the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire ruled most of Western Asia, Southeast Europe and North Africa from the fourteenth to the twentieth century. The red color flag additionally represents the Ottomans after the fall of Rome.
6. Istanbul the Ancient City
Before Istanbul changed into Turkey’s well-known city, it was the historic city of Constantinople where arts and trade were famous. Conquering Constantinople was like ruling the world during those times and Ottoman’s managed to do it.
7. Independence
Osman I founded the Ottoman Empire in 1299. By 1389, the Ottomans had conquered most of Serbia. Within the year 1453, the legendary Mehmed beat Constantinople, marking the end of the Byzantine Empire. Ottomans kept their government until 1923. When the Ottoman Empire ended, the Republic of Turkey finally became a country on October 29, 1923.
8. Turkish Soldiers in World War I
In World War I, over 2.6 million Ottoman Empire soldiers took part. Throughout this war, 325,000 soldiers died, 400,000 soldiers were injured, and more than 200,000 soldiers were imprisoned.
9. Shopping Malls
Turkey has many of the world’s largest and oldest shopping malls, especially the Kapalı Çarşı that is also known as Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. It started out in 1455, after 2 years when Mehmed II defeated Constantinople. To this present day, the grand bazaar is one of the world’s most visited visitor spots. This grand bazaar attracts over ninety million local and worldwide visitors annually.
10. Tourist Destination
Turkey is the 6th most visited spot on the globe. Every year, around 50 million global travelers go to Turkey. The travelers participate in Turkish culture, cuisine, and nature. Turkey’s weather allows them to enjoy their vacation because of its warmer weather.
11. Beach in Turkey
Iztuzu Beach in Turkey is a very beautiful place to visit. It is famous because it is a main breeding place for the loggerhead sea turtle. Another name for this beach is, “Turtle Beach”. It has a lot of marine turtles. These turtles visit the beach land area between May and October to mate and lay eggs. In Turtle Beach, we saw approximately more than three hundred dug nests once a year.
12. Turkey’s Highest Point
The peak of Mount Ararat, which is a dormant volcano, is Turkey’s highest point. It is at 5,137 meters, above sea level. This mountain is located in the east of Turkey.
13. Underground Rail Connects Two Continents
The Marmaray Intercontinental Commuter railway line in Istanbul is 76.6 kilometres long. It consists of a rail tunnel under the Bosphorus Strait and the suburban railway strains alongside the ocean of Marmara from Halkalı at the European side to Gebze at the Asian side.
14. 30 Traditional Languages
The Turkish language is the official language of Turkey. Apart from Turkish, people speak over 30 traditional languages today. The most common traditional languages spoken in Turkey are Kurmanji, Zazaki, and Arabic. Furthermore, over 70% of people speak the Turkish national language.
15. Istanbul on two continents
Turkey’s majority area is located on the Asian side, which is 95% of the area. Its 5% area is located on the European side. Because of its location, Istanbul is the only city in the world that lies on two continents. This is one of the most amazing facts about Turkey.
16. The Europeans named the ‘Turkey’
The Ottoman Empire was referred to as Turkey by Europeans. After the people of Central Asia took control of Anatolia, they called themselves Turks. From there, the Ottoman Empire derived the name Turkey.
17. Origins of Turkey’s Father
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of Turkey, was not born in Turkey. He was born in 1881 in the city of Salonika (now Thessaloniki), Greece. But his father and mother were the Turks of Anatolia.
18. World’s biggest producer of hazelnuts
Turkey produces 70% of the world’s hazelnuts, which is valued at around $2.8 billion in the global sector. The Trabzon, which is the city of Turkey, grows more than 44% of Turkey’s entire hazelnut crop.
19. Among youngest populations in the world
Turkey is amongst the world’s top youngest population. Turkey’s average age is 31.5 years. Approx 23% of people are under the age of 14, while half of the population is under 30.
20. Producer of tea
Turkey is the 5th most tea producing country in the world. Turkey also drinks the most tea in the world. However, they don’t export it.
These were 20 amazing facts about Turkey, a country that has a rich history and beautiful locations in the world. It is the only country in the world that resides in both Asia and Europe.