Interesting facts about Türkiye you should know:
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Many people think Istanbul is the capital, but no, the Turkish capital is Ankara since October 13th, 1923 and is located in central Anatolia. It has a population of about 5.1 million people and the city has a mean elevation of 935 meters.
The women of Türkiye were allowed to vote in national elections for the first time in 1935, making it several years earlier than many European countries |
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Istanbul is the only naturally transcontinental city as the Bosphorus Strait, which connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea, divides the city into an European and Asian part. 65% of its residents are in Europe, 35% in Asia. You can cross the continents on one of the bridges or even drive through the Eurasia Tunnel (In Turkish: Avrasya Tüneli) from one continent to the other one. The tunnel is a 5km double- deck tunnel opened in December 2016 Turkish Airlines is the Turkish national carrier, also member of Star Alliance. It started its journey in 1933 with just five aircrafts. Now they fly to more than 300 destinations in more than 115 countries. |
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The Turkish alphabet changed to Roman letters from the previous Ottoman arabic script according to the law number 1353 signed on the 1st November 1928. It was Mustafa Kemal Atatürk who introduced the new Latin alphabet overnight, making it compulsory in all public communications starting January 1st, 1929. Today, the Turkish alphabet (Latin-script) consists of 29 letters. It is divided in twenty-one consonants and eight vowels. It includes some special letters like: ğ-Ğ, ç-Ç, ı-I, i-İ, ş-Ş, ö-Ö, ü-Ü. The letters w-W, x-X, q-Q do not appear in the Turkish Alphabet. |
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Hagia Sophia was a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica built in 537 AD. With the Turkish conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) by Fatih Sultan Mehmed in 1453, Hagia Sophia became a mosque and was renamed Aya Sofya Camii. Hagia Sophia was converted into a museum in 1935 under the order of Atatürk and the decision of the Council of Ministers.
This following information was taken from Wikipedia: In early July 2020, the Council of State annulled the Cabinet's 1934 decision to establish the museum, revoking the monument's status, and a subsequent decree by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered the reclassification of Hagia Sophia as a mosque. The 1934 decree was ruled to be unlawful under both Ottoman and Turkish law as Hagia Sophia's waqf, endowed by Sultan Mehmed, had designated the site a mosque; proponents of the decision argued the Hagia Sophia was the personal property of the sultan.This redesignation is controversial, invoking condemnation from the Turkish opposition, UNESCO, the World Council of Churches, the International Association of Byzantine Studies, and many international leaders. The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul (In Turkish: Kapalı Çarşı) is one of the oldest covert markets in the world (it dates back to 1455). The area covered is about 31.000m2, has 61 streets and over 4000 shops. Closed on Sundays.
There are 19 properties in Turkey inscribed on the UNESCO's World heritage List, Göbekli Tepe beeing the latest one (since July 2018). There are also over 70 on a tentative list. To read more information about the properties mentioned in this webpage, click HERE
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In June 1934, the Surname law was introduced in Türkiye. All citizens were required to choose a ‘Turkish surname’. Mustafa Kemal was given the surname ‘Atatürk’, that means the father of all Turks. Every year: On the 10th of November at 09:05 am, the time of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s death in 1938, Türkiye remembers him every year. Sirens are heard across Türkiye, Vehicles will honk their horns followed by a minute of tribute where people stop what they are doing and schools and business pause. |
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Tulips are originally from Central Asia and Turkey. It was only in the 16th century that they were brought to the Netherlands. Every April, there is the tulip festival in Istanbul where more than 30 million bulbs are planted. The best places and parks to admire them are: Sultanahmet Square, Gülhane Park, Yıldız Park, Çamlıca Hill, Emirgan Park, Göztepe Park and Beykoz Korusu
The Van cat, known for having two different color eyes (one is blue, the other one amber) comes from the Van lake area. |
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The historical Saint Nicholas, known also as Santa Claus or Père Noël was born in Patara. He was the Bishop of Myra, in the Demre district of Türkiye's south-west province of Antalya The Patara Beach is the longest Beach of the mediterranean. It is a white sandy, nearly 20 km long Beach and located near the ancient Lycian city of Patara, about half way between Fethiye and Kaş. Türkiye is one of the most important nesting areas for the loggerhead sea turtle (also known as Caretta Caretta). Two big Beaches where they nest are Iztuzu Beach and Patara Beach. |
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The Hazelnut was produced in Turkey already about 2300 years ago in the Black Sea region, and for the past 6 centuries, Turkey exports hazelnuts. Actually, due to the very favorable weather conditions, Turkey accounts 75% of the global production of the exportation. Between August 2017 and March 2018, Turkey has exported over 200.000 tons of hazelnuts, what makes Turkey the world’s largest exporter in hazelnuts.
There is a huge variety of desserts in Türkiye, but the most uncommon ones for the foreigners are the Pumpkin (Kabak tatlısı) dessert and the milk pudding with chicken breast (Tavuk Göğsü tatlısı) |