Türkiye

The lands of Türkiye are located at a point where the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe make up the old world. Because of its geographical location, the mainland of Anatolia has always found favor throughout history, and is the birthplace of many great civilizations. It has also been prominent as a centre of commerce because of its land connections to three continents and the seas surrounding it on three sides.

Boundaries
Türkiye has two European and six Asian countries for neighbors along its land borders. The land border to the northeast is with the Commonwealth of Independent States, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Türkiye's borders on the European continent consist of Greece and Bulgaria.

Geographical Regions 
Türkiye is divided into seven regions;
The Black Sea region uneven north Anatolian terrain running along the Black Sea resembles a narrow but long belt. The land of this region is approximately 1/6 of Türkiye's total land area.
The Marmara region covers the area encircling the sea of Marmara and includes the entire European part of Türkiye, as well as the northwest of the Anatolian plain.
The Aegean region extends from the Aegean coast to the inner parts of western Anatolia.
The Mediterranean region, located in the south of Türkiye, the western and central Taurus Mountains suddenly rise up behind the coastline. The Amanos mountain range is also here.
The Central Anatolian region is exactly in the middle of Türkiye and gives the appearance of being less mountainous than the other regions.
The Eastern Anatolia region is Türkiye's largest and highest region. About three fourths of it is at an altitude of 1,500-2,000 meters.
The Southeast Anatolia region is notable for the uniformity of its landscape.

Coastlines
Türkiye is surrounded by sea on three sides, the Black Sea in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the south and the Aegean Sea in the west. In the northwest there is also an important internal sea, the Sea of Marmara, between the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, important waterways that connect the Black Sea with the rest of the world.

Rivers
Most of the rivers of Türkiye flow into the seas surrounding the country. The Firat (Euphrates) and Dicle (Tigris) join together in Iraq and flow into the Persian Gulf. Türkiye's longest rivers, the Kizilirmak, Yesilirmak and Sakarya, flow into the Black Sea. The Susurluk, Biga and Gonen pour into the Sea of Marmara, while the Gediz, Kucuk Menderes, Buyuk Menderes and Meric flow into the Aegean, and the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Goksu into the Mediterranean

Lakes
It is little known that Türkiye is a land of many lakes. In terms of numbers of lakes, the Eastern Anatolian region is the richest. It contains Türkiye's largest, Lake Van (3.713 square kilometres), and the lakes of Ercek, Cildir and Hazar. There are also many lakes in the Taurus Mountains area: the Beysehir and Egirdir lakes, and the lakes that contain bitter waters like the Burdur and Acigoller. Around the Sea of Marmara are the lakes of Sapanca, Iznik, Ulubat, Manyas, Terkos, Kucukcekmece and Buyukcekmece. In Central Anatolia are the Aksehir and Eber lakes and the second largest lake in Türkiye is Tuzgolu. The waters of this lake are shallow and very salty.

Climate
Although Türkiye's climatic conditions are quite temperate, the diverse nature of the landscape and the existence, in particular, of the mountains that run parallel to the coasts, result in significant differences in climatic conditions from oneregion to the other. While the coastal areas enjoy milder climates, the inland Anatolian plateau experiences extremes of hot summers and cold winters with limited rainfall.
xtremes of hot summers and cold winters with limited rainfall.

The Turkish language is spread over a large geographical area in Europe and Asia; recent studies show that this language dates back 5500 years, and perhaps even as much as 8500. At the same time, it is, in fact, the sixth most widely spoken tongue in the world today. It is spoken in the Azeri, the Turkmen, and the Tartar, the Uzbek, the Baskurti, the Nogay, the Kyrgyz, the Kazakh, the Yakuti, the Cuvas and other dialects. Turkish belongs to the Altaic branch of the Ural-Altaic family of languages, and is closely related to Mongolian, Manchu-Tungus, Korean and perhaps Japanese.

Turkish is a very ancient language, with a flawless phonetic, morphological and syntactic structure, and at the same time possesses a wealth of vocabulary. The fundamental features which distinguish the Ural-Altaic languages from the Indo-European are as follows:

The richness of variety Turkish cuisine possesses is due to several factors: the variety of products offered by the lands of Asia and Anatolia, interaction with numerous different cultures over a long historical process and the new tastes developed in the palace kitchens of the Seljuk and Ottoman empires. These have all played a part in shaping the new character of our culinary culture.
Turkish Cuisine, which in general consists of sauced dishes prepared with grains, various vegetables and some meat, soups, cold dishes cooked with olive oil, pastry dishes and dishes made from wild vegetation has also produced a series of health foods such as pekmez, yogurt, bulgur etc. The eating habits which reflect the tastes changing from one location to the next, gains a new meaning and near-sacredness on special occasions, When people think of Turkish cuisine, one often visualizes the roast lamb over blazing fires or the sis kebab, small pieces of lamb on iron skewers. Tourists can be found returning to their country with a dozen such skewers from the bazaars of Istanbul.
But Turks are also great vegetarians. The cuisine's delicate flavoring of many dishes with herbs is well-known. One can say with some assurance that Turkish cooking is at its best when a bouquet of herbs is used with great care. Meat is used sparingly with a variety of vegetables to make the most flavorful and tasty dish called 'dolma', meaning stuffed. Not only vegetables that can be hollowed such as tomatoes, zucchini, eggplants, potatoes, artichokes and celery are stuffed; but the mixture of ground meat, uncooked rice, chopped onions and two or three kinds of herbs can be rolled in grape leaves, cabbage leaves and other leaves large enough that have been slightly boiled tender.

Turkish cuisine ought also to be well-known for its cold vegetable dishes known also as 'dolma' when the same vegetables are stuffed without meat. The filling is made up of rice, again with a good amount of chopped onions (fresh or dried), two or three kinds of chopped herbs and additionally flavored with black pepper and cinnamon. Pine nuts and currants are a must. Olive oil is added to this filling and it is stuffed or rolled with the vegetable and simmered over a low fire until the rice is well-cooked and the added water is all gone. These types of stuffed vegetables or vegetable rolls are always served at room temperature, never hot and never too cold.
Then, there are the pastry, 'borek,' type main dishes which are the pride and joy of any good cook. Some of them call for ground meat but the majority of such pastry dishes are vegetarian, requiring as filling a variety of chopped leaves mixed with raw eggs and soft white cheese. Sometimes fillings are made up of pureed grains such as lentils, chic peas and/or potatoes.
Another group of Turkish dishes that are the mainstay of many homes are 'meze' or starters, vegetable dishes that are cooked in olive oil and served at room temperature. Both dried and fresh vegetables are cooked with lots of chopped onions, chopped tomatoes and are garnished with fresh chopped parsley and/or dill.
And, what would the meal be without a sweet finale? Baklava, the queen of Turkish desserts, deserves praise for its nutritious nut varieties. One can always choose to delight the palate with baklava that is richly filled with ground walnuts, pistachio nuts or hazel nuts. Turkish custards are another common choice and are topped as well with a variety of finely ground nuts such as almonds or pistachios.

Meals
Until late Ottoman times there were generally two meals in the day, one in late morning and dinner. Today the main meals are breakfast, lunch and dinner. In some regions, one more meal, known as “yatsilik, uykuluk or yat-geber yemegi,” is added to these, especially in the long winter nights. Another meal is sometimes eaten in the late afternoon, especially on neighborhood visits. At breakfast, generally cheese, olives, bread, eggs and jam are served. Where the main beverage is tea, different types of cheese, sausage, tomato, cucumber, pepper and other regional foods may be eaten. The tradition of eating soup, honey, molasses and clotted cream still continues in some villages. Lunches consist of stews, soup, salads etc. Desserts, meat and food which take a long time to prepare are not eaten. At dinner, soup, a main course, salad and dessert are commonly eaten. Since dinner is the meal at which family members can sit around a table together, it is the richest and most carefully prepared meal of the day. In the last meal of the day, called “yatsilik,” appetizers, fruits and nuts are eaten. Although it has largely been replaced by the tea, the drinking of boza (a beverage made of slightly fermented millet) and eating of dried fruit pulps still continue in some regions.

History has been incredibly generous to Türkiye and, has been vital in the history of the three major religions  Islam, Christianity and Judaism . Türkiye is one of only few countries where all three religions have co-existed peacefully for centuries. There are many important sites in Türkiye of interest to people of all faiths.