Turkey is located at a point where the three continents making up the old world. Asia, Africa and Europe are closest to each other, and straddles the point where Europe and Asia meet.

Because of its geographical location the mainland of Anatolia has always found favour throughout history, and is the birthplace of many great civilisations. It has also been prominent as a centre of commerce because of its land connections to three continents and the sea surrounding it on three sides.

The 4 seas around Turkey are the Black Sea in the north, the Mediterranean in the south, the Aegean Sea in the west and in the northwest an internal sea, the Sea of Marmara. This lies between the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, important waterways that connect the Black Sea with the rest of the world The history of Turkey is as ancient as it is varied, giving rise to or being occupied by many empires until the arrival of democracy in the early part of the 20th century. Evidence of these empires can be seen in many places, with ancient Roman cities and amphitheatres amongst some of the best preserved anywhere.

The main religion in Turkey is Muslim. However Turkey is a totally secular country and people are free to practice whichever religion they prefer. The call to prayer sounds 5 times each day, but in Turkey this is not a command. The Turkish people believe that being a good Muslim is more to do with how you behave than whether you pray at exactly the right time. This could be one of the reasons the crime rate is so low and you do not need to fear walking the streets at night.

Everywhere you go in Turkey you will see monuments to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the Turkish Republic and was President for 15 years until his death in 1938. The Turks are quite rightly immensely proud of his achievements and of everything for which he stood. Turkey is popularly known as the place where East meets West. When you take a holiday there you begin to understand what this truly means. Your first visit will most certainly not be your last.