Answers to 6 questions about Turkiye...

5w1h of Turkiye...


WHAT IS TURKIYE?

Turkiye is the original name of Turkey. As a Turkish person, I prefer this version rather than the English one. Nearly 80 million people live here and as you may guess, most of them live in the big cities. 60% of the population is young; thus, we can actually call Turkiye a young country. Despite its young population, the history of the land is very old. From the beginning of human history, the land of Turkiye, also called Anatolia, has hosted many civilizations. Hittites, who signed the first pact after the war with The Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, the Lydians, who have one of the world's most ancient walking trails, called "The Lydian Road" with a distance of 509km, and the people of the ancient Greek city states, where the great philosophers of Greece like Socrates and Platon gave lectures, the Byzantines and Ottomans are the examples. It is also the intersection of the three major religions. The first seven churches of Revelation represent an important visiting route for the Christians.

This land of Turkiye is a mountainous peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea at the north, Aegean Sea at the west and Mediterranean Sea at the south. Its coordinates are 26-45degrees N and 36-42degrees E. It is contagious with Bulgaria at the northwest, Greece at the west, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan at northeast, Iran at east, Syria and Iraq at southeast. It is located both in the Asian and European region. There is no difference in bureaucracy between these two lands and their citizens.

from web

Regardless of the nowadays politics, Turkiye is a secular country; the citizens being mostly Muslim, there are also people from the other religions. Family and family members are important and cared. Number of Turkish titles belonging to family members may show you how important this concept is. Anne, baba, kardeş, teyze, amca, hala, dayı, yenge, enişte, baldız, bacanak, kayınvalide, kayınpeder, anneanne, babaanne, dünür, görümce, kuzen, yeğen, dede, nine. :) ... some of these words may be translated to mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew, grandmother and grandfather. 21 to 9! There is no English name for the rest.

wHOM TO VISIT?
Ok. There are various types of holidays and travelling options in Turkiye. Actually...for everybody. You can have a family with kids, partners, friends, couples or you may visit alone. Bikers, motorcyclists, backpackers, divers, climbers, honeymoon lovers... Just decide what kind of a visit it will be, and who you are coming with.

wHEN TO GO?
Due to its geographical and logistical conditions, Turkey enjoys a variety of climates, earning the country the nickname 'the land of four seasons'. Throughout the year, every month or season you can find a spot that is worth seeing and has a suitable climate. Summer time (June, July, and August) is generally hot with the temperature exceeding 30°C. Temperatures differ due to geographical locations and the east is the winner with over -20°C. Inner parts of the country also have cold winters with many days of minus degrees and snow. Climate of Mediterranean coast is more tropical than any other parts. The rest of the country enjoys a climate between these two.

wHERE TO GO?

from web

For the ones who are interested in history, limit is the sky:) I mean, everywhere on this land is full of history. You have to either draw lots or just follow the famous touristic destinations for history lovers.

Turkiye is a mountainous country as I have mentioned before. It has two big mountain chains. One is at the north; the other is at the south. Both mountain chains start from the back of the coast lines and form a line parallel to the seas. This formation makes them look like a wall while looking from the sea and are generally covered with old forests. They are preferable for tracking and camping. If you are both interested in nature and history, my suggestions will be Mountain Ida at the west and the Mountain Ararat at the east. By the way Mountain Ararat is the highest point of Turkiye (5.137m). It is a dead volcano, famous with the rumor on the Noah's Ark. There are also many other mountains beside these two mountain chains waiting for the climbers.

Aegean and Mediterranean seas offer their crystal blue water and their underwater treasures to their coasts. Water temperature is 23-24 degrees for the Aegean Sea, and 28-29 degrees for the Mediterranean Sea during the hottest months. If you love swimming, sailing, diving +history, you won't regret coming :)

I haven’t even mentioned Istanbul, Capadocia, Ephesus, Trabzon, Iskenderun, Van, Olympus and etc. yet.

wHY TO GO?
Well, it is up to you. As a citizen of this country, I want to explore and learn more about it. I’ve been travelling to the places I've mentioned above, discovering and interiorizing of myself and pursuing to find a place to build up my owned "water mill". Besides, it is the land I was delivered to. The motherland of me.. Through my life I've listened and learned mostly about this land and its people. Now I'm not sure how much of them are true. Travelling through Turkiye makes me find my own truth. Everybody has a different reason for travelling. What is yours?

hOW TO GO?
Turkiye is at the trans-section of the motorways connecting Europe and Asia. Busing may be an option from European countries mainly like Greece and Bulgaria. Although they are slow and not very new, train travel is also a possibility from the west to the east.
When it comes to flights, you can reach here from all around the world as Istanbul is a connecting stop for lots of long-way flights. Besides, there are cheap charter flight companies, through which you can find a good deal.
Now all of us know that Turkiye is surrounded by three seas. So I guess I don't need to mention the cruise lines coming to Istanbul, Izmir, Bodrum or Marmaris for the ones who would like to come by the sea.

Answers to 6 questions about Turkiye... Hope it will help you. Bye for now!