DİD YOU KNOW

D I D Y O U K N O W ?

v The famous Trojan Wars took place in Western Turkey in the town of Truva, Çanakkale
v The first church built by man (St. Peter’s Church) is located in Antioch (Antakya), Turkey.
v The oldest known human settlement in Turkey is Catalhoyuk (7th Millennium B.C.).
v Two of the most famous places of the ancient world, Ephesus and Halicarnasus, are both in Turkey.
v St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, was born in Demre on Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast.
v Noah’s Ark landed on Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi) in Eastern Turkey.
v The last meal on Noah’s Ark was a pudding (Asure) which is still made and served throughout Turkey.
v Coffee was introduced to Europe by the Turks.
v The famous Dutch Tulip originally comes from Turkey.
v The largest city Istanbul, is located on two continents.
v Turkey, together with the French and Chinese, is noted for having one of the most famous and distinctive traditional cuisines in the world.
v The First Ecumenical Council was held in Iznik, Turkey.
v Anatolia is the birthplace of historic legends Homer (the post), King Midas, Heredotus (the father of history), St. Paul the Apostle and Santa Claus.
v Julius Caesar proclaimed his celebrated words “Veni, Vidi, Vici“ (I came, I saw, I conquered) in North Anatolia when he defeated the Pontus, a formidable kingdom in the Black Sea region of Turkey.
v Female goddesses dominated the Central Anatolian pantheon for thousands of years before these supernatural powers were transformed to male gods.
v The Hittites sold Abraham the cave where he buried his wife Sarah, when the Israelites came to Palestine.
v Virgin Mary’s house where she spent her last days, situated on the top of Bülbüldag (Ephesus), is considered as a holy place for all religions.
v Seven Churches of Revelation are all in the Aegean Region of Turkey (Ephesus, Sardis, Tyatira, Pergamon, Philadelphia, Smyrna and Collosae).
v Turkey houses one of the richest flora and almost every year, new plant species are gained and introduced to the world literature.
v The colour “turquoise“ comes from the clean sea colour on the Aegean Coast in Turkey.
v Antalya Museum was specially rewarded by the European Council as the best museum 1988 in Europe.
v In Antalya, in the spring time you can both ski in the mountains and swim on the coast.
v UNESCO declared Pamukkale and Zelve Open Air Museum as world heritages.
v The millennium stone at Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul, was the zero meridian point of the world once upon a time.
v The Kasikci diamond, one of the greatest pieces of the world, is displayed in Topkapi Palace.
v Three of the ten remaining icons of the world and according to the belief of Orthodox, Jesus Christ’s cross on which he was crucified, are in Hagia Yorghi church.
v Hereke which is in the world carpeting literature for the quality of the wool and silk rugs is in Izmit (Kocaeli) Turkey.
v The homeland of the Iskender Döner (Shorma/Gyro) which is very famous all around the world, is Bursa, Turkey.
v The philosopher Aristotales lived in Assos for three years.
v Lydia, which is one of the greatest civilizations lived in Anatolia, has still got some remains around Salihli Manisa (Sardis) and it was the first civilization which coined money.
v Virgin Mary’s house in Ephesus was visited by Pope Paul the 6th and Pope Jean Paul.
v The world’s greatest amphora and glass collection is in Bodrum Museum in Bodrum Castle.
v The best preserved Roman Theatre is located in Aspendos Antic City, Antalya, Turkey.
v The first university in history is in Harran, Urfa, Turkey.