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Maden Suyu is the name for mineral water. Elma cayi (pronounced alma CHA-hy) is the ubiquitous apple tea. Bira means “beer” (Efes was our favorite brand). Turkey also produces good wine, the best being yakut, a full-bodied dry red. The local spirit is the aniseed-flavored raki (similar to Greece’s ouzo), which is usually mixed with water.

Turkish food is well seasoned and delicious reminiscent of what many people think of as Greek food (but don’t ever make that comparison out loud!). Menus in smaller restaurants or lokantas (taverns that serve food) are often written in Turkish only, so look around at what others are eating and point at what looks good. Rice, mutton, fish (along the coast), pinenuts, eggplant, onions and other vegetables are common ingredients. Fried, grilled and smoked foods are also common.

Be sure to try hunkar begendi (eggplant with beef or lamb), izgaralar (grilled lamb or beef), pide (kind of a Turkish pizza—lahmacun was our favorite variety), the many different kinds of kebabs (especially Iskender), kofte (meatballs), ic pilav (fried rice and raisins) and kuzu dolmasi (lamb and rice).

You can often make a meal from the numerous appetizers offered, such as yaprak dolmasi (stuffed grape leaves), spicy midye (mussels), peynirli borek (cheese rolled up in flaky pastry) and stuffed vegetables. Many desserts are excellent: some are milk based, while others are baklava-type pastries.

Even if you think you don’t like Turkish Delight, try some very sweet and crammed with nuts, it’s a real treat. (Some of the names of dishes have colorful translations: Lady’s thigh is a meat croquette, and nightingale’s nest is a sherbet-filled pastry.) The produce is great; sample fresh giant cherries and figs, in particular. Excellent yogurt, used in desserts or salads, is also available.

A recent notion have been spread out all around the world to stop the hazards that the natural life faces due to the destructive effects let by the unconscious employement of developing technologies. Acording to the data of The World Conservation Union(IUCN),while %5 of the total surface area of the world seperated as preserved area,this reaches to %10 among considerate countries.

In Turkey a policy of protection and conservation of the stunning natural and cultural assets and the fields symbolizing our victorious battles has already been established on national and international bases; and preserved areas of different statues have been designated in order to be bequeathed to the future generations. With in the frames of the law that has been come into force in 1883, 4 types of definition of preserved areas come to the ground as; National Parks, Preserved Areas, Nature Parks and Nature Monuments.

• National Parks
• Nature Parks
• Nature Monuments
• Natural Protection Areas

Visitors to Turkey are often touched by the call to prayer from lofty minarets. The call is heard five times a day, inviting the faithful to face towards Mecca and pray from the Koran. Although Turkey is a secular democracy which guarantees freedom of religion for all people, Islam is the country’s predominant religion. People of all faiths may visit Turkey’s mosques.

Islam’s roots in Turkey date to the 10th Century. In the ensuing centuries Seljuk and Ottoman Turks constructed impressive mosques with elegant interior decorations and imposing domes and minarets. Virtually every Turkish city has a mosque of historical or architectural significance. Sultanahmet Mosque in Istanbul stands as perhaps the most impressive. Built between 1609 and 1616 in the classic Ottoman style, the building is more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque because of its magnificent interior paneling of blue and white Iznik tiles. The Suleymaniye Mosque is the largest in Istanbul.

It was built between 1550 and 1557 by Suleyman the Magnificent, the greatest sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Other cities also have impressive Islamic architecture. The Ulu Cami (Grand Mosque) with its 20 domes and Yesil Cami (Green Mosque) in Bursa, was constructed between 1419 and 1420. The mosque derives its name from the exquisite green and turquoise tiles in its interior. Haci Bayram Mosque in Ankara was built in the early 15th century in the Seljuk style and was subsequently restored by the master Ottoman architect Sinan in the 16th century. Selimiye Mosque in Edirne reflects the classical Ottoman style and Sinan’s lasting genius.

Konya ranks as one of the great cultural centers of Turkey. As the capital of the Seljuk Turks from the 12th to the 13th centuries Konya was a center of cultural, political and religious growth. During this period, the mystic Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi founded a Sufi Order known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. Mevlana’s striking green tiled mausoleum is Konya’s most famous attraction. Attached to the mausoleum, the former dervish seminary now serves as a museum housing manuscripts of Mevlana’s works and various artifacts related to the mystic sect.

More and more people are discovering the important role Turkey played in the history of Christianity. Travelers can discover many magnificent churches, some nearly as old as Christianity itself, and can retrace the footsteps of Saints Peter and Paul from the Biblical city of Antioch to the underground churches of Cappadocia. Many of the most important events in Christian history occurred in Turkey.

Born in Tarsus, the Apostle Paul spread the word of Jesus Christ across Anatolia, expanding Christianity’s reach from a predominantly Jewish base to Gentile communities. Not far from Tarsus on Turkey’s Eastern Mediterranean coast is Antakya, known in biblical times as Antioch. This ancient city was founded around 300 B.C. and was home to the first important Christian community, founded in 42 AD by St. Paul. Jesus’ followers were first called "Christians" in Antioch and from here Christianity spread to the world. St. Paul departed from Antioch on his three missionary journeys.

The city holds the Church of St. Peter, a cave-church where the apostles Peter and Paul are believed to have preached. In 1963, the Vatican designated the site a place of pilgrimage and recognized it as the world’s first cathedral. The "Seven Churches of Asia Minor," a series of communities located near the Aegean coast, is where St. Paul visited, preached and built the early church. Their ancient names – Ephesus (Efes), Smyrna (Izmir), Thyatira (Akhisar), Sardis (Sart), Philadelphia (Alasehir), Laodicea (Eskihisar) and Pergamon (Bergama) are familiar from the New Testament’s Book of Revelation.

Ephesus, perhaps the most prominent of the Seven Churches, is where St. Paul wrote his letters to the Ephesians, and where St. John the Evangelist brought the Virgin Mary to spend her last years. The Vatican recognizes the Virgin Mary’s house, located in the hills near Ephesus, as a shrine. Just outside Ephesus, in Selcuk, is the Basilica of St. John where he preached and is believed to be buried. Many other regions in Turkey offer a wealth of attractions to the Christian traveler. St. Nicholas was born and lived in Demre on the Mediterranean coast. A church dedicated to the original Santa Claus still stands.

Visitors to the biblical area of Cappadocia, located in Central Anatolia, can explore more than 200 carved rock churches beautifully decorated with frescoes depicting early Christian motifs, and a seven story underground city where Christians took refuge from their persecutors. The stunning Monastery of the Virgin Mary located near the Black Sea in Trabzon is a well-known monastic center dating to the 4th century. Built on the edge of a l200 foot cliff and accessible only by foot, it housed some of the Orthodox Church’s greatest thinkers.

Istanbul became the center of Christianity in 330 AD and it was here that the largest church in Christendom at the time, Haghia Sophia or the Church of the Divine Wisdom, was dedicated by Emperor Justinian in 536 AD. The Kariye Museum, a Greek Orthodox Church from the 11th and 14th centuries, is famous for its incomparable Byzantine frescoes and mosaics.

What attractions does Turkey offer related to religious history and issues of faith?

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

As it is known, the caves are the first natural shelters used by the human being. Therefore they attract the attention of many researchers and force them to search. Moreover, discoveries of the beauties and mystery in the caves make people happy and peacefull. Apart from this, the caves provide the facilities for performing the exciting sports and bring about the development of speleology which means the science of caves.

Caves of Kastamonu | Caves of Zonguldak | Caves of Trabzon | Caves of Tokat | Caves of Sinop | Caves of Kutahya | Caves of Konya | Caves of Kirklareli | Caves of Karaman | Caves of Izmir | Caves of Isparta | Caves of Yalvac | Caves of Icel | Caves of Hatay | Caves of Gumushane | Caves of Eskisehir | Caves of Elazig | Caves of Bursa | Caves of Burdur | Caves of Bartin | Caves of Aydin | Caverns of Antalya | Caves of Alanya | Caves of Kemer| Caves of Manavgat