While modern Turkey is a relatively young republic having been founded upon the remains of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, it is an ancient land, the cradle of civilization and the center of world history. The site of the first human settlement; the seat of the Greek, Roman and Ottoman Empires; the birthplace of Homer and the last home of the Virgin Mary; the originator of yogurt and the presenter of coffee to the West – just a microscopic sampling of Turkey’s extraordinary heritage. Today, this large country, with its spectacular coastline, majestic mountains, cosmopolitan cities and quaint villages is one of the world’s most desirable destinations, a captivating blend of East and West, antiquity and contemporary, the exotic and the familiar |