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About Turkey

     Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey borders eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest, Greece to the west, Georgia to the northeast, Armenia, Azerbaijan (the Nakhichevan exclave), and Iran to the east, Iraq and Syria to the southeast. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, and the Black Sea to the north. Turkey also contains the Sea of Marmara, which is used by geographers to mark the border between Europe and Asia, thus making Turkey transcontinental.

     Because of its strategic location astride two continents, Turkey's culture has a unique blend of Eastern and Western tradition. A powerful regional presence in the Eurasian landmass with strong cultural and economic influence in the area between the European Union in the west and Central Asia in the east, Russia in the north and the Middle East in the south, Turkey has come to acquire increasing strategic significance.

     Turkey, a developed country, is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic whose political system was established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I. Since then, Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West while continuing to foster relations with the Eastern world.

About Isparta

     Isparta is a city in western Turkey and the provincial capital of the Isparta Province. The city's population is 150,000 and elevation from sea level is 1035 m. Another name of the city is "City of Roses".

     The main economic activities of Isparta are rosewater production and handmade carpet making. Tourism, both local and increasingly international due to "biblical tourism", is also becoming an important source of revenues for the city. The Süleyman Demirel University has introduced thousands of young men and women of various backgrounds to the city's mostly conservative fabric in the recent years. The football (soccer) team of the city Ispartaspor is in the third level league.

     Some historical buildings and houses from the nineteenth century remain, but these are rare compared to the number of modern constructions. There are several important mosques in Isparta, including the pre-Ottoman Hizir Bey mosque (circa 1325), the Kutlubey or Ulu (Great) mosque (1429, with major restorations in the nineteenth century) and Haci Abdi mosque (1569). The city also boasts a mosque by the Ottoman court architect Mimar Sinan, the sixteenth century Firdevs Pasa mosque. There are several remaining Greek Orthodox churches from the Ottoman period in ruined condition. The Byzantine fortress is also mostly in ruins. The city lies close to a fault line and thus prone to violent earthquakes.

    Isparta has good connections to other parts of Turkey with both railways and by road. Antalya lies 130 to the south and Eskişehir 350 km to the north.

People from and related to Isparta :

• Süleyman Demirel, former prime minister and president of Turkey, was born in the village of Islamköy close to Isparta.
• Zeki Demirkubuz, Film director, screenwriter and producer.
• Said Nursi, Islamic thinker. Spent the last decade of his life in this city.
• Bora Maviş, Summiter of Mount Everest.
• Emre Aydın, rock singer-songwriter.
• Erkan Mumcu, Motherland Party leader.
• Mustafa Dogan, footballer.