Turkey

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 Adana

     Adana (Turkish: Adana}) (the ancient Antioch in Cilicia or Antioch on the Sarus)) is the capital of Adana Province in Turkey. According to the 2000 census, with 1,130,710 inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous city of Turkey (after İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Bursa). The 2006 estimate of Adana's population is 1,271,894.

     For most Turkish people, the word 'Adana' associates with Kebab, şalgam, cotton, oranges, and very hot weather.

      Adana is named among the 25 European Regions of the Future for 2006/2007 by Foreign Direct Investment Magazine. Chosen alongside Kocaeli for Turkey, Adana scored the most points for cost effectiveness against Kocaeli's points for infrastructure development, while Adana and Kocaeli tied on points for the categories of human resources and quality of life.

Sightseeing :

• Stone Bridge, built in part during the 6th-century reign of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, the oldest extant bridge in the world which is still in use.
• Yilanlı Kale The ruins of a castle dating from 782.
• Büyük Saat (The Great Clock), a large clock tower, was built by the local governor of Adana in 1882. Unfortunately, it was damaged during the French occupation but it was rebuilt in 1935, and its image can be found in the city's coat of arms. There are many historical buildings and tombs of local governors next to the Büyük Saat.
• The old bazaar, Kazancılar Çarşısı (Bazaar of Cauldron-Makers), founded around Büyük Saat, where Çarşı Hamamı (Bath of the Bazaar), a Turkish bath built in 1519 can be found.
• Bebekli Kilise (Church of Babies) is an old Catholic church located in the city center. There are many historic houses in the street where the church is located.
• Seyhan Dam
• Ramazanoğlu Türbesi

Mosques :

• Adana Ulu Camii
• New Mosque
• Butter mosque
• Eski Camii
• Alemdar Mescidi
• Şeyh Zülfi mescidi