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The world's oldest known town, a neolithic city at Catalhoyuk, dates back to 6,500 BC. From the days of Catalhoyuk right up to the present, Turkey has boasted a rich culture that has often been at the forefront of modern civilization.
The heir to many centuries of cultures makes Turkey a paradise of information and cultural wealth. Hattis, Hittites, Phrygians, Urartians, Lycians, Lydians, Ioanians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans have all held important places in Turkey's history and ancient sites and ruins scattered throughout the demonstrate the impact of each culture's presence.
Turkey's recent history is no less fascinating. The Ottoman Empire, which was founded in 1299 and covered enormous areas of Europe, Asia and Africa, only came to an end in 1922. At the height of its power in the 16th and 17th centuries, its territory included Anatolia, the Middle East, parts of North Africa, and much of south-eastern Europe and the Caucasus. It comprised an area of roughly 5.6 million km². The empire interacted with both Eastern and Western cultures throughout its 600-year history and, like present-day Turkey, was often seen as the bridge between Europe, Asia and Africa.
The Ottoman Empire was founded by Osman I (1299-1326). In 1453, following the capture of Constantinople (present day İstanbul) from the Byzantine Empire by the famous Ottoman sultan, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, that city became the new capital of the Ottoman Empire. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was among the world's most powerful political entities.
The dissolution of the empire in 1922 was a direct consequence of World War I, when the Allied Powers defeated the Central Powers in Europe as well as the Ottoman forces in the Middle East. At the end of the war, the Ottoman government collapsed and the empire was conquered and divided among the victorious powers.
In 1922, however, the Turks, led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk defeated the armies occupying Anatolia after the famous War of Independence which lasted from the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, to the liberation and declaration of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923. Ataturk was elected the first president of the new Turkish state. He was a staunch reformist and helped ensure the newly independent Turkey became the success it is today.
Turkey remained neutral in World War II until it joined the Allies in February 1945. Turkey joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) |
