Turkey

Some henges at Göbekli Tepe were erected as far back as 9600 BC, predating those of Stonehenge, England, by over seven millennia.

The Great Seljuk Empire in 1092, upon the death of Malik Shah I

The Second Ottoman Siege of Vienna in 1683 (the First Siege was in 1529) initiated the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) between the Ottomans and a Holy League of European states.

Armenian civilians being deported during the Armenian genocide

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first President of the Turkish Republic, with the Liberal Republican Party leader Fethi Okyar (right) and Okyar's daughter in Yalova, 13 August 1930.

Eighteen female deputies joined the Turkish Parliament with the 1935 general elections. Turkish women gained the right to vote and to hold elected office as a mark of the far-reaching social changes initiated by Atatürk.

Roosevelt, İnönü and Churchill at the Second Cairo Conference, 1943.

Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara, is visited by large crowds every year during national holidays, such as Republic Day on 29 October.

Istanbul Çağlayan Justice Palace is a courthouse in the Şişli district of Istanbul.

After becoming one of the early members of the Council of Europe in 1950, Turkey became an associate member of the EEC in 1963, joined the EU Customs Union in 1995 and started full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005.

The Turkish Armed Forces collectively rank as the second-largest standing military force in NATO, after the US Armed Forces. Turkey joined the alliance in 1952.

The 2015 G20 Summit held in Antalya, Turkey, a founding member of the OECD (1961) and G20 (1999).

TAI Anka and Bayraktar TB2 are the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) used by the Turkish Armed Forces.

TCG Anadolu (L-400) is an amphibious assault ship-aircraft carrier developed for the Turkish Navy

Feminist demonstration in Kadıköy, Istanbul on 29 July 2017

Turkish journalists protesting the imprisonment of their colleagues on Human Rights Day in 2016.

Istanbul Pride organized in 2003 for the first time. Since 2015, parades in Istanbul were denied permission by the government. The denials were based on security concerns, but critics claimed the bans were ideological. Despite the refusal hundreds of people defied the ban each year.

Sumela Monastery in the Pontic Mountains, which form an ecoregion with diverse temperate rainforest types, flora and fauna in northern Anatolia.

A white Turkish Angora cat with odd eyes (heterochromia), which is common among the Angoras.

Istanbul is the largest city and financial centre of Turkey.

A proportional representation of Turkey's exports, 2019

Istanbul Airport main terminal building has an annual passenger capacity of 90 million and making it the world's largest airport terminal building under a single roof.

A TCDD HT80000 high-speed train of the Turkish State Railways

Göktürk-1, Göktürk-2 and Göktürk-3 are the Earth observation satellites of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, while state-owned Türksat operates the Türksat series of communications satellites.

Total fertility rate in Turkey by province (2021)

CIA map of areas with a Kurdish majority

Sancaklar Mosque is a contemporary mosque in Istanbul

The Church of St. Anthony of Padua on İstiklal Avenue, in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul. There are 234 active churches in the city.

Istanbul Technical University is the world's third-oldest technical university.

Istanbul University was founded in 1453 as a Darülfünûn. On 1 August 1933 it was reorganised and became the Republic's first university.

Acıbadem Hospital in Altunizade neighborhood of Üsküdar, İstanbul

Ortaköy Mosque is a good example of the Westernisation of Islamic-Ottoman architecture. Many Baroque architecture elements can be seen in it.

Ottoman miniature which can be linked to the Persian miniature tradition, as well as strong Chinese artistic influences.

Namık Kemal's works had a profound influence on Atatürk and other Turkish statesmen who established the Turkish Republic.

Nobel-laureate Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk and his Turkish Angora cat at his personal writing space

Süreyya Opera House is situated in the Asian side of Istanbul and Atatürk Cultural Center is the main Opera House in the European side of the city.

Referred to as Süperstar by the Turkish media, Ajda Pekkan is a prominent figure of Turkish pop music, with a career spanning decades and a repertoire of diverse musical styles.

Barış Manço was a Turkish rock musician and one of the founders of the Anatolian rock genre.

Turkey won the silver medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

VakıfBank S.K. has won the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship in 2017 and 2018, and the 2017–18 CEV Women's Champions League for the fourth time in their history.

TRT World is the international news platform of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation.

The closing ceremony of the annual International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival takes place at the Aspendos amphitheatre.

Transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe.

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Cyprus

Island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea south of the Anatolian Peninsula.

A copper mine in Cyprus. In antiquity, Cyprus was a major source of copper.

Archeologic site of Khirokitia with early remains of human habitation during Aceramic Neolithic period (reconstruction)

Zeus Keraunios, 500–480 BC, Nicosia museum

The Walls of Nicosia were built by the Venetians to defend the city in case of an Ottoman attack

Kyrenia Castle was originally built by the Byzantines and enlarged by the Venetians

Büyük Han, a caravanserai in Nicosia, is an example of the surviving Ottoman architecture in Cyprus.

Greek Cypriot demonstrations for Enosis (union with Greece) in 1930

A British soldier facing a crowd of Greek Cypriot demonstrators in Nicosia (1956)

Ethnic map of Cyprus according to the 1960 census.

Varosha (Maraş), a suburb of Famagusta, was abandoned when its inhabitants fled in 1974 and remains under Turkish military control

Foreign Ministers of the European Union countries in Limassol during Cyprus Presidency of the EU in 2012

Cyprus taken from space by the International Space Station in 2021

The Troodos Mountains experience heavy snowfall in winter

Nicos Anastasiades, President of Cyprus since 2013.

Welcoming ceremony of the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev by the soldiers of the Cypriot National Guard.

A proportional representation of Cyprus's exports, 2019

Cyprus is part of a monetary union, the eurozone (dark blue) and of the EU single market.

A1 Motorway between Agios Athanasios junction and Mesa Ghetonia junction in Limassol

Population growth, 1961–2003 (numbers for the entire island, excluding Turkish settlers residing in Northern Cyprus).

The Armenian Alphabet at the Melkonian Educational Institute. Armenian is recognised as a minority language in Cyprus.

Faneromeni School is the oldest all-girl primary school in Cyprus.

The entrance of the historic Pancyprian Gymnasium

Typical Cypriot architecture in old part of Nicosia, Cyprus

Laouto, dominant instrument of the Cypriot traditional music.

Zeno of Citium, founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.

Ioannis Kigalas (c. 1622–1687) was a Nicosia born Greek Cypriot scholar and professor of Philosophy who was largely active in the 17th century.

Cypriot style café in an arcade in Nicosia

Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Centre in Limassol

It is the third-largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean, and is south of Turkey and west of Syria.

Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük on display at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara.

Turkish people

A map of the independent beyliks in Anatolia during the early 1300s.

The Ottoman Empire was a Turkish empire that lasted from 1299 to 1922.

The loss of almost all Ottoman territories during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, in 1923, produced waves of Turkish refugees, who were known as "Muhacirs", who fled from hostile regions of the Balkans, the Black Sea, the Aegean islands, the island of Cyprus, the Sanjak of Alexandretta, the Middle East, and the Soviet Union to migrate to Anatolia and Eastern Thrace.

People on the Anafartalar Boulevard, Ankara in the 1950s

Turkish people at the 2007 Republic Protests in the capital city of Ankara supporting the principle of state secularism.

Percentage of Ethnic Turks in Bulgaria by Province (2011)

Turkish Meskhetians wearing T-shirts that read: 14 November 1944, We have not forgotten the deportation.

An Iraqi Turkmen girl in traditional Turkish costume.

As of 2020, the Turks in Germany number between 4 million and 7 million (i.e. 5–9% of Germany's population). With approximately 2 million Turks in Berlin, the German capital is the largest Turkish populated city outside Turkey

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk introducing the modern Turkish alphabet to the people of Kayseri in 1928.

The flag of the Centar Župa Municipality in North Macedonia is labelled with Macedonian and Turkish writing in its central banner.

A bilingual road sign (Turkish and Arabic) in Iraq.

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, is an example of Ottoman imperial architecture.

The Hala Sultan Tekke in Larnaca, Cyprus, is an example of Ottoman provincial architecture. As the resting place of Umm Haram, it is one of the holiest sites in Islam and an important pilgrimage site for the largely secular Turkish Cypriot community.

The neo-Ottoman Cologne Central Mosque in Cologne is the largest mosque in Germany, and mostly serves the Turkish German community.

The neo-Ottoman Westermoskee in Amsterdam is the largest mosque in the Netherlands, and mostly serves the Turkish Dutch community.

Safranbolu was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1994 due to its well-preserved Ottoman era houses and architecture.

The Turkish people, or simply the Turks (Türkler), are the world's largest Turkic ethnic group; they speak various dialects of the Turkish language and form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus.

Bulgaria

Country in Southeast Europe.

Odrysian golden wreath in the National History Museum

Knyaz Boris I meeting the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

The walls of Tsarevets fortress in Veliko Tarnovo, the capital of the second empire

The Battle of Nicopolis in 1396 marked the end of medieval Bulgarian statehood.

The Russo-Bulgarian defence of Shipka Pass in 1877

Borders of Bulgaria according to the preliminary Treaty of San Stefano

Georgi Dimitrov, leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1946 to 1949

Lacerta viridis in Ropotamo, one of Bulgaria's 16 biosphere reserves

Independence Square in Sofia: The headquarters of the Presidency (right), the National Assembly (centre) and the Council of Ministers (left).

Mikoyan MiG-29 jet fighters of the Bulgarian Air Force

Historical development of GDP per capita

Economic growth (green) and unemployment (blue) statistics since 2001

Grigor Dimitrov at the 2015 Italian Open

It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east.

Kurds (کورد ,Kurd) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria.

Istanbul

This large keystone might have belonged to a triumphal arch at the Forum of Constantine (present-day Çemberlitaş).

The construction of the Aqueduct of Valens began during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantius II and was completed in 373 during the reign of emperor Valens.

The map of Istanbul by Matrakçı Nasuh during the 16th century

View of the Golden Horn and the Seraglio Point from Galata Tower

A view of Bankalar Caddesi (Banks Street) in the late 1920s. Completed in 1892, the Ottoman Central Bank headquarters is seen at left. In 1995 the Istanbul Stock Exchange moved to İstinye, while numerous Turkish banks have moved to Levent and Maslak.

Satellite view of Istanbul and the strait of Bosporus

Microclimates of Istanbul according to Köppen–Geiger classification system

'Müze Gazhane' in Kadıköy serves as the first climate change museum in Turkey.

A view of Levent from Kanlıca across the Bosphorus

Originally outside the city, yalı residences along the Bosphorus are now homes in some of Istanbul's elite neighborhoods.

A view of Taksim Square with the Republic Monument (1928) designed by Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica and Taksim Mosque

Çırağan Palace (1867) briefly served as the Ottoman Parliament building between 14 November 1909 and 19 January 1910, when it was damaged by fire. It was restored between 1987 and 1992 and was reopened as a five-star hotel in the Kempinski Hotels chain.

Galata Tower dominates the skyline of the medieval Genoese citadel at the north of the Golden Horn.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque is known as the Blue Mosque due to the blue İznik tiles which adorn its interior. The Obelisk of Thutmose III (Obelisk of Theodosius) is seen in the foreground.

A view of Topkapı Palace, the inner core of which was built in 1459–1465, from across the Golden Horn, with the Prince Islands in the background

Istanbul's districts extend far from the city center, along the full length of the Bosphorus (with the Black Sea at the top and the Sea of Marmara at the bottom of the map).

Statue of Atatürk in Büyükada, the largest of the Prince Islands to the southeast of Istanbul, which collectively form the Adalar (Isles) district of Istanbul Province

Syrian nationals in districts of Istanbul

Built by Suleiman the Magnificent, the Süleymaniye Mosque (1550–1557) was designed by his chief architect Mimar Sinan, the most illustrious of all Ottoman architects.

There are 234 active churches in the city, including the Church of St. Anthony of Padua on İstiklal Avenue, in the district of Beyoğlu (Pera).

Ekrem İmamoğlu of the CHP is the 32nd and current Mayor of Istanbul, elected in 2019.

A view of Levent financial district from Istanbul Sapphire. Levent, Maslak, Şişli and Ataşehir are the main business districts in the city.

Deutsche Orientbank AG (1906) in Sirkeci

Ottoman Central Bank Head Office (1892) on Bankalar Caddesi

Yalı houses on the Bosporus are among the frequently used settings in Turkish television dramas (dizi).

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums, founded by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1891, form Turkey's oldest modern museum.

Around three million people visit İstiklal Avenue on weekend days

Zorlu Center, designed by EAA and Tabanlıoğlu Architects

Küçük Çamlıca TV Radio Tower (369 m) is the tallest structure in the city.

Main entrance gate of Istanbul University, the city's oldest Turkish institution, established in 1453.

Maçka campus of Istanbul Technical University (1773)

The Silahtarağa Power Station, now the art museum SantralIstanbul, was Istanbul's sole source of power between 1914 and 1952.

The Grand Post Office in Sirkeci, Istanbul, was designed by Vedat Tek in the Turkish neoclassical style of the early 20th century.

Originally opened in 1873 with a smaller terminal building as the main terminus of the Rumelia (Balkan) Railway of the Ottoman Empire, which connected Istanbul with Vienna, the current Sirkeci Terminal building was constructed between 1888 and 1890, and became the eastern terminus of the Orient Express from Paris.

Atatürk Arboretum is an arboretum and city forest located in Bahçeköy, Sarıyer.

Istanbul (, ; İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople, is the largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, cultural and historic hub.

Greece

Country in Southeast Europe.

The entrance of the Treasury of Atreus (13th BC) in Mycenae

Herodotus (c. 484 BC—c. 425 BC), often considered the "father of history"

Fresco displaying the Minoan ritual of "bull leaping", found in Knossos

Greek territories and colonies during the Archaic period (750–550 BC)

The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens, icon of classical Greece.

Alexander the Great, whose conquests led to the Hellenistic Age.

Map of Alexander's short-lived empire (334–323 BC). After his death the lands were divided between the Diadochi

The Antikythera mechanism (c. 100 BC) is considered to be the first known mechanical analog computer (National Archaeological Museum, Athens).

A view from the ancient royal Macedonian tombs in Vergina

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, built in 161 AD

Dome of Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki (8th century), one of the 15 UNESCO's Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments of the city

The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, originally built in the late 7th century as a Byzantine citadel and beginning from 1309 used by the Knights Hospitaller as an administrative centre

The Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire after the death of Basil II in 1025

The Byzantine castle of Angelokastro successfully repulsed the Ottomans during the First Great Siege of Corfu in 1537, the siege of 1571, and the Second Great Siege of Corfu in 1716, causing them to abandon their plans to conquer Corfu.

The White Tower of Thessaloniki, one of the best-known Ottoman structures remaining in Greece.

The sortie (exodus) of Messolonghi, depicting the Third Siege of Missolonghi, painted by Theodoros Vryzakis.

The Battle of Navarino in 1827 secured Greek independence.

The Entry of King Otto in Athens, painted by Peter von Hess in 1839.

The territorial evolution of the Kingdom of Greece from 1832 to 1947.

Hellenic Army formation in the World War I Victory Parade in Arc de Triomphe, Paris, July 1919.

Map of Greater Greece after the Treaty of Sèvres, when the Megali Idea seemed close to fulfillment, featuring Eleftherios Venizelos as its supervising genius.

People in Athens celebrate the liberation from the Axis powers, October 1944. Postwar Greece would soon experience a civil war and political polarization.

Signing at Zappeion by Constantine Karamanlis of the documents for the accession of Greece to the European Communities in 1979.

Navagio (shipwreck) bay, Zakynthos island

The Greek mainland and several small islands seen from Nydri, Lefkada

Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece and mythical abode of the Gods of Olympus

The building of the Hellenic Parliament (Old Royal Palace) in central Athens.

Count Ioannis Kapodistrias, first governor, founder of the modern Greek State, and distinguished European diplomat

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister since 2019

Representation through:
embassy
embassy in another country
general consulate
no representation
Greece

A proportional representation of Greece exports, 2019

Greece's debt percentage since 1977, compared to the average of the Eurozone

Sun-drying of Zante currant on Zakynthos

Solar-power generation potential in Greece

Greek companies control 16.2% of the world's total merchant fleet making it the largest in the world. They are ranked in the top 5 for all kinds of ships, including first for tankers and bulk carriers.

Santorini, a popular tourist destination, is ranked as the world's top island in many travel magazines and sites.

The Rio–Antirrio bridge connects mainland Greece to the Peloponnese.

Thessaloniki Science Center and Technology Museum

Georgios Papanikolaou, a pioneer in cytopathology and early cancer detection

Hermoupolis, on the island of Syros, is the capital of the Cyclades.

Regions with a traditional presence of languages other than Greek. Today, Greek is the dominant language throughout the country.

A map of the fifty countries with the largest Greek diaspora communities.

The Academy of Athens is Greece's national academy and the highest research establishment in the country.

The Ionian Academy in Corfu, the first academic institution of modern Greece.

The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, still used for theatrical plays.

Close-up of the Charioteer of Delphi, a celebrated statue from the 5th century BC.

Towerhouses of Vatheia in Mani peninsula

Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù, the first theatre and opera house of modern Greece

Parnassos Literary Society, painted by Georgios Roilos (Kostis Palamas is at the center)

Cretan dancers of traditional folk music

Rebetes in Karaiskaki, Piraeus (1933). Left Markos Vamvakaris with bouzouki.

Mikis Theodorakis was one of the most popular and significant Greek composers

Theodoros Angelopoulos, winner of the Palme d'Or in 1998, notable director in the history of the European cinema

Spyridon Louis entering the Panathenaic Stadium at the end of the marathon; 1896 Summer Olympics.

Angelos Charisteas scoring Greece's winning goal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final

The Greek national basketball team in 2008. Twice European champions (1987 and 2005) and second in the world in 2006

Procession in honor of the Assumption of Virgin Mary (15 August)

Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast.

Regions of Europe based on CIA World Factbook. Southeastern Europe in brown

Southeast Europe

Geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans.

Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are, in alphabetical order: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (alternatively placed in Central Europe or Southern Europe), Cyprus (alternatively placed in West Asia), Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania (alternatively placed in Eastern Europe), Serbia, and Turkey (alternatively placed in West Asia).

East Thrace

East Thrace landscape in Edirne Province, Turkey

River Maritsa (Meriç), which forms the land border between Greece and Turkey, also forms the natural border between Western Thrace and East Thrace.

Cape Helles during the Gallipoli Campaign

East Thrace or Eastern Thrace (Doğu Trakya or simply Trakya; Ανατολική Θράκη, Anatoliki Thraki; Източна Тракия, Iztochna Trakiya), also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically a part of Southeast Europe.

Western Asia

Westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions.

Köppen climate classification map of West Asia

Pilgrims in the annual Hajj at the Kaabah in Mecca.

Druze dignitaries celebrating the Ziyarat al-Nabi Shu'ayb festival at the tomb of the prophet in Hittin

Yazidi pilgrims celebrating the Yazidi new year festival at the ancient holy temple of Lalish, Iraq

The most populous countries in Western Asia are Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.