TURKEY(The cradle of civilization)

Background
Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk or "Father of the Turks." Under his authoritarian leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - now known as the People's Congress of Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK increased. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO; it holds a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council during 2009-10. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community. Over the past decade, it has undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy; it began accession membership talks with the European Union in 2005.
Geography
Strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country
Location: Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria
Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E
Area: total: 783,562 sq km land: 769,632 sq km water: 13,930 sq km

Size comparison: slightly larger than Texas
Land Boundaries: total: 2,648 km border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km
Coastline: 7,200 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea; 12 nm in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
Terrain: high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 29.81% permanent crops: 3.39% other: 66.8% (2005)
Irrigated land: 52,150 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards: severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van
Current Environment Issues: water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic
International Environment Agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
People
Population: 76,805,524 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 17
Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.2% (male 10,701,631/female 10,223,260) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 25,896,326/female 25,327,403) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 2,130,360/female 2,526,544) (2009 est.)
Median age: total: 27.7 years male: 27.4 years female: 28.1 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.312% (2009 est.)
Birth rate: 18.66 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate: 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 25.78 deaths/1,000 live births male: 26.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.96 years male: 70.12 years female: 73.89 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.21 children born/woman (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1%; note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Turk(s) adjective: Turkish
Ethnic groups: Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 18%, other minorities 7-12% (2008 est.)
Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87.4% male: 95.3% female: 79.6% (2004 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Turkey conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye
Government type: republican parliamentary democracy
Capital: name: Ankara geographic coordinates: 39 56 N, 32 52 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions: 81 provinces (iller, singular - ili); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Independence: 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Republic Day, 29 October (1923)
Constitution: 7 November 1982; amended 17 May 1987, 1995, 2001, and 2007; note - amendment passed by referendum concerning presidential elections on 21 October 2007
Legal system: civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human Rights; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Abdullah GUL (since 28 August 2007) head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 14 March 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Cemil CICEK (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Ali BABACAN (since 1 May 2009); Deputy Prime Minister Bulent ARINC (since 1 May 2009) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister elections: president elected directly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the president from among members of parliament election results: on 28 August 2007 the National Assembly elected Abdullah GUL president on the third ballot; National Assembly vote - 339 note: in October 2007 Turkish voters approved a referendum package of constitutional amendments including a provision for direct presidential elections
Legislative branch: unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 22 July 2007 (next to be held by July 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 46.7%, CHP 20.8%, MHP 14.3%, independents 5.2%, and other 13.0%; seats by party - AKP 341, CHP 112, MHP 71, independents 26; note - seats by party as of 12 January 2010 - AKP 337, CHP 97, MHP 69, BDP 20, DSP 6, ODP 1, TP 1, independents 11, vacant 8 (BDP entered parliament as independents; DSP entered parliament on CHP's party list); only parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay); Council of State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party or DP [Husamettin CINDORUK]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Masum TURKER]; Felicity Party or SP [Numan KURTULMUS] (sometimes translated as Contentment Party); Freedom and Solidarity Party or ODP [Alper TAS]; Grand Unity Party or BBP [Yalcin TOPCU]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Nationalist Movement Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI] (sometimes translated as Nationalist Action Party); Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Social Democratic People's Party or SHP [Huseyin ERGUN]; Young Party or GP [Cem Cengiz UZAN] note: the parties listed above are some of the more significant of the 49 parties that Turkey had as of 31 January 2009
Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Sami EVREN]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Suleyman CELEBI]; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Omer Cihad VARDAN]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Tugrul KUDATGOBILIK]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Mustafa KUMLU]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Bendevi PALANDOKEN]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Umit BOYNER]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU]
International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), CICA, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SECI, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador James F. JEFFREY embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555 FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana; note - there is a Consular Agent in Izmir
Economy
Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that still accounts for about 30% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state remains a major participant in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The largest industrial sector is textiles and clothing, which accounts for one-third of industrial employment; it faces stiff competition in international markets with the end of the global quota system. However, other sectors, notably the automotive and electronics industries, are rising in importance within Turkey's export mix. Real GDP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Due to global contractions, GDP fell to a 0.9% annual rate in 2008, and contracted by 5.8% in 2009. Inflation fell to 5.9% in 2009 - a 34-year low. Despite the strong economic gains from 2002-07, which were largely due to renewed investor interest in emerging markets, IMF backing, and tighter fiscal policy, the economy is burdened by a high current account deficit and high external debt. Further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost foreign direct investment. The stock value of FDI stood at more than $180 billion at year-end 2009. Privatization sales are currently approaching $21 billion. Oil began to flow through the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline in May 2006, marking a major milestone that will bring up to 1 million barrels per day from the Caspian to market. In 2007 and 2008, Turkish financial markets weathered significant domestic political turmoil, including turbulence sparked by controversy over the selection of former Foreign Minister Abdullah GUL as Turkey's 11th president and the possible closure of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Turkey's financial markets and banking system also weathered the 2009 global financial crisis and did not suffer signifcant declines due to banking reforms implemented during the country's own financial crisis in 2001. Economic fundamentals are sound, but the Turkish economy may be faced with more negative economic indicators in 2010 as the global economic slowdown continues to curb demand for Turkish exports. In addition, Turkey's high current account deficit leaves the economy vulnerable to destabilizing shifts in investor confidence.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (purchasing power parity): $861.6 billion (2009 est.) $914.7 billion (2008 est.) $906.5 billion (2007 est.) note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate): GDP (official exchange rate): $593.5 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -5.8% (2009 est.) 0.9% (2008 est.) 4.7% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - per capita (PPP): $11,200 (2009 est.) $12,100 (2008 est.) $12,100 (2007 est.) note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9.4% industry: 25.9% services: 64.7% (2009 est.)
Labor force: 24.2 million note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2009 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 29.5% industry: 24.7% services: 45.8% (2005)
Unemployment rate: 14.6% (2009 est.) 10.975% (2008 est.) note: underemployment amounted to 4% in 2008
Population below poverty line: 20% (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.9% highest 10%: 33.2% (2005)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 43.6 (2003)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.9% (2009 est.) 10.4% (2008 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): Investment (gross fixed): 16.9% of GDP (2009 est.)
Budget: revenues: $127 billion expenditures: $166.2 billion (2009 est.)
Public debt: 48.5% of GDP (2009 est.) 40% of GDP (2008 est.)
Agriculture - products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, hazelnuts, pulse, citrus; livestock
Industries: textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
Industrial production growth rate: -9.8% (2009 est.)
Electricity - production: 181.9 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption: 153.7 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports: 1.063 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports: 790 million kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production: 46,120 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption: 675,500 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - exports: 141,700 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - imports: 783,800 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - proved reserves: 300 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
Natural gas - production: 1.013 billion cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 37.18 billion cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 435 million cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 36.72 billion cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 8.495 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
Current account balance: $-12.54 billion (2009 est.) $-41.69 billion (2008 est.)
Exports: $111.1 billion (2009 est.) $140.7 billion (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities: apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment
Exports - partners: Germany 9.8%, UK 6.2%, UAE 6%, Italy 5.9%, France 5%, Russia 4.9% (2008)
Imports: $134.2 billion (2009 est.) $193.9 billion (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment
Imports - partners: Russia 15.5%, Germany 9.3%, China 7.8%, US 5.9%, Italy 5.5%, France 4.5%, Iran 4.1% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $72.7 billion (31 December 2009 est.) $73.66 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external: $253.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.) $278.1 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: $181.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.) $128.7 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: $16.05 billion (31 December 2009 est.) $14.8 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares: $117.9 billion (31 December 2008) $286.6 billion (31 December 2007) $162.4 billion (31 December 2006)
Exchange rates: Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar - 1.5548 (2009), 1.3179 (2008), 1.319 (2007), 1.4286 (2006), 1.3436 (2005) note: on 1 January 2005, the old Turkish lira (TRL) was converted to new Turkish lira (TRY) at a rate of 1,000,000 old to 1 new Turkish lira; on 1 January 2009, the Turkish government dropped the word "new" and the currency is now called simply the Turkish lira
Communications
Telephones in use: 17.502 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 18
Cellular Phones in use: 65.824 million (2008)
Telephone system: general assessment: comprehensive telecommunications network undergoing rapid modernization and expansion especially in mobile-cellular services domestic: additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay, is facilitating communication between urban centers; remote areas are reached by a domestic satellite system; the number of subscribers to mobile-cellular telephone service is growing rapidly international: country code - 90; international service is provided by the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable and by submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that link Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat; mobile satellite terminals - 328 in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001)
Television broadcast stations: 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995)
Internet country code: .tr
Internet hosts: 2.961 million (2009)
Internet users: 24.483 million (2008)
Transportation
Airports: 102 (2009) country comparison to the world: 59
Airports (paved runways): total: 90 over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 4 (2009)
Airports (unpaved runways): total: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 4 (2009)
Heliports: 21 (2009)
Pipelines: gas 7,555 km; oil 3,636 km (2008)
Railways: total: 8,697 km standard gauge: 8,697 km 1.435-m gauge (1,920 km electrified) (2008)
Roadways: total: 426,951 km (includes 1,987 km of expressways) (2006)
Waterways: 1,200 km (2008)
Merchant marine: total: 612 by type: bulk carrier 101, cargo 281, chemical tanker 70, combination ore/oil 1, container 35, liquefied gas 7, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 51, petroleum tanker 31, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 28, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 8 (Cyprus 2, Germany 1, Greece 1, Italy 3, UAE 1) registered in other countries: 595 (Albania 1, Antigua and Barbuda 6, Bahamas 8, Belize 15, Cambodia 26, Comoros 8, Dominica 5, Georgia 14, Greece 1, Isle of Man 2, Italy 1, Kiribati 1, Liberia 7, Malta 176, Marshall Islands 50, Moldova 3, Netherlands 1, Netherlands Antilles 10, Panama 94, Russia 80, Saint Kitts and Nevis 35, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 20, Sierra Leone 15, Slovakia 10, Tuvalu 2, UK 2, unknown 2) (2008)
Ports and terminals: Aliaga, Diliskelesi, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Mercin Limani, Nemrut Limani
Military
A "National Security Policy Document" adopted in October 2005 increases the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) role in internal security, augmenting the General Directorate of Security and Gendarmerie General Command (Jandarma); the TSK leadership continues to play a key role in politics and considers itself guardian of Turkey's secular state; in April 2007, it warned the ruling party about any pro-Islamic appointments; despite on-going negotiations on EU accession since October 2005, progress has been limited in establishing required civilian supremacy over the military; primary domestic threats are listed as fundamentalism (with the definition in some dispute with the civilian government), separatism (the Kurdish problem), and the extreme left wing; Ankara strongly opposed establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region; an overhaul of the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) taking place under the "Force 2014" program is to produce 20-30% smaller, more highly trained forces characterized by greater mobility and firepower and capable of joint and combined operations; the TLFC has taken on increasing international peacekeeping responsibilities, and took charge of a NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) command in Afghanistan in April 2007; the Turkish Navy is a regional naval power that wants to develop the capability to project power beyond Turkey's coastal waters; the Navy is heavily involved in NATO, multinational, and UN operations; its roles include control of territorial waters and security for sea lines of communications; the Turkish Air Force adopted an "Aerospace and Missile Defense Concept" in 2002 and has initiated project work on an integrated missile defense system; Air Force priorities include attaining a modern deployable, survivable, and sustainable force structure, and establishing a sustainable command and control system (2008)
Military branches: Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Turkish Land Forces (Turk Kara Kuvvetleri), Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri; includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Force (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri) (2009)
Military service age and obligation: 20 years of age (2004)
Manpower available for military service: males age 16-49: 20,213,205 females age 16-49: 19,432,688 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: males age 16-49: 17,223,506 females age 16-49: 16,995,299 (2009 est.)
Kaynak:http://flagcounter.com---TUNALIM...

Tac Mahal ...
Hindistan'ın sembollerinden.. Aşkın mermere yansıması...
Dünyanın yeni 7 harikası; Ürdün'deki Petra Antik Kenti, Çin Seddi, Brezilya'daki Kurtarıcı İsa Heykeli, Peru'daki Machu Picchu Antik Kenti, Meksika'daki Chichen Itza Piramidi, İtalya'nın Roma kentindeki Kolezyum ve Hindistan'daki Tac Mahal anıtmezarı şeklinde sıralandı. Tac Mahal, Hindistan'daki Agra kentinde bulunan Yamuna Nehri'nin doğusunda yer alan, 75 metre yüksekliğinde, saf mermerden yapılmış bir anıt mezardır. Tac Mahal'i, "Şehzade Hürrem adıyla da bilinen Hint-Türk imparatoru Şah Cihan, 1631'de, doğum sırasında ölen eşi Ercümend Banu Begüm'ün anısına yaptırmıştır. Tac Mahal adı ise, Begüm'ün lakabı olan "Mümtaz Mahal"den gelmektedir.

Ünlü roman yazarı Pearl S. Buck, Tac Mahal'in güzelliğini şöyle dile getirmiştir: "Çok az güzellik, kendisi hakkında söylenenlerden daha güzel olmayı başarmıştır.
Bunlardan biri de Tac Mahal'dir." Hindistan'a gidip de Tac Mahal'i ziyaret etmiş birçok kişi bu görüşü paylaşır. Tac Mahal'in gerçekten de bir eşi yoktur. İranlılar'ın, Hindistan'ın Hindu kültürünün, İslam dininin etkilerini taşısa da bir yürek yapıtı olduğu bellidir.
Prenses Mümtaz, 1593 yılında doğmuştu ve İranlı bir soylunun kızıydı. Gerçek adı Ercümend'ti ve söylentilere göre görkemli bir tablodan çıkmışcasına göz kamaştırıcı bir güzelliği vardı. Onbeş yaşındayken geleceğin imparatoru Prens Khurram'la nişanlandı. Beş yıl sonra, astrologlar tarafından saptanan tarihe göre 20 Mayıs 1612'de düğün yapıldı. İmparator Cihangir, oğlunun göz kamaştırıcı güzellikteki genç eşine sarayda görevli olması nedeniyle Mümtaz Mahal" lakabını verdi.

Prens Khurram, İmparator Cihangir'in ikinci eşinden olan üçüncü oğluydu. Yakışıklı bir aristokrattı. Pürüzsüz bir teni, kahverengi gözleri, düzgün bir burnu ve çok düzgün kesilmiş sakalları vardı. Güçlü bir belleğe ve keskin bir zekaya sahipti. Bir modern tarihçi bu konuda şöyle der: "Karakterinin en etkileyici ve belirleyici yanı, eşi Mümtaz Mahal'e duyduğu sonsuz aşktı."
Çiftin ondört tane çocuğu oldu. Fakat bunlardan yalnızca yedisi yaşayabildi. İmparator Cihangir öldüğünde Prens Khurram tahta oturur oturmaz tüm erkek akrabalarının öldürülmesini ya da sürülmelerini emretti. Bundan sonra barış ve demokrasi içinde geçecek 31 yıllık saltanat dönemi başladı. Bu dönem içinde eşsiz binalar ve sanatsal çalışmalar yapıldı. Şah Cihan'ın el açıklığı ve tutumsuzluğu Delhi'de bulunan Avrupalı diplomatları hayrete düşürüyordu. Şah Cihan'ın özel zevki olan tavuskuşu taht, saray kuyumcusu tarafından nadir bulunan mücevherlerin özenle işlenmesi sonucu ortaya çıkmıştı. Bu taht, çok yüksek ve büyüktü. Bacakları altındı ve oniki zümrüt sütunun üzerinde duruyordu. Her sütunun tepesinde, elmas, yakut, zümrüt ve incilerden oluşan, bir ağacın üstüne tünemiş gibi duran birer tavuskuşu vardı.

Tüm güzellikler sonsuza dek yaşasa da dünya, ölümlülerin dünyasıydı. Ve güzeller güzeli Mümtaz Mahal, 1631 yılında, doğum sırasında yaşamını yitirmişti. İmparator bitkin bir durumdaydı. Eşinin cenaze töreni sırasında müzik çalınmasını kesinlikle yasakladı. Renkli giysilerini çıkarıp beyaz yas giysilerini giydi. Bir süre için halkın önüne çıkmadı ve şöyle dedi: "İmparatorluğun hiç önemi kalmadı ve yaşam benim için tüm anlamını yitirdi." Şah Cihan, eşinin yokluğuna hiçbir zaman alışamadı. Onu ölümsüzleştirmek için bir anıt mezar yaptırmaya karar verdi.

Tac Mahal'in yapımı için 20 bin işçi çalıştı. 1632'de başlayan inşaatın tümüyle bitmesi 22 yılı buldu ve 40 milyon rupiye maloldu. Hindistan'ın içinden ve dışından heykeltıraşlar, elmastıraşlar, mozaikçiler ve duvar süslemecileri getirtildi. Buhara'dan çiçek oymacıları, İstanbul'dan kubbe ustası İsmail Han Rumî, çağın en büyük hat ustalarından Amanat Han Şirazî getirildi. Mimar olarak da tüm dünyanın saygınlığını kazanmış Lahorlu Üstat Ahmet getirtildi.

Tac Mahal'in büyük beyaz mermer blokları, Hindistan'ın Racistan eyaletinde bulunan Raiwala kentindeki Mahrana'dan getirildi. Ayrıca Racistan'dan lal taşı ve Afganistan'dan lacivert renkteki lapis lazuli taşı getirtildi. Yapının tümünde Tibet'te çıkarılan turkuvaz da dahil kırk tür taş kullanıldı. Fakat sonradan bunların çoğu çalındı. Birçok ziyaretçi gibi Tac Mahal'i ben de günün değişik saatlerinde gördüm: Şafak sökerken, akşamüstü güneşle ısınmış beyaz mermerleriyle ve Ay ışığında...

Tac Mahal'e batı girişinden girdiğinizde, kendinizi ön avluda bulursunuz. Onyedinci yüzyılda, burada, gezginlerin konakladığı bir kervansaray varmış. Şimdiyse otomobil ve bisikletlerin park edildiği bir alandır. Kuzey bölümünde, bahçelerin arasında bulunan uzun bir yoldan geçtikten sonra Kuran'dan alıntılarla bezenmiş büyük bir kemerle karşılaşırsınız. Söylenenlere göre gümüşten yapılmış dört ana kapının her birinde, başları madeni Hint parasından yapılmış 1100 çivi bulunmaktaydı. Ne yazık ki bu çiviler, yağmacılar tarafından, eritilip kullanılmak üzere bir süre sonra çalındı.

Mümtaz Mahal'in mozolesini ilk bakışta kemerli girişlerle çevrelenmiş olarak görürsünüz. Sonra bahçelerin olduğu bölüme çıkarsınız.

Büyük Mogul'un diğer bahçeleri gibi bu bahçe de kendi arasında bölünmüş dört eşsiz bölümden oluşur. Tam ortada bulunan o ünlü havuzun mavi renginde Tac Mahal'in o bembeyaz yansıması öyle etkileyicidir ki...Bu bahçede, Hindistan'a özgü bir ağaç olan "gul mohur" ağacından incir ağaçlarına değin tüm ağaçlar Tac'ın gözlerini tanımlamaktadır.

Tac Mahal, zeminden 7 metre yükseklikte bir terasın üzerindedir. Dört köşesinde her biri 43 metre yüksekliğinde olan ve mermer kubbelerle çevrelenmiş dört konik minare bulunur. Şerefeler, minarelerin tepesindedir.

Gizli bir merdiven sizi, Tac'ın terasına ulaştırır. Bu sırada bir nöbetçi size eşlik eder. Nöbetçi, anıtın giriş kapısı üzerinde bulunan ve Kuran'dan alıntıların yazıldığı siyah mermer kemere dikkat çeker. Beyaz mermerden lahitin bulunduğu bölümü, 1898-1905 yılları arasında Hindistan Genel Valisi olan Lord Curzon tarafından armağan edilmiş bir lamba aydınlatmaktadır.

Bu bölümün tam ortasında, 2 metre yüksekliğindeki mermer bir yapının içerisinde Ercümend Banu ile Şah Cihan'ın mozoleleri yer alır. Asıl mezarlar ise döşemenin altında, avlu düzeyindeki mezar odasındadır.

Ercümend Banu'nun akik, lapis lazuli taşı ve diğer değerli taşlardan yapılmış çiçeklerle bezeli mermer mozolesinin üzerinde şu yazı bulunur: "Mümtaz Mahal olarak bilinen Ercümend Banu Begüm'ün anıtı / Hicrî 1040 - Miladî 1631"
Prensesin mozolesinin hemen sağ tarafında İmparator Şah Cihan'ın daha geniş ve yüksek olan mozolesi bulunur. Şah Cihan da aslında hiç istememesine karşın buraya gömülmüştür. Şah Cihan, Yamuna Nehri'nin sol tarafında prensesinkinin aynı olan fakat siyah mermerden yapılmış bir anıta sahip olmak ve iki anıtı Yamuna Nehri'nin üzerinden geçen iki köprüyle birleştirmek istiyordu. Fakat Şah Cihan'ın üçüncü oğlu olan Evrengzib "Babam anneme büyük bir sevgi duyuyordu. Bunun için sonsuza dek onun yanında uyumalıdır" diyerek Şah Cihan'ın bu dileğinin gerçekleştirilmesine karşı çıkmıştır.

Şah Cihan, Mümtaz Mahal'in ölümünün ardından otuzbeş yıl yaşadı. Fakat son yıllarını hiç mutlu geçiremedi. Mümtaz Mahal'den olan oğulları büyük bir taht kavgasına giriştiler. En kurnazları olan Evrengzib kavgayı kazandı ve babasını Agra Kalesi'ne hapsetti. Onun bu durumuna üzülen tek kişi, kızı Cihanara'ydı. Şah, son sekiz yılını ibadet ederek ve meditasyon yaparak geçirdi. Ve olasılıkla kalbi, öldüğü gün olan 22 Ocak 1666'ya dek, bulunduğu kaleden her gün dikkatle izlediği, iki kilometre uzakta olan biricik eşinin anıtındaydı.

TUNALIM...

YEAR OF WORLD PEACE
Today, 1 September 1939, Hitler, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, beginning with the army, and 9 August 1945 Nagasaki "Fat Man"-a fat guy named, but names are not cute like an atom bomb disposal II ended. World War, the bad and the bloody history as a reference to it has been declared "World Day of Peace."

Just as in World War I and the second, "Western Civilization" 's, the rest of the world colonial quicken, the civilization created by the states agree how to share out.

I mean, people have more power and more wealth from greed!

The imperialist West, the second largest World War Sharing, behind the 52 million dead, unknown number wounded, the city had little flour, pain, tears and a date left packed with crimes against humanity ...

Slaughterhouse and turned into the world between two world wars, thousands of years, tribes and faiths always been interested in a geography room, had been a bloody battle in Anatolia: The Quest.

From the Ottoman Empire during and after World War torn western colonial rule in addition to the soil, in Anatolia, were present to share in meal worms ...

Given honorable and brave in battle "Either independence or death." The resolute will of the leader, won the War of Independence of "rising above the ashes of Republican States
all humanity, "peace at home peace in the world," she called, and could put its signature under the Mustafa Kemal!

Democracy, human rights, rule of law, and freedom principles related to the human glorification while as part of nature, to the world or at least he put much value a spirit of brotherhood with all mankind, "World Peace Day" Happy.
TUNALIM ...

Prof.Dr.L.Cruz

RATIONALE:

In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the increasing degradation and depletion of earth’s resources. The desire to improve the quality of people’s lives has led to the over-exploitation of resources, mainly due to unsustainable production and distribution methods as well as untenable consumption patterns. These production systems utilize large amounts of energy thus resulting to pollution problems due to excessive emission of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. This increasingly threatens land and water resources.

Global warming threatens to destabilize every bioregion on Earth in the new millennium. Several scientists predict climate changes of unprecedented magnitude with significant impact on food, health and environment. These changes could lead to worldwide loss of agricultural products, rising of oceans, floods, super hurricanes and the whole destruction of the entire ecosystems. The atmospheric ozone depletion could cause additional cancers and deaths from exposure to deadly ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet rays also greatly decrease the growing capacity of plants and seriously weaken the immune systems of humans and animals, raising famine and pestilence.

The global environmental crisis affects every one of us. Nobody can escape the global consequences of these new environment realities. Their impacts will continue to be felt by every human being and by every species with which we share this planet. Our damaged environment now concerns us all. We as caretakers should address these global environmental threats and challenges through collective action.

Everybody now is aware that climate change is real and is affecting all of us. Scientists and climatologists say that the world is getting warmer and the major cause of this is human activity. This calls for an urgent action; but the situation is not entirely hopeless, at least, not yet. The youth has the highest stake since it concerns our future as well as the present. There is an urgent need to come together and work as agents of change at least to alleviate the causes if not eradicate all. Youth of today accounts for 40% of the global population. For several years, it has been observed that our changing consumption patterns with a lifestyle focused on high resource use, inefficient and ineffective processes, high waste generation and improper disposal has led to increase in emission levels and thus contributed to climate change. Thus, it’s high time that the youth, play a major role of not only following sustainable lifestyle but also in motivating others to do so. To handle climate change we need to act responsibly. We have to bring in small changes in our daily life that include simple actions such as walking or bicycling for short distances, wearing clothes appropriate to the seasons, watching for pollution and regularly maintaining our vehicles. Thus, it is essential that we consider the environmental impact of our everyday actions and choices.

OBJECTIVE:

Social Networking for Climate Change and Global Warming aims to generate environmental awareness using social networking as a catalyst for the youth, communities and leaders to focus on environmental issues particularly the global issues of climate change and global warming. Through social networking, the group is expecting that each and every one of the members regardless of age, regions and ethnicities would simply be doing their parts/advocacies in their own respective countries in saving the Planet for the future generations.

The group calls for the collective actions of young generations in the site to figure out solutions for the existing climate change issues in their respective countries. Interested members for positions of moderators are most welcomed. Moderators will serve as team leaders and have to initiate environmental activities or advocacies in their respective countries. Such activities with corresponding narrative reports and pictures will then be posted in the group's home for updates and documentations.

GROUP:http://www.perfspot.com/groups/102909

By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website, Copenhagen

He Yafei says China is willing to "engage" on emissions monitoring
A deal at the UN climate summit looks more likely following a frantic day of behind the scenes diplomacy.

China signalled concessions on monitoring of emission curbs, and the US said it would commit money for developing countries.
Leaders are likely to have big choices to make when they meet on Friday.
However, a leaked document from the UN climate convention indicates the best deal likely here will not keep the temperature rise below 2C (3.6F).
Even if countries implement their biggest pledges, a rise of 3C (5.4F) is indicated, it concluded.
Money matters
Despite many expressions of concern about projections of climate change, finance has emerged as an issue more likely to make or break a deal than emission pledges.
COPENHAGEN CLIMATE SUMMIT
Delegates from 193 nations are in Copenhagen to negotiate an agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, in order to prevent dangerous climate change
Developing nations want rich nations to cut emissions by at least 25% by 2020 - rich nations are reluctant to go so far and want developing countries to curb emissions too
The US will not accept legally binding emissions cuts unless China does the same. China has been vague on allowing international scrutiny of its emission cuts
Ongoing disagreement on how funds to mitigate and adapt to climate change will be provided. Poor nations want direct aid, while the West favours schemes like carbon trading
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her administration was prepared to help establish funding of $100bn a year for developing countries if a deal emerges here that meets US requirements.
"In the context of a strong accord in which all major economies pledge meaningful mitigation actions and provide full transparency as to those actions, the US is prepared to work with other countries towards a goal of mobilising $100bn a year to address the needs of developing countries."
The key demand is "transparency" from China, seen as a must if the US Senate is to pass legislation controlling emissions.
But the Beijing government has been hostile to this notion; and the issue had emerged as, in Mrs Clinton's words, a "deal-breaker".
But here, Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei has said China was ready to engage in "dialogue and co-operation that is not intrusive, that does not infringe on China's sovereignty."
Earlier, Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had called for "all of us, developed and developing countries, to be flexible" on verification.
He indicated the possibility of setting up an international mechanism for monitoring emission cuts.
Emissions gap
Meanwhile, a leaked document prepared by the UN climate convention secretariat confirms that current pledges on cutting greenhouse gas emissions are almost certainly not enough to keep the rise in the global average temperature within 2C.
....
CLIMATE CHANGE GLOSSARY

The analysis says that to achieve that goal, global emissions should be kept at or below of 44 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2020.
But if enacted, the current maximum pledges from developed countries would leave emissions 1.9Gt above that figure; minimum pledges would mean missing the target by 4.2Gt.
Unless this gap is closed, it says - for example by developed nations raising their current overall offer to a cut of 30% from 1990 levels by 2020 - global emissions will "remain on an unsustainable pathway that could lead to concentrations equal or above 550ppm, with the related temperature rise around 3C."
The analysis was based on a number of recent studies, notably the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook.
Joss Garman of Greenpeace commented: "The UN is admitting in private that the pledges made by world leaders would lead to a 3C rise in temperatures.
"Every politician in Copenhagen is now put on notice. They have one day left to step up or they will forever be remembered as the people who let this happen."
Simply the best?
Developing countries earlier won several key concessions.
The documents that will go before leaders on Friday will, sources say, be the latest versions of texts on which governments have been negotiating since the beginning of the year.
The Danish hosts have repeatedly come under fire from developing countries during the meeting for trying to introduce their own new documents.
Sources indicated that other leaders including UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd had effectively taken over the diplomatic push, with President Obama speaking with other leaders by phone.
Mr Rudd and French President Nicolas Sarkozy indicated they were prepared to make further emission cuts under the Kyoto Protocol, as developing countries have been demanding.
"If we keep on heading where we're going, we are heading for failure," said Mr Sarkozy.
"So people want to keep Kyoto - OK, let's keep Kyoto. But let us agree on an overall political umbrella."
There are indications that some poor nations most vulnerable to climate change are unhappy with the financial package proposed by Mrs Clinton, which is very similar to the proposal made on Wednesday by Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi.
Lesotho's chief negotiator Bruno Sekoli, who has chaired the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) group here, said the money must be separate from and additional to overseas development aid.
"We cannot be asked to choose between hospitals and schools on the one hand, and climate security on the other," he said.
But other countries appear to be regarding it as the best they are likely to get.
Discussions on the existing texts are ongoing, with ministers and negotiators attempting to resolve some of the outstanding issues before heads of state and government come together on Friday morning.
The EU is holding a meeting with "relevant players" - understood to include Brazil, China, India and the US - after leaders dine with the Danish royal family.
EU leaders are likely to discuss - and perhaps announce a decision on - whether they will raise their pledge on cutting emissions by 2020 from 20% to 30%.
But it appears that some of the most important issues may not be resolved before presidents and prime ministers convene.
Some observers are adamant that the final document must include a mandate to agree a new legally binding treaty by the end of the year at the latest.
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

Tunalım...

TÜRKİYE'YE "Medeniyetin Besigi" denir.. ve bu tarihi ülkede seyahat ederek yabancilar bu deyisin ne manaya geldigini görebilmektedirler..

Dünya'nin ilk yerlesim birimi.. Catalhöyük'te bir sehir .. milattan önce 6,500 tarhine kadar uzanmaktadir..O tarihten bugüne kadar, Türkiye son derece zengin bir tarihe ev sahipligi yapmis..

ve bu da modern medeniyetimizde kalici izler birakmistir..Yüzlerce senelik kültür mirasi Türkiye'yi bir bilgi ve kültür cenneti haline getirmistir.. Hititler, Frigyalilar, Urartulular, Likyalilar, Lidyalilar, İyonlar, Persler, Makedonyalilar, Romalilar, Bizanslilar, Selcuklular, ve Osmanlilar.. hepsi, Türk tarihine öneml katkilarda bulunmuslardir.. ve ülkenin her tarafina yayilmis olan tarihi harabeler herbir medeniyetin kendine has çizgilerini sergilemektedir.. Türkiye'nin ayni zamanda çok büyüleyici bir yakin tarihi bulunmaktadir.. Osmanli Imparatorlugu'nun çöküsünü takiben, meslek olarak asker ve kisilik olarak büyük vizyon sahibi Mustafa Kemal adinda genç bir adam Birinci Dünya Savasi'nin yenilgisini bütün istilaci kuvvetleri ülkeden atarak memleketi adina parlak bir zafere dönüstürmüstür Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 29 Ekim 1923 'de Türkiye Cumhuriyet'ni kurmus ve ülkesini büyük ekonomik ilerleme ve tümden modernizasyonla baris ve huzura kavusturmustur. Yaklasik 100 sene sonra, Türkiye hala bu gururu yasamaktadir.. "Yurtta Baris Cihanda Baris" sloganiyla

Turkey Welcomes You



‘Turkish hospitality is impossible to ignore’, proclaims the in-flight magazine as I fly to Bodrum. You can’t miss it when you set foot in the airport: the welcome visa costs $20. By the exit, the passengers are greeted by a forest of A4 sheets with the names of the people to take to the hotel. It is nice to go to an unknown place, and find somebody waiting for you and calling you by name: in this case, Turkish hospitality will set you back $40. The A4 sheets move, women in uniforms and men sporting three-day old stubble call out names in every language: there is something grotesque and vaguely uncanny about the situation, and I increasingly feel like a mullet among sharks. My shark, however, does not show up. As my flight was due to land at 3 am, I had arranged for a driver to drop me and my luggage at the enticingly-named ‘Hotel Best’; what I had not taken into account was that he might have been having a nap at the time of landing. He finally approaches with messy hair, and accompanies me to the minivan: an 8-seater for just one traveler, and one who is half asleep one at that. My first local conversation partner, Haci, breaks the silence of the overnight ride with a very British few remarks about the weather, but the imported manners soon give way to machismo the Turkish way when, having found out my status as solo female traveler, he points out he is single, and starts inquiring about my salary. Haci has never ventured outside his homeland, but he admits his views are cosmopolitan: 'I would go abroad on a trip. Well, provided it is no more than a couple of days’. As we speak, he sprays car deodorant: we are driving past a dump and he wants to cover the smell, so I will not get a bad impression of the city. Two sprays to preserve his national pride.

It is 4 am when I get to the hotel for check-in; a large picture of Atatürk hangs on the walls of the reception as if safeguarding the keys. My room overlooks the main road, where you can hear people singing and mopeds buzzing even at dead of night. It is not the noise of the nightlife that wakes me up, though, but rather the familiar, though long-unheard sound of a cockcrow. After breakfast by the pool, with music from a local TV channel - Britney Spears and Simply Red – blaring in the background, I set off to the centre of town. White houses, scorching sunshine, and a multitude of free roaming chickens. Bodrum boasts 5,000 years of history - a mausoleum, a castle, and an amphitheater still testify to the greatness of ancient Halicarnassus - but for the modern-day tourist, the town mainly means Aegean seaside resort. It is an extremely popular destination for European travelers: I wonder if I am going to be able to find anything authentic, let alone authentic Turkish hospitality.

All the bars and restaurants seem to come with a sea view: I even find a bookstore with a direct exit onto the beach. At the end of Atatürk St. I stop at a fruit market whose colors would have excited Van Gogh: in me they trigger sheer gluttony. A brawny monger hands me a fig, sweet and juicy: for a second I wonder if it is a seduction strategy, but I soon have to disperse my fantasies and realize it is only a marketing one. The fruit reminds me it is lunchtime, and I start having a look at the restaurants: ‘British pub’, ‘Chelsea v. Liverpool tonight’, ‘English breakfast all day!’: it is clear it will be hard to eat Turkish in Bodrum. I end up in a restaurant by the sea, drawn by a flag with a crescent promising local food. I take a seat and ask for water and a menu. How naïve of me! The menu is not held in your hands here. A teenage waiter opens the display case and shows me the fish available. ‘This one’, I say as I point my finger. This one, salad and more bread than I can eat turn out to be a very good choice, all for a very reasonable 16 Turkish lira.

In Bodrum you can forget you are in a Muslim country: skirts are short, and tourists walk around town in swimming costumes. Sure, the locals mention the mosque all the time: with its tall tower, it is an easy point of reference when they give you directions. A multitude of red flags wave on boats, buildings, restaurants, as if to remind that this is Turkey, at least politically not yet a colony of English and German holidaymakers.

As I walk along Atatürk St. on the way to my hotel, I bump into Haci. By day he works at a stool he calls ‘tourist office': to be fair, it does have a telephone and an array of brochures, invariably faded by the sun; seen as the business is growing, now they even sell international phone cards. By night Haci works as a driver, picking up tourists like me at the airport; on Wednesdays as a guide in Ephesus, on one of the organized tours he sells by day: I am suddenly reminded of how he fell asleep in the minivan the night I landed, only now I am not annoyed by the incident anymore. The tourist office overlooks the street leading to the beach; Haci stands outside and lures tourists in with a smile and a cheesy ‘How are you?’ - the Turkish approach to marketing. Back in my hotel, I am welcomed by a young receptionist: her English is limited, which is why she speaks very little and smiles a lot. The fruit monger, the driver and the receptionist: to me they become three faces of Turkish hospitality. I start to understand why the local Ministry of Tourism has chosen ‘Turkey welcomes you’ as a slogan.

By 5 pm I am in my room, getting ready for that most touristy of pleasures - the beach. This time it isn’t Britney Spears I hear in the background: the mosque is quite far away, but the prayers – almost an amorous lamentation with long-drawn out notes – fill my room as I put on my bikini. On the way to the beach lies the oldest Turkish bath in Bodrum; by the entrance stands a young lady with a headscarf whose English is limited to ‘Turkish bath?’. Seen as I do not proceed to the hamam, she calls the manager to act as an interpreter. The expert linguist is a middle-aged man, short and sweaty, busy with a massage to a greasy client lying on his stomach. The interpreter knows four English words more than the lady at the entrance: ‘35 lira massage, 20 lira Turkish bath’. I like the idea of a massage, but not the sight in front of me, and I leave, beach towel in hand.

All bars in Bodrum offer deck chairs on the beach: 5 yards of pebbles between the tables and the sea. I head to a public beach with no deck chairs and a few dogs. The sea is warm, the sun has stopped scorching, and I feel a little like Venus as I surrender my body to the same water into which the iconic Bodrum castle plunges. The sun is setting over Bodrum, and the town is at its best – like a girl with make up and a nice dress. Unfortunately this is also the time of day when restaurants get busy, the competition among waiters trying to lure you into their venues gets tough and the sound of the waves cannot be heard anymore, covered as it is by techno music from clubs and matches of the English Premier League on TV. I head for a kebab and an Ayran – a yogurt drink which surprisingly manages to be more salty than the lamb it accompanies – and the waiter cheekily asks me the question every solo female traveler expects: ‘Where is your boyfriend?'

Tourists are flocking to downtown for a night stroll: I decide to leave the centre to them and beat a retreat. Back at hotel Best (its name is not deceiving after all) I have the fruit I bought at the market; the open window lets in music from a piano bar, interrupted only by the 9 pm prayer from the mosque. As I watch a Tarkan video on TV and I sip my Ayran, I feel most welcome. TUNALIM...

Urgup:
Of the major villages in Cappadocia, Ürgüp strikes a balance between preserving its Anatolian traditions and cultivating an unobtrusive yet irresistible tourist infrastructure.

To meet the rising demand, hoteliers are all too eager to create magical and otherworldly accommodations for an increasingly upscale market. Crumbled hovels are snatched up for a song, human odors of food and sweat are scraped away with the top layers of porous tufa, and perfectly charming romantic retreats materialize. Of course, one day, all of those abandoned terraced houses will sprout brand-new facades, a gentrification process that, while polished and attractive, will probably be devoid of the character that drew us here in the first place.

The process has already begun, particularly in the wake of press provided by the highly popular Turkish soap opera, Asmali Konak. But for now, Ürgüp remains a tranquil yet convenient corner of Cappadocia that makes an ideal base from which to explore the surrounding valleys.Attractions:

With an easy blend of tradition and convenience, Ürgüp makes the perfect base for day excursions to the open-air museums of Göreme and Zelve, the nearby valleys, and neighboring villages.

The village is also a peaceful retreat for some quiet time, where you can walk around the old deserted section of town or enjoy the view from the lookout point atop windy Temmeni Hill, known as The Hill of Wishes 30YKr (20¢).

A mysterious tunnel (closed; don't bother with those pestering kids) almost 8km ( 1/2 mile) long leads from around the 13th-century Kebir Camii to the Selçuk tomb of Nükrettin at the top of the hill; to this day, no one knows who built it or why. The tomb was dedicated to the Selçuk leader Kiliçarslan IV, or the Sworded Lion, and a hilltop cafe allows you to relax and take it all in.

TUNALIM...

Rarely will a visit to Turkey exclude the burgeoning, chaotic, confused, messy, muddled, and glorious wonder that is Istanbul. Istanbul is home to a layering of civilization on civilization, of empire built on empire. It's as momentous as Rome, as captivating as Paris, and as exotic as Bangkok (this last is potentially a bad thing).A city that straddles Europe and Asia, Istanbul is a symbol of greatness, coveted historically by everyone from Xerxes all the way down the historical dateline through World War I, when Russia was green with envy over the possibilities of what free passage through the Bosphorus Straits could do for its economy. Even today, foreign commerce gets a free ride as hundreds of thousands of sometimes oversize and hazardous ships stream up and down this epic waterway. The traditions inherited from 2,500 years of history are most evident in the Old City, known as Old Stamboul or Sultanahmet. A stroll through this historic peninsula will reveal ancient Roman hippodromes, peristyles, and aqueducts, the greatest excesses of the Byzantine Empire, the mystique and power of the Ottoman Empire, and the relentless hassling by the merchant class. As a religious center (heart of the Greek Orthodox Church as well as the Islamic faith for centuries), Istanbul is the custodian of one of the world's most important cultural heritages and home to some of the world's most opulent displays of art and wealth. Early Greek civilization left us the building blocks for Rome and Byzantium, which swathed these earlier foundations in rich mosaics and left its mark in monuments such as the Hippodrome and Ayasofya. Even Fatih Mehmet II was astounded at the beauty of the city he had finally conquered. The Ottoman dynasty redirected the city's fortunes into the imperial majesty of undulating domes and commanding minarets, and the sumptuousness of Topkapi Palace.Across the Golden Horn is the modern heart of the city, heir to the future of the country, pulsating with all the electricity of a cutting-edge international metropolis. Although the political capital sits safely in the heartland, this part of Istanbul projects itself into the world as Turkey's ambassador of art, entertainment, music, and education.Today Istanbul is home to 14+ million of the 65 million people living in Turkey, many of whom are poor village folk who've migrated to the big city out of economic need. Over brunch, the residents of the more prosperous neighborhoods along the Bosphorus revile the poor wedged into the squalid back streets of Galata, while the religious fundamentalists of the Fatih neighborhood stare out through their veils in disapproval. All of the contradictions of a complex society in transition converge in Istanbul; the city is a microcosm of the tug-of-war between East and West and the "haves" and the "have-nots." Many of these have-nots develop get-rich-quick schemes to capitalize on the traffic brought in by the city's monumental past. It's a cold, calculating, and cruel world out there, but with a little mental preparedness, one that can be easily overcome. In Rome, preadolescent gypsies prey on tourists; in New York, it's the street dice men; and in Istanbul, it's anybody multilingual in Sultanahmet.Yet, however nonrepresentative Istanbul is of Turkey as a whole, however unscrupulous the merchants can be, and however disinterested much of the population may be over the city's fantastic roots, Istanbul is so exotic, wonderful, complex, and utterly monumental, that once seen, it's impossible to break free from its spell.Attractions:Istanbul is a city that has successfully incorporated a rich past into a promising future -- no small feat considering the sheer magnitude of history buried under those cobblestone streets. Three of the greatest empires in Western history each claimed Istanbul as their capital; as a result, the city overflows with extraordinary sites all vying for equal time. Conveniently, all of the top sights are located on or immediately around Sultanahmet Park, but that by no means is an indication that there's nothing worth seeing outside of that neighborhood700 Years of Turkish Jews Jews visiting Turkey inevitably ask for a tour of a local synagogue, and as the default working temple in the heart of Galata, Neve Shalom is usually the first and only stop. While interesting to see (particularly after sustaining recurring terrorist attacks), a visit to Neve Shalom is far from the Holy Grail of Jewish sites in Istanbul. It's also not necessarily guaranteed, since a pre-visit request accompanied by a faxed copy of your passport is the minimum requirement for entry. I'd recommend instead the Jewish Museum of Turkey, located in the restored 19th-century Zulfaris Synagogue. The museum represents the vision of the Quincentennial Foundation (named for the 500-year anniversary of the Jewish expulsion from Spain) and showcases the peaceful coexistence of Jews and Turks in Turkey. The foundation's vision came to fruition in 2001 with this anthology of Jewish presence in Turkey beginning with the Ottoman conquest of Bursa, through Sultan Beyazit's invitation to those expelled from Spain, to the present day. The museum/synagogue is located at Karaköy Meydani, Perçemli Sok. (tel. 0212/292-6333; facing the lower entrance to the Tünel funicular, Perçemli Sokak is the first alley to your right; the museum is at the end of the street on your right). The museum is open Monday through Thursday 10am to 4pm, and Friday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm. Admission is 5YTL ($3.70).Catch the Ottoman Mehter Band OutdoorsThat must-see Ottoman Mehter Band that I tout so much no longer requires that you head over to the Military Museum in the middle of your day. There's now a performance every Friday, an hour and a half prior to noon prayers, right in front of the Eyüp Sultan Mosque. After the music and a visit to the mosque complex, hop onto the brand new cable car for the 2-minute ride up to the top of Pierre Loti Hill.A Sweet Shop Near the Spice BazaarWandering around the spice bazaar, you can really work up an appetite. Across the Galata Bridge at the Karaköy seaport is the humble (and famous) Güllüoglu (tel. 0212/244-4567) sweet shop, where you'll find the best börek -- a cheese- or meat-filled pastry that's feathery and delicious. They also keep their glass cases full of baklava.See the Whirling DervishesThe Sufi Music Concert & Sema Ceremony (ceremony of the Whirling Dervishes) is held on the first and last Saturday of the month at the historic Galata Mevlevihanesi, Divan Edebiyati Müzesi, Galip Dede Caddesi, at the end of Istiklal Caddesi in Tünel (tel. 0535/210-4565). From October to April the ceremony is at 3pm; from May to September it's at 5pm. Go 15 minutes early for a front-row seat in this finely decorated octagonal hall. If you miss this one, there's an alternative concert of Sufi Music and a Sema Ceremony every Tuesday and Saturday at 7:30pm in the open hall off platform no. 1 in the train station at Sirkeci (tel. 0216/449-9081; www.emav.org). Tickets are 25YTL ($19); the ceremony lasts about an hour. (Note: please call ahead to confirm showings, as schedules do change.)
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The Iliad and Odyssey have made Troy one of the most recognizable mythological events in the world, and few can resist the chance to trod among its remains. The reality is less satisfying, however; the site for the most part is a hodgepodge of unrecognizable archaeological detritus visible from afar via a raised catwalk, some of which is blocked off by ongoing excavations. So the primary dilemma continues to be whether or not a visit is warranted. As an adjunct to a tour of Gallipoli, the trip is definitely worthwhile. But as a pilgrimage to the classical world, there are better-preserved and more representative sites on Turkish soil that are more conveniently accessible.Until 1871, when Heinrich Schliemann decided to go dig for buried treasure, finding Troy was about as likely as finding Atlantis. There was (and to a certain extent, still is) no concrete evidence that the civilization of Homer's Iliad existed. One of the arguments is that the poet's epic account of the Trojan War is an amalgam of battle stories based on geopolitics of the day, with a little Aaron Spelling thrown in for flavor.Then Schliemann, a self-taught archaeologist with an ancient-Greece obsession and an even stronger lust for buried treasure, descended upon the nearby village of Hisarlik and started poking around. His shoddy excavation resulted in significant damage to the site, and when the dust settled after his looting, there was some dispute over what it was that he actually "found" there. But there's no disputing that he began the significant excavation and reconstruction process that continues to this day.The fact that nine civilizations were built one on top of the other is no surprise, given the strategic location. Two thousand years ago, Troy was a port city at the mouth of the Dardanelles, and it would have been surprising if a war hadn't been fought here. While it's anyone's guess just how heroic the goings-on were on these ancient shores, the possibility of stepping into a legend is an exciting proposition -- as is climbing into the belly of a wooden horse that Walt Disney would be proud of.AttractionsStories about the young Schliemann paint a picture of a child prodigy on a vision quest from an early age. But it's entirely possible his obsession for Homer and Greek culture took root much later. It seems more likely that his main goal in life was to strike it rich; having achieved that in the California gold rush, he then set his sights on immortality.At about 44 years old, after years of study of ancient and modern Greek and the classic epic work of Homer, Schliemann proclaimed himself an archaeologist and began digging at Pinarbasi, which was believed at the time to be the site of Troy. Meanwhile, Frank Calvert had discovered the ruins of a palace or temple on the hill at Hisarlik, and the two agreed that this was a more likely area for the lost city.Schliemann began bulldozing his way through the hill in 1870 and found little besides obsidian knife blades and clay tiles -- which in Turkey, you can pretty much find while bending over and tying your shoe. When he finally discovered something significant -- a relief of the sun god Apollo -- he immediately attributed it to the ruins of Zeus's throne (and smuggled it out of the country and into his garden). It started to get interesting in August 1872 with the discovery of some gold earrings and a skeleton, and 9 months later his crew uncovered two gates guarding a stone foundation of a large building. To Schliemann, this was obviously the Scaean Gate, and the building was the palace of Priam, the last king of Troy.Some time later, Schliemann literally struck gold, shrewdly giving the crew the day off while he and his wife dug alone. That day's findings were monumental: a treasure of goblets, spearheads, knives, and jewelry in copper, silver, and gold, including an incredible 8,750 gold rings and buttons. Eventually Schliemann smuggled the whole lot (except for a few items now in the Archaeology Museum in Çanakkale) out of the country, initially stashing a major part of the treasure with various friends around Greece, where neither Turkish nor Greek authorities could claim ownership. He also donated a portion of the treasure to a Berlin museum, but the artifacts were stolen by the Soviets during World War II and transported to Russia. Schliemann halted and resumed excavation two more times through 1890 but never came near to the findings of that first stash, now believed to have belonged to a princess around 2000 B.C.So the question remains. Was Schliemann a lying megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur? One biographer points to the evidence. Discrepancies between Schliemann's personal letters and diary entries show that Schliemann lied with regard to his personal life. He also reported that the site of the treasure was located in Priam's Palace, when the site of the find was actually outside the city wall. The truly incriminating evidence is in the photographs he took of Priam's treasure; several of the items "found" in 1873 appear in photos taken in 1872 of earlier finds.Maybe he was just nuts; there's evidence supporting that, too. Schliemann eventually retired in Athens, renamed all of his servants after characters in Greek mythology, and required them to deliver all messages to him in ancient Greek, a language he had taught himself. The inscription on the tomb he had built for himself seems to be his final word on the subject: "For the hero Schliemann."TUNALIM...

The small port of Çanakkale was of major strategic importance during World War I; at its narrowest point, it guards the entire straits of the Dardanelles. A constant reminder of its role in the war is the memorial carved into the cliff side on the opposite shore, which is visible from just about everywhere in town: "O Passer-by: The quiet earth on which you tread unaware is the place where a generation was lost. Bow and listen, for this ground is where the heart of a nation throbs." But the Great War was not the only major battle to happen in these environs. The ancient city of Troy, located just over 9 miles from here, fell several times in defense of this strategic spot.Today Çanakkale is a quiet fishing town and tourist center, and the attractions are a mere footnote to both battlegrounds, where the action really happened. AttractionsThe Army Museum houses various types of war paraphernalia such as uniforms, medals, and weapons, but unless you're a war geek, the most interesting part of the exhibit is just inside the main entrance. There's a model of the Gallipoli Campaign, above which are various plaques in English with attention-grabbing anecdotes and quotes of the various battleground memorials. One recounts the story of how on August 10, 1915, Atatürk received a direct hit to the heart, but a pocket watch that he was carrying shielded him from the bullet and certain death. Other sources say it was shrapnel from the doomed 57th Regiment battle, while still others say the whole story is a load of crap. According to the debatable inscription in this museum, the shattered watch is now part of Army Commander General Limon von Sander's family collection.Next to the Naval Museum is a replica of the Nusrat, the minelayer that gets the credit for saving the day against invading British warships during the sea offensive. After the war, the underappreciated Nusrat was used as a lowly freight carrier and finally capsized in April 1990. Inside the ship is a minor exhibit of newspaper clippings with apparently significant headlines in huge block Turkish letters, as well as some diary entries and other forgettable items.Çimenlik Castle, along with the Kilitbahir Castle on the opposite banks of the straits, was constructed by Mehmet II (the Conqueror) in the 15th century as a strategic prelude to his assault on Constantinople. The castle grounds are full of old cannons from the battles, and if you venture into one of those dark passages, you can get a glimpse of the Turkish positions, not to mention the sections of the roof that were destroyed by incoming artillery.The park occupies a waterfront section that juts out into the sea and from which you get some of the best views in town, so if war yarns leave you cold, the grounds provide at least a pleasant diversion....TUNALIM...