Travel
Travel To Turkey
Modern Turkey is a secular and democratic Moslem country, founded in 1920 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and from that time, Turkey has been suffering big changes and one of the most notable is its rapidly economic development. Despite of its traditional and Islam roots, Turkey is decidedly western oriented country and today is considered as a candidate to be part of the European Union, which will permit to the country grow up more. The Turkish people have an unrivalled reputation for hospitality, the cuisine is to die for, the coastline is a dream, and many Turkish cities are dotted with spectacular mosques and castles. And while costs are rising, Turkey remains one of the Mediterranean’s bargain-basement destinations.
Turks have only lived here since medieval times when they arrived as land-hungry nomads from Central Asia. Before that it was Byzantine territory and Istanbul - then Constantinople - was the political centre of a vast Christian empire. Romans, Persians, Lycians and Phrygians were former occupants of the same territory, and earlier still, Hittite tribes had built an Anatolian empire before collapsing around the time of the Trojan Wars.
In March 2008, Turkish security forces established three additional temporary security zones (bringing the total to six) in the southeastern provinces of Hakkari, Siirt and Sirnak, along the border with Iraq, to prevent insurgent infiltration. Movement in these areas is strictly limited by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), and travel to these regions should be avoided. With government authorization obtained on November 28, 2007, the TAF have been carrying out occasional air and ground strikes against identified PKK targets in the Turkish/Iraqi border area.
