Turkey stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace in southeastern Europe, making it a multi-continental country. The Mediterranean Sea is to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea to the north. The first major empire in the area was that of the Hittites, from the 18th through the 13th century BC. All of Anatolia was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire during the 6th and 5th centuries and later fell to Alexander the Great. In 324 the Roman emperor Constantine I chose Byzantium to be the new capital of the Roman Empire, renaming it Constantinople (now Istanbul). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it became the capital of the Byzantine Empire. This empire was defeated by the Turks, who were subsequently defeated by the Mongols in 1243 giving rise to the mightly Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire interacted with both Eastern and Western cultures throughout its 623-year history. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was among the world's most powerful political entities. Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Ataturk) led the independence movement in 1922 which produced the modern secular Turkish state.
Tours Featuring Turkey
* USD per person, double occupancy, private tour with own vehicle. Subject to change. Per person rate typically lower for a large group.
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