Currency In Turkey

The unit of Turkish money is the Turkish Lira (Türk Lirası, TL, TRL or TRY). In 2009, new banknotes were introduced. More...
From 2005 through 2008, Turkey's currency was called the New Turkish Lira (Yeni Türk Lirası, YTL or TRY). As of January 1, 2009, the "New" (Yeni) has been dropped. The currency is again simply the Turkish Lira.
Here's the current exchange rate for the Turkish Lira. It's best to wait until you get to Turkey to exchange money for Turkish Liras. Exchange rates outside of Turkey are usually not as good as those inside Turkey.
The Turkish Lira is divided into 100 kuruş (kurush; that's koo-ROOSH). Here's how the 2009-series notes/bills look.
Although you can sometimes use foreign currencies (euros are best, US dollars are good, UK pounds sterling are accepted in some places, but no Scottish notes!) for larger transactions, and using non-Turkish currency is legal, you will want to use TL most of the time.
The easiest way to get cash liras is to stick your home bank card or credit card into a Turkish ATM (bancomat/cashpoint, cash machine). Travelers' checks are a much less efficient way.
You can exchange foreign-currency cash at a Currency Exchange Office (Döviz Bürosu).
The best currencies to carry for changing to TL are, again, euros, US dollars, and UK pounds.
Many people in Turkey will not accept large bills/notes for small payments, so it's good to juggle your TL cash-on-hand so that you always have some smaller amounts. Get in the habit of paying with bills/notes that are about equal to twice the amount you're paying (so pay for a TL23 meal with a TL50 note, which gives you TL27 in change). If you give notes that are three times or more than the price, you're liable to get a dirty look and a request for smaller notes.
Old pre-2005 Turkish Lira notes and coins and 2005 to 2008 New Turkish Liras have been withdrawn from circulation. TL1.00 is equal to (old, pre-2005) TL1,000,000 and YTL1.00. In other words, a million old liras equals one new lira, but you should not accept old pre-2005 liras or 2005 to 2008 New Turkish Liras! More...
A century ago, one Ottoman Turkish lira was worth US$5 (and that $5 was worth about US$100 in today's dollars).

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Reference:http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/details/Money/

Famous Landmarks of Turkey

		Besides being the official residence of the Sultan, the Topkapi Palace served as the headquarters of the government. It also housed the state treasury and the archives. The mint, as well as the highest educational institution were located on the Palace grounds. On exhibitions are the imperial collections of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain; imperial handmade costumes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the treasury; the richest collection of clocks in the
world; the sacred relics of Islam including the swords of Mohammed, his bow and his mantle; priceless collection of miniatures and many other priceless objects. One of the largest diamonds in the world, the Spoonseller Diamond, is displayed in a special showcase in the hall. The rooms are exquisitely decorated and tiled.

DOLMABAHCE PALACE Dolmabahce Palace, built in the mid-19th century by Sultan Abdulmecit 1, stretches for 600 meters along the European shore of the Bosphorus. The palace has survived intact with its original decorations, furniture, silk carpets, curtains and everything else. It is said that 14 tons of gold and 40 tons of silver were used for the decoration of the palace.
The palace contains 285 rooms, 43 salons and six baths. Its walls and ceilings are covered with paintings by the famous artists of that age. Rare handmade art objects from Europe and the Far East decorate every room in the palace. The ballroom is the largest of its kind in the world. A 4.5 ton giant-sized crystal chandelier with 750 bulbs hangs from the 120 feet high dome. The floors are parquet, of exceptional quality and are laid with high-quality silk carpets, hand-woven in the Imperial Factory of Hereke. Atat�rk used to stay in this palace when he visited Istanbul. He died here in 1938. All the clocks in the palace were stopped at 9:05 am, the time of his death, in memory of this great T�rk. The Palace which is a museum today is open on certain days of the week, and it is one of those historic places in Istanbul that must be visited.

KARIYE MUSEUM (The Chora Church) The Kariye Museum is, after Hagia Sophia, the most important Byzantine monument in Istanbul. The existing building was built towards the end of the 11th century and dedicated to Christ the Savior. After the Turkish conquest, the church remained deserted for a time, and was turned into a mosque in 1511 by addition of a minaret. It became a museum in 1948 and its frescoes were cleaned and
restored by the American Institute of Byzantine Research. The walls are decorated with superb 14th century mosaics, illustrating scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary. These are the finest masterpieces of Christian religious art to be found anywhere in the world. Paintings, rocks and architectural designs seen in the background make the pictures three-dimensional. The scenes are made with special care for them to look daily, lively and ordinary. The scenes are enriched with explicating stories near them.
ELSEWHERE IN TURKEY

		TROY Ancient city of Troy is located 30 km south west of Canakkale province in the Marmara Region of Turkey. This is one of the most important historical cities of Anatolia. Archeological excavations have revealed nine separate periods of settlement at this site, including ruins of city walls, house foundations, a temple and a theater.
The earliest settlement dates from five thousand years ago and the last coincided with the late Roman period. Famous Trojan wars, depicted in Homer�s epic Iliad took place here at about 1200 BC. A symbolic wooden horse at this site commemorates this legendary war.

EPHESUS The ruins of Ephesus is one of the world�s greatest archaeological sites. It is located 75 km south of Izmir. In Hellenistic times, Ephesus became the most densely populated city in Anatolia with a population of more than 200 000. The city reached the peak of its glory under the Roman rule and became a very important center of trade and commerce.
A majority of the monuments that exist now date to that period. It was also the leading political and intellectual center, with the second school of philosophy in the Aegean. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Ephesus also emerged as one of the main centers of early Christianity. St. Paul remained in the city for three years during his third missionary journey (53-57).The Apostle John also came to Ephesus to live and was finally buried here. Ephesus was one of the Seven Churches mentioned in his book of Revelation.

		Tradition has it that St. John brought Virgin Mary to Ephesus after Christ�s crucifixion and that she lived and died in a small wooden house located about three miles away in the forested mountain above Ephesus at the age of 101. In the year 431 the Third Ecumenical Council was held in the Basilica of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus. In the following century, Emperor Justinian(527-565) built a massive church at the spot where St John was believed to have been buried.
It became an important site of pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages. The city ruins include the agora, theater, gymnasium, stadium, Church of the Virgin Mary, Temple of Serapis, Temple of Hadrian, Fountain of Trajan, Scholasticia Baths, Temple of Domitian and terrace houses that once belonged to rich Ephesians, as well as the Celsus Library. The Cathedral of St. John is on the Ayasuluk hill above the city. The Celsus Library (shown in the picture) is the most impressive building of them all.

 

Reference:http://www.meandertravel.com/turkey/turkey.php?details=famouslandmarks&m=4&md=sc4

Turkey

Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a country located 97% in Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and 3% in East Thrace in Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.^[10] Turkey's location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.^[11][12]
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims.^[13] The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who comprise 18% of the population.^[14]
Turks began migrating into the area now called Turkey (derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia, i.e. "Land of the Turks") in the 11th century. The process was greatly accelerated by the Seljuk victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert.^[15] Several small beyliks and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol Empire's invasion. Starting from the 13th century, the Ottoman beylik united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed following its defeat in World War I, parts of it were occupied by the victorious Allies. A cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his colleagues, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; in 1923, they would establish the modern Republic of Turkey with Atatürk as its first president.
Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with an ancient cultural heritage. Turkey is an independent Turkic state which has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organizations such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G-20 major economies. Turkey began full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005, having been an associate member of the European Economic Community since 1963 and having reached a customs union agreement in 1995. Turkey has also fostered close cultural, political, economic and industrial relations with the Middle East, the Turkic states of Central Asia and the African countries through membership in organizations such as the Turkic Council, Joint Administration of Turkic Arts and Culture, Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Economic Cooperation Organization. Given its strategic location, large economy and military strength, Turkey is a major regional power.^[16]

Climate
The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea have a temperate Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Black Sea have a temperate Oceanic climate with warm, wet summers and cool to cold, wet winters. The Turkish Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages 2,500 millimeters annually which is the highest precipitation in the country.
The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Sea of Marmara (including Istanbul), which connects the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea, have a transitional climate between a temperate Mediterranean climate and a temperate Oceanic climate with warm to hot, moderately dry summers and cool to cold, wet winters. Snow does occur on the coastal areas of the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea almost every winter, but it usually lies no more than a few days. Snow on the other hand is rare in the coastal areas of the Aegean Sea and very rare in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea.
Conditions can be much harsher in the more arid interior. Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean influences from extending inland, giving the central Anatolian plateau of the interior of Turkey a continental climate with sharply contrasting seasons.
Winters on the plateau are especially severe. Temperatures of −30 °C to −40 °C (−22 °F to −40 °F) can occur in eastern Anatolia, and snow may lie on the ground at least 120 days of the year. In the west, winter temperatures average below 1 °C (34 °F). Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures generally above 30 °C (86 °F) in the day. Annual precipitation averages about 400 millimetres (15 in), with actual amounts determined by elevation. The driest regions are the Konya plain and the Malatya plain, where annual rainfall frequently is less than 300 millimetres (12 in). May is generally the wettest month, whereas July and August are the driest.<sup>[84]

Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey</sup>

Turkey Football

The Turkey national football team (Turkish: Türkiye Millî Futbol Takımı) represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. Their current head coach is Guus Hiddink. They are affiliated with UEFA. The team is, according to the FIFA World Rankings, ranked 30th^[2] in the world. Turkey has qualified three times for the World Cup finals, in 1950, 1954, and 2002, although they withdrew from the 1950 event. Turkey has also qualified three times for the UEFA European Championship, in 1996, 2000 and 2008. They have reached the semi-finals of three major tournaments: the 2002 World Cup, the 2003 Confederations Cup, and Euro 2008.

History
The Turkish national team played their first ever match against Romania in 1923 drawing 2–2.^[3] Although Turkey qualified for the 1950 World Cup, beating Syria 7–0, they had to withdraw due to financial problems. Turkey then qualified for the 1954 World Cup after a play-off with Spain. The Turkish team first lost 4–1 to Spain, but a 1–0 win a few days later initiated a replay. On that occasion, they tied 2–2 after, booking their place after a coin toss. Turkey was put in a group along with Hungary and West Germany. The Turks, however, never played Hungary due to the tournament format, and a 4–1 defeat by the Germans was followed by Turkey carrying out a 7–0 win over South Korea. Turkey lost the play-off to West Germany 7–2. In 1956 Turkey did however play Hungary, in a friendly in Istanbul, beating what was one of the strongest teams of the era 3–1.^[4]
Despite the introduction of a national league, and showings by Turkish clubs in European competition, the 1960s would be a barren time for the national team. The 1970s saw Turkey holding back in the World Cup and European Championship qualifiers, but the team was a point too short to qualify for Euro 1972 and Euro 1976. The Turkish team also suffered their worst defeats with 8–0 scorelines against Poland and twice against England. Yet the 1990 World Cup qualifiers would mark a turning point for Turkish football, with Turkey only missing out on qualification in the final game.
Turkey qualified for Euro 1996, beating both Switzerland and Sweden 2–1 along the way. At Euro 1996, they lost all their matches without scoring a single goal. They did, however, go home with an award: the fair-play award, given to Alpay Özalan. Turkey qualified for Euro 2000 after winning a play-off against Ireland. Turkey lost their first match 2–1 to Italy, they drew their second match against Sweden 0–0, and beat host nation Belgium 2–0, making it the first time in the history of the European Championship that a host nation had been eliminated in the first round, brought Turkey into the last eight of the tournament where they were beaten 2–0 by Portugal.
For the 2002 FIFA World Cup Turkey finished second in their qualifying group, despite starting well and being the favourites to top the group. They lost 2–1 to Sweden in the crucial match that would decide the top spot. The Turks were forced to play the play-offs against Austria. They defeated the Austrians 6–0 on aggregate and booked their place at the finals. The Turkish team started the 2002 World Cup with a 2–1 defeat against eventual winners Brazil.^[5] Turkey qualified from the group stage with a 3–0 win against China, after drawing 1–1 with Costa Rica.^[6][7]
Turkey then faced home team Japan in the second round, beating them 1–0.^[8] The Turkish team continued their run, as they beat Senegal 1–0 on a golden goal to book their place in the semi-finals where a 1–0 defeat against eventual tournament winners Brazil forced them to play the third place match, and a bronze medal was won after a 3–2 victory over a surprise South Korean team.^[9][10][11] Hakan Şükür scored Turkey's first goal in 10.8 seconds, even when the South Koreans kicked off first. It was the fastest goal in World Cup history.^[12] Tens of thousands of flag-waving Turkish fans greeted the World Cup squad on their return to Istanbul, were they joined a massive street party at Taksim Square.^[13]
In the summer of 2003, Turkey reached third place at the 2003 Confederations Cup. In the group stages, they drew 2–2 against Brazil, eliminating them from the tournament. Turkey lost to eventual tournament winners France 3–2 in the semi-final match. Turkey then defeated Colombia 2–1 to win the bronze medal. The Turkish team failed to qualify for Euro 2004 on play-offs due to a loss to Latvia after finishing second in their group.
The Turkish team once again narrowly missed out on the finals after failing to win a play-off, this time on away goals against Switzerland, again after finishing second in their group. There were scenes of violence after the game on and off the pitch where the Turkish team brawled with Swiss players down the tunnel.
Turkey qualified for their first international tournament in six years by finishing second behind Greece in Group C. They were placed alongside Switzerland, Portugal, and the Czech Republic in Group A. In their first match, they played Portugal and were beaten 2–0, but wins over Switzerland (2–1) and Czech Republic (3–2) – both secured by late goals – brought qualification for the knockout stages.^[14][15][16] Again, Turkey knocked out a host nation – Switzerland – in the group stages for the second time.^[17]

Turkey national football team on an Azerbaijani stamp for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

The quarter-final against Croatia was goalless after 90 minutes, and Croatia led 1–0 in the final minute of extra time, but another late Turkish goal by forward Semih Şentürk brought the game to penalties. The goal raised some controversy with Croatia fans and Croatia's coach, Slaven Bilić, who claimed that the goal had been scored after extra time had elapsed. This complaint, however, was overruled, and the game went into penalties. Turkey beat out Croatia in penalties 3–1.^[18]
They went into the semi-final against Germany with just 14 outfield players available as a result of injuries and suspensions, but scored first and were drawing 2–2 in the last minute of the match, until Germany scored a third goal in the last few seconds and Turkey was thus eliminated.^[19] Both Russia and Turkey were given bronze medals in the dressing rooms after the semi-finals.
For the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers Turkey had a mixed qualifying campaign, finishing with 15 points and missing out on a play-off place to Bosnia and Herzegovina with 19 points. Spain won Group 5 to qualify, winning every game in the process. Coach Fatih Terim announced he would be resigning his post following their failure to qualify.^[20]
Turkey were drawn in Group A in qualification for UEFA Euro 2012, together with Kazakhstan, Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Azerbaijan.

Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_national_football_team

Turkey People

Spectacular Turkey

Turkey Famous Food

It is said that three major kinds of cuisine exist in the world; Turkish, Chinese, and French. Fully justifying its reputation, Turkish Cuisine is always a pleasant surprise for the visitor.
In addition to being the refined product of centuries of experience, Turkish Cuisine has a very pure quality. The variety and simplicity of the recipes and the quality of the ingredients are guarantees of delicious meals.
Kebabs are dishes of plain or marinated meat either stewed or grilled. Almost every district of Anatolia has its own kebap specialty. Lamb is the basic meat of Turkish kitchen. Pieces of lamb threaded on a skewer and grilled over charcoal form the famous "Sis kebab", now known in many countries of the world. "Doner kebab" is another famous Turkish dish, being a roll of lamb on a vertical skewer turning parallel to a hot grill. You should also try "Alanazik", "Sac kavurma", "Tandir" and different types of "Kofte" as typical meat dishes.
The aubergine is used in a wide variety of dishes from "karniyarik" and "hünkarbegendi", to "patlican salatasi" (eggplant salad) and "patlican dolmasi" (stuffed eggplants). It can be cooked with onions, garlic and tomatoes and served cold as "imam bayildi".

A delicious Turkish specialty is "pilav", a rice dish which is difficult for the inexperienced cook to prepare. In the Black Sea region of Turkey they make a great dish with rice and small fish called "Hamsili pilav". Another interesting dish from the same region is "Miroloto". "Börek" are pies of flaky pastry stuffed with meat, cheese or potatoes. The delicious Turkish natural yoghurt, "yogurt", is justifiably renowned. A typical appetizer prepared with yogurt is "Cacik". And, of course, don't forget to try "Manti", with loads of yogurt.

reference:http://www.allaboutturkey.com/mutfak.htm