Turkey Airfares

Turkey is especially significant because it’s a melting pot of many epic civilizations including Persian, Assyrian, Roman, Ottoman and Greek. Thanks to its southeast European location and its European, Asian and Muslim influenced culture, it’s considered the bridge between Europe and Asia.

Often overshadowed by its neighbor’s to the west, Italy and Greece, in terms of historical richness, Turkey surprisingly contains more classical ruins then those countries while still offering the wonders of the Mediterranean Sea.

The quality of life in Turkey has improved immensely in the early 20th century when Mustafa Kemal took control of the country and transformed it from a feudal monarchy to secular, democratic Muslim state. The openness, deep sense of national pride and modernity of today’s Turkey can be somewhat credited to him.

The ancient city of Troy is located on the eastern coast of Turkey and was pitted against Greece’s Sparta in the mythical Trojan War portrayed in Homer’s Illiad. Numerous excavations in this city has uncovered rich ruins which encompass the area known as Hisarlik, or castle kingdom, which arguably dates back to the 8th century BC. Just north of Troy are cemeteries commemorating the thousands of mostly Australian soldiers killed during the very factual war, WWII, in battles over the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Istanbul, located in northeast Turkey on border of Greece, was founded by Constantine the Great, the ruler of the Roman Empire from 324-327, and was initially named Constantinople and nicknamed the “New Rome”. In addition to its extraordinary history which is detailed in the Topkapi Palace and the Archaeological Museum, Istanbul offers its visitors buzzing bazaars and great Byzantine art and architecture to go with a comfortable climate and affordable accommodations.