Turkey

Discover Turkey

Fun Foods

Kebab (Döner), Pide, Köfte, Simit, Lahmacun, Turkish Delight (Lokum), Baklava, Dondurma

Here's something no other big city in the world can say: Istanbul sits on two continents at once.

Part of the city is in Europe, and part is in Asia, split by a narrow strip of water called the Bosphorus. You can ride a ferry from one continent to the other in about 15 minutes.

That in-between spot, right where East meets West, made Istanbul one of the most important cities in all of history. For over a thousand years it was called Constantinople, the capital of the mighty Roman and then Byzantine Empire.

In 1453, after a long siege, Ottoman Turkish armies captured the city. They renamed it Istanbul and made it the heart of their own empire.

The Ottoman Empire grew enormous, ruling lands across Europe, Asia, and Africa for about 600 years.

Like every empire, it had a dark side. During World War I, the Ottoman government forced huge numbers of Armenian people from their homes, and many hundreds of thousands died.

Most historians call this a genocide, a planned attempt to wipe out an entire group of people, though the Turkish government disagrees with that word.

The Ottoman Empire fell apart after losing World War I. Out of the pieces, a general named Mustafa Kemal Atatürk built a brand-new country in 1923: the Republic of Turkey.

He became its first president and changed the country fast, bringing in a new alphabet, giving women the right to vote, and separating religion from government.

Today, Turkey is packed with amazing places. In Istanbul, you can step inside the Hagia Sophia, a colossal domed building that has been both a great church and a great mosque over its 1,500 years.

Nearby, the Grand Bazaar is a maze of thousands of shops, one of the oldest covered markets on Earth.

In the region of Cappadocia, wind and water carved soft rock into cone-shaped towers called "fairy chimneys." People hollowed out homes, churches, and even whole underground cities inside the rock, deep enough to hide thousands. At sunrise, hot air balloons drift over it all.

Here's one more surprise: many of the gift-giving traditions we love at Christmas trace back to this very place. A kind bishop named Nicholas, famous for secretly leaving presents for people who needed them, lived here about 1,700 years ago.

For food, try a kebab, seasoned meat grilled on a skewer. Then bite into lokum, the chewy cubes called Turkish delight, and baklava, flaky pastry layered with nuts and honey.