13 Lesser-Known Historical Facts about Turkey:
1. The ancient city of Troy, immortalized in Homer's "Iliad," is located in modern-day Turkey.
2. The Hittite Empire, one of the great powers of the ancient Near East, was centered in Anatolia.
3. The Byzantine Empire, with its capital at Constantinople, lasted over a thousand years until 1453.
4. The Ottoman Empire, founded in 1299, became one of the longest-lasting empires in history.
5. The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, built in 537, served as a cathedral, mosque, and now a museum.
6. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, implemented sweeping reforms to modernize the country.
7. The Battle of Gallipoli during World War I was a significant and costly campaign for both the Allies and the Ottoman Empire.
8. The city of Ephesus was an important center of early Christianity and the site of the Temple of Artemis.
9. The Bosporus Strait, dividing Europe and Asia, has been a strategic waterway for millennia.
10. The Cappadocia region is famous for its unique rock formations and ancient cave dwellings.
11. The Seljuk Turks played a crucial role in the history of Anatolia before the rise of the
Ottomans.
12. The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul was the primary residence of Ottoman sultans for over 400 years.
13. The Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 established the modern borders of Turkey and ended the Ottoman Empire.
