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This land of seas, mountain ranges, high plateaus and fertile river valleys is the dividing line between the Orient and the Occident. It was also the nucleus of the 1,000 year old Byzantine Empire with its capital established in Constantinople. It was here too that early Christianity first took root, to be replaced with the advent of Islam, originally under the Arabs and later by the Selcuk and Ottoman Turks. The frontiers of the Ottoman Empire spread from the Persian Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Indian Ocean to Vienna.

Slowly, however, the terratorial gains were whittled away until all that remained was the spirit of the Turks. Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Turkish people established the modern republic of Turkey. Here is a country where graceful minarets are silhouetted against the horizon, where ancient churches covered in fragrant honeysuckle stand next to the shimmering waters of the Aegean and Mediterranean. Where weather-worn monuments bear witness to 4,000 years of history. All of these sights and sounds – and much more – are waiting for you to experience.