Investment Property - Turkey At The Crossroads
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For anyone about to invest in the emerging Turkey property market, it's a good idea to discover as much as possible about this ancient land at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, to uncover its mysteries and try to imagine what the future holds for those who reside within its extensive borders. In this article we are going to set the scene by taking a brief look at modern-day Turkey.
The land mass of Turkey is over 1,600 km long and 800 km wide, making a somewhat rectangular shape. Turkey's area, including the lakes, occupies 783,562 square kilometres, most of which are in South-West Asia. It is the world's 37th largest country and is similar in size to France and the United Kingdom combined. Turkey is encircled by seas on three sides: the Aegean Sea to the west, the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Turkey also contains the Sea of Marmara to the northwest.
Geographically, Turkey is split into seven distinct regions: the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Aegean, Marmara, Eastern Anatolia, Central Anatolia and South-Eastern Anatolia. Each region is very different with distinct landscape. There are also many areas having a risk of earthquake or volcanic eruption. There was a very severe earthquake in 1999.
With regard to climate, that of Turkey is Mediterranean and temperate, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet and cold winters, though conditions can be much harsher in the dryer interior. Turkish seasons are very distinct. The central Anatolian Plateau is much more subject to extremes than the coastal areas.
Winters on the plateau are especially severe. Temperatures of -30 C to -40 C can occur in the mountains of the east, and snow can be found 120 days a year.
Culturally Turkey is very diverse, being a blend of various elements of the Oguz Turkic and Anatolian, Ottoman and Western cultures and traditions which started with the westernization of the Ottoman Empire and still continues. As Turkey successfully transformed from being religion-based into a modern nation-state with a very strong separation of state and religion, an increase in the methods of artistic expression followed naturally.
During the early years of the republic, the Turkish government invested a large amount in fine arts, museums, theatres and architecture. Because of the many historical factors playing an important role in defining the modern Turkish identity, Turkish culture is today a product of efforts to be modern and Western, combined with traditional religious and historical values.
Turkish music and literature are good examples of such a cultural mix. Music schools are popular throughout Turkey, from traditional Arab to hip-hop styles. Turkish literature was heavily influenced by that of Persia and Arabic literature during most of the Ottoman era, though later on the effect of both Turkish folk and Western literary traditions are increasingly felt.
With regard to architecture and building in general, there is now a new blend of the old Byzantine, Ottoman Empire, Islamic and contemporary Western elements. This is highly in evidence in Istanbul where famous buildings such as the Blue Mosque find themselves set against a contemporary backdrop of high-rise office and apartment blocks.
Now let's take a look at the sporting life of Turkey! Unsurprisingly enough, the most popular sport has become football. Here the major teams include the now well-known names of Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce.
Indeed, Turkey is now rapidly becoming a major international force in the world of professional soccer. Most recently the Turkish international team finished third in the World Cup finals held in Korea and Japan.
Other sports are now also very popular in modern-day Turkey, such as volleyball, basketball and several motor sports. Interestingly enough, by far the most successful of any teams have been the women's volleyball teams, which have won a number of major European titles and medals.
I hope this brief overview will give you some background to the ancient and culturally diverse world of the fascinating country that is modern-day Turkey. In future articles I'll be looking at many aspects of the country in much greater detail.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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