According to Ehistorylib, Turkey is officially called the Republic of Turkey and is a Eurasian country that covers the peninsula of Anatolia in southwest Asia and Thrace
( Rumelia ) in the Balkan region of southern Europe. Turkey borders eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest, Greece to the west, Georgia to the northeast, Armenia, Azerbaijan ( exclave of Nakhichevan ) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. Mediterranean and Cyprus is to the south, while the Aegean Sea and the Aegean Islands are to the west and the Black Sea to the north. The Marmara Sea and the Turkish Strait ( Bosphorus and Dardanelles ) separate Anatolia and Thrace. It is generally perceived as the border between Asia and Europe, with which Turkey is a transcontinental country.
Turkey has had forces in international missions under the auspices of the United Nations and NATO since 1950, including peacekeeping missions in Somalia and the former Yugoslavia, as well as support for coalition forces in the Gulf War. Turkey has 36,000 troops in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and has deployed troops in Afghanistan as part of the US Stabilization Force and the UN-authorized, NATO-led ISAF force since 2001.
TIMELINE:
10,000 BCE – Göbekli Tepeis the oldest known man-made religious structure to date. The sanctuary was probably built by hunter-gatherers in the 10th millennium BC. (about 12,000 years ago) and has been under excavation since 1994 by German and Turkish archaeologists. The site was discovered in connection with an excavation of a hilltop in 1964.
7400-5600 BCE – In 1958, archaeologists discovered the Çatalhöyükmound, which was created by residents building new houses on top of old ones over several centuries, so that there are now up to 17 meters of archeological layers. The houses have stood so close together that there has been no passage between them. No doorways have been found in the houses, so the archaeologists imagine that the entrance to the houses has been through the roof via a ladder, and that the city’s “traffic” has taken place over the flat roofs. In addition to the entrance, the hole in the ceiling has functioned as ventilation for the stove and fireplace and as the only opening with light incidence. Contemporary dwellings similar to Çatalhöyük are, for example, the pueblo and dogon of the North American Indians the settlements of Mali in West Africa.
7000 years BCE – Woven garments are invented in Turkey.
6400 years BCE – Wild cattle are domesticated in Turkey.
1299 – The Ottoman Empire is a large Turkish empire founded by Osman I in 1299 and lasts until November 1, 1922, when the sultanate is abolished. The form of government was monarchical with an emperor as head of state, and Ottoman-Turkish was spoken. The state religion was Sunni Islam. The empire spread across western Asia, southeastern Europe, and North Africa. After the siege and conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman Empire replaced the Byzantine Empire as ruler of the Balkans and Anatolia.
1513 – Piri Reiswas an Ottoman admiral born around 1465 in Turkey and beheaded on the sultan’s order in 1554 or 1555 after a defeat in a naval battle. The Piri Reis map was probably drawn in 1513 and has been called an enigmatic map by some, as it i.a. depicts the Atlantic coast of North America, South America, Africa and possibly Antarctica’s northern coastline without ice.
1885 – UFO MYTH: In Scutari (Uskudar), Turkey, on November 2, at dawn, a luminous object circulated around the harbor at a height of about 5-6 m. It illuminated the entire city, with a blue-greenish flame, and it lasted about 1½ min. Then it dived into the sea. It made several circles over the ferry boat pier.
1930 – March 28. The Turkish cities of Angora and Constantinople change their names to, respectively. Ankara and Istanbul.
1945 – February 23 – Turkey enters World War II on the side of the Allies as a ceremonial gesture and becomes a member of the United Nations in 1945.
1952 – After participating in the Korean War as part of the UN force, Turkey joins NATO and becomes a bulwark against Soviet invasion of the Mediterranean.
