Founded in 1923 out of the remnants of the great
Ottoman Empire, modern
Turkey is a young country but a very historic land. The legacies of the
Greeks,
Romans,
Christian apostles,
Byzantines,
Ottoman Turks, and the other peoples that have called this area home have made
Turkey into a vast outdoor museum full of beautiful, intriguing religious sites. Highlights of
Turkey's many religious treasures include the spectacular
Byzantine churches and
beautiful mosques of
Istanbul; the ancient city of
Antioch where emperors lived and apostles preached; the ruins of the fabled city of
Pergamum on its windswept hilltop; the
Sufi holy city of
Konya; the otherworldly landscape and cave churches of
Cappadocia; and the colonnaded streets and great theater of
Ephesus. With its unique fusion of
Europe and
Asia,
West and East, exotic and familiar, and ancient and modern, today's
Turkey is a delight to travelers.
