Connections to Turkey

CONNECTIONS TO TURKEY / ANATOLIA

• Paleolithic caves dating between 700.000 to 35.000 BC
• Nevali Cori, the earliest known village settlement of the world, with stone reliefs and first known statue 11000 BC
• Gobeklitepe, The earliest dated Temple of the world with stone reliefs.
• Catalhoyuk, the first urban city settlement of the world, 8000 BC
• Noah’s ark ( Landed on Mt. Ararat ( Agri), in northeastern Turkey)
• Turquoise ( French word for the color deriving from Turkish coast)
• Meander ( winding meander river is in western Turkey)
• Santa Claus, (St. Nicholas), born in Patara, bishop of Myra ( in southwestern Turkey)
• Trojan war ( took place in Troy, Northwestern Turkey)
• Homeros ( Homer ) born in Smyrna, modern Izmir of Turkey
• Herodotos ( Herodotus ) father of history, born in Halicarnassos, modern Bodrum.
• The Iliad/ The Odyssey Homer’ stories of Trojan  wars and afterwards
• Turkish towel ( thick towel with nap of uncut pile, from Bursa near Istanbul)
• Turkish coffee ( sweetened brew of pulverized coffee) introduced to Europe via Ottomans
• Alexander the great ( led conquering campaigns throughout Anatolia)
• Whirling dervishes , Islamic sect, a humanist order first to claim equality among all mankind, started in Konya, central Anatolia.
• Angora / goat, angora the name of the goat, deriving from Ankara, the capitol city of Turkey
• Gordion Knot, Alexander the great cut the knot in Gordion, central Anatolia, Phrygia
• Mausoleum (Tomb of Mau solos in Bodrum), the temple of Artemis at Ephesos, 2 of the 7 wonders of the world.
• Hero & Leander, myth about the Dardanelle’s
• Parchment, the name deriving from ancient Pergamon, where this type of paging was invented, northwest Turkey
• “ veni, vidi , vici “ ( Julius Caesar said this after Pontic victory near black sea)
• Yogurt, the Turkish good
• Baklava, Turkish dessert
• Kismet ( Turkish word)
• Tigris & Euphrates rivers, headwaters in Eastern Turkey
• King Midas, King of Phrygia 8th cent BC
• “rich as Croesus” King of Lydia, western Turkey
• Lydians invented and mint the first money of the world , 7th cent BC
• St. Paul ( born in Tarsus, in southern Turkey)
• St. John, his tomb is at Ephesos
• Virgin Mary, supposedly lived later life and died at Ephesos, locals saw her as the continuation of Artemis, the great goddess of the Ephesians
• Orient Express, the train ran on Paris -Istanbul
• Amazons, tribe of female warriors from the black sea part of Turkey who fought in Trojan wars against the Akha.
• Herakles  (Hercules), one of his labors was to obtain girdle of Amazon queen in Anatolia.
• Jason & Argonauts, traveled through Anatolia in search of Golden Fleece.
• Crusaders, who wanted to win back Near East, had to fight against Ottomans
• Young Turks, insurgents within organizations, usually political, from 1900’s political group that that forced Ottoman sultan to adopt democratic reforms)
• Pastrami, from Turkish word pastirma, spiced dried meat.
• Florence nightingale, her hospital was at Uskudar during Crimean war
• Aesop, 6th cent BC storyteller , born in Thrace
• Aristotle Onasis, Turkish born Greek
• Turkish Bath, steam bath followed by massage & scrub
• Turkish toilet ( a la turca ) , ceramic hole in floor, due to hygienic rules
• Turkish delight, candy of jellylike cubes covered with powdered sugar.
• Cherries, first grown at Giresun in Northern Turkey, in 1st cent AD
• Ottoman, cushioned footstool
• Tulips, first grown in Turkey, from Turkish word Turban
• Sherbet ( Turkish word)
• Divan ( Turkish word)
• Kiosk, from Turkish word for pavilion
• Ephesians, Galatians & Hittites, Anatolian groups mentioned in the bible
• Phrygian Cap, cap with forward curving peak, once identified with Phrygians & also known as the liberty cap.
• Lydian Mode, Lydian scale, musical church mode represented on white keys of keyboard  instrument by an ascending scale of F to F, from Lydia.
• Diogenes, philosopher born in Sinope on Black sea, and lived circa 320 BC
• Tamerlane, invaded Anatolia in 1400 AD
• Marco Polo, journeyed through Anatolia in 13th century.
• One of the earliest places on earth where thin was mined for obtaining bronze
• The first potter’s wheel was used in Troy
• First chariots and horses were used in the military organization by Hittites
• Kybele was the first great mother goddess
• Roman  empire claimed their official roots to Trojan stocks
• Hittites, Trojans, Lydians, Phrygians, Lycians, Ionians, Aeolians, Urartians, Pisidians, Carians, Pamphylians, Cilicians, Byzantines, Ottomans are some of the peoples and empires born and flourished in Anatolia.

ABOVE LIST CONTAINS SOME OF THE IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS TO TURKEY / ANATOLIA / ASIA MINOR
 

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