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Turkey is the political name of the state covering the area of Asia Minor/Anatolia

Asia Minor is the name of the land of Turkey when referred to as a geographical site.

Anatolia is the cultural and the historical name given to the same region

To be fair to the two million three hundred years of history on this land thus to incorporate the human factor, in this web page we prefer using the word ANATOLIA rather than Asia Minor or Turkey . Because the word Asia Minor gives us just the geographical image and the word

TURKEY

This map of Turkey shows that it occupies the whole of classical ANATOLIA and a small portion of Europe, Turkey bridges two continents and two cultures: The East and the West.

Visitors frequently observe that Turkey is a very friendly and very beautiful country. Another observation is that "no one can be interested in the history of the Western Civilization without eventually becoming aware of the importance of Anatolia.” How many people think of Hector, Achilles, Midas or Santa Clause as Anatolians? How many people realize that St. Paul and Homer were born there and that such places as Troy, Antioch, Sardes, Ephesus are in Anatolia?

The history, religions and traditions of the Anatolians represent the numerous cultures that have flourished in Asia Minor over ten thousand years.

The minaret spiked skyline, the temples of the pagan worship and the treasures of Christianity are interwoven in the timelessness of this land that extends from Mt. Ararat in the east to the Biblical site of Ephesus on the Aegean in the west. And from the rain soaked forests of the Black Sea in the North to the sun drenched beaches of the Mediterranean in the South.

Every country on earth can boast of natural beauty. Turkey's difference is a natural beauty that's dotted with the historic architecture of 10,000 years of human endeavor. We hope you will visit Turkey soon with Melitour and stand in the places where history was made.

ISTANBUL