10 Fascinating Historical Sites in Turkey

From the most ancient incredible Gobekli Tepe, to mysterious archaeological discoveries; These are 10 Fascinating Historical Sites in Turkey

Subscribe to American Eye http://goo.gl/GBphkv

10. Gobekli Tepe

9. Hattusa

8. The City of Troy

7. Ephesus

6. Mount Nemrut

5. Hierapolis

4. Hagia Sophia
As the Roman Empire split up, it was divided into two large pieces in 285 AD, as it was too vast to completely govern all provinces from the seat of Rome. This turned out to be quite a good decision, especially for the Eastern Empire, who were then dubbed as the Byzantines. While the western part of the Roman empire quickly crumbled into new states, the Byzantines prospered from trade and were able to construct the magnificent capital of Constantinople, which was later named Istanbul. The Hagia Sophia was constructed in 537 AD by possibly their most impactful leader, Justinian I, but was completely by his successor,.. This basilica was the seat of Byzantine Orthodox Christianity and displayed many beautiful mosaics. The powerful city of Constantinople fell to the attacking Ottomans who laid siege to the heavily fortified, double walled city in 1453 and turned it into their own capital. This attack was led by Mehmed the Conqueror and from now on, Turkey has been primarily a Muslim country Not being followers of Christianity, they decided to keep the magnificent building but remove the christian icons and turn it into a mosque which is primarily decorated with calligraphy in modern times.

3. Cappadocia
This region is known for its more arid climate and geological formations known as “fairy chimneys”. It didn’t take long for man to realize how these geological formations could serve as useful tools. Built out of soft volcanic rock, this is a prominent landmark in the Cappadocia region in Central Turkey and is know as Uchisar Castle. The city of Uchisar is know for it’s luxury hotels and this castle. It might not be the most striking castle in existence but it’s certainly a good example of how humans can transform landscapes. It’s also the tallest point in Cappadocia.. Christians began to build churches in Cappadocia as early as the first century AD. They began seeking refuge in these mountains but also underground here, which this historical area is mostly known for. If you venture underground here, you’ll see the Derinkuyu Underground City that actually could have it’s origins with the ancient Hittites but everything a normal city would have, this place would also have, Home to schools, cellars, storage rooms, churches, and even livestock, this underground city reached its peak around 700 AD to 1180 AD while it was protecting christians from marauding saracens.

2. Topkapi Palace
After the Ottomans had secured Constantinople as their stronghold and established it as their new capital, Istanbul. Shortly after they began to fortify it and bu ilt lavish palaces. The Turkish flag is displayed at the gates and is a proud symbol of their heritage. The Topkapi Palace takes up a massive amount of prime real estate in Istanbul and the sultan would have been able to see Asia from the top across the Bosphorus strait. This was in use for over 400 years until their empire eventually fell. It displays a wide variety of Ottoman architecture, and now even houses historical and religious artifacts. It’s actually the largest and oldest palace still accessible to this day. It also housed a massive harem which had 400 rooms! Roughly 4,000 people lived here and almost worked like a small city. Today, it’s a unesco world heritage site and still quite a popular place among tourists to walk around at

1.The Presidential Complex
To finish this video off, we’d like to mention the current Presidential Palace in Ankara, the capital, which is 30 times larger than the White House. The Turkish certain have good taste when it comes to lavish palaces, as we can tell from history! Although it was built in modern times it’s the 4th largest palace in the world and will certainly be considered a fascinating place as times pass by. Covering 1.6 square miles with approximately 1,100, the presidential palace serves a role to President Erdogan similar to how our white house serves a role to our president. The supposed cost of this palace is 615 million dollars but others estimate that it’s roughly worth 1.37 Billion when it was built in 2014. This also might not include the rumored secret underground bunker where top secret special comments are given as w ell as a supercomputer that tracks the paths of potential enemies. The palace has received quite a bit of criticism due to it’s lavish furnishings as a waste of taxpayer money. But others insist that it’ll boost Turkey’s reputation in the future.

Видео 10 Fascinating Historical Sites in Turkey канала American Eye