Turkey (all images)

Turkey is a large country in western Asia a mostly mountaineous territory bordering the Mediterranean sea and the Black sea. Its territory has been settled since prehistoric times and has seen a succession of several major civilisations. Starting from the 10th century Turkish tribes originating from central Asia came and settled into the territory. In 1453 the Turks conquered Costantinople (now named Istanbul) and completed the conquest of the Turkish peninsula. In the 16th and 17th centuries Turkey was a major regional power which later entered a slow phase of decline. In 1923 the current republic of Turkey was proclaimed by Kemal Atatürk. Turkey is populated by a mix of ethnic groups of which the Turks are the largest one. It's economy enjoyed a phase of high growth between 2000 and 2007, averaging 7% annually. Turkey's economy now sports a well depeloped industrial sector, centered around the western part of the country.