Turkey ... was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria CLIMATE : temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia) strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat, the landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country POPULATION: 66,493,970 (July 2001 est.) Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (Christian and Jews) Capital : Ankara .... 80 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak; Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with traditional agriculture that accounts for nearly 40% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The most important industry - and largest exporter - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands.

Visit St. Sophia, a world famous Christian church in Istanbul. ... Anatolia, the land of sun and history, is one of the rare places in the world which has been inhabited ever since the first man was seen on the earth.

  Mission Noah provide's food, clothing, medical supplies, along with other necessities of life to children and their families in need. We are a small organiaztion with no paid employees that provides "hope for a better tomorrow" with your help. Mission Noah was designated a tax exempt 501c3 organization by the IRS on July 14, 1999,. Our international work is exclusively in Turkey and Armenia with the children of Mt.Ararat (Agri Dagi in Turkish).. Michael Holt, Founder and President