The crescent, the star and the blood

A common view in Turkey, that invariably strikes the new visitor, is the large amount of national flags, of every size and in every occasion, waving on poles, flagstaffs, houses, official buildings and even from car or shop windows.
It is easy to understand that it is a symbol of National pride and unity, but it should be noted the many reasons of disagreement and divide that Turks do have on almost every issue, to appreciate how important a symbol can be for the country.
The flag has controversial, yet undisputably ancient origins.
Whatever are its origins, they are deeply rooted in Turkey' history: the crescent was the symbol of Byzantium, from the lunar goddess Artemis, and then it became the mark of Constantinople. In ancient Persia, source of most of the islamic Ottoman culture, crescents were used extensively in symbolism, and in the Altai region, from which the turkic tribes came to Anatolia, crescent and star were magic symbols. Red was a sacred color for the turkic nomads, and also the color of Roman Empire, the official name of the byzantine state.
The modern flag seems to merge all of these traditions.
A legendary tale claims its origin to the battle of Manzikert, the turning-point of the long struggle between the declining Byzantine empire and the raising turkic sultanate. The seljuk sultan, Alp Arslan, wandering on the battlefield after the costly victory, saw the crescent moon and a star reflected in a pool of blood, as a projection of the future greatness achieved through the slaughter. It's telltale that an apocryphal legend sets the story in Atatürk's time, at a battle of the war of Independence: any achievement costs blood and sacrifice, and must be preserved for the future. Whatever their religious way, political opinion or football team is, any individual Turk will agree on this principle, and show his flag to remark it.
A remarkable way, indeed.

Byzantium, Nova Roma, Constantinople: Istanbul

Istanbul is Turkeys' smaller version of herself.
Turkey has historically been a crossroad of Civilizations, and Istanbul is where all the crossroads meet and overlap onto each other, entangling inextricably into a maze.
Every traveller can find amusement here. For thousands of years people have lived in this city, leaving layer after layer of relics and landmarks. In a short walk, one can see roman columns, byzantine churches, ottoman public wells and art nouveau buildings. And all of them seem to have been absorbed and reused by the successor civilization, modelling itself on the predecessors.

Istanbul is the real melting pot of Turkey. Well after the traumatic events of the War of Independence (1919 - 1923), different populations lived side by side their own way. But even after the loss (because such it was for the city) of most of her Greek citizens, Istanbul attracts so many foreign residents that cosmopolitanism is still a very evident feature.
As in a true sea town, as Byzantium, and then the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Constantinoples were, the traveller feels at home in Istanbul. Maybe for it reminds of everyone's home, or because it looks like something so totally different to give a constant feeling of renewal, in spite of its own antiquity.
From Alexander the Great to the Oriént Express, a stop by the Bosphorus has been in every travel story.

If Turkey is a stream of emotions, Istanbul is its source. And as such, the natural entry gate to the Country.

Türkiye: the "Land of the Strong Ones"

The etymology of the name of Turkey is telltale: "Türk" means "strong" in the old turkic languages, and indeed a striking characteristic of Turks has always been their sturdiness, intended as moral strength, and not only physical power. A glimpse into a history book is enough to understand how many times this land and her inhabitants have been subjected to hard tests.
And though, no matter where those people came from, they seem to have been shaped up by the harsh nature of this land. Hatti, Hittite, Phrygians, Greeks, Lydians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans, all of them had to deal with an indomitable land, source of endless contrasts.
A land of beautiful landscapes and dark caves, sunny beaches near snowy mountains, the most fertile earth shaked by merciless eartquakes, ragged mountains enclosing flat plains, large lakes and dry desert valleys, all are peculiar to a land which was the inspiration for the oldest cult of the mother goddess, later called Kybele. The Greeks called this land "Μικρά Ασία", that we translate as "Asia Minor", but could be read as "Little Asia", a smaller version of the largest continent.
A land so fickle, gorgeous and harsh that seems to enclose a feminine soul. Whoever has settled here, had to be "the strong one". Strong enough to live in such a land. Strong enough to deserve her. Strong enough to love her.