Turkey - History and Monuments

Turkey has a long and illustrious history well marked by historical monuments and ancient remains. The earliest traces of humans are found in the neolithic caves along the south coast. The oldest civilized settlements are in the south-east close to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on the fringes of Mesopotamia and date from the seventh millennium BC. The best remains of early civilisation are from the time of the Hittites, an influential people whose capital city was at Hattusas, east of Ankara. The well-preserved city ruins and temple comploxes date from the second millennium BC.

At the start of the first millennium BC the Aegean and Mediterranean coast was colonised by a wave of Greek migrants who built cities and established small kingdoms. In 546BC the colonies fell into the hands of the Persians who retained power up until334BC when Alexander the Great conquered Anatolia and freed the Greek cities from Persian rule. After Alexander's death in 323BC his kingdom was divided between his generals. Lysimachus took Anatolia and founded one of the most powerful dynasties in the classical world. The capital city was at Pergamum which remains one of the most impressive ancient sites on the Aegean coast.