Turkey

Turkey is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states, bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northeast; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic, with an ancient cultural heritage.

Turkey has a very diverse culture that is a blend of various elements of the Oguz Turkic, Anatolian, Ottoman and Western culture and traditions. Turkish music and literature form great examples of such a mix of cultural influences, whihch were a result of the interaction between the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic world along with European traditions.

Within Turkish dances there are a wide range of expressions: Bar, Halay, Horon, Zeybek, Karsilama, Kasik Oyunlari, Samah, and Kolbasti.