The vast majority of Turkey’s territory is in Asia, but a small part of it is in Europe. Most of Turkey consist of the region known as Anatolia, or Asia Minor. A small part of Turkey, however, is situated in a region known as Thrace, which is the southeast corner of the Balkan Peninsula. This is where you will find part of Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul. Interestingly, however, the origins of the Turkish people are not in their present homeland, but much farther away in East Asia. Nevertheless, Turkey has long played a part in European history. In fact, Turkish territory once stretched deep into Europe during the height of the Ottoman Empire, all the way to the outskirts of what is now Austria’s capital, Vienna. Although Turkey now occupies just a sliver of Europe today, Turkish influence is still visible on the continent. At the same time, Turkey has also adopted many cultural elements of Europe, and has aligned itself with the West politically and economically.
The European Part of Turkey is called Trakya (Thrace), it doesn’t have significant differences from Anadolu (Asia minor, Anatolia) at all. Many Thracians are usually migrants from former Balcan Ottoman provinces, with diverse ethnic backgrounds, although majority of Balcan immigrants are scattered all over Turkey. Edirne has also one of highest gypsy populations in Turkey.
You will see a lot sunflower fields, and in spring poppies everywhere, on hills and plains. The rivers get polluted a lot because of industrial facilities. Edirne had been an Ottoman capital before conquest of Istanbul for almost 100 years, so it bears many splendid examples of Ottoman architecture.
