Turkiye

"Fairy chimneys" create a surreal landscape in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. Created by volcanic eruptions and shaped by centuries of wind and rain erosion, each of these structures consists of a soft cone topped by a layer of harder rock. They reach heights of up to 40 m (130 ft).

Mount Ararat (5,166 m, 16,949 ft) is the largest volcano in Turkey, but is not currently active. It is located in extreme northeastern Turkey, near the borders with Iran and Armenia. Southwest of the main peak lies Lesser Ararat (3,896 m, 12,877 ft). Ahora Gorge is a northeast-trending chasm dropping from the top of the mountain. Claims by different explorers to have found remnants of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat have led to continuing expeditions to the mountain, many focusing their searches on the gorge area. Photo courtesy of NASA.

Swirls of color ranging from deep olive green to bright turquoise were created by a massive phytoplankton bloom that covered the entire surface of the Black Sea on this image taken 20 June 2006. Many of Europe's largest rivers, including the Danube, the Dnister, and the Dnipro (Dnieper) dump fresh water into the sea. The sea's only source of salty water is the narrow Bosporus Strait (in the southwest), which connects it to the Mediterranean Sea through the Sea of Marmara. Northern Turkey makes up the southern shore of the sea. The diamond-shaped landmass that projects into the sea from the north is Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. Photo courtesy of NASA.

The public toilets in Ephesus were located in the public baths and had running water. Servants were often employed as seat warmers before the patrons used the cold stone seats. An inscription on a wall reads: "Close your eyes, count slowly to 10, and it will come."

View of the port of Kusadasi on the Aegean Sea. The name Kusadasi means "Bird Island." In Byzantine times it was called "Ephesus Neopolis" and "Scala Nova" under the Genoese and Venetians. Its current name was officially adopted at the beginning of the 20th century by Turkish authorities. Kusadasi is the gateway to the Roman ruins at Ephesus. Some 95 km (57 mi) south of Izmir, it has grown since the late 1970s from a fishing village into a major tourist center serving thousands of tourists. A statue of Kemal Ataturk, the first president of Turkey and the founder of the Turkish Republic, stands on a hill overlooking the city.

The Bosporus (near the center of the photograph), a strait that connects the Black Sea to the north with the Sea of Marmara to the south, stands out in this low-oblique, north-looking photograph. One of the world's most strategic waterways, the strait separates European Turkey to the west with Asiatic Turkey to the east. Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), one of the great historic cities of the world, sits near the Bosporus entrance to the Sea of Marmara. Photo courtesy of NASA.