Turkey lies on the very edge of Europe and Asia, although it is classed as a European country, and is an extremely interesting place to visit. The rituals and culture that the population of 71 million is proud to call their own can indeed attract tourists from all over the world and millions flock there every year. The capital of Ankara and various coastal resorts are the most popular areas, but many travel all over Turkey to experience the history and unique East meets West culture all over. The currency is the New Turkish Lira and the majority of citizens speak the official language of Turkish.

Football is a favourite sport in the country and is also a reason why many individuals travel there as certain teams often get into European competition every year and do well. The national team has a reputation for being difficult to beat. In fact, they are currently placed in 28th in the FIFA world rankings. They have been as high as 5th (June 2004) and as low as 67th (June 1993), but they are usually to be found at the top end of the range.

Turkey has actually experienced an unprecedented level of success since the turn of the new millennium in world competition. In the World Cup, the team came 3rd in the 2002 tournament. This has been their best performance in world competition ever. In total, Turkey has appeared at the World Cup twice, with the first time being in 1954. They also finished in the quarterfinals in the 2000 European Championships. That was their second appearance in the competition, with their first having been four years earlier in 1996. The final competition that they have taken part in is the Confederations Cup. They made one appearance in 2003 and finished 3rd.

Their domestic football is played via the top flight Turkcell Super League. It was founded in 1959 in an attempt to eradicate the smaller regional leagues because there had been no coherent football league system previously that encompassed the entire country. The league is played between August and May, but there is a Christmas break that lasts a month from December to January to break it up somewhat. 18 teams take part in the league and the standard of football is very high. It was not as good before national TV emerged in the early 1990s and ploughed money into the sport but now is a pleasure to watch.

The coinciding cup competition is the Fortis Turkey Cup. It was founded in 1962 and has 72 clubs from all divisions take part. It is a mixture of group play and knockout tournament with the former governing the early part and he knockout stages coming in as of the quarterfinals. The top teams are seeded and cannot be placed in the same initial groups.

The top teams in Turkey are Fenerbahce (the most successful club in the history of the competition), Galatasaray, Besiktas and Trabzonspor. The four teams often vie for the title and the cup and very few other teams actually get a look in. The big four are extremely imposing and very hard to beat!