The history of Turkey reads like the history of mankind. Virtually every major Western civilization -- Hittite, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Selçuk, Ottoman -- fought for control of this land and its surrounding waters. The result is a fascinating cultural and historical amalgam, and a land with countless archaeological treasures still waiting to be discovered. It's not uncommon to hike through the countryside and literally trip over a 2,000-year-old chunk of marble or the head of a statue unearthed by a farmer going about his daily business -- almost too much history for one country to contain.
