Turkey extends over the peninsual of Asia Minor in western Asia (with adjoining areas which are geographically part of northern Syria and northern Mesopotamia) and over eastern Thrace in the Balkans. Turkey-in-Asia covers some 756,000km2 and is separated from Turkey-in-Europe which has an area of some 24,000km2 by the Turkish Straits consisting from north to south of the Strait of the Bosporous, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles. Mountain ranges rise from west to east, extend along the shores of the Black Sea (Pontic Alps) and the Mediterranean (Taurus) meeting in a maze of mountains in the east where the Tigris (523 km long in Turkish territory) and the Euphrates (971km long in Turkey) have their headwaters. Between the northern and southern ranges, the plateau is dotted with extinct volcanoes, the highest being Ararat (5137m) on the borders of Armenia. The average altitude of Turkey is 1130m. There are several lakes on the Anatolian plateau, the largest being the salt Lake of Van in the east. Turkey experiences wide climatic extremes. Winter temperatures can fall to minus 40 d c in the east while summer temperatures exceed 30 d c even reaching 50 dc in some areas.
Great Hotels of the World’s member properties win a variety of accolades
Three Great Hotels members: Hotel Brunelleschi in Florence, Argos in Cappadocia in Cappadocia and Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque Resort in Tenerife, have won 2013 Condé Nast Johansens Europe & Mediterranean Awards for Excellence. Hotel Brunelleschi has been awarded ‘Most Excellent Newcomer’,referencing the hotel’s “enviable reputation for its central Florentine location and historical interest. Constructed within a circular Byzantine tower and medieval church, this incredible transformation has uncovered a Roman caldarium, which is now part of the hotel’s private museum.” Argos in Cappadocia has been awarded for its ‘Sustainable Hospitality & Corporate Social Responsibility’. Condé Nast Johansens has commented on its “ancient houses, caves and tunnels which have transformed the property into an amazing holiday location of modern luxury, full of nooks and crannies and views towards Pigeon Valley and Mount Erciyes.” In addition, Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque Resort has been awarded for its ‘EMEA Annual Executive Meeting Proposal’. Conde Nast Johansens has commented on Bahia del Duque’s “inspiration from traditional turn of the 20th century Canarian architecture, being that it is an exclusive complex comprising Corinthian columns, bell towers and vast blue pools – a real oasis of luxury.” The awards have been based on responses from guest nomination forms, guest survey reports and regional inspector reports drawn from the hotels featured in Condé Nast Johansens most recent guides
