The region comprising modern Turkey has a long and rich Islamic tradition stretching back to the dawn of the Seljuk period and Ottoman Empire. The country has many historical mosques present throughout the cities and towns, including many in Istanbul. It is the main religion of the Turkish people. It was an empire inspired and sustained by Islam, and Islamic institutions. It replaced the Byzantine Empire as the major power in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Ottoman Empire is one most magnificent civilizations in the history of the world. It was the one of the largest and longest lasting Empires in history. Today, forty percent of the world population and seventy-six states are located in the geography where the Ottoman Empire ruled. The Empire had three capitals all of which located in modern Turkey.

Even today, the transformation of a Turkish Beylic, which was established in Western Anatolia into an empire, continues to draw the interests of intellectuals, politicians and scholars, not only tourists.