Turkey's geographical location and its various ecosystems and climate zones have made it extremely rich in flora and fauna that it rivals Europe. When doing research one comes across so many plants and animals that originated in or are unique to Anatolia that it is hard to believe.

Turkey is home to over 9,000 plant species of which a third are native like the tulip, lily, fig, apricot, cherry, and many types of wheat and nuts. Turkey has over 80,000 animal species, about 20,000 more than Europe. At one time the lion, as seen on Hittite sculptures, and the tiger, cat of Tigris River, roamed the land. Some of Turkey's fauna include the pheasant, the fallow deer (now plentiful in Europe), the bald ibis (a threatened species), the Kangal Dog (known for its loyalty and intelligence), the Van cat (which has one blue and one green eye), and Chelonia mydas and Caretta caretta sea turtles. The country's four seas (Mediterrean, Black, Marmara and Aegean) are abundant with different fish and other sea creatures. Also Turkey is a bird watchers paradise because it is situated on the migration paths of many species from the three continents; Asia, Africa and Europe.

It seems like after Noah's Ark landed, many of the animals enjoyed the land and weather so much that they decided to stay and call Anatolia home.