Turkey - Tourism and Travel

The Republic of Turkey is located in Europe and Asia. It has coasts along the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea.The western part of Turkey, eastern Thrace, is in southeastern Europe. It is separated from Asian Turkey by the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits, and by the Sea of Marmara. Asian Turkey consists of a large peninsula in southwest Asia.

After the last Ice Age, when the sea level rose, former river valleys were flooded, creating the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. The Bosporus links the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea, and the Dardanelles links the Sea of Marmara with the Mediterranean Sea.

The capital of Turkey is Ankara.

Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, has been strategically important for centuries. It is a gateway between Europe and Asia.

The Greeks founded the city that is now Istanbul and called it Byzantium.

It was later the center of the East Roman Empire, when it was known as Constantinople.

Geography and Climate

Turkey has an area of 300,948 square miles (779,452 square kilometers.)

On the Asian mainland is the Anatolian Plateau, which has hills that have been deeply eroded as well as salty basins.

There are mountains to the north of the Anatolian Plateau, along the coast of the Black Sea.

The Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus Mountains, which are separated by a lowland trough, are in northern Turkey.

The Lesser Caucasus Mountains have large basalt plateaus, which were created by the flow of lava over the mountains during the last five million years.

To the south of the Anatolian Plateau are the Taurus Mountains.

Streams in Turkey flow from the interior plateau to the Adana lowland at the Cilician Gates, which is an important pass through the Taurus Mountains.

The Caucasus Mountains and the Taurus Mountains are fold mountains. They were formed around 65 million years ago.

Mount Ararat, a dormant volcano near the border with Iran, is the highest mountain in Turkey. It is 16,853 feet (5,137 meters) high.

There is a Mediterranean climate along the coast of Turkey. The interior of the country has dry, hot summers and snowy, cold winters.

The Anatolian Plateau is semi-arid. Many of the rivers in this region never reach the sea. They drain into salt marshes and shallow salt lakes. Most of the water in these lakes evaporates.

Lake Van, a shallow salt lake, is Turkey's largest lake and one of the world's largest salt lakes. As a result of evaporation, the water level has progressively become lower. Dry terraces show that the shoreline was once 181 feet (55 meters) above the current water level.

Lake Tuz, Turkey's second largest lake, is also among the largest salt lakes in the world.

Pamukkale, in western Turkey contains unusually shaped white rock terraces that were formed after volcanic activity heated underground water, and this heated water dissolved minerals in the rocks. When the water reached the surface, it evaporated. The minerals that were left behind formed the terraces.

Kaçkar Dağı, the highest mountain in the Kaçkar Mountains, along the Black Sea, has forested northern slopes and barren,dry southern slopes. The southern slopes lie in a rain shadow.

People

74,816,000 people live in Turkey. More then two fifths of them live in central Anatolia.

70% of the people are Turkish, 20% are Kurdish and 2% are Arab.

There is a great deal of conflict between the state and the Kurdish minority.

Turkish is the official language. Kurdish, Arabic, Greek, Armenian, Circassian, Georgian and Ladino are also spoken.

99% of the people are Muslim. Most of these are Sunni Muslim.

Economy

Turkey has reserves of coal, baryte, iron ore, chromium, tin, lead and borate.

Steel, vehicles, food products, textiles, clothing, engineering and petrochemicals are important industries.

Tourism is also important.

About two fifths of the workforce is involved in agriculture.

Important agricultural products are cotton, grain, fruit, nuts, tea, tobacco and livestock.

Turkey produces more hazelnuts than any other country in the world.

A large amount of income comes from remittances from workers abroad.

The official currency of Turkey is the new Turkish lira, which is equal to 100 kurus.

History

Turkey was once the heart of the Ottoman Empire.

During World War I, the Ottoman Empire was on the side of the Central Powers. After the War, the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920 called for the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty placed restrictions on the Ottoman Army and put the Allies in control of the Ottoman Empire's finances.

After the Ottoman Empire was partitioned, a Turkish War of Independence,took place. Turkey, led by Kemal Atatürk, led the Turkish National Movement and became the first President of Turkey after the Republic of Turkey was established in 1923.

Turkey now has a parliamentary system of government.