Turkey
Turkey (local: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti) is a country located in two continents, Southeastern Europe (the portion west of the Bosporus) and Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria.
The archaeological site of Karahan Tepe, in the Plains of Harran, eastern Turkey, is estimated to be 11 to 13 thousand years old. For comparison the Great Pyramid at Giza is 4,500 years old and Stonehenge is 5,000 years old.
Present-day Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter, the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the United Nations. The capital is Ankara.
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Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, once the world's largest Byzantine church. Built between 532 and 537 as the Cathedral of Constantinople by the Emperor Justinian. It became a museum in 1935.
Ruins of the Library of Celsus, Ephesus, Anatolia.
Dwellings in Cappadocia.
Geography
Administrative divisions: 81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak.
Total area: 780,580 km². Coastline: 7,200 km.
Terrain: high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges.
Highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m (the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country).
Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior.
Ports and harbors: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon. Turkey has strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas.
Main source: CIA - The World Factbook.
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Turkey
