INFO TURKEY
Turkey is located on two continents, Europe and Asia.
The Asian side is called Anatolia and the European side
is called Eastern Thrace. Bosphorus, Marmara Sea and the
Dardanelles separate Anatolia and the Eastern Thrace.
Neighbouring countries are Bulgaria and Greece in the
west, Iraq and Syria in the south and Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Iran in the east. Area of Turkey is 814.578
square kilometers. 97 per cent of the area is located on
the Asian side. Turkey is surrounded by four seas: Black
Sea in the north, Marmara Sea in the northwest, Aegean
Sea in the west and the Mediterranean in the south. The
country has 8333 kilometers of coastline. The country is
mountainous. Pontic Mountains follow the Black Sea and
Taurus Mountains follow the Mediterranean in the south.
Between them there is the Central Anatolian highland.
Mount Ararat in the east is 5137 meters high from the
sea level. The most well known rivers, Euphrates and
Tigris, start from Central Anatolia and run to the Gulf
of Persia. The longest river Kizilirmak (1355 km) starts
from Central Anatolia and runs to the Black Sea. The
country has about 200 lakes, which cover 9200 sq. kilometers. The biggest lakes, Van
Golu (Van Lake) and
Tuz
Golu (Salt Lake) have salty water.
The
population of Turkey is around 65 million. The majority
of the population is very young and growth is fast. 30
per cent of the population is under 15 years. 40 per
cent of the population live in the countryside, although
there is a move move to towns in great numbers. The
population density is highest on the tourist, business
and industrial areas of the Aegean, Marmara and the
Mediterranean regions and lowest in the rural areas of
the southeast Turkey.
Turkey
practices the freedom of faith. However, 99 per cent of
the population are Muslims. Islamic culture can be seen
and heard all over the country. Unlike other Islamic
countries Turkey is a secular country. Religious affairs
have been separated from the state and openings at
schools, universities and government organs are not
conducted with religious ceremonies.
Turkish
is a Ural-Altaic language. The oldest signs of the
Turkish language are from the 700s and they are located
in the present-day Mongolia. Turkish language is mainly
pronounced like it is written.
Turkey
is a parliamentary republic that is lead by the
President and the Prime Minister. Parties vary from
nationalist conservatives to socialists. The country has
looked forward to Europe. It has been a member of the
European Council since 1949 and a member of NATO since
1952 and an allied member of the EU (formerly European
Economic Council) since 1963. In 1996 Turkey entered a
customs agreement with the EU and is engaged in endeavors
to become a full member of the EU.
Source:
gototurkey.co.uk/
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