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TURKEY;
A country
where people form different cultures,
religions and ethnic backgrounds
come together! A geography, as
ancient as the human culture, where
the ancient continents of Asia and
Europe meet. Turkey is a paradise
of sea, sun and mountains, at the
same time offering the visitors the
pleasure of historical treasures of
magnificent ancient cities.
From April to October, most parts of
Turkey have an ideal climate
providing perfect conditions
which a visitor can enjoy the
comfort of sandy beaches and also
the unique atmosphere of Ancient
Cities. It is doubtless that just
one visit will not be enough, one
will want to come back time after
time as the extraordinary places and
tastes are discovered.
Turkey, exotic, colorful, many-faceted,
romantic, ever-old and ever-new, is
the gateway and the key to the
fabled East. Turkey has a
magnificent past and is a land full
of historic treasures.
GEOGRAPHY
Turkey is 774.815 km2. The Anatolia
part is in Asia and Thrace belongs
to Europe that is why The Bosphorus
is said to be the gate between the
two continents. Turkey is rich with
its rivers, lakes, mountains and
bays apart from the seas surrounding
the country which are the Black Sea,
the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea.
The biggest lake in Turkey is in the
eastern part which is called the
lake Van which took attention a few
years ago with its so-called monster.
The highest mountain is again in the
eastern part and it's called The
Agri Mountain, which is 5,165 meters
high. Kusadasi is in the western
part in the Aegean region close to
the third biggest city of Turkey,
Izmir.
Turkey is divided into seven regions;
the Black Sea region, the Marmara
region, the Aegean region, the
Mediterranean region, Central
Anatolia, the East Anatolian and
Southeast Anatolia regions.
The Eastern Anatolian region is the
richest in numbers. Turkey's largest
lake Van, 3,713 square kilometers,
and the lakes of Ercek, Cildir and
Hazar are in this region. There are
also many lakes in the west Taurus
mountains area: the Beysehir and
Egirdir lakes, and the lakes that
contain bitter waters like the
Burdur and Acigoller lakes. Around
the Sea of Marmara there are
Sapanca, Iznik, Ulubat, Manyas,
Terkos, Kucukcekmece and
Buyukcekmece. In Central Anatolia
there is the second largest lake in
Turkey, Tuzgolu. The waters of this
lake are shallow and very salty. As
a result of the several lakes, many
dam lakes were constructed such as
the Ataturk Dam lake, Keban,
Karakaya, Altinkaya, Adiguzel,
Kilickaya, Karacaoren, Menzelet,
Kapulukaya, Hirfanli, Sariyar and
Demirkopru.
Turkey is surrounded by the Black
Sea in the north, the Mediterranean
in the south and the Aegean Sea in
the west on three sides. In the
northwest there is an internal sea,
the Sea of Marmara, between the
straits of the Dardanelles and the
Bosphorus. The length of the Black
Sea coastline in Turkey is 1,595
kilometers. The Mediterranean
coastline is 1,577 kilometers. The
Aegean Sea coast is over 2,800
kilometers. The coastline of the
Marmara Sea is over 1,000 kilometers
long.
The most important rivers of Turkey,
the Firat (Euphrates) and Dicle (Tigris)
join together in Iraq and flow into
the Persian Gulf. Turkey's longest
rivers, the Kizilirmak, Yesilirmak
and Sakarya, flow into the Black Sea.
The Susurluk, Biga and Gonen pour
into the Sea of Marmara, the Gediz,
Kucuk Menderes, Buyuk Menderes and
Meric into the Aegean, and the
Seyhan, Ceyhan and Goksu into the
Mediterranean.
Turkey is located in the northern
half of the hemisphere at a point
that is about halfway between the
equator and the north pole, at a
latitude of 36 degrees N to 42
degrees N and a longitude of 26
degrees E to 45 degrees E. Turkey is
roughly rectangular in shape and it
is 1,660 kilometers long and 550
kilometers wide.
The surface of Turkey,
including its lakes and rivers, is
814,578 km2, of which 790,200 are in
Asia and 24,378 are located in
Europe.
The land borders of Turkey are 2,753
kilometers in total, and coastlines
(including islands) are another
8,333 kilometers. Turkey has two
European neighboring countries which
are Greece and Bulgaria and six
Asian neighboring countries which
are Iraq, Iran, Syria, Armenia,
Georgia, Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus.
HISTORY
Turkey has been called ‘’the cradle
of civilization’’ and by traveling
through this historic land the
tourists will discover exactly what
is meant by its phrase. The world’s
first town, a Neolithic city at
Catalhoyuk ( by Konya ), dates back
to 6,500 BC. From the days of
Catalhoyuk up to the present time
Turkey boasts of a rich culture that
trough the centuries has made a
lasting impression on modern
civilization. The heir many
centuries of cultures makes Turkey a
paradise of information and cultural
wealth. Hattis, Hittites, Phrygians,
Urartians, Lycians, Lydians, Ionians,
Persians, Macedonians, Romans,
Byzantines, Seljuks, and Ottomans
have all held important places in
Turkey’s history, and ancient sites
and ruins scattered throughout the
country give proof to each
civilization’s unique distinction.
Turkey also has a very
fascinating recent history. Upon the
decline of the Ottoman Empire, a
young man named Mustafa Kemal, who
was a soldier by occupation but a
great visionary in character, took
the defeat of World War I and turned
it into a shining victory by
liberating Turkey of all foreign
invaders. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
founded the Republic of Turkey on
the 29th of October, 1923. He led
his country into peace and
stability, with tremendous economic
growth and complete modernization.
Through decades of change and growth
Turkey still boasts of this success
by effectively living by their
adopted motto of ‘’Peace at Home,
Peace in the World’’.
POPULATION
The current population of Turkey is over
65 million people, of whom 60% live
in the cities. Then ten most
populous cities in order are
Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir Adana,
Bursa, Gaziantep, Eskisehir, Kayseri
and Diyarbakir. More than half the
population is under the age of 20.
LANGUAGE
The Turkish Language belongs to the Ural
Altaic group and has an affinity to
the Finno Hungarian languages. Since
1928 Turkish has been written in a
phonetic, Latin alphabet of 29
letters and is spoken by some 150
million people around the world.
RELIGION
While Turkey is a secular
state, about 98% of the people are
Muslims; their faith is that of
Islam. ‘Islam’ means ‘submission’; a
Muslim is one of who submits himself
to God. Islam is the most recent of
the three great monotheistic
religions, having developed from the
revelations by God to the Prophet
Mohammed. He was born in Mecca and
lived from about AD 570 to June
8,632. His activity as a Prophet
encompassed the ten years before his
death. The holy book of Islam is the
Koran; it is believed to be the
revelation of God to Mohammed. It
contains 114 suras (chapters) and
6,666 ayets (verses). Allahuekber
(God is incomparable) are the words
calling the people to prayer. The
non-Muslim minority people are
concentrated in Istanbul. There are
Sephardic Jews and Christians of
several backgrounds: Greek Orthodox,
Armenian Orthodox, Greek Catholic,
Syrian Orthodox, a few Protestants
and some others.
POLITICAL
STRUCTURE
The Turkish Republic is
based on secular democratic,
pluralist and parliamentary system,
where human rights are protected by
law and social justice. The National
Assembly is elected by popular vote
and the nation is governed by the
Council of Ministers headed by the
Prime Minister. Turkey is a founding
member of OECD, the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation Organization, a
member of NATO, the European Council
and the European Parliament, and an
associate member of the European
Community.
ECONOMY
Tourism: In recent years Turkey
has become a major tourist
destination in Europe. With the
rapid development of both summer and
winter resorts, more and more people
from all over the world are able to
enjoy the history, culture, and
beautiful sites of Turkey.
Agriculture: Has got a very
important place in the Turkish
economy. The main crops are wheat,
rice, cotton, tea, tobacco,
hazelnuts, and fruit. Sheep are
Turkey’s most important livestock,
and Turkey is one of European wool
and cotton producer. Southeast
Anatolia Project (Gap) is a
multipurpose, integrated development
project comprising of dams,
hydroelectric power plants and
irrigation facilities, that are to
be built on the Firat (Euphrates)
and Dicle (Tigris) rivers. It will
affect agriculture, transportation,
education, tourism, health and other
sectors.
Natural resources: The principal
minerals extracted are coal, chrome
(an important export), iron , gold,
copper, bauxite, marble and sulfur.
Industry: Industry is developing
rapidly and is directed mainly
towards the processing of
agricultural products, metallurgy,
textiles, and the manufacture of
automobiles and agricultural
machinery.
Tourism: In recent years Turkey
has become a major tourist
destination in Europe. With the
rapid development of both summer and
winter resorts, more and more people
from all over the world are able to
enjoy the history, culture, and
beautiful sites of Turkey.
Agriculture: Has got a very
important place in the Turkish
economy. The main crops are wheat,
rice, cotton, tea, tobacco,
hazelnuts, and fruit. Sheep are
Turkey’s most important livestock,
and Turkey is one of European wool
and cotton producer. Southeast
Anatolia Project (Gap) is a
multipurpose, integrated development
project comprising of dams,
hydroelectric power plants and
irrigation facilities, that are to
be built on the Firat (Euphrates)
and Dicle (Tigris) rivers. It will
affect agriculture, transportation,
education, tourism, health and other
sectors.
Natural resources: The principal
minerals extracted are coal, chrome
(an important export), iron , gold,
copper, bauxite, marble and sulfur.
The Turkish Cuisine: is one of
the best in the world. It has a wide
variety of dishes many prepared with
fresh vegetables and olive oil.
Turkish food is very healthy as well
as delicious. The fresh fruits are
plentiful and very tasty.
TIPPING
Tipping is customary at hotels and
restaurants and for guides and
drivers during tours.
CUSTOMS
Turkey has a strict antiquities law and
prohibits exportation of certain
items. One may need to clear some
items with the appropriate
authorities if in doubt.
VISAS
Visas are required by many
countries in order to visit Turkey
and therefore one must check with
the appropriate Embassy or Consulate
in your country of residence to
learn what is required For US
citizens, no prior request is
necessary, but a visa must be
purchased upon arrival in Turkey.
Usually it is issued just before
passing passport control and is
valid for 90 days.
ELECTRICITY
Electricity in Turkey is
supplied at 220 Volts, 50 Hz, as in
Europe. Adapters are not available.
WEATHER
CONDITIONS
|
Annual Weather Conditions
|
|
City
|
Air/Water
|
JAN
|
FEB
|
MAR
|
APR
|
MAY
|
JUN
|
JUL
|
AUG
|
SEP
|
OCT
|
NOV
|
DEC.
|
|
Antalya
|
Air
|
10
|
11
|
13
|
16
|
20
|
25
|
28
|
28
|
25
|
20
|
15
|
12
|
|
Water
|
17
|
17
|
17
|
18
|
21
|
24
|
27
|
28
|
27
|
25
|
22
|
19
|
|
Izmir
|
Air
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
16
|
20
|
25
|
28
|
27
|
23
|
18
|
15
|
10
|
|
Water
|
11
|
11
|
12
|
15
|
20
|
24
|
26
|
26
|
24
|
21
|
17
|
13
|
|
Istanbul
|
Air
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
12
|
16
|
21
|
23
|
23
|
20
|
16
|
12
|
8
|
|
Water
|
9
|
7
|
8
|
11
|
15
|
20
|
23
|
23
|
21
|
17
|
14
|
11
|
|
Trabzon
|
Air
|
6
|
6
|
7
|
11
|
15
|
20
|
22
|
22
|
19
|
15
|
12
|
9
|
|
Water
|
10
|
9
|
9
|
10
|
14
|
20
|
24
|
25
|
24
|
20
|
16
|
13
|
|
Ankara
|
Air
|
-0
|
1
|
5
|
11
|
16
|
20
|
23
|
23
|
18
|
13
|
8
|
2
|
|
Erzurum
|
Air
|
-9
|
-7
|
-3
|
5
|
11
|
15
|
19
|
20
|
15
|
9
|
2
|
- 5
|
|
Diyarbakir
|
Air
|
2
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
19
|
26
|
31
|
31
|
25
|
17
|
10
|
4
|
WHAT TO WEAR
Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean
coast, take light, cotton summer
clothing and cardigans for evening.
Black Sea, Central and Eastern
Anatolia besides summer wear, waver
clothing should be taken for cool
evenings at high altitudes.
Comfortable shoes are necessary
for visiting archeological and
historical sites.
Sun hats and sun glasses are
advisable in the height of summer.
IS IT
SAFE TO VISIT TURKEY ?
Absolutely! Turkey is an Extremely
safe country to visit and especially for
tourists. The Turks are very proud
people and welcome visitors and are
honored to see foreigners exploring
their land. Therefore all visitors are
special guests and are treated like
royalty. Crime is low compared to many
countries and the Ministry of the
Interior has established a special squad
of police that are assigned to the major
tourist areas. We believe that Turkey in
general is safer than most any other
country in the region.
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