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ABOUT
TURKEY |
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Country Profile
The lands of Turkey are
located at a point where the
three continents making up
the old world. Asia, Africa
and Europe are closest to
each other, and straddle the
point where Europe and Asia
meet. Geographically, the
country 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 longitude of 36 degrees
N to 42 degrees N and a
latitude of 26 degrees E to
45 degrees E. Turkey is
roughly rectangular in shape
and is 1,660 kilometers wide.
Because of its geographical
location the mainland of
Anatolia has always found
favour throughout history,
and is the birthplace of
many great civilizations. It
has also been prominent as a
centre of commerce because
of its land connections to
three continents and the sea
surrounding it on three
sides.
Area
The actual area of Turkey
inclusive of its lakes, is
814,578 square kilometres,
of which 790,200 are in Asia
and 24,378 are located in
Europe.
Boundaries
The land borders of Turkey
are 2,573 kilometres in
total, and coastlines (including
islands) are another 8,333
kilometres, Turkey has two
European and six Asian
countries for neighbours
along its land borders.
The land border to the
northeast with the
commonwealth of Independent
States is 610 kilometres
long; that with Iran, 454
kilometres long, and that
with Iraq 331 kilometres
long. In the south is the
877 kilometre-long border
with Syria, which took its
present form in 1939, when
the Republic of Hatay joined
Turkey. Turkey's borders on
the European continent
consist of a 212-kilometre
frontier with Greece and a
269-kilometre border with
Bulgaria.
Geographical Regions
Turkey is generally divided
into seven regions: the
Black Sea region, the
Marmara region, the Aegean,
the Mediterranean, Central
Anatolia, the East and
Southeast Anatolia regions.
The uneven north Anatolian
terrain running along the
Black Sea resembles a narrow
but long belt. The land of
this region is approximately
1/6 of Turkey's total land
area.
The Marmara region covers
the area encircling the Sea
of Marmara, includes the
entire European part of
Turkey, as well as the
northwest of the Anatolian
plain. Whilst the region is
the smallest of the regions
of Turkey after the
Southeast Anatolia region,
it has the highest
population density of all
the regions.
The most important peak in
the region is Uludag (2,543
metres), at the same time it
is a major winter sports and
tourist centre. In the
Anatolian part of the region
there are fertile plains
running from east to west.
The Aegean region extends
from the Aegean coast to the
inner parts of western
Anatolia. There are
significant differences
between the coastal areas
and those inland, in terms
of both geographical
features and economic and
social aspects.
In general, the mountains in
the region fall
perpendicularly into the sea.
and the plains run from east
to west. The plains through
which Gediz, Kücük Menderes
and Bakircay rivers flow
carry the same names as
these rivers.
In the Mediterranean region,
located in the south of
Turkey, the western and
central Taurus Mountains
suddenly rise up behind the
coastline. The Amanos
mountain range is also in
the area.
The Central Anatolian region
is exactly in the middle of
Turkey and gives the
appearance of being less
mountainous compared with
the other regions. The main
peaks of the region are
Karadag, Karacadag, Hasandag
and Erciyes (3.917 metres).
The Eastern Anatolia region
is Turkey's largest and
highest region. About three
fourths of it is at an
altitude of 1,500-2,000
metres. Eastern Anatolia is
composed of individual
mountains as well as of
whole mountain ranges, with
vast plateaus and plains.
The mountains: There are
numerous inactive volcanoes
in the region, including
Nemrut, Suphan, Tendurek and
Turkey's highest peak, Mount
Agri (Ararat), which is
5,165 metres high.
At the same time, several
plains extended along the
course of the River Murat, a
tributary of the Firat (Euphrates).
These are the plains of
Malazgirt, Mus, Capakcur,
Uluova and Malatya.
The Southeast Anatolia
region is notable for the
uniformity of its landscape,
although the eastern part of
the region is comparatively
more uneven than its western
areas.
Coastlines
Turkey is surrounded by sea
on three sides, by the Black
Sea in the north, the
Mediterranean in the south
and the Aegean Sea in the
west. In the northwest there
is also an important
internal sea, the Sea of
Marmara, between the straits
of the Dardanelles and the
Bosphorus, important
waterways that connect the
Black Sea with the rest of
the world.
Because the mountains in the
Black Sea region run
parallel to the coastline,
the coasts are fairly smooth,
without too many
indentations or projections.
The length of the Black Sea
coastline in Turkey is 1,595
kilometres, and the salinity
of the sea is 17%. The
Mediterranean coastline runs
for 1,577 kilometres and
here too the mountain ranges
are parallel to the
coastline.
The salinity level of the
Mediterranean is about
double that of the Black Sea.
Although the Aegean
coastline is a continuation
of the Mediterranean coast,
it is quite irregular
because the mountains in the
area fall perpendicularly
into the Aegean Sea. As a
result, the length of the
Aegean Sea coast is over
2,800 kilometres. The
coastline faces out to many
islands.
The Marmara Sea is located
totally within national
boundaries and occupies an
area of 11,350 square
kilometres. The coastline of
the Marmara Sea is over
1,000 kilometres long; it is
connected to the Black Sea
by the Bosphorus and with
the Mediterranean by the
Dardanelles.
Rivers
Most of the rivers of Turkey
flow into the seas
surrounding the country. 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 .
Lakes
In terms of numbers of lakes,
the Eastern Anatolian region
is the richest. It contains
Turkey's largest, Lake Van
(3.713 square kilometres),
and the lakes of Ercek,
Cildir and Hazar. There are
also many lakes in the
Taurus mountains area: the
Beysehir and Egirdir lakes,
and the lakes that contain
bitter waters like the
Burdur and Acigoller lakes,
for example. Around the Sea
of Marmara are located the
lakes of Sapanca, Iznik,
Ulubat, Manyas, Terkos,
Kucukcekmece and
Buyukcekmece. In Central
Anatoia is the second
largest lake in Turkey:
Tuzgolu: The waters of this
lake are shallow and very
salty. The lakes of Aksehir
and Eber are also located in
this region.
As a result of the
construction of dams during
the past thirty years,
several large dam lakes have
come into existence.
Together with the Atatürk
Dam lake which started to
collect water in January
1990, the following are good
examples: Keban, Karakaya,
Altinkaya, Adiguzel,
Kilickaya, Karacaoren,
Menzelet, Kapulukaya,
Hirfanli, Sariyar and
Demirkopru.
The Climate
Although Turkey is situated
in a geographical location
where climatic conditions
are quite temperate, the
diverse nature of the
landscape , and the
existence in particular of
the mountains that run
parallel to the coasts,
results in significant
differences in climatic
conditions from one region
to the other. While the
coastal areas enjoy milder
climates, the inland
Anatolian plateau
experiences extremes of hot
summers and cold winters
with limited rainfall.
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