Turkey Tourism - Travel to Turkey
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| Quick Facts | |
| Capital | Ankara |
| Government | republican parliamentary democracy |
| Currency | Turkish lira (TRL) |
| Area | total: 780,580 sq km water: 9,820 sq km land: 770,760 sq km |
| Population | 67,308,928 (July 2002 est.) |
| Language | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
| Religion | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) |
Located in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, Turkey (Türkiye) is a country that spans these two continents. The Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles) divides Europe from Asia. That portion of Turkey to the west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe while the rest of Turkey is part of the Middle East.
With the the Black Sea to the north and the Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea to the southwest, Turkey is surrounded by Bulgaria and Greece to the west, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to the northeast, Syria, Iraq and Iran to the southeast.
There is evidence that the bed of the Black Sea was once an inhabited plain, before it was flooded in prehistoric times by rising sea levels. The biblical flood may be an account of this event. Mount Ararat, at 5,166 m, is the country's highest point and the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, lies in the mountains on the far eastern edge of the country.
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Regions in Turkey
Turkey can be divided geographically into:
- Aegean Turkey
- Black Sea Turkey
- Central Anatolia
- Eastern Turkey
- Marmara
- Mediterranean Turkey
- Southeastern Turkey
- 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, Icel, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Cities in Turkey
- Akdeniz
- Ankara - the capital
- Dogu
- Ege
- Guney Dogu
- Ic Anadolu
- Istanbul
- Karadeniz
- Marmara
Other destinations - Travel to Turkey
- Gallipoli - Site of First World War battlefields and memorials on the Gallipoli penninsula on the north bank of the Dardanelles. The 1915 landings and battles are commemorated by Australians and New Zealanders on ANZAC Day, 25 April, each year.
- Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi or Mount Agri)
Map of Turkey
Understand Turkey Tourism
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 UN, and in 1952 it became a member of NATO.
Turkey occupied the northern portion of Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island; relations between the two countries remain strained but have begun to improve over the past three years.
In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-Leninist, separatist group, initiated an insurgency in southeast Turkey, often using terrorist tactics to try to attain its goal of an independent Kurdistan. The group - whose leader, Abdullah OCALAN, was captured in Kenya in February 1999 - has observed a unilateral cease-fire since September 1999, although there have been occasional clashes between Turkish military units and some of the 4,000-5,000 armed PKK militants, most of whom currently are encamped in northern Iraq. The PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) in April 2002.
Get into Turkey
Travel to Turkey By Plane
Travel to Turkey By Train
Travel to Turkey By car
Travel to Turkey By Bus
Travel to Turkey By Boat
Get around in Turkey
Turkey Talk
Buy
Eat - Travel to Turkey
Drink
Sleep - Turkey Tourism
Learn
Work
Stay safe - Turkey Tourism
Stay Healthy While You Travel to Turkey
Respect
Contact
External Links for Turkey Tourism
- Republic of Turkey - Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.gov.tr/
- Ministry of Culture and Tourism http://goturkey.turizm.gov.tr/
- http://www.turizm.net/
- Comprehensive site about the ruins of Ani on the border with Armenia: http://www.virtualani.freeserve.co.uk/ (also has info on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van and other Armenian monuments in Turkey)
