|
Official Name |
The Republic of Turkey (Türkiye
Cumhuriyeti) |
|
Founder |
Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK ( 1881-1938 ) |
|
Capital |
ANKARA |
|
Population |
65.3 million (as of 2000) |
|
Literacy rate |
1935 % 19.25
1990 % 80.46 |
|
Language |
Turkish (uses Latin Alphabet) |
|
Currency |
Turkish Lira ( TL ) |
|
Flag |
Red background with a white crescent and
star in the middle |
|
Location |
Eastern Mediterranean. Located on two
contitents Europe and Asia. The European
part of Turkey is called Thrace, while the
Asian part is called Anatolia or ( Asia
Minor ) |
|
Area |
814 578 Km2 (314 500 square miles)
% 3 on the European continent
% 97 on the Asian continent |
|
Major Cities |
Istanbul 9.2 million
Ankara 3.7 million
Izmir 3.1 million
Konya 1.9 million
Adana 1.7 million
Bursa 1.2 million |
|
Religion |
% 99 of the population is Muslim . Turkey is
a secular state that quarantees complete
freedom of worship to non-Muslims. |
|
National
Anthem |
" Istiklal Marsi " ( Independence March )
Lyrics by : Mehmet Akif Ersoy Adopted as
Turkey's National Anthem on March 12,1921 |
|
Government |
Turkey is democratic, secular and social
state governed by the rule of law; committed
to the nationalism of Atatürk and based on
the principle of the separation of powers;
Legislative Power: The Turkish Grand
National Assembly
Executive Power:President and the Council of
Ministers.
Judicial Power:Independent courts and
supreme judiciary organs. |
|
Coastline |
8333 Km. (5000 miles)
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 north-west there is
also an important internal sea, the Sea of
Marmara, between the straits of the
Dardanelles and the Bosphorus |
|
Geographical
Regions |
Turkey has 80 administrative provinces and
seven geographical regions. The first four
of the seven regions are given the names of
the seas which are adjacent to them.
Black Sea Region
Marmara Region
Aegean Region
Mediterranean Region
The other three regions are named in
accordance with their location in the whole
of Anatolia.
Central Anatolia Region
Eastern Anatolia Region
Southeastern Anatolia Region
|
|
Famous
Landmarks |
Ayasofya Museum, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque,
Dolmabahçe Palace, ancient City of Troy,
Ephesus, Aphrodisias, Pergamon, Pamukkale,
Göreme- Cappadocia, Mt.Nemrut, Safranbolu |
|
Some
important products |
As of 1998, Turkey has the first place in
the world in terms of hard-shell nuts, fig
and apricot production, the fourth place in
fresh vegetables, grape and tobacco
production and the seventh place in wheat
and cotton production. Turkish delight and
helva are famous throughout the world.
Turkey is among the leading countries in
textiles and ready to wear clothing
production. The exports of this sector
constitutes 36 percent of total industrial
exports. The leather processing industry is
also very developed in Turkey both in terms
of technological level and high production
capacity and comes after textiles in terms
of export figures. |
|
Time |
Local time is equal to GMT + 2 hours. Same
time zone all over the country ( seven hours
ahead of U.S. -eastern standard time- ) |
|
Electricity |
220 volts a.c. all over Turkey |
|
Weights and
Measures |
Metric and Kilo system |
