About Turkey

FAST FACTS

OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Turkey

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary democracy

CAPITAL: Ankara

AREA: 302,535 square miles (783,562 square kilometers)

POPULATION: 81,257,239

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Turkish

MONEY: Turkish lira

Turkey is a huge peninsula that connects the European and Asian continents. The Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Aegean Sea encircle Turkey on three sides. Istanbul, Turkey’s largest metropolis, is situated on land beside the Bosporus Strait. The city is located in both Europe and Asia. Turkey is larger than the United States of America’s state of Texas.

Turkey is one of the most earthquake-prone countries on the planet, having been struck by 13 quakes in the last 70 years. From the Sea of Marmara in the west to the Eastern Anatolian Highlands, the North Anatolian Fault stretches hundreds of kilometers. The fault shifts roughly 8 inches (20 cm) every year.

Mount Ararat, Turkey’s highest mountain, features two summits, the highest of which is Great Ararat, which rises to 16,945 feet (5,165 meters). Many people regard the mountain as sacred, believing it to be the site where Noah landed his ark after the Great Flood.

The Turkish people come from a variety of origins, which is a reminder of the numerous distinct groups who have conquered Turkey over the centuries. Cities are home to most of the population, and youngsters who choose to attend high school must relocate to one. The majority of the population is Sunni Muslim. Kurdish people make up one-fifth of the population.

Children who live on Istanbul’s European side can take a ferry across the Bosporus to visit their grandparents in Asia. Turks are a family-oriented and warm-hearted people. They welcome visitors into their houses and ensure that they have something to eat and drink before leaving.

Kebab prepared from grilled lamb is one of their favorite dishes. Lamb, eggplant, and yogurt are staples in their cuisine. Turkish pleasure, or lokum, is a sweet flavored candy with rose petals that comes in a variety of flavors and colors.

About two million Turks are currently working as guest laborers in Germany, where they have developed their own communities. In Turkey, soccer is the most popular sport. In Istanbul, there are three well-known teams. Weightlifting and Turkish wrestling are two sports in which Turks thrive.

Turkey serves as a stopover for birds on their way between their summer and winter homes. They swarm to Kus Golu, also known as Bird Lake, which is located in a protected national park surrounded by reed wetlands. Turkey’s first national park was established in 1958.

There are currently 39 parks that safeguard rare species and their ecosystems. Several species are threatened, notably the severely endangered northern bald eagle.

Turkey used to be home to jackals, lynx, wolves, and bears, but these animals are now scarce. Spikelike scales shoot upward around the eyes of the Turkish horned viper snake.

The white cliffs of Pamukkale in western Turkey, once known as Cotton Castle, are constructed of travertine, a calcium-rich stone. From afar, the cliffs appear to be a sheet of ice covering a slope. A spring runs from one pool to the next. The cascade stretches about 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers).

The prime minister is in control of the country and is regarded the head of the government. The Grand National Assembly is made up of 550 persons that are elected by the public. The Assembly elects the president, who serves in a primarily ceremonial capacity.

Turkey was one of the founding members of the United Nations, which was established following WWII. Turkey has been a member of the European Union as an associate member since 1963, but it has yet to be admitted as a full member. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a defensive alliance that Turkey is a member of. Turkey is strategically important in world politics due to its location in the Middle East. In 1984, Kurds in southern Turkey began a guerrilla struggle to establish a Kurdish state. Turkish troops attacked Kurds in northern Iraq in 1995.

Turkey is home to one of the world’s oldest communities. Catal Hoyuk, a labyrinth of 150 mud buildings built 8,800 years ago, was a labyrinth of 150 mud homes connected. People had to access their homes through holes in the roof because there were no roadways in between!

The Hittites established an empire in the center section of what is now Turkey, Anatolia, around 4,000 years ago. For hundreds of years, they ruled. The Trojan War occurred when the Hittites began to lose power. The city of Troy’s ruins is thought to be in the Anatolian city of Hissarlik.

Around 700 B.C., King Midas controlled western Turkey. Alexander the Great conquered Anatolia in 334 B.C., and it remained under Macedonian Greek sovereignty until Rome conquered it, and Anatolia became part of Roman Asia Minor. Constantine became Roman emperor in A.D. 330 and established Constantinople as a new capital. It became part of the Byzantine Empire after the Roman Empire fell.

In 1453, the Ottomans seized Constantinople, and Turkey became a member of the Ottoman Empire. After Greece seized the nation after World War I, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led the Turkish war of independence in 1920. Turkey was declared a republic by the Turkish legislature in 1923. In 1923, the city was renamed Istanbul. Turkey became a secular country, which means that religion and government are separated. In 1934, women were granted the right to vote.