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TURKEY
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Welcome to Sun Beam Tours.Com
About
Turkey, All of Turkey Information |
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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 favor
throughout history, and is the birthplace of
many great civilizations. It has also been
prominent as a center 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 kilometers, of
which 790,200 are in Asia and 24,378 are
located in Europe. |
Boundaries
The
land borders of Turkey are 2,573 kilometers
in total, and coastlines (including islands)
are another 8,333 kilometers, Turkey has two
European and six Asian countries for
neighbors along its land borders.
The land border to the northeast with the
commonwealth of Independent States is 610
kilometers long; that with Iran, 454
kilometers long, and that with Iraq 331
kilometers long. In the south is the 877
kilometer-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 meters), at the same time it
is a major winter sports and tourist center.
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, Kucuk 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 meters).
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 meters. 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 meters 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
kilometers, and the salinity of the sea is
17%. The Mediterranean coastline runs for
1,577 kilometers 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 kilometers.
The coastline faces out to many islands.
The Marmara Sea is located totally within
national boundaries and occupies an area of
11,350 square kilometers. The coastline of
the Marmara Sea is over 1,000 kilometers
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
kilometers), 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 Anatolia 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 Ataturk 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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