Turkey Travel Guide

Fact file
• Besides Russia, Turkey is the only nation incorporating both Asian and – albeit just three percent of a total area of 814,578 sq km – European territory. A 8333-kilometre coastline is lapped by four seas – the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. Numerous peaks exceed 3000m, the highest 5165-metre Ararat (Ağrı Dağı) near the Armenian border. The largest lake is Lake Van (3713 sq km) in the far southeast.

• The population of about 70 million is 98 percent Muslim (Sunni or Alevî sect), with dwindling religiousminorities of the Armenian Apostolic, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Jewish and Catholic faiths. Besides standard Turkish, two dialects of Kurdish are widely spoken, while other languages heard include Arabic, Laz, Circassian, Albanian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Romany and Greek. Well over half the inhabitants live in urbanareas; the largest cities, İstanbul, Ankara (the capital), İzmir and Adana, account for about 24 million people.

• Since 1922, when the last sultan was deposed, Turkey has been a republic. The single-chamber Büyük Meclis or Grand National Assembly in Ankara has 550 seats, and the head of state (elected by this parliament) is the president. Both are answerable to a National Security Council dominated by elements of the armed forces.

• Since 1950 the Turkish economy has often been in crisis, with inflation devaluing the currency and unemployment approaching 25 percent. Recovery following the 2000–01 crash has yielded recent annual growth rates of about five percent. The most important foreign-exchange earners are tourism, clothing and food, with automobiles and household appliances set to follow.
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