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Turkey Cities with Hotels
 Turkey (country), officially the Republic of Turkey (Turkish Türkiye Cumhuriyeti), southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, bordered on the northwest by Bulgaria and Greece; on the north by the Black Sea; on the northeast by Georgia and Armenia; on the east by Iran; on the south by Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea; and on the west by the Aegean Sea. The total area of Turkey is 779,452 sq km (300,948 sq mi). The capital is Ankara; Istanbul is the largest city.
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Turkey
The modern Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) from a portion of the Ottoman Empire, following the empire's collapse as a result of World War I (1914-1918). Turkey became a secular state in 1928, and a multiparty political system was established in 1950. Apart from a brief period of government by a military junta in 1960 and 1961, Turkey remained under civilian rule until 1980, when, in a period of political instability, inflation, and acts of terrorism, the military again took control. Civilian rule was restored to Turkey at the end of 1983.
Land and Resources
The main area of Turkey, known as Anatolia, is in Asia between the Mediterranean and Black seas. Turkish Thrace in Europe makes up about 3 percent of the country's area. Turkey has relatively rich agricultural resources and important deposits of lignite, black coal, iron ore, and chromium; some petroleum is found in the southeast. With several active seismic zones within its boundaries, Turkey is subject to frequent earthquakes.
Physiographic Regions
Turkey can be divided into seven geographic regions: Thrace and the borderlands of the Sea of Marmara; the Aegean and Mediterranean region; the Black Sea region; western Anatolia; the central Anatolian Plateau; the eastern highlands; and southeastern Anatolia.
Thrace and the borderlands of the Sea of Marmara contain a central plain of gently rolling hills. It is a fertile, well-watered area of which slightly more than one-quarter is farmed. The eastern portion of this region rises as high as 2543 m (8343 ft) atop Mount Ulu (Olympus). The coastlands of the Aegean and Mediterranean region are narrow and hilly, and only about one-fifth of the land is arable. To the east, much of Turkey's cotton crop is grown in the Çukurova, a plain connected with the interior through the Taurus Mountains by a pass known since antiquity as the Cilician Gates (Gülek Bogazi).
The Anatolian coastlands of the Black Sea region rise directly from the water to the heights of the Pontic Mountains (Dogukaradeniz Daglari). Slopes are steep, and only about 16 percent of this area is farmed. Western Anatolia consists of irregular ranges and interior valleys separating the Aegean coast from the central Anatolian Plateau; farming here is restricted to less than one-fifth of the total area. The central Anatolian Plateau, the largest geographic region in Turkey, is surrounded on all sides by mountains. The highest point is the summit of Mount Erciyes (3916 m/12,848 ft). Twenty-eight percent of the region is cultivated.
The eastern highlands region is the most mountainous and rugged portion of Turkey; Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi), mentioned in the Bible as the place where Noah's ark came to rest, is the highest peak at 5137 m (16,854 ft). Less than 10 percent of this area is cultivated. The eastern highlands are the source for both the Tigris (Dicle) and Euphrates (Furat) rivers. Southeastern Anatolia is a rolling plateau enclosed on the north, east, and west by mountains. With about 19 percent of its area farmed, southeastern Anatolia is part of the so-called Fertile Crescent and has been important since antiquity.
Rivers and Lakes
Almost all the rivers of Turkey contain rapids and are thus unsuitable for navigation. A number of rivers do not flow during the dry summer. Some rivers are, however, important sources of hydroelectric power and water for irrigation. The Kizil Irmak (about 1150 km/715 mi long), which empties into the Black Sea, is the longest river flowing entirely within national boundaries. The Büyükmenderes (ancient Meander) drains western Anatolia into the Aegean Sea; its many loops and bends have given rise to the term meander in English. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow from eastern Turkey to empty ultimately into the Persian Gulf.
Lake Van is Turkey's largest lake; its waters are saline, as are those of another large body of water, Lake Tuz. Freshwater lakes include Beysehir, Egridir, and Burdur-all in the southwest.
Climate and Vegetation
The Mediterranean and Aegean shores of Turkey experience long, hot summers and mild, rainy winters. Istanbul, located on the Bosporus, has an average temperature range in January of 3° to 8° C (37° to 46° F). In July the average range is 18° to 28° C (65° to 82° F). Precipitation averages about 820 mm (about 32 in) annually, and is heaviest between October and March. Olives, citrus fruit, figs, grapes, cotton, and early spring vegetables are raised. Scattered forests alternate with low herbaceous growth. The central Anatolian Plateau has a continental climate with hot summers and colder winters than those along the shore. Ankara, located here, has an average temperature range of -4° to 4° C (24° to 39° F) in January and 15° to 30° C (59° to 86° F) in July. The average annual precipitation is about 350 mm (about 14 in). Along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts, more than one-third of the yearly precipitation, which is about 650 mm (about 26 in) at Izmir, falls in December and January. The plateau receives only about half as much precipitation, but it is more evenly distributed over the course of the year. Grasslands and grain fields are abundant on the plateau, with sparse forests restricted to higher slopes. The eastern highlands experience even longer and colder winters. Pastoralism and grazing prevail. Some sparse forests are found, and alpine vegetation is common at higher elevations.
Humid deciduous forests as well as a thick brush cover are found along the Black Sea, and the climate is mild and rainy. Southeastern Anatolia records the hottest summer temperatures in Turkey (averaging more than 30° C/86° F in July and August); grain farming is dominant here, with grazing in its drier portions. Higher elevations have forests similar to those in the eastern highlands.
"Turkey" Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia.
© 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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December 03, 2008 01:01 PM. |
