Turkey

Government: Parliamentary Republic
Official language: Turkish
Alphabet: Latin
Religion: Islam
Time zone: UTC +2
Currency: Turkish lira
Capital: Ankara
Area: 783 562 km2
Population: 74 816 000
Phone code: +90
Internet domain: .tr


Useful information:
Turkey (Turskish: Türkiye) is situated in Asia Minor and on the Balkan Peninsula, it is Eurasian transcontinental country and borders Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Nakhchivan, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Turkey borders Black sea to the North, Aegean sea to the West and to the Mediterranean to the South. The Asian part of the country (consisted in its bigger part from Anatolia), which is 97% of the territory of the country is separated from European Turkey by the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles (which together form a water link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea). The European part of Turkey (the part on the Balkan peninsula) is only 3% from its territory, but 17% from the population lives here and the most populous Turkish city – Istanbul is mostly on European territory.

Turkey is a tourist country and Istanbul, the Aegean and Mediterranean coastal lines and Cappadocia attrest thousands of tpourists. The Anatolian peninsula (or Asia Minor) is among these areas on our planet whch were constantly inhabited throughout the whole history of humankind. First settlers like the ones in Çatalhöyük, Hacilar, Göbekli Tepe, Mersin are considered to be the oldest ones in the world. Around 1200 BC the western coast of Anatolia was target of invasions from Aeolian and Ionian Greeks. Later the Persian Empire ruled all Asia Minor (6th-5th century BC). In 334 BC in the beginning of his great conquest Alexander the Great entered in Anatolia, which after his death was divided into a number of small Hellenistic kingdoms like Bithynia, Cappadocia, Pergamum, and Pontus. That was followed by Roman invasion. In 324 AD Constantine the Great made Constantinople (today’s Istanbul) capital city of his empire. Constantinople became the new Rome and that was the beginning of the upsurge of the Byzantine Empire. In 1453 Mehmed II the Conqueror seized control of the city and it was renamed Istanbul.

Turks, in the beginning nomadic tribes came from Asia, from the region of the Mongolian steppes and the plains of Central Asia, underwent mass and continuous migration to the west. They settle in Asia Minor (at the time populated mostly by Armenians and Greeks) in the Middle Ages. From 1299 to the beginning of 20th century the Ottoman Empire is supreme ruler, powerful, multinational and multi-religious country. In 1683 its armies were defeated near Vienna – that event was considered as the beginning of the decline of the Great empire. In the next centuries the Ottoman Empire lost great part of its territories. Right after WW I the great empire fell to pieces to give birth to a modern republic – Turkey. In 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk democratic republic was proclaimed. In the beginning of WW II Turkey remained neutral, but in 1945 it took the side of the Allies against Germany.

After the war several civil and pro-military governments took turns in the governance of the state, and the country experiences few conflicts with neighboring Greece and Cyprus. Turkey is a full NATO member since 1952. It is the only country with Muslim population who acknowledged Israel and even has military contracts signed with the Jewish state. Today the country has strong and varied economy. It is member of all European institutions from 1945 onwards: The European Council, The European organization for Economic Collaboration, The European Council’s Bank for Development etc. Turkey has accepted the supreme European jurisdiction of Hague. The European Union has officially accepted Turkey’s application for membership.