"Turkey" Turkey by KIZGINdamdakiKedi

Turkey Travel Guide: 24,326 reviews and 69,554 photos

Turkey

Take a look : http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/

Official Name:
The Republic of Turkey (Turkiye Cumhuriyeti)

Founder Mustafa Kemal ATATURK ( 1881-1938 )
Capital :ANKARA
Population 65.3 million (as of 2000)
Literacy rate 1935 % 19.25
1990 % 80.46
Language :Turkish (uses Latin Alphabet)
Currency Turkish Lira ( TL )

Flag :Red background with a white crescent and star in the middle
Location Eastern Mediterranean. Located on two contitents Europe and Asia. The European part of Turkey is called Thrace, while the Asian part is called Anatolia or ( Asia Minor )
Area :814 578 Km2 (314 500 square miles)
% 3 on the European continent
% 97 on the Asian continent
Major Cities:Istanbul 9.2 million
Ankara 3.7 million
Izmir 3.1 million
Konya 1.9 million
Adana 1.7 million
Bursa 1.2 million
Religion :% 99 of the population is Muslim . Turkey is a secular state that quarantees complete freedom of worship to non-Muslims

Government :Turkey is democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law; committed to the nationalism of Ataturk and based on the principle of the separation of powers;
Legislative Power: The Turkish Grand National Assembly
Executive Power:President and the Council of Ministers.
Judicial Power:Independent courts and supreme judiciary organs.

Time: Local time is equal to GMT + 2 hours. Same time zone all over the country ( seven hours ahead of U.S. -eastern standard time- )

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Ataturk

There are two Mustafa Kemals. One the flesh-and-blood Mustafa Kemal who now stands before you and who will pass away. the other is you, all of you here who will go to the far corners of our land to spread the ideals which must be defended with your lives if necessary. I stand for the nation's dreams, and my life's work is to make them come true."~

Mustafa Kemal Pasha emerged as the national liberator of the Turks when the Ottoman Empire, carved up by the Western Powers, was in its death throes. Already a legendary hero of the Dardanelles and other fronts, he became in 1919 the leader of the Turkish emancipation. With a small and ill-equipped army, he repelled the invading enemy forces on the East, on the South, and on the West. He even had to contend with the Sultan's troops and local bands of rebels before he could gain complete control of the Turkish homeland. By September 1922, he had received one of history's most difficult triumphs against internal opposition and powerful external enemies.

The liberator ranks among the world's greatest strategists and holds the rare distinction of having maintained a perfect military record consisting of only victories and no defeats.

As the national struggle ended, the heroic leader proclaimed:" Following the military triumph we accomplished by bayonets, weapons and blood, we shall strive to win victories in such fields as culture, scholarship, science, and economics," adding that " the enduring benefits of victories depend only on the existence of an army of education."
It is for his military victories and his cultural and socio-political reforms, which gave Turkey its new life, that the Turkish nation holds Atatürk in gratitude and reverence.

Geography & Climate of Turkey

The Turkish Flag&The church

Turkey straddles the borders of Europe and Asia with the majority of the country in Southwest Asia. It has a total area of 780,580 sq.km. that lies within Europe. The country is bordered at the east by Georgia, Armenia and Iran with Iraq, Syria and the Mediterranean Sea on the south.

The Aegean Sea, Greece and Bulgaria are to the west, and the Black Sea forms the northern border. Turkey's geographical coordinates are 36o 00' to 42o 00' north latitude and 26o 00' to 45o 00' east longitude.

Turkey, which has 80 administrative provinces, is divided into seven geographical regions; the Black Sea region, the Marmara region, the Aegean region, the Mediterranean region, Central Anatolia, the East and Southeast Anatolia regions.

Climate In spite of Turkey being located in a moderate climate belt, due to the fact that the mountains are parallel to the coasts and the diversification of the surface morphology, differences in climate are observed among the regions. The coastal regions have a moderate maritime climate while the internal regions surrounded by mountains have a continental climate.

The Mediterranean Region which is under the influence of the Mediterranean climate, has hot and arid summers and mild and rainy winters. The Mediterranean climate also manifests itself in the Aegean Region and in the south of the Marmara Region. The Black Sea Region is dominated by a more moderate and rainy maritime climate.

In the interior regions, the summers are hot and slightly rainy and a steppe climate is observed in the winters which are cold and snowy. In the Eastern Anatolia Region, the summers are cool and the winters are very cold and snowy. In the Southeastern Anatolia Region, while the summers are hot and arid, the winters are not very cold.

Last Note: Whoever said that, we are only a muslim country they are totally wrong!!!
We are Rebublic of Turkiye. We are Turks, secular,democratic,muslim and most hospitable people in the World. Muslims,catholics,orthodoxs,sii, Turks,Greeks,Armenian,Kurds...We are living all Together in PEACE against to whoever is trying to divide us..so..NE MUTLU TURKUM DIYENE!!!

Pros and Cons

Pros:mix&rich culture,hospitable people,
Cons:i'm sorry,i couldnt see any?! :-)
In a nutshell:Turkey has culture mix anatolia,europe,middle east!

Intro Updated Dec 31, 2004
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Reviews (11)

Izmir (The Pearl of Turkey) Things to Do (5)

Izmir is third biggest city of Turkey with 3 million population (around) That peninsula city worth to see with Izmir... more travel advice

ISTANBUL (The City of Mix Cultures) Things to Do (5)

Thats what Lamartine said about Istanbul: "The God and The mankind,The Nature and The Art,they created a wonderful... more travel advice

Festivals,Ceremonies Local Customs (4)

National Festivals The only traditional element in the official ceremonies of these festivals (the 30th August Victory... more travel advice

shaking hands or kissing on cheek :-) Local Customs (4)

if we just meet,of course we are shaking hands but if we know each other for a long time,we are kissing each other cheek... more travel advice

Warnings and Dangers (2)
See All The Turkish Flag and Ataturk

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Comments (10)

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SEALIFE Oct 27, 2006 at 12:53 PM

I celebrate your family. I had written before to you . Pray for us .Pray for Ataturk Also pray our young Rebuplic, Esra . Pray all the people for peace in our country also in this earth.... sincerely sealife
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lou31 Jun 12, 2006 at 4:33 AM

Interesting page...love the proverbs and the photos were good also...cheers from Australia
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la_beba Oct 14, 2005 at 7:23 PM

Love your new photo!!!!!! Talk about HOT!
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Rachelynn Dec 21, 2004 at 6:01 AM

There's a great Kiss Kiss pix! Was that you? =) Anyway tks for sharing yr Turkey tips. Gd work! =) Happy Holidays Esra.
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spartan Dec 17, 2004 at 9:28 AM

Appreciate the tips on visiting Turkey...nice job :-)
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kenHuocj Aug 22, 2004 at 9:38 PM

the cuisne page caught me fancy - allround temptong me to visit turkey sooner ;-))) thansk fro comments !
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AyurinHiro Jul 11, 2004 at 9:25 AM

Hi,Esra! Yes, Turkey is one of our dream place...:-) You are planning a trip to Japan! Please let us know when you are coming. We'd like to have a Virtual Tourist Meeting! Have a good time!
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dr.firas Jul 2, 2004 at 10:19 AM

Esra Turkey is indeed a paradise on Earth, I know how you feel about this magical country :-)
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Yubert Jan 25, 2004 at 1:53 AM

Turkey is a beautiful country. So are you!
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cachaseiro Jan 25, 2004 at 1:52 AM

i like your story about ataturk. i admire hem a great lot and plan to make a tribute to him on my turkey page aswell.