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About Turkey
- - OFFICIAL
NAME : The Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti)
-
- FOUNDER : Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK ( 1881-1938 )
LOCATION : Eastern Mediterranean. Located on two continents: Europe and Asia.
The European part of Turkey is called Thrace, while the Asian part is called Anatolia
(or Asia Minor)
AREA : 814 578 square kilometers (314 500 square
miles)
% 3 on the European continent
% 97 on the Asian continent
CAPITAL : ANKARA
POPULATION : 67.8 million (as of
2002)
MAJOR CITIES : (as at 2002)
Istanbul 10 million
Ankara 4 million
Izmir 3.4 million
Bursa 2.1 million
Konya 2.2 million
Adana 1.8 million
LANGUAGE : Turkish (uses Latin Alphabet)
CURRENCY : Turkish Lira
RELIGION : %99 of the population
is Muslim. Turkey is the only country among Islamic countries, which has included
secularism in her Constitution and guarantees 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 Atatürk 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
GEOGRAPHICAL
REGIONS : Turkey has 80 administrative provinces and seven geographical regions.
The first four of the seven regions are given the names the seas which are adjacent
to them.
- Black Sea Region
- Marmara Region
- Aegean Region
- Mediterranean Region
The other three regions are named in accordance
with their location in the whole of Anatolia.
- Central Anatolia Region
- Eastern Anatolia Region
- Southeastern Anatolia Region
FAMOUS
LANDMARKS : In Istanbul: Ayasofya, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Dolmabahçe
Palace, Kariye Museum.
Elsewhere in Turkey: Ancient City of Troy, Ephesus,
Aphrodisias, Pergamon, Pamukkale, Göreme-Cappadocia, Mt.Nemrut, Safranbolu,
Mevlevi Convent and Museum, Halil Rahman Mosque in Sanli Urfa. Istanbul,
Safranbolu, Bogazköy-Hattushash, Mt. Nemrut Remains, Xanthos-Lethoon, Divrigi
Great Mosque and Hospital, Troy, Pamukkale and Göreme-Cappadocia are registered
on the World Heritage List to help preserve them for future generations. SOME
IMPORTANT PRODUCTS : As of 2000, Turkey has the first place in the world in
terms of hard-shell nuts, fig and apricot production, fourth in fresh vegetables,
grape and tobacco production and seventh in wheat and cotton production. Turkish
delight and helva are famous throughout the world. Turkey
is among the leading countries in the world in textiles and ready to wear clothing
production. The exports of this sector constitute 37 percent of total industrial
exports. The leather processing industry is also very developed in Turkey both
in terms of technological level and high production capacity and comes after textiles
in terms of export figures. High-quality handmade Turkish
carpets are also one of the main export items of Turkey the most famous and finest
pure silk carpets of the world are produced in the small town of Hereke, 60 km
east of Istanbul.
Turkey is Europe's third largest
ceramic producer.
TIME : Local time is equal to GMT + 2 hours
ELECTRICITY : 220 volts a.c. all over Turkey
WEIGHTS
AND MEASURES : Metric and Kilo system
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