Turkey
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| National Motto (currently unofficial): Yurtta Sulh, Cihanda Sulh (English Translation: Peace in the Homeland, Peace in the World) |
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| Image:LocationTurkey.png | ||||
| Official language | Turkish | |||
| Capital | Ankara | |||
| Founder | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk | |||
| President | Ahmet Necdet Sezer | |||
| Prime Minister | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | |||
| Area - Total - % water |
Ranked 36th 780,580 km² 1.3% |
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| Population - Total (2003) - Density |
Ranked 17th 68,109,469 86.2/km² |
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| National Day Declaration of Republic |
October 29 1923 |
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| Currency | New Turkish Lira1 | |||
| Time zone | UTC +2 | |||
| National anthem | İstiklâl Marşı | |||
| Internet TLD | .tr | |||
| Calling Code | 90 | |||
| 1 Since January 1 2005, the New Turkish Lira (''Yeni Türk Lirası'') replaced the old Turkish Lira. | ||||
History
Main article: History of Turkey Anatolia (''Asia Minor'') had been a cradle to a wide variety of civilizations and kingdoms in antiquity. The Seljuk Turks were the first Turkic power to arrive in the 11th century as conquerors (earlier Turkic peoples such as the Pechenegs had become allies and subordinates of the Byzantine Empire), who proceeded to gradually conquer the existing Byzantine Empire. Their Turkic successors, the Ottoman Empire, completed this in the 15th century with the fall of Constantinople, after which the empire expanded across the eastern Mediterranean. Rising nationalism in the 19th century and the First World War caused the embattled empire to crumble in the aftermath of the war.Politics
Main article: Politics of Turkey The Republic of Turkey was created in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a pragmatic leader who reformed Turkey into a modern, secular, and western-oriented republic. Fears of a shift from the secular and western oriented makeup of the country have led to three military coups over the years, the last of which was in 1980. Democratic rule has since returned. Turkey became a member of NATO in 1952, and is seeking membership of the European Union. Issues such as the Turkish involvement in Cyprus, the Armenian Genocide, and the increasing appeal of political Islam continue to fuel public debate in Turkey and influence its international relations. However the greatest problem facing Turkey is how to deal with its substantial Kurdish population. The Kurds live in the east of the Turkey, with Turkish military operations ongoing in most of this area. Recently this age old problem has caused more problems, as Turkey has attempted to join the EU, whic has strict guidelines on minority rights. The official opening of talks for the accession of Turkey to the European Union decided on December 17th 2004 is one of the main issues in Turkish foreign diplomacy. See also:Provinces
Main article: Provinces of Turkey Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces (''iller'', singular - il):Geography
Main article: Geography of Turkey Map of Turkey Turkey forms a bridge between Europe and Asia, with the division between the two running from the Black Sea to the north down along the Bosporus strait through the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles strait to the Aegean Sea and the larger Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Anatolian peninsula (also known as Asia Minor) consists of a high central plateau with narrow coastal plains, in between the Pontus range to the north and the Taurus Mountains to the south. To the east is found a more mountainous landscape (main part of the Armenian Highland), home to the sources of rivers such as the Euphrates, Tigris and the Araks, as well as Lake Van and Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest point at 5,166 m. The climate is a Mediterranean temperate climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, though conditions can be much harsher in the more arid interior. Turkey is also prone to very severe earthquakes. The capital city of Turkey is Ankara, but the largest city is İstanbul. Other important cities include İzmir, Bursa, Adana, İzmit (Kocaeli), Konya, Diyarbakır, Antalya, and Samsun. See the list of cities in Turkey. Major regional schisms are based on ethnicity (mainly Kurdish-inhabited southeast), economy (industry, cash crops, and tourism in coastal regions), and rainfall (Black Sea littoral, where summer drought is unknown).Economy
Main article: Economy of Turkey Turkey's economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2001 still accounted for 40% of employment. It is estimated that 50% of the population lives under the international standards of poverty, especially in the impoverished Kurdish areas. Turkey has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The most important industry - and largest export - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. In recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which in 2001 accounted for more than 50% of central government spending - while inflation has remained in the high double digit range. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than USD 1 billion annually. In late 2000 and early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses in the banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Ankara to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Results in 2002 were much better, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. Continued slow global growth and serious political tensions in the Middle East cast a shadow over growth prospects in the future. Turkey has recently adopted a new currency, slashing away many "zeros" from the old currency after years of double digit inflation. The old currency has been described as "funny" since a taxi ride would mean a few million liras. Overnight, many "millionaires" were gone.Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Turkey The majority of the Turkish population (around 80%-85%) is of Turkic ethnicity, who speak the official language of the country, Turkish. The Kurds (inc. Zazas) constitute up to about 10%-15% of the population. (It should be noted that these figures of ethnicity ratios are not official figures, since there is no question of ethnicity in the Turkish Census). Other smaller minorities include Levantines, Georgians, Laz, Syriacs, Arabs, Greeks, Chaldeans, Jews, Roma, Hamshenis, Circassians, Abkhaz, Bosniaks, Pomaks, and Armenians. The term "minority" itself remains to be a sensitive issue in Turkey, since the Turkish State does consider only the communities mentioned in the text of Treaty of Lausanne (namely, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, and Jewish communities) as minorities (''azınlık'' or ekalliyet). Due to rampant poverty, between 1960 and 1980 many Turkish people emigrated to West Germany, the Netherlands, France and other Western European countries, forming a significant overseas population. Recently, many have also settled in Russia and other neighbouring countries. Before WWI Armenians and Greeks were a large minority, with a long history dating back to 1,000 BC. Most of the Armenians of Asian Turkey (approx. two million) were allegedly massacred or deported by the Ottoman Empire during WWI (1915-1918) and later (1920-1923). The operation carried out by the Young Turks during the period has been recognised as genocide by most scholars and several countries such as France, Canada, and Russia. Nominally, 99.8% of the population is Muslim. Most belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. About 15-20% of the population are Alevis. There is also a Twelver Shia minority, mainly of Azeri descent. Jewish, and Christian Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox (Gregorian), Roman Catholic and Protestant minorities are also present. Because of the special way religious affiliation is perceived by the state, all Muslims, Turks as well as Kurds or Arabs etc., are nominally considered Turkish Muslims, even if they have converted to another religion or are atheists, and all Turkish Christians are nominally considered Christians, and Turkish Jews are Jews, even if they change their religious affiliation. Although, unlike other majority Islamic nations, there is a strong tradition of separation of church and state in Turkey, in practice this means rather the subordination of religion to the state instead of what Westerners would consider separation. The Turkish constitution recognizes freedom of religion for individuals, but explicitly states that religious communities derive no rights at all from this. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organized by the state, through Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (Department of Religious Affairs). The Diyanet is the main religous framework, succesor to the Ulama, Seyh-ul-Islam and Caliph of the Ottoman Empire. As a consequence, they control all mosques and Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at an academic level at universities.Culture
Main article: Culture of Turkey- Cinema of Turkey
- Cuisine of Turkey
- Islam in Turkey
- List of Turkish painters
- List of Turks
- Music of Turkey
- Turkish literature
- Yağlı Güreş
Miscellaneous topics
- Communications in Turkey
- Transportation in Turkey
- Military of Turkey
- Pan-Turkism
- Human rights in Turkey
External links
- All About Turkey - Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Çankaya - Official presidential site (in Turkish)
- Başbakanlık - Official prime ministry site (in Turkish)
- TBMM - Official parliamentary site (in Turkish)
- E-Turkiye - Official gateway to Turkish government (in Turkish)
- Turkey News
- Health Law - Health law(in Turkish)
- Law Search engine - Law Search engine(in Turkish)
- Kusadasi(one of a tourism centers)
- Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C. Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C.
- Tulumba.com - Largest Turkish Online Megastore in the US
- e-Commerce in Turkey
- Turkey Tourism (Ministiry of Culture and Tourism)
- Nouvelles de la Turquie (Europe based independent news agency about Turkey and Turks)
- Turkish Resorts Guide.
- Turkey's Friends' site
- Historic Pictures Kagan Tuncay
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