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GEOGRAPHY
Turkey is located on two continents, Europe and Asia. The Asian
side is called Anatolia and the European side is called Eastern
Thrace. Bosphorus, Marmara Sea and the Dardanelles separate
Anatolia and the Eastern Thrace. Neighbouring countries are
Bulgaria and Greece in the west, Iraq and Syria in the south and
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran in the east. Area of Turkey is
814.578 square kilometres. 97 per cent of the area is located on
the Asian side. Turkey is surrounded by four seas: Black Sea in
the north, Marmara Sea in the northwest, Aegean Sea in the west
and the Mediterranean in the south. The country has 8333
kilometres of coastline. The country is mountainous. Pontic
Mountains follow the Black Sea and Taurus Mountains follow the
Mediterranean in the south. Between them there is the Central
Anatolian highland. Mount Ararat in the east is 5137 meters high
from the sea level. The most well known rivers, Euphrates and
Tigris, start from Central Anatolia and run to the Gulf of
Persia. The longest river Kizilirmak (1355 km) starts from
Central Anatolia and runs to the Black Sea. The country has
about 200 lakes, which cover 9200 sq. kilometres. The biggest
lakes, Van Gölü (Van Lake) and Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) have salty
water.
CLIMATE
Summers are hot and dry and winters are mild in the
Mediterranean, Aegean and the Marmara regions. Most of the rain
falls during November-February. In midsummer the temperature
rises up to 30 C, but the sea breeze cools the air. Coasts are
ideal for tourists who love sun and warm sea. Most of the fruit,
vegetables, cotton, grain and tobacco are grown on the coast.
Bananas grow only on the Mediterranean coast. On the Black Sea
the climate is cooler and rainier. People grow maize, rice,
barley, potatoes, sugar roots, onions and hemp. Rains all year
round and mild climate are favourable also for tea plantations
and hazelnuts. In the highlands, summers are hot and winters are
cold and snowy. Mountains also might have snow during the summer
months. Agriculture and cattle breeding are important. People
grow wheat, beans, potatoes, sugar roots and also grapes in
certain places. Eastern Anatolia is 2000 meters from the sea
level in average. Summers are cool and winters are very cold and
snowy. Agriculture and cattle breeding are the ways of earning a
living even though only one tenth of the soil is fertile. People
grow wheat and barley, cotton, tobacco and sugar roots. People
can grow fruit in sheltered valleys. Apricots from Malatya are
famous and considered to be the best in Turkey. Climate in the
southeastern Turkey is under the influence of continental
climate of the Central Anatolia and the Mediterranean climate.
Long summers are hot and winters are short and rainy. People
grow grains and vegetables. South Eastern Anatolia project (GAP)
has changed the climate more favourable for agriculture. Dry
seasons have become shorter and rainfalls have increased.
POPULATION
The population of Turkey is around 65 million. The majority of
the population is very young and growth is fast. 30 per cent of
the population is under 15 years. 40 per cent of the population
live in the countryside, although there is a move move to towns
in great numbers. The population density is highest on the
tourist, business and industrial areas of the Aegean, Marmara
and the Mediterranean regions and lowest in the rural areas of
the southeast Turkey. In Istanbul region there are over 10
million inhabitants, in Ankara around 3.7 million, in Izmir 3.1
million and in Antalya 1.5 million inhabitants.
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