TURKEY in BRIEF

Turkey is a paradise of sun, sea, mountains, and lakes that offers the vacationer a complete change from the stress and routine of everyday life. From April to October, most places in Turkey have an ideal climate that is perfect for relaxing on sandy beaches or enjoying the tranquility of mountains and lakes.

Turkey also has a magnificent past, and is a land full of historic treasures from 13 successive civilizations spanning 10,000 years. Even if you spend only a short time in Turkey, you can see a lot of this great past. Because of its geographical location the mainland of Anatolia has always found favour throughout history, and is the birthplace of many great civilizations. It has also been prominent as a centre of commerce because of its land connections to three continents and the sea surrounding it on three sides.

There is no doubt that one visit will not be enough, and you will want to come back again and again as you discover one extraordinary place after another. All of them, no matter how different, have one thing in common: the friendly and hospitable people of this country.

OFFICIALNAME : 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 is called Thrace, while the Asian part is called Anatolia

AREA : 814 578 square kilometers (314 500 square miles)

% 13 on the European continent, % 87 on the Asian continent

CAPITAL : ANKARA

POPULATION : 67.8 million (as of 2002)

MAJOR CITIES : Istanbul 10 million, Ankara 4 million, Izmir 3.4 million, Bursa 2.1 million

LANGUAGE : Turkish (uses Latin Alphabet)

CURRENCY : Turkish Lira (TL)

FLAG : Red background with a white crescent and star in the middle.

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.