About TURKEY

Government

Turkey is a 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

Education System

Primary Education: Eight years; includes the education of children in the 6-14 age-group. Compulsory for all male and female citizens.

Secondary Education: Consists of general and vocational-technical high schools that offer at least three years of education.

Higher Education: Includes all educational institutions where an educational programme of at least two years over and above secondary education is implemented where associate's, bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree are offered.

Primary and secondary education is free of charge in public schools. Higher education institutions, however, charge a certain minimal tuition fee.

Geographical Regions

Turkey has a coastline of 8333 Km. (5000 miles).

Turkey is surrounded by sea on three sides, by the Black Sea in the north, the Mediterranean in the south and the Aegean Sea in the west. In the northwest there is also an important internal sea, the Sea of Marmara, between the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.

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 Anatolian Region - Eastern Anatolian Region - Southeastern Anatolian Region

Famous Landmarks

In İstanbul: AyaSofya, Topkapı Palace, Blue Mosque, Dolmabahçe Palace, Kariye Museum.

Elsewhere in Turkey: Ancient City of Troy, Ephesus, Aphrodisias, Pergamon, Pamukkale, Göreme-Cappadocia, Mt.Nemrut, Safranbolu, Sümele Monastery, Mevlevi Convent and Museum, Halil Rahman Mosque in Şanlı Urfa.

İstanbul, Safranbolu, Boğazköy-Hattushash, Mt. Nemrut Remains, Xanthos-Lethoon, Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital, Troy, Pamukkale and Göreme-Cappadocia are registered on the World Heritage List to help preserve them for future generations.

Turkey is the leading producer of hard-shell nuts, figs and apricots, fourth largest producer of fresh vegetables, grapes and tobacco and seventh largest producer of wheat and cotton. 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 İstanbul. Turkey is Europe's third largest ceramic producer.

Transportation

Transportation in Turkey is quite good. Buses and trains are available in every region. You have to plan ahead if you want to travel to Eastern Turkey by plane. Within the cities, the public transportation system is good. In small cities you can always hire a taxi. Be sure to ask them to turn their taximeter on (A red light for daytime fare, two red lights for the night time fare).

Although it may seem small, Turkey is a large country. By bus, from Istanbul it takes 12 hours to Antalya , 8 to İzmir , 14 to Bodrum , 12 to Cappadocia , 16 to Rize , 8 to Ankara, 16 to Diyarbakır , 3 to Bursa. By train, allow another 4-5 hours or even more in some cases.

Postal System

You can buy pre-paid telephone cards, which are available on newspaper stands, tobacco shops and some other little markets. In big cities, you can also make telephone calls using your credit card via special phone booths. To dial within city: just dial the 7-digit number (The Asian and the European side of Istanbul are treated as separate cities).

To dial outside of city and to dial mobile phones: dial 0 + area code + 7-digit phone number

To dial outside of Turkey : dial 00 + country code etc.