Turkey

Turkey sits on two continents at once, and Istanbul is the only major city in the world split between Europe and Asia.

  • CapitalAnkaraThough Istanbul is far larger
  • PopulationAbout 85 millionAcross Europe and Asia
  • Area783,562 km2About 3 per cent of it in Europe
  • IstanbulOn two continentsSplit by the Bosphorus strait

Turkey, or Turkiye, straddles the boundary between Europe and Asia. The much larger Asian part is called Anatolia, a high plateau ringed by mountains. The smaller European part, Thrace, lies across the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara.

Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, sits astride that divide. It was the capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires in turn, and the Hagia Sophia there was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years before becoming a mosque.

National symbols

  • National animal Grey wolf
  • National flower Tulip, which reached the Netherlands from here
  • National anthem Istiklal Marsi (Translation: Independence March)
  • National day Republic Day, 29 October

Map of Turkey

Geography

Turkey covers 783,562 km2 and borders Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq and Syria, with the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and Mediterranean around it.

Anatolia is a high plateau ringed by the Pontic Mountains in the north and the Taurus in the south, rising to Mount Ararat at 5,137 m. The Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara and Dardanelles form a narrow waterway separating the two continents and linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

Climate

The coasts have a Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and mild wet winters, which is why the Aegean and Mediterranean shores are lined with resorts.

The Black Sea coast is much wetter and greener, with rain all year. The central Anatolian plateau is continental and harsh, with hot dry summers and cold snowy winters, and the eastern mountains are colder still.

Culture

Turkish is the official language, written in the Latin alphabet since a reform in 1928 replaced Arabic script. Kurdish is widely spoken in the south-east.

Around 99 per cent of Turks are Muslim, though the state is officially secular. Turkish coffee culture and the whirling dervish ceremony are both on the UNESCO heritage list. Oil wrestling, where competitors are covered in olive oil, has been held annually at Edirne since 1362.

Economy

Turkey has a large, diverse economy. It is a major manufacturer of cars, white goods, textiles and steel, much of it exported to Europe.

It is the world's largest producer of hazelnuts, dried apricots and figs. Tourism is significant, with tens of millions of visitors a year, and Istanbul Airport is one of the busiest international hubs in the world.

The flag

A red field with a white crescent moon and a white five-pointed star to its right. Turks call it ay yildiz, meaning moon star.

The crescent and star have been associated with the region since long before the Ottoman Empire adopted them. One legend says the design came from the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool of blood after a battle. The current proportions were fixed by law in 1936.