TURKIYE (Rep. of Turkey)

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GENERAL INFORMATION

Official Name: Republic of Turkey

Nationality: Turkish

Capital: Ankara

Largest City: Istanbul , Izmir , Adana , Bursa

Founder: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938)

Location: Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia, bordering Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterenean Sea between Greece and Syria.

Area: 780, 580 sq km. Slightly larger than Texas .

Government: Republican parliamentary democracy; the Republic of Turkey is based on a secular, democratic, pluralistic and parliamentary system, in which rights and obligations are protected by law. The Grand National Assembly is elected by popular vote and the nation is governed by the Council of Ministers led by the Prime Minister. Turkey is a founding member of the United Nations,the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe , a member state of the Council of Europe since 1949, and of NATO since 1952.

Administrative Divisions: 81 Provinces

Language: The Turkish language belongs to the Ural-Altaic group. It is related to Turkic languages such as Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Uzbek. Turkish also has an affinity with the Finno-Hungarian languages. Turkish is written in the Latin Alphabet and is spoken by at least 150 million people around the world. It is the official language of Turkey , Kosovo, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , and an official language of Republic of Macedonia .

Religion: The population is 99% Muslim, 1% others (mostly Christians and Jews). Turkey is a secular state, recognizes freedom of worship and Turkish people are very open minded. In Turkey , mosques, churches and synagogues have co-existed for centuries.

History: Turkey is known as “the cradle of civilization”. It was the home of a succession of ancient culture, including the Hittites, Assyrians, Phrygians, Urartians, Lycians, Lydians, Ionians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljucks and Ottomans. Following the decline of the Ottoman Empire , the modern Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal, known as Ataturk, commander of Turkish Independence War. Ataturk’s legacy is that, he is accepted as one of the world’s greatest statesmen.

Climate: Mediternean same as Greece , Italy and Spain- hot dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior.

Currency: New Turkish Lira (YTL)

Economy: The GDP growth rate for 2005 was 7.4%, thus making Turkey one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Turkey 's GDP ranks 17th in the world, and Turkey is a member of G20 which brings together the 20 largest economies of the globe. Turkey 's economy is no longer dominated by traditional agricultural activities in the rural areas, but more so by a highly dynamic industrial complex in the major cities, mostly concentrated in the western provinces of the country, along with a developed services sector. The agricultural sector accounts for 11.9% of GDP, whereas industrial and service sectors make up 23.7% and 64.5%, respectively. The tourism sector has experienced rapid growth in the last twenty years, and constitutes an important part of the economy. In 2005, there were 24,124,501 visitors to the country, who contributed 18.2 billion USD to Turkey 's revenues. Other key sectors of the Turkish economy are construction, automotive industry, electronics and textiles.

Millitary: The Turkish Armed Forces consists of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard operate as parts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in peacetime, although they are subordinated to the Army and Navy Commands respectively in wartime, during which they have both internal law enforcement and military functions. The actual Commander of the armed forces is the Chief of the General Staff General Yasar Büyükanit, who succeeded General Hilmi Özkök on August 26, 2006. The Turkish Armed Forces is the second largest standing armed force in NATO, after the U.S. Armed Forces, with a combined strength of 1,043,550 uniformed personnel serving in its five branches.

Tourism: Foreign tourist arrivals increased substantially in Turkey between 2002 and 2005, from 12.8 million to 21.2 million, which made Turkey a top-10 destination in the world for foreign visitors. 2005 revenues are US$ 17.5 billion which also made Turkey the top-10 biggest revenue owners in the world.

Turkey has a stunning blend of ancient history and modern life, where East meets West, with a backdrop of fantastic physical beauty that both surprises and delights. Some typically traditional houses, mansions, castles or historic landmarks transformed into small charming hotels or bed and breakfasts. Classical heritage sites inland offer a glimpse of its past, while the extremely luxerous beach resorts in the Mediteranean and Agean regions serve up beach life, local life and nightlife in equal quantities. On the other hand, many skii resorts located all around the country attract tourists with their unique winter events. Among the tourist hiking and rafting are very popular especially in the Black Sea region. In recent years, congress,golf and health tourisms are becoming very popular too. Istanbul , Ankara , and Izmir are the major cities for the congress tourism while small cities like Afyon, Denizli and Kizilcihamam offers natural and historic SPA’s for health tourism. At the same time, Antalya in Mediterenean Coast , represents Turkey with numerous modern Golf Clubs.

*The information above is taken from tourism handbook of Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Millitary section is taken from the wikipedia. If you think, there are some missing information please let me know.

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