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The lands of
TURKİYE
are located at a point where the three
continents making up the old
world. Asia, Africa and Europe are closest to each other, and straddle the point where
Europe and Asia meet. Geographically, the country
is located in the northern half of the hemisphere at a point that is about halfway between the equator and the north pole,
at a longitude of 36 degrees
N to 42 degrees N and a latitude of 26 degrees E to 45 degrees E.
TURKİYE
is roughly rectangular in shape and is 1,660 kilometers wide.
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.
Area
The actual area of
TURKİYE
inclusive of its lakes, is 814,578 square kilometres, of which 790,200 are in Asia and 24,378 are located in Europe.
Boundaries
The land borders of
TURKİYE
are 2,573 kilometres in
total, and coastlines (including islands) are another 8,333 kilometres, Turkey has two European and six Asian
countries for neighbours along its land borders.
The land border to the
northeast with the commonwealth of Independent States is 610 kilometres long; that with Iran, 454 kilometres long, and that with
Iraq 331 kilometres long. In the
south is the 877
kilometre-long border with Syria, which took its present form in 1939, when the Republic
of Hatay joined
TUKİYE.
TURKİYE's borders on the European continent consist of a
212-kilometre frontier with
Greece and a
269-kilometre border with
Bulgaria.
TURKİYE is generally divided into seven regions: the Black Sea region,
the Marmara region, the Aegean, the Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, the East and Southeast Anatolia regions. The uneven north Anatolian terrain running along the Black Sea
resembles a narrow but long belt. The land of this region is approximately 1/6 of
TURKİYE's
total land area.
The Marmara regio n covers the area encircling the Sea of Marmara, includes the entire European part of
TURKİYE, as well as the northwest of the Anatolian plain. Whilst the region is the smallest of the regions of
TURKİYEafter the Southeast
Anatolia region, it has
the highest population density of all the regions.
The most important peak in the region is Uludag (2,543 metres), at the
same time it is a major
winter sports and tourist centre. In the Anatolian part of the region there are fertile plains running from east to
west.
The Aegean region extends from the Aegean
coast to the inner parts
of western Anatolia. There
are significant differences between the coastal areas and those
inland, in terms of both geographical features and economic and social aspects.
In general, the mountains in the region fall perpendicularly into the sea. and
the plains run from east
to west. The plains through which Gediz, Kucuk Menderes and Bakircay rivers flow carry the same names
as these rivers.
In the Mediterranean region , located in the south of
TURKİYE
, the western and central Taurus Mountains suddenly rise up behind the
coastline. The Amanos mountain range is also in the area.
The Central Anatolian region is exactly in the middle of
TURKİYE
and gives the
appearance of being less mountainous compared with the other regions.
The main peaks of the region are Karadag, Karacadag, Hasandag and Erciyes (3.917
metres).
The Eastern Anatolia region is
TURKİYE's largest and highest region. About three fourths of it is at an altitude of 1,500-2,000
metres. Eastern Anatolia
is composed of individual
mountains as well as of
whole mountain ranges, with vast plateaus and plains. The mountains: There are numerous
inactive volcanoes in the region, including Nemrut, Suphan, Tendurek and
TURKİYE's highest peak, Mount Agri (Ararat), which is 5,165 metres high.
At the same time, several plains extended along the course of the River Murat, a tributary of the Firat (Euphrates). These are the
plains of Malazgirt, Mus,
Capakcur, Uluova and Malatya.
The Southeast Anatolia region is notable for the uniformity of its landscape, although the eastern part of the region is comparatively more uneven than its western areas.
Coastlines
TURKİYE
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, important waterways that connect the Black Sea
with the rest of the world.
Because the mountains in the Black Sea region
run parallel to the coastline,
the coasts are fairly smooth, without too many indentations
or projections. The length of the Black Sea
coastline in
TURKİYE
is
1,595 kilometres, and the salinity of the sea is 17%. The Mediterranean coastline runs for 1,577 kilometres and here too
the mountain ranges are parallel to the coastline.
Sources:
-CIA WORLD FACTBOOK, -Republic of
TURKİYE, Ministry of Culture, -Republic of
TURKİYE, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs |
