Quick Facts

Official Name: The Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti)
Founder: Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK (1881-1938)
Capital: Ankara

Population:       70.5 million (as of 2007)
Language:         Turkish (uses Latin Alphabet)
Currency:         New Turkish Lira (YTL) as of 01/01/2005
1YTL = 1,000,000 TL (Turkish Lira)
Location: Eastern Mediterranean. Located on two contitents Europe and Asia. The European part of Turkey is called Thrace, while the Asian part is called Anatolia or Asia Minor.
Area:    814 578 Km2 (314 500 square miles)
% 3   on the European continent
% 97 on the Asian continent

Religion:           99 percent of the population is Muslim. Turkey is a secular state that assures complete freedom of worship to non-Muslims.

Major Cities:
            Istanbul 10.0 million
            Ankara  4.0 million
            Izmir 3.3 million
            Konya 2.2 million
            Bursa 2.1 million
            Adana 1.8 milli

National Anthem: Istiklal Marsi
Lyrics by: Mehmet Akif Ersoy 
                  Adopted as Turkey’s National Anthem on March 12, 1921

Government:    

Turkey is democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law; committed to the nationalism of Ataturk 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.
udicial Power: Independent courts and supreme judiciary organs.
             
Coastline:        

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.
 
Geographical Regions:
Turkey has 80 administrative provinces and seven geographical regions. The first four of the seven regions are given the names of 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 Anatolia Region
Eastern Anatolia Region
Southeastern Anatolia Region
 
Famous Landmarks:
Ayasofya Museum, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Dolmabahce Palace, ancient City of Troy, Ephesus, Aphrodisias, Pergamon, Pamukkale, Goreme-Cappadocia, Mt.Nemrut, Safranbolu.
                         
Other Useful Information            
Time:    Local time is equal to GMT + 2 hours. Same time zone all over the country (seven hours ahead of U.S. eastern standard time).
Electricity:  220 volts a.c. throughout Turkey            

Weights and Measures: Metric and Kilo system