MY SECOND HOMELAND
BENIM MEMLIKET
Geographical Profile

The lands of Turkey are
located at a point where 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
more

MY SECOND HOMELAND
BENIM MEMLIKET
Geographical Profile

The lands of Turkey are
located at a point where 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.
Turkey, as a country roughly
rectangular in shape, has a
width of approximately 550
kilometers and a length of
approxiamately 1500
kilometers.

Because of its geographical
location, the mainland of
Anatolia has always found
favor 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 Turkey
inclusive of its lakes is
814,578 square kilometers, of
which 790,200 are in Asia and
24,378 are located in Europe.

Boundaries

The land borders of Turkey are
2,949 kilometers in total, and
coastlines (including islands)
are another 8,333 kilometers.
Turkey has two European and
six Asian countries for
neighbours along its land
borders.

The land border to the
northeast with Georgia is 276
kilometers long; to the east
with Armenia is 328 kilometers
long and that with Azerbaijan
(Nakhichevan) is 18 kilometers
long. The land border to to
the southeast with Iran is 560
kilometers long; to the south
with Iraq is 384 kilometers
long, and that with Syria is
911 kilometer long, which took
its present form in 1939, when
the Republic of Hatay joined
Turkey. Turkey's borders on
the European continent consist
of a 203-kilometer frontier
with Greece and a
269-kilometer border with
Bulgaria.

Geographical Regions

Turkey 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 Turkey's total land
area.

The Marmara region covers the
area encircling the Sea of
Marmara includes the entire
European part of Turkey, as
well as the northwest of the
Anatolian plain. Whilst the
region is the smallest of the
regions of Turkey after 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, Kücük Menderes
and Bakircay rivers flow carry
the same names as these
rivers.
In the Mediterranean region,
located in the south of
Turkey, the western and
central Taurus Mountains rise
up closely behind the
coastline. The Amanos mountain
range is also in the area. The
Central Anatolian region is
exactly in the middle of
Turkey 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
Turkey'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 Turkey's
highest peak, Mount Agri
(Ararat), which is 5,165
metres high. At the same time,
several plains extend 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.

Category Entertainment

Tags NATIONAL, ANTHEM