Some Facts About Turkey

 

Official Name	The Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti)
Founder	Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK (1881-1938)
Location	Eastern Mediterranean. Located on two continents: Europe and Asia. The European part of Turkey is called Thrace, while the Asian part is called Anatolia (or Asia Minor)
Area	814,578 square kilometers (314,500 square miles)  3% on the European continent  97% on the Asian continent
Population	71.9 million (as of 2008)
Population of Major Cities (2002 est.)	Istanbul - 10 million;  Ankara - 4 mil;  Izmir - 3.4 mil;  Konya - 2.2 mil;  Bursa - 2.1 mil;  Adana - 1.8 mil
Language	Turkish (in Latin Alphabet)
Currency	New Turkish Lira (YTL)
Religion	99% Muslim  1% Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Jewish, Catholic and others  (Only country in the Muslim world with a constitutional provision on secularism)
State System and Structure	Republic. Democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law; committed to the Atatürk nationalism and based on separation of powers: Legislative power: Turkish Grand National Assembly Executive power: President and Council of Ministers Judicial power: Independent courts and supreme judiciary organs
GDP (purchasing power parity)	930.9 billion U.S. Dollars (2008 est.)
GDP Real Growth Rate	4.5 % (2008)
Measurements and Weights	Metric and kilo systems

 

References

• tourismturkey.org
• turkishembassy.org
• World Factbook
• Turkey Maps (University of Texas at Austin)

Turkey in Pictures

Following are some pictures from Turkey

Links

Other Turkish Organizations

 

• Turkish Embassy and Consulates
• ATA-SC: American Turkish Association - Southern California, San Diego Chapter
• OCTAA: Orange County Turkish American Association
• Society of Turkish American Architects, Engineers & Scientists

Information for Tourists

 

• Famous Landmarks: This page hosted by Turkish Embassy gives a great overview of the places to visit in Turkey.