Geography of Turkey

Written by admin on July 7, 2008 – 8:25 pm -

Geography of Turkey:
The Republic of Turkey is located, both geographically and geopolitically, at the intersection of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The Anatolian peninsula encompasses the majority of the country, before extending upwards, onto continental Europe, across the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits, onto Thrace.

Straddling the Bosphorus Strait is the sprawling city of Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, the largest city in Europe and third largest city worldwide. Turkey’s second largest city is Ankara, capital of the Turkish Republic, located near the centre of Anatolia.

Turkey shares borders with a number of countries; Bulgaria and Greece, in Europe, Georgia, Armenia and a small region of Azerbaijan, to the East, and in the Middle East, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Turkey also lays claim to the northern part of Cyprus, following an, as-yet unresolved conflict between the Republic of Turkey and Greece.

The coast of Turkey touches the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Sea. Turkey is also the source of both the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, which in turn, are widely considered to be the source of civilisation itself.

Due to its southerly position, Turkey enjoys a warm, Mediterranean climate. For this reason Turkey is blessed with agricultural abundance. It is also the reason why it has become so popular with sun-seeking tourists, as well as those wishing to retire or to buy property.

Image courtesy of the CIA World Factbook.

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