Turkey: General Info

Capital: Ankara
Area: 780,580 km2 (301,382 sq mi)
Population: 70,413,958 (est. June 2006)
Official Language: Turkish
Currency: New Turkish Lira (YTL)
Government: Parliamentary Democracy founded 1923.

Location

Turkey is strategically located over two continents – south east Europe and south west Asia. The 8,000km coast of Turkey is bordered by the Black Sea to the north, the Aegean to the west and by the Mediterranean to the south.

History

Because of its geographical location, the mainland, Anatolia, has witnessed the mass migration of diverse peoples throughout history. Twenty fascinating civilizations in the last 10,000 years are still yielding their secrets. Turkey is a secular country, a founding member of the United Nations (1945), Council of Europe (1950) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (1960) and NATO (1952).

Climate

There are considerable climatic variations within Turkey. The narrow coastlands and mountain slopes facing the Black Sea on the north, the Aegean on the west, and the Mediterranean on the south have wetter and milder winters than the interior. Temperatures in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions vary between 10-35 degrees Celsius during the year while the Black Sea coast is about 10 degrees lower. Although summer temperatures are high, the heat is tempered by low humidity inland and the sea breezes along the coast. In Istanbul and around the Marmara region the climate is moderate; varying between 4-30 degrees Celsius throughout the year, but in winter the temperature can drop below zero. Turkey has a rich variety of flora and fauna.

Travelling to Turkey

Turkish Airlines and British Airways fly from Heathrow to Istanbul three times a day. Apart from many other major airlines flying to Istanbul, Easyjet also flies to Istanbul daily. Many charter airlines, such as MyTravel, First Choice, Thomas Cook and Thomson fly to the main holiday resorts like Bodrum and Dalaman direct from UK airports.