ISTANBUL TURKEY HOTELS BOOKING CENTER
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The
lands of Turkey are located at a point where the three
continents making up the old world. 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 is roughly rectangular in
shape and is 1,660 kilometers wide.
Because of its geographical location the mainland of
Anatolia has always found favour 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 kilometres, of which 790,200 are in
Asia and 24,378 are located in Europe.
Boundaries
The land borders of Turkey are 2,573 kilometres in
total, and coastlines (including islands) are another
8,333 kilometres, Turkey has two European and six
Asian countries for neighbours along its land borders.
The land border to the northeast with the commonwealth
of Independent States is 610 kilometres long; that
with Iran, 454 kilometres long, and that with Iraq 331
kilometres long. In the south is the 877 kilometre-long
border with Syria, which took its present form in
1939, when the Republic of Hatay joined Turkey.
Turkey's borders on the European continent consist of
a 212-kilometre frontier with Greece and a
269-kilometre 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
suddenly rise up 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 extended 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.
Coastlines
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, important waterways that connect the Black
Sea with the rest of the world.
Because the mountains in the Black Sea region run
parallel to the coastline, the coasts are fairly
smooth, without too many indentations or projections.
The length of the Black Sea coastline in Turkey is
1,595 kilometres, and the salinity of the sea is 17%.
The Mediterranean coastline runs for 1,577 kilometres
and here too the mountain ranges are parallel to the
coastline.
The salinity level of the Mediterranean is about
double that of the Black Sea.
Although the Aegean coastline is a continuation of the
Mediterranean coast, it is quite irregular because the
mountains in the area fall perpendicularly into the
Aegean Sea. As a result, the length of the Aegean Sea
coast is over 2,800 kilometres. The coastline faces
out to many islands.
The Marmara Sea is located totally within national
boundaries and occupies an area of 11,350 square
kilometres. The coastline of the Marmara Sea is over
1,000 kilometres long; it is connected to the Black
Sea by the Bosphorus and with the Mediterranean by the
Dardanelles.
Rivers
Most of the rivers of Turkey flow into the seas
surrounding the country. The Firat (Euphrates) and
Dicle (Tigris) join together in Iraq and flow into the
Persian Gulf. Turkey's longest rivers, the Kizilirmak,
Yesilirmak and Sakarya, flow into the Black Sea. The
Susurluk, Biga and Gonen pour into the Sea of Marmara,
the Gediz, Kucuk Menderes, Buyuk Menderes and Meric
into the Aegean, and the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Goksu into
the Mediterranean .
Lakes
In terms of numbers of lakes, the Eastern Anatolian
region is the richest. It contains Turkey's largest,
Lake Van (3.713 square kilometres), and the lakes of
Ercek, Cildir and Hazar. There are also many lakes in
the Taurus mountains area: the Beysehir and Egirdir
lakes, and the lakes that contain bitter waters like
the Burdur and Acigoller lakes, for example. Around
the Sea of Marmara are located the lakes of Sapanca,
Iznik, Ulubat, Manyas, Terkos, Kucukcekmece and
Buyukcekmece. In Central Anatoia is the second largest
lake in Turkey: Tuzgolu: The waters of this lake are
shallow and very salty. The lakes of Aksehir and Eber
are also located in this region.
As a result of the construction of dams during the
past thirty years, several large dam lakes have come
into existence. Together with the Ataturk Dam lake
which started to collect water in January 1990, the
following are good examples: Keban, Karakaya,
Altinkaya, Adiguzel, Kilickaya, Karacaoren, Menzelet,
Kapulukaya, Hirfanli, Sariyar and Demirkopru.
The Climate
Although Turkey is situated in a geographical location
where climatic conditions are quite temperate, the
diverse nature of the landscape , and the existence in
particular of the mountains that run parallel to the
coasts, results in significant differences in climatic
conditions from one region to the other. While the
coastal areas enjoy milder climates, the inland
Anatolian plateau experiences extremes of hot summers
and cold winters with limited rainfall. |
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