The Republic of Turkey

2011

2013

A country of sun and history, Turkey is located 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

Asia

Europe

Africa

Turkey

It covers an area of

814,000 sq km,

of which mos of in Asia.

Its neighbours are

Greece and Bulgaria to the north-west,

Armenia and Georgia to the north-east,

Iran and Iraq to the south-east

and Syria to the south.

ATATÜRK

FOUNDER AND THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is universally known as the founding father of the modern state of Turkey.

He was also his country’s first President.

His surname, Ataturk, means the ancestor of Turks. This name was given to him by the first Turkish parliement for his achievements and for his invaluable contributions to the birth and

modernization of the Turkish Republic.

Ataturk teaching Turkish with the new alphabet

Flag of Turkey

Color of the flag of Turkey is red.

A white crescent and a star dominate the foreground. It is fondly referred to as ‘Ay Yildiz’ (Turkish for moon star).

The official language is Turkish.

Turkish is written in the Latin alphabet and is spoken by at least 150 million people around the world.

• English is widely spoken in Turkey. There are many high

schools and universities where the curriculum is based on

English.

• German and French are other commonly spoken foreign

languages.

Approximately 99 % of the Turkish population is Moslem. However, everyone in Turkey has freedom of religion and beliefs.

Political Structure• The republic of Turkey is based on a secular, democratic,

pluralistic and parliamentary system. The Grand National Assembly is elected by popular vote, and the nation is governed

by the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister

Ankara is the capital city of

Turkey.

Ataturk’s Tomb in Ankara

Istanbul which was the capital of three empires, is Turkey's

largest city.

TL ( Turkish Lira) is the currency unit of Turkey

A new currency unit became effective in Turkey from 1st January 2005. The new currency unit is TL, which stands for Türk Lirasi, or in

English, Turkish Lira. There is also to be a smaller unit called Kurus.

TL bank notes: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 Coins: 5, 10, 25, 50 Kurus and 1 Lira

Turkey's environment differs from region to region. There are mountains

valleys

plains

beaches

rivers

and lakes

Over a quarter of the country is covered with forests and woodlands.

There are over twenty National Parks and a number of Nature Reserves.

The population of the Republic of Turkey was 75.000.000 in 2011

The culture of Turkey is derived from various elements of the Ottoman Empire, European and the the Islamic traditions. The nation was

modernized by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as he successfully transformed a religion-driven former Ottoman Empire into a modern nation-state .

TOURISM OF TURKEY

WELCOME TO A SAILING PARADISE

MOUNTAINEERING IN TURKEY

WILD WATER RAFTING

BIRD WATCHING (ORNITHOLOGY)

WIND SURFING

CAMPING in TURKEY

UNDERWATER DIVING

SNOW SKIING (WINTER SPORTS)

FISHING

TREKKING

Paragliding

THERMAL SPAS

HORSEBACK RIDING

and Parasailing

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Peace at Home, Peace in the World