GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT TURKEY

General Outline

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, Adıgüzel, Kılıckaya, Karacaören, Menzelet, Kapulukaya, Hirfanlı, Sarıyar and Demirköprü.

TURKEY’S FLORA

Anatolia is one of the foremost world sources of plants which have been cultivated for food, and the wild ancestors of many plants which now provide staples for mankind still grow here. Wild forms develop defense mechanisms against predators, extremes of temperature, flooding, frost and drought. Moreover, they are resistant to the diseases so prevalent among cultivated plants. In addition, they preserve the taste, fragrance, color, hardness and other original characteristics which tend to be lost in the course of cultivation. Today, thanks to strides made in bio-technology, it is possible to transmit useful qualities of this kind to their cultivation. Moreover, wild forms are a fundamental reference source for the development of new cultivation. To put it metaphorically, wild forms of cultivated species are like the national archive of a country, or the core memory of a computer.

According to the principal international organizations active in wildlife research and conservation, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (I-UCN), the International Plant Genetic Resource Institute (IPGRI) and the World Wildlife Fund, there are four gene centers in the world for cultivated plants used in agriculture. Two of these are in the American continent and two in Asia . In America , Mexico is the gene center for maize and tomatoes, and Peru for potatoes and beans, while in Asia , China is the gene center for rice and millet, and the region of southwest Asia covering most of Turkey and parts of Iran , Iraq , Syria and Azerbaijan for wheat and barley. The most important of these strategic agricultural plants is undoubtedly wheat, of which over thirty wild species still grow in Turkey . The transmission of a disease-resistant gene from a wild wheat form in Turkey to the American cultivator has meant a saving of 50 million dollars a year for the US economy alone.

Turkey is also the home of many other cultivated plants, such as chickpeas, lentils, apricots, almonds, figs, hazelnuts, cherries and sour cherries. Their origin is recorded in the Latin names for some of these species, such as Ficus Caria, meaning "fig of Caria ," Caria was an archaic civilization of Anatolia in the southern Aegean region. Similarly, the cherry's scientific name Cerasus comes from the ancient name of its place of origin, today the province of Giresun on Turkey 's Black Sea coast.

TURKEY ’S FAUNA

The diversity of fauna in Turkey is even greater than that of wild plants. While the number of species throughout Europe as a whole is around 60,000, in Turkey they number over 80,000. If subspecies are also counted, then this number rises to over a hundred thousand. As in the case of plants, Anatolia is the original homeland of several species. For instance, the fallow deer now common in Europe was introduced from Turkey in the 17th century. This species comes from the foothills of the Taurus Mountains between Antalya and Adana . Another example is the pheasant which comes from Samsun on Turkey 's Black Sea coast. The scientific name of this beautiful bird is Phasianus Colchicus, "Phasianus" being the ancient name for the Kizilirmak river, and "colchicus" deriving from Colhia, an ancient kingdom which stretched along the Black Sea coast to the Caucasus . The domestic sheep is a descendant of the wild sheep, Ovis Musimon Anatolica, which as the scientific name indicates was a native of Anatolia . Few people are aware that the Anatolia leopard is one of the largest of these graceful cats, and that it was the species used in gladiator fights by the Romans, constructed traps for these creatures can still be seen scattered in the Taurus Mountains , and are known locally as tiger-traps. Indeed, the tiger is another creature whose original homeland was Anatolia , a little known fact reflected in the name tiger itself , which comes from the Latin name Felis Tigris, or Tigris cat after the Tigris river. The lions which survive only in Hittite statues today were once another member of the Anatolian fauna.

Birds have taken advantage of Turkey 's strategic position as a bridge connecting Europe to Asia and Africa for thousands of years. Two of the four main migration routes in the bio-geographic region come through here, in spring and autumn. In spring migratory birds fly northwards from Africa to Asia and Europe , and in autumn they leave their breeding grounds to fly south to Africa again. One of these migration routes leads south from Hopa in northeast Turkey along the Coruh river valley into Eastern Anatolia , passing through Kahramanmaras and Antakya in Southeast Turkey . Most of the birds which take this route through the Coruh River valley are birds of prey, and at around 250,000 they from the largest migratory group of birds of prey in the world. However, the most spectacular migration in the world is the flight of storks down the Bosphorus in Istanbul in spring and autumn. Over a quarter million storks fly in clouds over the city in the course of a few weeks. Some species of birds of prey also migrate along the Bosphorus, a waterway which is not only migratory route for birds but also for fish making their way between the Black Sea and the Marmara. It is this phenomenon which results in unusually high catches, delighting fishermen and their customers alike.

Despite the fact that Turkey is an ancient land, crossed, exploited and sought over by a succession of peoples for millennia, there are still many areas which have remained virtually untouched, enabling many rare species of wildlife which have become endangered or extinct elsewhere to maintain viable colonies here. Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean shores provide a refuge for monk seals and loggerhead turtles, while its wetlands house colonies of numerous endangered species, such as the Dalmation pelican, pygmy cormorant and the slender billed curlew, as well as flamingoes, wild ducks and geese.

Other endangered species include turtles which lay their eggs in the long sandy beaches of the Mediterranean . Two species breed in Turkey , where efforts to protect them have been extremely successful. A tourism development project at Koycegiz has been scrapped to preserve the breeding grounds of Caretta Caretta, and the lake and marshes of Koycegiz declared an Specially Protected Area. These measures were received with a standing ovation by the Standing Committee of Bern Convention of the Council of Europe in 1989, and cited as an example for other countries to follow. Studies of the turtles along all Turkey 's shores have been launched, and seventeen sand beaches of foremost importance as breeding grounds for turtles are kept under constant observation by the Turtle Preservation Committee. The Ministry of the Environment's Authority of Specially Protected Areas is in charge of protecting the Belek area, and the Ministry of Forestry is responsible for the Yumurtalik and Akyatan wetlands.

NATURAL PARKS IN TURKEY

KUS CENNETI ( BIRD PARADISE ) NATIONAL PARK

The park shelters 239 various kinds of bird species.Among these species are pelicans, geese, swans, ducks,nightingales,black storks and herons.Some birds visit the park during migration and incubation periods only.

SOGUKSU NATIONAL PARK

This park is found in the passage area while passing from Interior Anatolia steppes to the thick and green regions of North Anatolia.The black and Scoth pines,oaks and poplar trees that protect their natural appearance are found on the geomorphological structure,formed by numerous side streams and plains of the valleys, which leads way to two main valleys,together with an enriched sub-flora constitutes a thick forest tissue.

YOZGAT PINEWOODS NATURAL PARK

This natural park, in Interior Anatolia is one of the group of forest islands which are located in antrophogyn steppe formed by human influence. From the widespread and untouched forests of the ancient times,only this pinewoods managed to survive till the present day. The natural park,which is found in Yozgat city center, has areas for daily use.

KARATEPE ASLANTAS NATIONAL PARK

Park's main source asset is archeology. Karatepe,which was the border fort of the Young Hittite and Domuztepe which is situated at the opposite side of Ceyhan River were the most strategic forts and important centers of Young Hittite Kingdom.The national park has an area for daily use.

ULUDAG NATIONAL PARK

Uludag the highest point of Marmara,which goes up as high as 2543 metres from Bursa Plain,together with steep slopes,audous rocky zones,deep valleys,high plains,mountain lakes Aras Falls and the marks of glacier,which can be seen at the peeks,arouse interest to the geomorphological structure of the National Park.

SEVEN LAKES NATIONAL PARK

The most beautiful mixed natural forests of Turkey and the seven landslip lakes which gave the park their name, is the main asset of the natural park.It will be a good chance to take long walks and go fishing.The park has areas for daily use.Staying in bunglows and accomodation is possible.

DILEK PENINSULA NATIONAL PARK OF MENDERES DELTA

In the park,particularly bay and chestnut plant groups,together with all kinds of Akdeniz bush flora exist with healty and lively species.The region gains a scientific value from the view of botany, for the fact that chestnut and linden are unique in the forests of Northern Anatolia .

SPIL MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

The national park forms steep rocky regions on the slopes of Spil Mountain which is separated from the plain with its clear broken lines.Formation such as canyons, dens, caves and dolins are the result of the geological structure and the karstic morphology of the region.The park has area for daily use and another area to stay over-night in bunglows. Variety of plants,wild life and mythology are the other values of the park.

KIZILDAG NATIONAL PARK

In Kizildag and its surroundings which are covered with scrub association the suitability of edafic and exposure conditions give the cedar forest a rich climax at the farthest northern point of the country.The oxygen produced by the cedar forests and the recreation potential presented by the green tissue are the main values.The park has an area for daily use,staying over-night in bunglows is another opportunity.

TERMESSOS-GULLUK MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

Gulluk Mountain rises just after the travertine steps which form large plains at the north of Antalya . Inside the park there is rich plant association and wild life.Termessos Antique City is the most important cultural richness.The park has an area for daily use.

KOVADA LAKE NATIONAL PARK

Kovada Lake which is the continuation of Egridir to south,,is formed by the blackening of the narrow valley in a long period of time.Lake's fauna,various kinds of plants and untouched natural beauty of the region are the assets of the park.The park has opportunities for daily use.

MUNZUR VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

The park's natural environment,the wild life interesting geomorphological structure and the beauty of the landscape are the main sources of the park.Areas for daily use are present in the park.

GOREME HISTORICAL NATIONAL PARK

Unique geomorphological formation,the visual value of the esthetic landscape, historical and ethnographic structure form the main riches of the national park.Taking long walks will be a good opportunity anyone who wants to stay fit.Areas inside the park can be used daily or for camping.Visiting the open air museus is an opportunity you would not want to miss.

HISTORICAL NATIONAL PARK OF GALLIPOLI PENINSUL

The Dardanels and the Gallipoli Peninsulum are very important for the world's war history.The park has areas for daily use and sites for camping.In addition to these, the statue,martyrdom and the intoroductory center museum can be seen inside the park.

KOPRULU CANYON NATIONAL PARK

Kopru river, interesting geomorphological structure, plant association, a 400 hectare Mediterrenean cyress forest,scrubs,wild life,historical and archeological resources form a unique harmony inside the park.

ILGAZ DAGI NATIONAL PARK

Ilgaz Dagi rises on the transition zone while passing from Middle Anatolia to Northern Anatolia . The rich plant association and the wild life that the region has constitute the main source values of the park.The park has area for daily use.Besides,a center is present for accomodation and making ski.

BASKOMUTAN HISTORICAL NATIONAL PARK

Great leader Ataturk and the brave Turkish soldiers,becoming symbols,created a legend of bravery and resulted the War of Independence with a great victory. The region,where the war took place has a very important place in history. The historical value of the region and the historic facts of the War of Independance form the basic values of the park.

GOREME HISTORICAL NATIONAL PARK

Unique geomorphological formation,the visual value of the esthetic landscape,historical and ethnographic structure form the main riches of the national park.Taking long walks will be a good opportunity anyone who wants to stay fit.Areas inside the park can be used daily or for camping.Visiting the open air museus is an opportunity you would not want to miss.

OLYMPUS BEYDAGLARI NATIONAL PARK

The park streches from nearby of Antalya Yeniliman and includes the chains of Beydaglari which go till the shore.Cultural richness such as Phaselis and Olympus are as important as the natural resources.The park has a camping site and an area for daily use.

MACKA ALTINDERE VALLEY NATURAL PARK

The monastery of Sumela,the rich plant association and unique geomorphologic formation of Virgin Mary Valley are the assets of the national park. It is possible to take long nature walks, stay in bunglows and to use the areas daily.

BOGAZKOY ALACAHOYUK HISTORICAL NATURAL PARK

The natural park includes the archeological remnants of Bogazkoy.Bogazkoy was the capital city of Hittite Empire which was one of the most important civilizations of its time in Anatolia . The national park has areas for daily use and a museum.

NEMRUT MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

Nemrut Mountain and the holy areas which once upon a time belong to Kommagene King I. Antiochos are the most important places in the national park.Camp sites,accomodation opportunities and areas for daily use are open to all visitors.

BEYSEHIR GOLU NATIONAL PARK

The park's beautiful landscape is one of the most important values of the park. What's more the park is a good shelter for birds and produces opportunities to arrange water sports for entertainment. Another important value of the park are the cultural resources which belonged to the Seljuck Era. The park has camp sites and areas for daily use.

KAZDAGI NATIONAL PARK

Kazdagi, formerly called Ida,is the biggest mass of Biga Peninsulum seperates Agean and Marmara regions from each other.The deep valleys and the canyons which are situated on Kazdagi and continue in the north-south direction.The rich potential of flora and fauna but especially the plant association and the biological variety form the source assets.