Turkey is situated in the northern hemisphere between 36 & 42 long latitude & 26 & 45 east longitude. It is situated at the junction of Europe and Asia, the border between which lies through the waterways Bosporus and Dardanelles. The Asian part of Turkey is called Anatolia and it occupies 97% of the country, and European part called Eastern Thrace or Rumelia occupies 3 % of the country.
Turkey borders the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Marmara Sea and has a total coastline of 8333 km. It has an area of 783,562 square km. Turkey has land borders of 269 km with Bulgaria, 203 km with Greece, 276 km with Georgia, 325 km with Armenia, 18 km with Azerbaijan, 529 km with Iran, 378 km with Iraq and 877 km with Syria.
The highest mountain is Mount Ararat with 5137 m. Its biggest lake is Lake Van with 3712 square km. Its longest river is Kızilirmak with 1355 km. The climate of Turkey is subtropical mediterranean – hot summer (+23 C - +33 C) and warm winter (+ 13 C - +15 C). In Ankara the climate is more continental (at winter -2 C, at summer +37 C), in Istanbul and Anatolia – mediterranenan (+5 C on January - +25 C on July). Annual precipitation in those areas averages about 1,600 mm, generally in the mountainous areas and in the autumn and winter.
Turkey is divided in 80 “ils” (provinces), 849 “ilches” (regions), which are divided in 681 “budzaks” (districts, but not in all “ilches”). Moreover, big cities are divided on urban districts and quarters (“mahalle”). The system of the local administration is represented in bureaucratic centralism and strict hierarchy. In the “il” the power is held by “vali” (governor). His candidacy is elected by the Ministry of Home Affairs; he is fixed by the decision of the Council of Ministers and is confirmed by the President.
Turkey is situated in the northern hemisphere between 36 & 42 long latitude & 26 & 45 east longitude. It is situated at the junction of Europe and Asia, the border between which lies through the waterways Bosporus and Dardanelles. The Asian part of Turkey is called Anatolia and it occupies 97% of the country, and European part called Eastern Thrace or Rumelia occupies 3 % of the country.
