|
|
Turkey known officially as the Republic of Turkey is a Euroasian country that lays across
the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Rumelia in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe.
Turkey is bordered by eight countries.Those are Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia
to the northeast; Azerbaijan, Armenia and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast.
The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Black Sea is to the
north. The Marmara Sea and the Turkish Straits separates Anatolia and Thrace,
which are commonly reckoned
to describe the boundary between Europe and Asia, thereby making Turkey transcontinental.
Turkey is the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, a major historical power which lasted for more than six centuries on three
continents, controlling most of Southeastern Europe, the Middle East
and North Africa. As a result of its location, Turkey has come
to acquire increasing strategic significance.
Turkey is a democratic, laic, unitary, constitutional republic whose political system was established in 1923 under the leadership
of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Turks are the largest ethnic group
with minorities of Kurds. The official language is the Turkish language.