Article:
ISSUE No. 13 November - December 2008

Country Overview: Turkey
From Land to Sea

Turkey is situated on an area of 814,578 square kilometers, which is 2.3 times the size of Germany. The oldest bridge in Istanbul is the Bosporus Bridge and connects the Asian and the European parts of the country. Turkey has approximately 71 million residents – that is an average of 91 residents per square kilometer.

Population

Aside from nearly eighty percent Turks, about twenty percent Kurds and three percent Zazas live in Turkey. There are also very small groups of Arabs, Albanians, Circassians and Georgians. Almost 100% of the population is Muslim and the common language is Turkish. More than eighty percent of the residents speak Turkish as their mother tongue and the other twenty percent speak Turkish as their second language. Because of the ethnic diversity, almost twenty different languages are spoken. Among them are North-Kurdish, Zazaki, as well as Greek, Arabic and Bulgarian, just to mention a few.

Culture

Turkey is not just a vacation destination, but also a journey through history, culture, art and natural beauty. Due to its strategic location straddling two continents, bounded by four seas on three sides, Turkey's culture is a unique blend of Eastern and Western tradition and you can feel the wealth of history wherever you go. At the historical sites, visitors might unveil the precious hidden secrets of the eastern Mediterranean and travel thousands of years back in time, or simply travel on a mystical journey all the way from the glorious mountains to the beautiful beaches and mesmerizing waters.
Turkey is famous for the ruins of many civilizations, the flavors of a great cuisine, baths, whirling dervishes, narghiles (Turkish water pipes) and of course Turkish delight. Amongst the many factors that distinguish Turkey on the map are some interesting facts that make Turkey a legendary myth of culture and beauty. For example, Istanbul happens to be the only city in the world built on two continents. The first Christian church (St. Peter’s Church) is in Antioch (Antakya), Turkey. Europe was introduced to coffee and cherries by the Turks. The Turks even gave the Dutch their famous tulips. The oldest known shipwreck on Earth was found and excavated in Uluburun near Kas, in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. In 640 BC, for the first time in history, coins made of electrum were used by the Lydian king Croesus in Sardis, in the Aegean region of Turkey.

Geography

Turkey welcomes you to take a glance from its glorious mountains all the way to the crystal clear waters that caress the sandy beaches. Most people do not know that the map actually reveals a country of mountains, rising from all four directions and encircling the peninsula of Anatolia. As part of the Alpine-Himalayan Mountain range, Turkey’s mountainous regions have many different geological formations. The North Anatolian range skirts the Mediterranean shore. Turkey's magnificent mountains and forests are mostly undeveloped, existing as wonderful natural preserves for an extraordinary variety of flora and fauna. Two of Turkey's most famous peaks are volcanoes, both inactive, Mt. Erciyes in Kayseri in Central Anatolia (3917 m) and Mt. Agri (5137 m) in the east.  Other mountains are Rize Kaçkar (3932 m) in the eastern Black Sea region; Nigde Aladag (3756 m) in the central Taurus range and the Cilo and Sat mountains (4136 m) near Hakkari in the eastern Taurus. For climbers and those interested in the mystery and geography of mountains, Turkey offers a wealth of exploration and activities. Glaciers, volcanoes, and peculiar geological formations such as karst prove irresistible to researchers and geology students. The challenging terrain offers opportunities to outdoor sports enthusiasts, who will find the most interesting experiences on the mountains of eastern, central and southern Turkey.

Tourist Attractions

When tourists plan a vacation in Turkey, they should not just plan to visit the beaches on the Turkish Riviera, but also include a trip to the hinterland. Because of Turkey’s eventful history, there are a multitude of attractions. During the cooler parts of the year, city tours and excursions to historical cities are recommended. A trip to Istanbul alone could fill your appointment calendar for several weeks. One can feel the history in the city on the Bosporus. Visits to the Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Saray Palace or the Hagia Sophia Museum fill a day and should be a must. Istanbul captivates the visitor with its liveliness, its melding of the Orient and the Occident, its active street life and the abundance of culinary delicacies which are offered in bazaars and charming restaurants. Also worth seeing are the numerous museums of the metropolises Istanbul and Ankara. Excursions to Troy or to the rock monuments of Cappadocia should definitely be on the agenda. A spectacle of nature of a special kind is Pamukale, the white limestone terrace near the ancient city of Hirapolis. Turkey offers a look into history as well as impressive scenery, but we must also mention the superb hospitality of even the poorest of people. So it is not just the country, but also its people that make a visit to Turkey so memorable.

Politics

The Turkish government is separated into legislative, executive and judiciary branches headed by a president at the top of the parliamentary democracy. The “Great National Assembly of Turkey” is the lawmaking entity. It is comprised of 550 members of parliament who are elected every four years. Voting is mandatory in Turkey for anyone above the age of eighteen. Turkish citizens living in foreign countries were able to vote absentee for the first time in 2008. The president is elected every five years and is the head of state. His term can be extended for an additional five years. The head of government is the prime minister who represents the party in majority, or the governing coalition.

Relations with Germany

Relations between Turkey and Germany have been intensive for many years. Both countries keep an active political exchange. The German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited his Turkish colleagues twice in 2007. Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, visited Turkey in 2008 and in return, the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan visited Germany in February of 2008.
These good relations are based on the following pillars: Turkey’s wish to join the EU; 2.5 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany, of which 700,000 have German citizenship, and intensive economic ties between Germany and Turkey.
Germany is one of the most significant trade partners of Turkey. Germany mainly exports machinery, automobiles, automobile parts and chemical products to Turkey. In exchange, Germany imports clothing, leather, comestibles and industrial products from Turkey. When put into numbers, it reads as follows: German exports to Turkey amounted to 15.1 billion euros, Turkish exports to Germany in 2007 totaled 9.7 billion euros.
Turkey is quickly becoming an attractive location for German businesses. On one side, Turkey is an excellent market for German goods, and it is also ideally located for quickly reaching destinations in the Middle East and Europe. The tourism industry is booming as well. In 2007, 4.15 million German tourists visited the country on two continents; that means ten percent increase compared to the previous year.