Republic of Turkiye
Republic of Turkiye (Turkish=Türkçe, Türk), is a transcontinental country, located mostly on Anatolia in Western Asia and on East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkiye is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west, Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea is to the South; the Aegean Sea is to the west, and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia. Turkiye’s location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.
The country’s official language is Turkish. Turkiye is a transcontinental Eurasian country. Asian Turkiye (made up largely of Anatolia), which includes 97% of the country, is separated from European Turkiye by the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles (which together form a water link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean). European Turkiye (eastern Thrace or Rumelia in the Balkan peninsula) comprises 3% of the country.
Turkey is the world’s 37th-largest country in terms of area. The country is encircled by seas on three sides: the Aegean Sea to the west, the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean to the south. Turkiye also contains the Sea of Marmara in the northwest.
Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağı) is the highest peak in Turkiye with 5,137 m (16,854 ft) The European section of Turkiye, East Thrace, forms the borders of Turkiye with Greece and Bulgaria. The Asian part of the country, Anatolia, consists of a high central plateau with narrow coastal plains, between the Köroğlu and Pontic mountain ranges to the north and the Taurus Mountains to the south. Eastern Turkiye has a more mountainous landscape and is home to the sources of rivers such as the Euphrates, Tigris and Aras and Lake Van, the largest lake in the country.
Turkiye is divided into seven census regions: Marmara, Aegean, Black Sea, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia and the Mediterranean.
The coastal areas of Turkiye bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea have a temperate Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild to cool wet winters. The coastal areas of Turkiye bordering the Black Sea have a temperate Oceanic climate with warm, wet summers and cool to cold, wet winters. The Turkish Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkiye that receives high precipitation throughout the year.