Turkey is a state of West Asia and, to a lesser extent, of ‘ Europe Southeastern Europe, whose territory is divided into two peninsular regions: Thrace (also called European Turkey), and Asia Minor, or Anatolia (with facing the islands of Imbro and Tenedo and other smaller ones), separated by the Strait of the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the Strait of the Dardanelles; also belong to Turkey, a section of the Armenian plateau and the northern strip of Mesopotamia. The Turkey borders on the N with the Black Sea ; to the NO with Bulgaria and Greece ; to the West with the Aegean Sea; to the South with the Mediterranean Sea, Syria and Iraq ; to E with Iran, Armenia and Georgia.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
1 MORPHOLOGY. Thrace, a south-eastern offshoot of the Balkan Peninsula, is a triangular depression. The Straits region derives from submersion phenomena through which the waters of the Mediterranean Sea filled the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara; the present Strait of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles were river valleys that connected the two basins and the Mediterranean. The Bosphorus has moderately sloping coasts rich in inlets, among which the Golden Horn was the original site of the port and the city of İstanbul, later expanded to the South, on the coasts of the Sea of Marmara, and on the other side of the Strait. The morphology of the coasts of the Turkey is in direct relationship with that of the rear reliefs, which border the Anatolian plateau. The Black Sea region appears as a regular and uniform sequence of massifs parallel to the coastline, with peaks exceeding E 3000 m, separated by river valleys: the result is a coast without inlets except the delta systems of the main internal rivers, the Kızıl ırmak, the Sakarya and the Yeşil ırmak. The morphology of the Aegean coast also derives from the structure of the mountains behind it, and has volcanic cones (Ulu Dağ, 2543 m), coastal joints and valleys that facilitated communication with the plateau. The coastal region on the Mediterranean, on the other hand, it presents arches and recesses, corresponding to the sinuous path of the Taurus chain, with reliefs of an average height of 2000 m and peaks that exceed 3500 m (Monti Ala or Aladağ ); however, the numerous inlets, without communication with the interior, are generally unusable; only in correspondence with the gulfs of Adalia and Alessandretta did two vast alluvial plains allow the formation of ancient settlements and an agricultural hinterland; in the great delta plain where Adana rises, on the Gulf of Alexandretta, flow the two main Mediterranean rivers of the Turkey, the Ceyhan and the Seyhan. The Anatolian plateau, bordered by the Pontic chains to the N and the Taurus to the South, has an average altitude of 1000 m asl; the homogeneity of the region is interrupted to the South by the presence of vast endorheic basins (Lake Tuz) that prevent the flow of water from the Konya plain, of erosion valleys, of isolated massifs that often exceed 2000 m, and of large volcanic systems (Erciyas Daği, 3916 m). AE of the Euphrates river, in the western section of the Armenian region, the Pontic and Taurus chains merge to form an orographic node accessible only from the eastern end through the Arasse valley which connects to Transcaucasia, and from the West through some narrow valleys that end in the Anatolian plateau. Here is the largest lake of the Turkey (Lake Van, 3764 km 2), in a depression surrounded by ancient volcanic systems (Nemrut Dağ, 3050 m). Finally, the south-eastern region, delimited by the Taurus, extending up to the Kurdistan Mountains, appears as a plateau engraved by erosion furrows, elevated compared to Mesopotamia which extends to the South, but with an indistinct structure from that.
2 CLIMATE . The climate of the plateau is dry continental, progressively more arid as you proceed towards the E, with cold winters and very hot summers, strong temperature variations and reduced rainfall, as the coastal ranges block the humid currents coming from the sea. On the north coast, mild summers are followed by rather cold winters, with frequent rainfall in every season. Mediterranean climatic conditions occur in the Aegean region, where the valleys that penetrate inland allow the passage of sea winds, and in the southern one, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, with temperate and rainy winters and hot and arid summers.
3 FLORA AND FAUNA. In the characteristics of the vegetation, the contrast between the interior of the country and the coastal regions is accentuated. In the plateau the steppe prevails, while in the more arid parts of the interior and in the east there is a landscape with a sub-desert character. The chains that run along the coasts have a rich vegetation with deciduous and coniferous trees, on the Black Sea, and Mediterranean scrub, on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. The fauna is represented by domestic animals, especially sheep and goats, and more recently also cattle; deer and roe deer appear in the eastern mountainous regions overlooking the Black Sea. In the inner areas of Anatolia there are bears and wolves. The coasts of the Aegean Sea, the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea are abundant in fish. For Turkey geography, please check franciscogardening.com.
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
The economic geography of Turkey, in the past closely linked to agricultural productivity, has changed due to industrialization, urbanization and the rural exodus. Alongside the large industrial complexes of older formation, located according to raw materials and the local market, there has been the development of modern industrial sectors with high capital intensity (often foreign, since the end of the 20th century) and of small and medium-sized enterprises also oriented towards exports, whose location is less rigidly linked to large urban centers, but continues to favor the western and south-eastern regions, which are better infrastructured. Agriculture still occupies 30% of the active population (more than industry) and is marked by strong non-homogeneity of natural conditions, from land structures in which large estates and microfunds coexist, from archaic forms of exploitation (semi-nomadism, pastoralism) and low capitalization. Main products are cereals (wheat, barley), sugar beet, cotton, rapidly increased by the activation of GAP, fruit (hazelnuts, citrus fruits, grapes), potatoes, legumes. The livestock herd, essential for part of the population of the interior, consists of sheep (23.9 million heads in 2008) and goats (5.5 million, mainly Angora goats, producers of mohair wool), decline, and cattle (11 million). The modern industry, which arose in the 1930s, despite a narrow internal market and the lack of skilled labor and adequate technologies, has developed with mining plants (lignite and coal, iron, chromium, construction materials), cotton mills, sugar factories and tobacco factories; the mechanical industry, which arose on the initiative of branches of foreign companies, has greatly diversified over time; the steel and chemical industries have also experienced strong progress. The development plans, since the 1960s, have achieved the modernization of the most competitive and commercial sectors, such as textiles and food, today largely export-oriented, although still localized according to local urban markets. Notable, especially in the past, public intervention in the productive sectors. Energy production (approx. 167 million kWh, of which 40 from water in 2006) is growing due to the implementation of the GAP. The availability of oil (extracted in the country in modest quantities) has also increased, thanks to the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, fully operational since 2006. For decades, the growth of domestic product has been very positive (over 6% annual average in the 1970s, approx. 5% between the years 1980 and 1990, 9% in 2004, 5% in the following three years), mainly driven by industry and tourism (22 million visitors in 2007). Unemployment, however, is still high (8%) and migrations to European countries are large (Germany) and Arabs, involving around 1.2 million workers. Per capita income is decent ($ 12,700 per year, at purchasing power parity), with inflation under control for some years, albeit high (about 8% on an annual basis in 2008).
The road network (350,000 km, of which 95,000 are asphalted) and the railway network (8700 km) are adapting to the needs of the country, but are not sufficiently articulated, favoring the western regions and the area of the capital. The main airports are in İstanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Diyarbakır, Bursa and Samsun. The trade balance is passive, even if the deficit tends to shrink; the main correspondents are Germany, Russia, Italy, China.
