Background

Geography
Some say that Turkey is the bridge between Europe and Asia. The Republic of Turkey, located in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, is bordered on the north by Bulgaria, Greece; Georgia, Armenia, and the Black Sea. It has Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nahivaneast for company on the east and is neighbors with Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea at its south and the Aegean Sea to its west. The total area of Turkey is 779,452 sq km (300,948 sq mi). The capital is Ankara; Istanbul is the largest city.

Climate
The Mediterranean and Aegean shores of Turkey experience long, hot summers and mild, rainy winters. Istanbul, located on the Bosphorus, has an average January temperature of 0° C (32° F), while the July average is 23° C (73° F). Precipitation averages about 697 mm (about 27.4 in) annually, and is heaviest between October and March.

People
The territory of Turkey has been home to ethnically and culturally distinct groups from the ancient Hittites, Phrygians, and Assyrians to Greeks, Persians, Romans, and Arabs. The nomadic forebears of the modern Turks, who form the majority of the population, came from central Asia in the 11th century AD and established the dominant Turkish culture. More than 20 percent of the population, however, belongs to various ethnic groups that continue to maintain their individual identities, particularly the Kurds, Greeks, Arabs, Armenians, and Jews. Some 70 percent of Turkey's population (63,528,225 1997 estimate) lives in urban areas.

Language
The official language is Turkish, although 10 percent of the population speaks Kurdish or Arabic. Virtually the entire population is Muslim. Christians account for less than 0.2 percent of the population, and the Jewish community numbers 20,000.

Administration
The head of government is the prime minister, who represents the majority party, or coalition, in parliament. The president, as chief of state, is chosen by parliament for a seven-year term. Legislative power rests in the 550-member National Assembly, whose members are elected to five-year terms. Turkey is divided into 76 provinces that are administered by governors representing the central government.

Religion
Islam ceased to be the official state religion of Turkey in 1928. Nevertheless, 99 percent of the population is Muslim - about four-fifths of whom are Sunnites, and the remainder mostly Shiites found in the southeast. Christians account for less than 0.2 percent of the population. The Jewish community numbers about 20,000.