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Turkey at Glance

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 Turkey at a Glance

Geography Turkey counts a total area of 780.000 km2 of which 97% in Asia (Anatolia) and 3% in Europe (Thrace).  It is surrounded with 8000 km of coastline (from North to South : Black Sea, Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus, the strait of the Dardanelles, the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas).  Turkey has borders with Armenia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Greece, Syria and Iraq. 
The highest top of the country is the Ararat (5165m) and the longest stream is the Kizilirmak (1355km). The Tigris and Euphrates, two worldwide known streams, have both their source in Turkey.
Population Turkey has a population of 65 million souls of which 56% live in rural areas. The biggest cities are Istanbul (14 million), Ankara - the capital - (8 million) and Izmir (3 million). 97% of the population is Muslim.
Politics Turkey is governed by a Chamber of 400 Deputies, chosen every fifth year by the population and a president elected by the Parliament every seventh year. He cannot be reelected. Today the President is Ahmet Necdet Sezer and the Prime Minister is Tayyip Erdogan (February 2003).
Economy Agriculture and industry represent 50% of the national income.  The most important export products are textiles, tobacco, cotton, wool, wheat, fruit and hazelnuts.
 
 Cuisine

Gastronomes count the Turkish cuisine as one of the best of the world.
It was originally based on the simple nomadic people’s traditions of Central Asia and the habits they took over from the Mediterranean countries when they finally settled in Turkey.
Starters One of the characteristics of the Turkish cuisine is the endless Meze, which could be both cold or warm starters and be a whole meal by themselves. They are being eaten together with Raki, an anise drink. Meze is a Turkish word that stands for what one can eat with a drink at any time of the day.
Main courses These are mainly fresh fish or Kebabs such as Siskebab (lamb’s meat, tomatoes and rice) or Döner Kebab, lamb’s or calf’s meat grilled on a vertical skewer and tinely sliced. There are also different saucy courses with meat and vegetables. Vegetarians will be well served - there are so many courses without meat - that they will not have to look for a specialized restaurant. Pilaf-rice (Pilav) is just gorgeous.
Deserts The one is tastier than the other and with such nice names. “Dilber Dudagi” (the lips of the beloved), “Hanim Göbegi” (lady’s navel) or “Bülbül Yuvasi" (nightingale’s nest). The famous baklava is a pastry with walnuts or pistachios served with syrup and not honey as often is said. We especially recommend puddings and other sweet stuff such as lokum, helva and of course also fresh fruit : strawberries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, yellow melons, peers, apples, grapes and watermelon.
Drinks Raki can accompany a whole meal. Beer is of good quality. Local distilled vodka, brandy, whisky and gin are far cheaper than the imported ones. Turkish wines (sarap) have a tradition that go back to 7000 b.C. and is most probably the origin of the European wines. Though the Turks are not big wine consumers, their wines are of good quality as well as their liqueurs. A typical refreshing drink, next to water, is ayran (yogurt mixed with water). 
Coffee and Tea “Kahve” is a strong coffee without cream nor milk served in small cups. “Cay” comes from the Black Sea area and is being drunk all day long, warm and strong without milk.

 

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