Arriving in gallop from far Asia pulled forward like a mare‘s head into the great Mediterranean Sea - this is our country." Note that this is the way Nazim Hikmet described Turkey and a glance on the map reveals to you instantly that the country is completely surrounded on three sides by the sea: It is noted that the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the west coast, the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in the south and the Black Sea in the north.

Turkey is known to be at the northeast end of the Mediterranean Sea in southeast Europe and southwest Asia. To the north is the Black Sea and to the west is the Aegean Sea. Its neighbors are and have always been Bulgaria and Greece to the west, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania to the north and northwest (through the Black Sea), Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east, and Syria and Iraq to the south. Did you know that the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus divide the country. Turkey in Europe comprises an location about equal to the state of Massachusetts. Turkey in Asia is known to be about the size of Texas. Its core center is known to be a treeless plateau rimmed by mountains.

In the 11th century the Turks migrated in to the area which is now known as Turkey. After the war of Manzikert, many small beyliks and sultanate ruled Anatolia, however, in the 13th century, the Ottoman Beylik united Anatolia and formed an empire which was spread over Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. However, this did not last for a long period, in the word war 1, the Ottoman Empire was destroyed and the remaining parts of it were ruled by the victorious allies. Not until 1923, a revolution was made. Many young military officers under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, formed a strong army and fought against the allies. They were successful in their battle and hence established the modern Republic of Turkey. The first president was Ataturk himself.

Due to the presence of sea surrounding the three sides of the country, the occurrence of the mountains and the other geographical formations, all four season are found in Turkey. The climate in the coastal regions is mild due to which the summers are hot and winters are mild with frequent rainfall. On the other hand, in the central regions continental climate is found which result in a lot of temperature differences and rain is also infrequent. Snowfall and frost are not very common except for the high mountain regions.

In 2000 the last official census took place which estimated a total of 67,803,927 inhabitants living in Turkey. In 2010, the country’s population amounted to 73.7 million people of which around three-quarters of citizens lived in towns and cities. The average population density of Turkey is 92 people per km². The age group consisting of 15-64 years old makes up 67% of the whole population, while the 0-14 age group constitutes 26% of the total population. The elderly people of age 65 years or above make up 7% of the population. The mass population of Turkey is of Turkish ethnicity.