Turkey is an ancient nation with a history that can be traced back to the era when Emperor Constantine the Great dedicated Constantinople as the 'New Rome,' which became the empire's centre of government around 300 AD. Then, the state had become the Islamic dominated Ottoman Empire for over 600 years (1299-1922), which came to an end after the defeat of the country in the First World War.

Following this, the Republic of Turkey was established in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal, who was known as "Ataturk" or "Father of the Turks". Ataturk broke with Turkish Islamic past and promoted a secular national identity. His successor maintained Turkey's neutrality during the Second World War. Meanwhile, he also ended the single-party state and started multi-party democracy in Turkey in 1945.

However, the institution of multi-party democracy was interrupted by three periods of military rule in 1960-1961, 1971-1973 and 1980-1983. Despite this, the 1982 Constitution was drafted by the military in the wake of the 1980 coup, proclaimed Turkey's system of government as democratic, secular, and parliamentary.

In the 1990s, the Turkey's economy suffered from a boom-and bust cycle on the back of a series of weak economic policies under different coalition governments, leading to a number of economic crises in 1994, 2000 and 2001. This resulted in a deep economic downturn and rising unemployment.

Given support from international bodies, including the IMF, as well as sound economic policies and economic reforms pursued by the Turkish government, the Turkish economy has recovered gradually in the last few years. The commencement of Turkey's membership negotiations with the European Union at end-2005 offers renewed opportunities for many foreign investors and traders. The country has had a Customs Union with the European Union since 1996.

For now, Turkey is a member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Council of Europe, in addition to its status of candidate country to the European Union. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and a heavy industrial economy to a more diverse, more modern economy with an increasingly important and globalised services sector. Over the past decade, Turkey has also undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy in addition the economy.

B. Geography and Resources

Turkey is located between Europe and Asia. It is roughly rectangular in shape with a total area of 814,578 km² (including lakes), of which 790,200 km² are located in Asia (the Anatolian Peninsular) and 24,379km² in Europe. The country is bordered by the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Around half of the land areas are higher than 1,000 metres and two-thirds are higher than 800 metres. While there is a narrow costal plain surrounding Anatolia, mountain ranges extend in an east-west direction parallel to the north and south coasts. Turkey includes one of the most earthquake-prone areas of the world.

1. Time Zone

2. Climate Information

The diverse nature of the Turkish landscape creates significantly different climate conditions between regions. While the climate is moderate in coastal areas, the weather in inland areas in harsher.

• The average daily minimum and maximum temperatures in August, the hottest month, are 15-31°C; while those in January, the coldest month, are -4 and 4°C.
  
  
• In western and southern Anatolia (the costal regions), there is a mild Mediterranean climate with average temperatures of 29°C in summer and 9°C in winter.
  
  
• In eastern Anatolia, there are long snowy cold winters and mild summers, where average temperatures are 17°C in summer and -13°C in winter.
  
  
• The Anatolian Plateau is much more subject to extreme climate, and there is a great temperature difference between day and night. The average temperature is 23°C in summer and -2°C in winter.
  
  
• The Black Sea region (northern region) is warm and wet, with an average temperature of 23°C in summer and 7°C in winter.

Current weather conditions of Turkey can be obtained from:

http://www.Worldweather.org/014/m014.htm

3. Natural Resources

Over 30% of Turkey's territory is agricultural land, and much of the rest can be used for grazing. Several rivers have already been or are being dammed for hydroelectricity generation and irrigation. Also, wind power has the potential for power generation, and the long coastlines offer opportunities for shipping, fishing and above all tourism.

On the other hand, Turkey has only relatively small amounts of oil and natural-gas reserves which have been found and exploited. But the country has a relatively wide range of mineral deposits. It possesses over 60% of the world reserves of boron. Other mineral resources include lignite and hard coal, iron ore, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite, emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites, clay and salts.

C. Population, Language and Major Cities

Turkey has the third largest population in Europe. According to the recent census, it has almost 73 million inhabitants. About 80% of the population is of Turkish origin, while the rest is mainly of Kurdish or Arab origin.

Turkey's population is young, with almost half of the population under the age of 25. There has been a high level of migration from rural areas to major cities. About 25% of the population is concentrated in the Marmara region in the northwest, including Istanbul. Another 25% resides along or close to the western and southern coasts.

In Turkey, about 99% of the population is Muslim. Most Turkish Muslims belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, which believes that the imam (ruler) should be chosen through consensus of the community, as well as in absolute purity of conduct and belief.

• Istanbul is a city established across two continents (Europe and Asia). The European side of the city is a trade and business centre of Turkey, while the Asian side is residential. Istanbul is also Turkey's most important seaport.
  
  
• Ankara is the capital of Turkey, and is the country's second biggest city. It is also the centre of Turkish government, and a hub for commerce, industry and trade.
  
  
• Izmir is the third most populous city in Turkey, and is the capital of Izmir Province. It is also the country's largest port after Istanbul.
  
  
• Konya is the capital of Konya Province, which is the biggest province in Turkey in terms of area.
  
  
• Bursa is the fourth largest city in Turkey, and is the centre of the Turkish automobile industry.
  
  
• Adana's major industries include textile manufacturing, tanning and the processing of wool.
  
  
• Antalya's main industries include tourism and agriculture.
  
  
• Mersin's seaport plays an important role in the economy. Also, there is the Mersin Free Zone, which is the first free zone in Turkey next to the Mersin port.

D. Political System and Government Administration

Since the founding of a secular and unitary republic in the 1920s and the establishment of a multiparty democratic regime in 1945, Turkey has become a democratic, secular and constitutional republic. The administrative system is highly centralised. Turkey is divided into 81 provinces, each under a governor appointed by the central administration, and into districts within these.

The last election was held in March 2003, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), won the election and his party also won a massive majority of the seats in Turkey's unicameral parliament. However, the leaders of the AKP have a Islamist past. As a result, there are tensions with the secularist establishment, but the government has so far generally adhered to secularist principles. In addition, political parties that play a significant role in the Turkish politics include:

• AKP - Justice and Development Party
• CHP - Republican People's Party
• DYP - True Path Party

¹ Turkstat