All about Turkey

geographical area

788,695 sq km (slightly larger than Texas, U.S.A). European Turkey comprises just 3% of Turkey’s total landmass. The remaining 97% is Anatolia, a vast plateau rising eastwards towards the Caucasus Mountains. Turkey’s coastline is some 7,200km long! The topography is very varied: snow-capped mountains, immense rivers, tree-lined coastlines, to-die for beaches, clear blue waters and rich agricultural valleys.

capital

Ankara (approx. 3.6 million inhabitants) 

population

people

The greatest majority are Sunni Muslim Turks. There is a significant minority of around 10 million Muslim Kurds living in the sparsely populated regions of eastern and southeastern Turkey. 4 million Kurds are scattered elsewhere throughout the country. Armenians and ethnic Greeks (fewer than 100,000) and approx. 24,000 Jews reside mainly in Istanbul.

language

Turkish. In many areas of the South-east and East, various Kurdish dialects are spoken. In the big cities and tourist areas most locals can speak English.