GENERAL
OUTLINE
The lands of Turkey are located at a point where the three continents making up the old
world. Asia, Africa and Europe are closest to each other, and straddle the point where
Europe and Asia meet. Geographically, the country is located in the northern half of the
hemisphere at a point that is about halfway between the equator and the north pole. Turkey
is roughly rectangular in shape and is 1,660 kilometers wide.
Because of its geographical location the mainland of Anatolia has always found favor
throughout history, and is the birthplace of many great civilizations. It has also been
prominent as a center of commerce because of its land connections to three continents and
the sea surrounding it on three sides.
AREA
The actual area of Turkey inclusive of its lakes is 814,578 square kilometers, of which
790,200 are in Asia and 24,378 are located in Europe.
The land borders of Turkey are 2,573 kilometers in total, and coastlines (including
islands) are another 8,333 kilometers, Turkey has two European and six Asian countries for
neighbors along its land borders. Southeastern Europe and Middle East. Bordered on the
northwest by Bulgaria and Greece, on the north by Black Sea, on the northeast by Georgia
and Armenia, on the east by Iran, on the south by Iraq, Syria and Mediterranean Sea, and
on the West by Aegean Sea.
REGIONS
Turkey has seven geographic regions.
Marmara
Aegean
Mediterranean
Black Sea
Central Anatolian
Eastern
Southeastern
RIVERS
Most of the rivers of Turkey flow into the seas surrounding the country. The Firat
(Euphrates) and Dicle (Tigris) join together in Iraq and flow into the Persian Gulf.
Turkey's longest rivers, the Kizilirmak, Yesilirmak and Sakarya, flow into the Black Sea.
The Susurluk, Biga and Gone pour into the Sea of Marmara, the Gediz, Kucuk Menderes, Buyuk
Menderes and Meric into the Aegean, and the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Goksu into the
Mediterranean.
LAKES
In terms of numbers of lakes, the Eastern Anatolian region is the richest. It contains
Turkey's largest, Lake Van (3.713 square kilometers), and the lakes of Ercek, Cildir and
Hazar. There are also many lakes in the Taurus mountains area: the Beysehir and Egirdir
lakes, and the lakes that contain bitter waters like the Burdur and Acigoller lakes, for
example. Around the Sea of Marmara are located the lakes of Sapanca, Iznik, Ulubat,
Manyas, Terkos, Kucukcekmece and Buyukcekmece. In Central Anatoia is the second largest
lake in Turkey: Tuzgolu: The waters of this lake are shallow and very salty. The lakes of
Aksehir and Eber are also located in this region.
As a result of the construction of dams during the past thirty years, several large dam
lakes have come into existence. Together with the Ataturk Dam lake which started to
collect water in January1990, the following are good examples: Keban, Karakaya, Altinkaya,
Adiguzel, Kilickaya, Karacaoren, Menzelet, Kapulukaya, Hirfanli, Sariyar and Demirkopru.
