A HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF TURKEY

The Republic of Turkey was established in 1923 after the overthrow of the Ottoman sultan, the Islamic caliphate, as a secular nation state with a parliamentary government. Its present day population is approximately 67 million. Istanbul is the largest city with about 10 million inhabitants, and Ankara, the capital, is the second largest city with about 4 million inhabitants. The history of Turkey consists of, first, the history of Anatolia before the coming of the Turks and of the civilizations – Hittite, Thracian, Hellenistic, and Byzantine. Second, it includes the history of the Turkish peoples, including the Seljuks, who brought Islam and the Turkish language to Anatolia. Third, it is the history of the Ottoman Empire. Finally, Turkey's history is that of the Republic established in 1923.

ECOLOGICAL FEATURES

Turkey is situated on the northeastern Mediterranean basin with 800,000 km2 of land, 97 percent of which lies in the Anatolian Peninsula, Asia, and 3 percent in Thrace, Europe. The coastal regions are characterized by a Mediterranean climate with hot and humid summers, and mild and rainy winters, while the inland is cold and snowy in the winter and hot and dry in the summer.

ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTIONS OF SOCIETY

Economic organization

The Turkish society is in a rapid transformation from a traditional, rural, agricultural, patriarchal society to a modern, urban, industrial, and egalitarian one.