TURKEY
(TÝRKIYE)FROM THE NEW GROLIER MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA ***********************************************************************
TURKEY
(TÝRKIYE)Turkey is an independent republic occupying a region, partly in Europe and partly in Asia, that has played a major role in world history as a bridge connecting East and West. European Turkey, known as eastern THRACE, is bounded on the north by the BLACK SEA and Bulgaria and on the west by the AEGEAN SEA and Greece. It is separated from Asian Turkey (ANATOLIA or Asia Minor) by the BOSPORUS, the Sea of MARMARA, and the DARDANELLES Strait. Anatolia is bounded on the north by the Black Sea; on the east by Georgia, Armenia, and Iran; on the south by Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea; and on the west by the Aegean Sea.
Turkey is one of the more developed Middle Eastern countries,
and industrialization is in progress. Tourism, stimulated by the
fine climate and the abundance of historic sites, such as TROY,
PERGAMUM, and EPHESUS, is beginning to gain importance. Modern
Turkey was founded on Oct. 29, 1923, as the successor of the Ottoman
Empire.
Turkey lies within the Alpine-Himalayan mountain belt. More than 75% of the land lies at elevations above 500 m (1,640 ft), and the average elevation is 1,100 m (3,600 ft). Turkey is one of the most active earthquake regions in the world. The Arabian, African, Eurasian Aegean, and Turkish plates all converge in Turkish territory, resulting in severe seismic and volcanic activity.
The country may be divided into four physical regions: the central Anatolian plateau and surrounding mountains, the eastern highlands, the Aegean coastland, and Thrace. The central Anatolian plateau is separated from the coastal lowlands by the Pontic Mountains in the north and the TAURUS MOUNTAINS in the south. The Pontic Mountains increase in height toward the east, where their highest peak, Kackar Dagi (3,937 m/12,917 ft), is found. The Taurus Mountains rise to 3,734 m (12,251 ft) in the Ala Dag chain. Composed mainly of limestone, they have caves, underground streams, and potholes. Small glaciers are found in the eastern sections of both the Taurus and Pontic ranges. The central plateau is composed of uplifted blocks and downfolded troughs. Shallow salt lakes--Lake Tuz is the largest--and geologically young volcanic features characterize the landscape. The eastern highlands are dotted with peaks reaching elevations of 3,000-4,500 m (10,000-15,000 ft) and surrounded by high lava-covered plateaus. The highest of the peaks is Mount ARARAT (Agri Dagi; 5,122 m/16,804 ft), in the extreme east. Vast stretches of the highlands consist of barren waste. Lake VAN is a large salt lake with underground connections to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, whose headwaters rise in the nearby mountains.
The Aegean coastland is an area of elongated mountain ridges cut by steep valleys. Thrace comprises a central plain of rolling terrain surrounded by mountains of moderate height.
SOILS Turkey has numerous soil types. About 40% of the land,
including the Black Sea coast and most of the northeast, is covered
by red and gray brown podzols and by brown forest soils. The Aegean
and Mediterranean coasts are characterized by mountain soils (brown
forest, terra rossa, rendzina). Chestnut and desert soils are
found in central Anatolia. The southeast has rich chernozems and
chestnut-type soils.
Because of the mountainous terrain and maritime influence,
climates vary greatly. The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts enjoy
a 29 deg C (84 deg F) mean temperature in July and a 9 deg C (48
deg F) mean in January. Rainfall is concentrated in the winter;
Antalya on the southern coast receives an annual average of 991
mm (39 in). The Black Sea coast is somewhat cooler, and the rainfall
is heavier, averaging 2,438 mm (96 in). The northeast has warm
summers but severe winters averaging -9 deg C (16 deg F). Precipitation
occurs more evenly throughout the year, and the snow cover lasts
120 days. The central plateau has hot, dry summers averaging 23
deg C (73 deg F) and cold, moist winters, when temperatures average
below 0 deg C (32 deg F).
The TIGRIS RIVER and the EUPHRATES RIVER originate in eastern
Turkey before flowing to the Persian Gulf. The Araks and Kurucay
rivers flow to the Caspian Sea; the Kizil and Sakarya to the Black
Sea; the Macestus to the Sea of Marmara; and the Gediz and the
Buyukmenderes to the Aegean. The Goksu, Seyhan, and Ceyhan rivers
flow to the Mediterranean. Most Turkish rivers are not navigable,
having irregular, shallow beds and seasonal depth changes.
The Black Sea coast is the most densely forested region in
Turkey, with both coniferous and deciduous trees. Much of the
south, west, and northwest is covered by Mediterranean vegetation
of thick, scrubby underbrush. The dry central plateau is steppe
land, with short grasses, bushes, and stunted willow trees. Wild
animals include the wolf, fox, bear, and wildcat. The water buffalo,
camel, and Angora goat are domesticated.
Production and transport costs limit the importance of many
minerals. Copper from Ergani in the Diyarbakir region and chrome
from Fethiye are mined for export. The presence of coal near Eregli
on the Black Sea and in Thrace and of iron ore in the Sivas region
has been important to the industrialization effort. Petroleum,
boron minerals, mercury, and manganese are also found.
The people of Turkey are overwhelmingly TURKS (about 90%) and Sunni Muslim (98%). About 3 million KURDS live in the eastern provinces, and several hundred thousand Arabs inhabit the Hatay enclave adjacent to Syria. The number of Greeks was dramatically reduced by the population exchange between Greece and Turkey following the Treaty of Lausanne (1923). About 25,000 Jews live primarily in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. The Greek Orthodox community is the largest Christian denomination, followed by the Gregorian church. Most of the population speak Turkish (see URAL-ALTAIC LANGUAGES), although minorities speak Arabic and Kurdish.
More than half of the population live in urban areas. ISTANBUL
is the cultural, industrial, and commercial center; ANKARA is
the capital. Other major cities are IZMIR, ADANA, Antakya (or
ANTIOCH), KONYA, EDIRNE, TRABZON, and BURSA. Large-scale migration
to the cities since mid-century has led to overcrowding. The birthrate
and average life expectancy are closer to the norm for a Middle
Eastern country than for a European country. The population density
is highest in the coastal regions, especially along the Black
Sea.
The educational system of Turkey was modernized after the founding of the republic as part of an effort to westernize Turkish society. Today education is mostly public and free, about three-fourths of the population is literate. Funds, teachers, and facilities are scant in remote areas of the country. The University of Istanbul (1453), the Aegean University (1955) at Izmir, and the Middle East Technical University (1956) at Ankara are Turkey's largest institutions of higher learning.
Medical services are free to the poor. Although health service is improving, rural areas suffer shortages of physicians and facilities; the infant mortality rate is close to the average for an Asian country. Trachoma and tuberculosis are the most prevalent communicable diseases.
THE ARTS Although Islam dominated artistic expression under
the Ottomans (see ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE), Turkish culture
since 1923 has been imbued with the spirit of nationalism. Turkish
literature has been affected from both the East (chiefly Persia)
and the West (mainly France). Many writers focus on life in Turkish
villages. Modern painting and sculpture are of limited appeal;
the people prefer folk art and decorative crafts. Traditional
Ottoman music continues to be popular, although Western-style
music is making inroads.
Turkey's economic development began in the mid-1920s under
Kemal ATATURK, first president of the Turkish republic, who attempted
to westernize and industrialize the economy. After World War II
the Marshall Plan and Turkish membership in the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) further encouraged
development. The per capita income, however, remained lower than
in most industrialized countries. Turkey receives significant
financial aid from the European Economic Community (EEC), to which
it applied for membership in 1987. The inflation rate was in the
60%-70% range in the early 1990s. Many Turks work abroad, which
helps to keep unemployment under control; remittances from those
workers provide a major source of foreign exchange. Tourism is
a rapidly growing industry; 4.5 million foreign tourists visited
Turkey in 1989, contributing $25 billion to the economy.
Manufacturing provides about 20% of the nation's GNP but employs
only a small percentage of the labor force. Food processing accounts
for one-third of all manufacturing, textiles and clothing for
about 20%. Steel production, particularly at Eregli and Iskenderun,
is also important. Other major industrial products include machinery
and metal goods, vehicles, petrochemicals, fertilizers, and pulp
and paper. Iskenderun is the terminus of an important oil pipeline
from Iraq, but the Turkish government stopped the flow of oil
from Iraq through its territory after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
in August 1990. Energy needs remain low on a per capita basis
despite a remarkable increase in total national energy consumption.
Nevertheless, the cost of imported petroleum is a heavy burden,
and an effort is being made to develop other sources of power
generation, especially by building hydroelectric plants on the
Euphrates River.
Agriculture accounts for less than 20% of the GNP, although it employs well over half of the labor force. Just over a third of the land is under cultivation, and productivity is low. Cereals are the principal crop. Vegetables, grapes, sugar beets, potatoes, and oilseeds are also grown, and cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry are raised. Overgrazing is a problem in many parts of the country. Forests, covering more than 25% of the land, are protected by the state. Much of the wood harvest is used for energy. The commercial fishing industry is being developed.
Domestic transportation, chiefly by road, is difficult in many
areas because of the rough terrain. Turkey is an important transit
route from Europe to the Middle East, and long stretches of railroads
were built by foreign powers through Turkish territory. The first
bridge across the Bosporus was completed in 1973; a second was
built in the 1980s. Istanbul has the nation's major international
airport and is one of the world's major ports.
Principal exports include cotton, fruits, nuts, tobacco, metals,
cereals, textiles and clothing, and livestock. Imports include
machinery, chemicals, crude oil, base metals, fertilizers, mineral
products, and vehicles. Middle Eastern nations are beginning to
rival Western European countries and the United States as Turkey's
trading partners.
>From 1973 to 1980 the country had a series of weak coalition
governments that were unable to handle increasingly serious economic
problems and political violence. The prime ministership alternated
between Suleyman Demirel of the moderate right Justice party and
Bulent Ecevit, leader of the moderate left Republican People's
party. With the government unable to resolve Turkey's difficulties,
the military intervened in 1980, deposing Demirel in a bloodless
coup led by Gen. Kenan EVREN. In 1982 the voters approved a new
constitution, which established an authoritarian presidential
system and installed Evren as president for a seven-year period.
Demirel, Ecevit, and other former political leaders were excluded
from participation in politics for ten years. Elections for a
unicameral national assembly were held in November 1983. The ruling
National Security Council was then dissolved and Turgut Ozal,
head of the newly formed conservative Motherland party, became
prime minister; he was elected to the presidency in 1989. When
Ozal's party lost its majority in the parliamentary elections
of October 1991, Suleyman Demirel, now head of the nationalist
True Path party, was called back to form a government. Turkey
is divided into 73 provinces (ils), administered by governors
(valis). Local governments have the right to collect taxes for
local use.
Anatolia is one of the oldest continually inhabited regions in the world, and it has repeatedly served as a battleground for foreign powers. The earliest major empire in the area was that of the HITTITES, from the 18th through the 13th century BC. Subsequently, the Phrygians (see PHRYGIA), an Indo-European people, achieved ascendancy until their kingdom was destroyed by the CIMMERIANS in the 7th century BC. The most powerful of Phrygia's successor states was LYDIA. Coastal Anatolia (IONIA) meanwhile was settled by Greeks. The entire area was overrun by the Persians during the 6th and 5th centuries and fell to Alexander the Great in 334 BC. Anatolia was subsequently divided into a number of small Hellenistic kingdoms (including BITHYNIA, CAPPADOCIA, PERGAMUM, and PONTUS), all of which had succumbed to Rome by the mid-1st century BC. In AD 324 the Roman emperor CONSTANTINE I chose Constantinople, now Istanbul, as the capital of the Roman Empire. It subsequently became the capital of the Eastern Roman or BYZANTINE EMPIRE.
In 1055 a group of Central Asiatic Turks, the SELJUKS, conquered Baghdad and established a Middle Eastern and Anatolian empire. When this empire was broken up by the Mongol invasion, one of the remaining local powers became known as the Ottoman dynasty, after its leader OSMAN I. The OTTOMAN EMPIRE spread from northwestern Anatolia and captured Constantinople in 1453. At the peak of their power the Ottomans controlled much of the eastern Mediterranean. The Ottomans had a sophisticated system of internal administration and also organized the first standing army in Europe, the JANISSARIES, a highly trained corps of war captives and Christians who were converted to Islam.
As the Ottoman Empire began to collapse under its own weight in the 18th and 19th centuries, it became a battleground for rival European powers, wedged as it was between the Russian and Austrian empires (see EASTERN QUESTION). These rivalries led to the RUSSO-TURKISH WARS, the CRIMEAN WAR, and the BALKAN WARS. By the outbreak of World War I the Ottoman Empire had essentially been divided into spheres of influence by the great European powers, but a reform movement was active within the Ottoman Empire itself. The YOUNG TURKS brought about a revolution in 1908 and were successful in introducing civil and social reforms of far-reaching consequence.
The Ottomans were drawn into World War I on the German side. At the end of the war the empire was formally dissolved, and the Allies divided it among themselves. The straits into the Black Sea were neutralized, and a Greek occupation army landed at Smyrna, now Izmir. In 1922, however, the Turks, led by Mustafa Kemal (later known as Kemal ATATURK) and Ismet INONU, defeated the armies occupying Anatolia. Inonu then won what has been called "the greatest diplomatic victory in history" when the Treaty of Lausanne (see LAUSANNE, TREATY OF) recognized the Republic of Turkey.
The republic was declared on Oct. 29, 1923, and Ataturk was elected its first president. Moving the capital from Constantinople to Ankara, Ataturk aimed to transform the nation into a modern Western state. Religion and state were separated; women were emancipated and given the right to vote; Western law, Hindu-Arabic numerals, and the Roman alphabet were adopted. The state supported the development of critical industries and businesses. Theoretically head of a constitutional democracy, President Ataturk's ruling powers were strong and uncontested.
Turkey remained neutral in World War II until it joined the Allies in February 1945. Turkey joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1952. Ataturk had been succeeded as president by Inonu. Control of the government was then gained by Prime Minister Adnan MENDERES of the Democrat party, who won a landslide victory over Inonu in 1950. The excesses of his administration led to a coup in 1960 by Gen. Cemal Gursel and to Menderes's execution in 1961. A new constitution was adopted in 1961, and Inonu became prime minister.
In 1964 the age-old enmity between Greece and Turkey was inflamed by fighting on Cyprus between the Greek and Turkish sections of the population. Ten years later, after Cypriot president Makarios had been overthrown and Greece appeared ready to annex Cyprus, Turkish troops invaded the island, occupying the northern portion of it. Cyprus was subsequently partitioned, and a separate Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was created in 1983. Turkey's relations with Greece, already strained by the Cyprus dispute, were worsened by a conflict over petroleum exploration in the Aegean Sea, which brought the two countries to the brink of war in March 1987. Meanwhile, the seizure of power by Turkish military leaders in September 1980 and the imposition of martial law drew criticism from the European Community, which Turkey hoped to join.
Civilian government was restored in 1983, martial law was ended in 1985 (although a number of restrictions on civil liberties remained), and parliamentary elections in 1987 gave a majority to the Motherland party. The government sought to improve relations with Greece, and in 1989 it supported the cause of Bulgaria's repressed Turkish minority. Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the government backed the U.S.-led coalition by cutting off the flow of Iraqi oil through pipelines that passed through Turkish territory. The Turkish government also allowed aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition to be based in southeastern Turkey, where they were able to bomb targets in Iraq (see PERSIAN GULF WAR).
Ira M. Sheskin
Bibliography: Bianchi, Robert, Interest Groups and Political Development in Turkey (1984); Campbell, Angus A., Geology and History of Turkey (1971); Dewdney, John C., Turkey: An Introductory Geography (1971); Geyikdaqi, Mehmet, Political Parties in Turkey (1984); Hale, William, The Political and Economic Development of Modern Turkey (1981); Hershlag, Z.Y., The Contemporary Turkish Economy (1988); Kagiteibagi, Cigdem, and Sunar, Diane, eds., Sex Roles, Family, and Community in Turkey (1982); Keder, Caglar, State and Class in Turkey (1987); Kopits, George, Structural Reform, Stabilization, and Growth in Turkey (1987); Krueger, Anne O., Turkey (1974); Lewis, Bernard, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, 2d ed. (1968); Miller, William, The Ottoman Empire and Its Successors: 1801-1927, 3d ed. (1927; repr. 1966); Ozbudun, Ergun, Social Change and Political Participation in Turkey (1976); Pierce, Joe, Life in a Turkish Village (1983); Pitcher, Donald E., An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire (1968); Pittman, Paul, ed., Turkey: A Country Study, 4th ed. (1988); Shaw, S. J., History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey (1976); Schick, Irvin, and Tonak, E. Ahmed, eds., Turkey in Transition (1986); Shaw, S. J., History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 2 vols. (1977); Stark, Freya, Gateways and Caravans: A Portrait of Turkey (1971); Tachau, Frank, Turkey (1984); Weiker, Walter, The Modernization of Turkey (1981). ******************************************************************************** FACTS ABOUT TURKEY
OFFICIAL NAME Republic of Turkey
LAND Area: 779,452 sq km (300,948 sq mi). Capital: Ankara (1990 est. pop., 2,559,471). Largest city: Istanbul (1990 est. pop., 6,620,241). Elevations: highest--Mount Ararat, 5,122 m (16,804 ft); lowest--sea level, along the coast.
PEOPLE Population (1992 est.): 59,640,143; density: 76.5 persons per sq km (198.2 per sq mi). Distribution (1990): 61.3% urban, 38.7% rural. Annual growth (1992): 2.1%. Official language: Turkish. Major religion: Islam.
ECONOMY GDP (1991 est.): $198 billion; $3,400 per capita. Labor distribution (1990): agriculture--46.7%; public administration and defense--12.8%; manufacturing--11.5%; trade--9.8%; construction--4.1%; transportation and communications--3.8%; finance--1.9%; mining--0.9%; public utilities--0.2%; other--8.3%. Foreign trade (1990): imports--$22.3 billion; exports--$13.0 billion; principal trade partners--European Community, United States, Iran. Currency: 1 Turkish lira = 100 kurus.
GOVERNMENT Type: republic. Government leaders (1993):--president; Suleyman Demirel--premier. Legislature: Grand National Assembly. Political subdivisions: 73 provinces.
EDUCATION AND HEALTH Literacy (1990): 81% of adult population. Universities (1989): 28. Hospital beds (1988): 113,010. Physicians (1989): 46,708. Life expectancy (1992): women--72; men--68. Infant mortality (1992): 55 per 1,000 live births.
COMMUNICATIONS Railroads (1989): 8,430 km (5,238 mi) total. Roads (1988): 320,611 km (199,218 mi) total. Major ports: 4. Major airfields: 6. Picture Caption[s] A: Turkey B: Turkmenistan C: United Arab Emirates D: Uzbekistan E: Vietnam F: Yemen Map Location[s] Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Oman, Yemen. Istanbul, Bosporus, Uskudar, Izmit, Adapazari, Zonguldak, Samsun, Ankara, Bursa, Eskisehir, Balikesir, Manisa, Izmir, Konya, Mersin, Adana, Iskenderun, Gaziantep, Urfa, Malatya, Sivas, Kayseri, Elazig, Diyarbakir, Erzurum, Sakarya, Menderes, Beysehir Golu, Tuz Golu, Kizilirmak, Yesilirmak, Seyhan, Ceyhan, Coruh, Aras, Murat, Lake Van, Tigris, Euphrates, Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara, Aegean Sea, Gulf of Antalya, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea.