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, at a latitude of 36 degrees N to 42
degrees N and a longitude of 26 degrees E to 45 degrees E. Turkey is roughly rectangular in shape and is 1,660 kilometers long and
550 kilometers wide.
Turkey has two European and six Asian countries for neighbors along its land borders.
The land border to the northeast with the Commonwealth of Independent States is 610 kilometers long; that with Iran, 454 kilometers
long, and that with Iraq 331 kilometers long. In the south is the 877 kilometer-long border with Syria. Turkey's borders on the
European continent consist of 212-kilometer frontier with Greece and a 269-kilometer border with Bulgaria.
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.
Turkey is generally divided into seven regions; the Black Sea region, the Marmara region, the Aegean, the Mediterranean, Central
Anatolia, the East Anatolian and Southeast Anatolia regions.
The uneven north Anatolian terrain running along the Black Sea resembles a narrow but long belt. The land of this region is
approximately one-sixth of Turkey's total land area.
The Marmara region covers the area encircling the Sea of Marmara and includes the entire European part of Turkey, as well as the
northwest of the Anatolian plain. Whilst the region is the smallest of the regions of Turkey after the Southeast Anatolia region,
it has the highest population density of all the regions.
The Aagean region extends from the Aegean coast to the inner parts of western Anatolia. There are significant differences between
the coastal areas and those inland, in terms of both geographical features and economic and social aspects.
In the Mediterranean region, located in the south of Turkey, the western and central Taurus Mountains suddenly rise up behind
coastline. The Amanos mountain range is also in the area.
The Central Anatolian region is exactly in the middle of Turkey and gives the appearance of being less mountainous compared with the
other regions. The main peaks of the region are Karadag, Karacadag, Hasandag and Erciyes (3,917 metres).
The Eastern Anatolian Region is Turkey's largest and highest region. About three-fourths of it is at an altitude of 1,500-2,000 meters.
Eastern Anatolia is composed of individual mountains as well as of whole mountain ranges, with vast plateaus and plains. There are
numerous inactive volcanoes in the region, including Nemrut, Suphan, Tendurek and Turkey's highest peak, Mount Agri (Ararat), which is
5,165 meters high.
The Southeast Anatolia region is notable for the uniformity of its landscape, although the eastern part of the region is comparatively
more uneven than its western areas.
