December 31, 2013/ altair / European Vacations

Last year Transat Holidays opened a new destination – Turkey, departing from Toronto. Due to this fact we’ve decided to publish a few articles about Turkey, a country with rich ancient history, traditions and culture, the country that you have to see before you die.The Republic of Turkey is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. With the Black Sea to the north and the Aegean Sea in the west and Mediterranean Sea to the southwest, Turkey is surrounded by Bulgaria and Greece to the west, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to the northeast, Syria, Iraq and Iran to the southeast. Turkey’s location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.

Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with an ancient cultural heritage. Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organizations such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G-20 major economies. Turkey began full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005, having been an associate member of the European Economic Community since 1963 and having reached a customs union agreement in 1995. Turkey has also fostered close cultural, political, economic and industrial relations with the Middle East, the Turkic states of Central Asia and the African countries.

History

There is evidence that the bed of the Black Sea was once an inhabited plain, before it was flooded in prehistoric times by rising sea levels. The biblical flood may be an account of this event. Mount Ararat, at 5,165m, is the country’s highest point while the legendary landing place of Noah’s Ark, lies in the mountains on the far eastern edge of the country. After the Seljuk victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert, Turks began migrating into this area. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol Empire’s invasion. Beginning from the 13th century, the Ottoman Empire united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Ottoman Empire lasted from 27 July 1299 to 29 October 1923. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed following its defeat in World War I, parts of it were occupied by the victorious Allies. A cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; in 1923, they would establish the modern Republic of Turkey with Atatürk as its first president.

Geography & Climate

Turkey is a transcontinental country: Asian Turkey, which includes 97% of the country, is separated from European Turkey by the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles (which together form a water link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea). European Turkey comprises 3% of the country. The territory of Turkey is more than 1,600km long and 800km wide, with a roughly rectangular shape.

The main geographical regions are:

• Aegean Turkey: Greek and Roman ruins between azure sea on one side and silvery olive grooves on the other

• Black Sea Turkey: Heavily forested mountains offering great outdoor sports such as trekking and rafting
• Central Anatolia: Tree-poor central steppes with the national capital, Hittite and Phrygian ruins, and moon-like Cappadocia
• Eastern Anatolia: High and mountainous eastern part with harsh winters
• Marmara Region: The most urbanized region with Byzantine and Ottoman monuments in some of the country’s greatest cities
• Mediterranean Turkey: Mountains clad with pine woods ascending right from the heavily-indented coastline of the crystal clear sea
• Southeastern Anatolia: Semi-desert Middle-Easternmost part of the country

The climate in Turkey has a vast diversity depending on the diverse topography and latitude. The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea have a temperate Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Black Sea have a temperate Oceanic climate with warm, wet summers and cool to cold, wet winters. The Turkish Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages 2,500mm annually which is the highest precipitation in the country. The southeastern region near the Syrian border has a desert-like climate, temperature is frequently above 40°C during summers with no rain. Snowfall is occasional in winter. The region around the Sea of Marmara, including Istanbul, has a transitional climate between an oceanic climate and a semi-Mediterranean climate, but it does rain during the very warm summer (as showers which tend to last for 15-30 minutes). Its winters are colder than those of the western and southern coasts. Snow is common at coastal areas, although it doesn’t stay on the ground for long and is limited to only a few days every winter.

Administrative Divisions

Ankara is the capital city of Turkey. The territory of Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces for administrative purposes. The biggest city and the pre-Republican capital Istanbul is the financial, economic and cultural heart of the country. An estimated 75.5% of Turkey’s population live in urban centers.

Economy

Turkey has the world’s 15th largest GDP-PPP and 17th largest Nominal GDP. Since the economic crisis of 2001 and the reforms initiated by the finance minister of the time, Kemal Dervi?, inflation has fallen to single-digit numbers, investor confidence and foreign investment have soared, and unemployment has fallen. Turkey has gradually opened up its markets through economic reforms by reducing government controls on foreign trade and investment and the privatization of publicly owned industries. The public debt to GDP ratio, while well below its levels during the recession of 2001, reached 46% in 2010 Q3.

Turkey’s economy is becoming more dependent on industry in major cities, mostly concentrated in the western provinces of the country, and less on agriculture, however traditional agriculture is still a major pillar of the Turkish economy.

Other key sectors of the Turkish economy are banking, construction, home appliances, electronics, textiles, oil refining, petrochemical products, food, mining, iron and steel, machine industry and automotive. Turkey has a large and growing automotive industry, which produced 1,147,110 motor vehicles in 2008, ranking as the 6th largest producer in Europe (behind the United Kingdom and above Italy) and the 15th largest producer in the world. Turkey is also one of the leading shipbuilding nations; in 2007 the country ranked 4th in the world (behind China, South Korea and Japan) in terms of the number of ordered ships, and also 4th in the world (behind Italy, USA and Canada) in terms of the number of ordered mega yachts.

Religion

The predominant religion is Islam. The country’s official language is Turkish.

Ramadan is a month long time of fasting, prayer and celebration during which pious Muslims neither drink nor eat anything, even water, from sun up to sun down. Businesses, banks and official places are not closed during this time.  In some parts of Turkey (most of inland and eastern locations) people are more conservative than people in the rest of the country. It is considered to be bad taste to eat snacks or drink sodas in front of locals in public places or transport – to be completely on the safe side, watch how local folks act. However, restaurants are usually open and it is no problem to eat in them as usual, though some restaurant owners use it as an opportunity for a much-needed vacation (or renovation) and shut their business completely for 30 days. You will unlikely see any closed establishment in big cities, central parts of the cities, and touristy towns of western and southern Turkey.

During Ramadan, many city councils set up tent-like structures in the major squares of the cities that are especially aimed and served for the needy, for those in poverty or who are elderly or handicapped, and are also served for passers by, with warm meals during the sunset, free of charge (iftar). It was first practiced by the Prophet Muhammad during the advent of Islam. Travelers are welcome to join, but do not overdo it.

Kurban Bayrami is the most important Islamic religious festival of the year. It lasts for several days and is a public holiday in Turkey. Almost everything will be closed during that time. Kurban Bayrami is also the time of the annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, so both domestic and international travel is intense in Turkey at this time. Kurban Bayrami falls on November 4th, through Sunday, November 13th) in 2011; and October 25th (Thursday), and continues for four days until the evening of October 29th (Monday, Turkey’s Republic Day, a major patriotic holiday), with travel effects through October 30th (Tuesday) in 2012.

During both religious holidays, many cities (but not all) provide public transport for free (but note that these do not include privately owned minibuses, taxis, or inter-city buses).

Culture & Tourism

The tourism sector has experienced rapid growth in the last twenty years, and constitutes an important part of the economy. In 2008 there were 31 million visitors to the country, who contributed $22 billion to Turkey’s revenues

While it may sound as a tourism brochure cliché, Turkey is really a curious mix of the west and the east—you may swear you were in a Balkan country or in Greece when in northwestern and western parts of the country, while southeastern reaches of the country has little if any cultural differences from typical Middle East Asian contries.

Turkey offers a wealth of destination varieties to travelers: from dome-and-minaret filled skyline of Istanbul to Roman ruins. There is something for everyone’s taste – whether they be traveling on an extreme budget by hitchhiking or by a multi-million yacht.

For reservation and information please contact Altair Travel: 416-633-9404

Tags Turkey: Overview