Turkey lies between Asia and Europe, serving as a bridge geographically, culturally and economically. Its location on two continents plays a central part in Turkish history and gives the country a major advantage in serving the markets of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
 

Turkey is situated between 26° and 45° E, in the temperate middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere. In the west it borders on Greece and Bulgania, in the east on Georgia, Armenia, Nakhichevan and Iran and in the soouth Iraq and Syria. The area of Turkey is 774,815 square kilometres. 97 % of Turkey lies in Asia (the Anatolian Plateau) and 3% in Europe (Thrace). The sea coasts of Turkey stretch for 8,210 kilomotres along the Mediterranean in the south, the Aegean in the west and the Black Sea in the north. In the northwest there is also the important inland Sea of Marmara, between the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, important waterways that connect the Black sea with the rest of the world. The country is roughly rectangular in shape, measuring 1,600 kilometres from east to west and 65O from north to south.

 

The high plateau region of Anatolia rises progressively towards the east and is divided by valleys formed by 15 rivers, including the Tigris and the Euphrates which originate in eastern Anatolia and flow southward to the Persian Gulf through Syria and Iraq. The largest river entirely within Turkey is Kýzýlýrmak, which flows northward past Ankara to the Black Sea. Among the numerous lakes there are some, such as Lake Van which are as large as inland seas.
 

The topography is extremely varied and climatic conditions differ widely among regions. The major part of the country consists of highland plateaus surrounded by mountainous areas which rise towards the east and are dominated by Mount Ararat with a height of 5,165 meters. In the east, winter temperatures may fall to -40° while in the southeast, summer temperatures may reach 45°.
 

With 80 administrative provinces, Turkey is divided into seven geographical regions: The Marmara Region, the Black Sea Region, the Mediterranean Region, the Eastern Anatolian Region, the Aegean Region and the Central Anatolian Region, each of which possesses unique climatic and ecological features.