World Country Guide

Area
779,452 sq km (300,948 sq miles).

Population
69,757,000 (official estimate 2002).

Population Density
89.5 per sq km.

Capital
Ankara. Population: 3,208,000 (official estimate 2002).

Geography
Turkey borders the Black Sea and Georgia and Armenia to the northeast, Iran to the east, Iraq to the southeast, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Mediterranean to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Asia Minor (or Anatolia) accounts for 97 per cent of the country and forms a long, wide peninsula 1650km (1025 miles) from east to west and 650km (400 miles) from north to south. Two east-west mountain ranges, the Black Sea Mountains in the north and the Taurus in the south, enclose the central Anatolian plateau, but converge in a vast mountainous region in the far east of the country. It is here that the ancient Tigris and Euphrates rivers rise.

Government
Republic since 1923. Head of State: President Ahmet Necdet Sezer since 2000. Head of Government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan since 2003.

Language
Turkish. Kurdish is also spoken by a minority in the southeast. French, German and English are widely spoken in cities and tourist areas.

Religion
Muslim with a small Christian minority. Turkey is a secular state which guarantees complete freedom of worship to non-Muslims.

Time
GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Electricity
220 volts AC, 50Hz.

Communications

Telephone
IDD is available. Country code: 90. Outgoing international code: 00. There is an extensive internal telephone network, but often an interpreter will be needed for more remote areas. To phone from PTT telephone booths, which are found in all areas, telephone cards and tokens are used. Local, intercity and international calls can be made from all PTT offices.

Mobile telephone
GSM 900 and 1800 band networks exist. Main network providers include Avea (website: www.avea.com.tr), TELSIM Mobil Telekomuniksyon (website: www.telsim.com.tr) and Turkcell (website: www.turkcell.com.tr). Coverage is available in most urban areas.

Fax
All hotels and PTT offices have facilities.

Internet
Main ISPs include: EfesNet (website: www.efes.net.tr). Internet cafes exist in main urban areas.

Telegram
These may be sent from all post offices.

Post
Airmail to Europe takes three days. Turkish post offices are recognisable by their yellow PTT signs. Post office hours: major outlets Mon-Sat 0800-2000, Sun 0900-1900; smaller post offices have the same opening hours as government offices. It is also possible to use the 'Valuables Despatch Service' for valuable belongings or important documents.

Press
The main newspapers are Hrriyet, Milliyet, Sabah and Zamam. English-language daily newspapers include The Turkish Daily News.

Radio
BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online.