Formal Name: Republic of Turkey.
Short Form: Turkey.
Term for Citizens: Turk(s).
Capital: Ankara.
Size: About 779,452 square kilometers, somewhat smaller than Texas and Louisiana combined.
Topography: Seven natural regions--Black Sea, Aegean, Mediterranean, Pontus and Taurus mountain ranges, Anatolian Plateau, eastern highlands, and Arabian Platform. Country includes one of the most earthquake-prone areas of the world.
Climate: Periphery of Turkey has Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and hot, moderately dry summers. Interior, shielded from Mediterranean influences by mountains, has continental climate with cold winters and dry, hot summers. Eastern mountainous area has inhospitable climate, with hot, extremely dry summers and bitter winters. Rainfall varies, ranging from annual average of more than 2,500 millimeters on eastern Black Sea coast to less than 250 millimeters in central plateau area.
Data as of January 1995