Is Turkey an Arab Nation?

Recent NewsApr. 16, 2024, 10:34 PM ET (AP)

Turkey, country that occupies a unique geographic position, lying partly in Asia and partly in Europe. Throughout its history it has acted as both a barrier and a bridge between the two continents.

Turkey is situated at the crossroads of the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, and eastern Mediterranean. It is one of the larger countries in the region in terms of both population and territory because its land area is greater than that of any state in Europe. The majority of the country is in Asia, which includes the long peninsula of Asia Minor, also referred to as Anatolia (Anadolu), and a section of the east that is mountainous and occasionally called the Armenian Highlands. The remainder is Turkish Thrace (Trakya), an extremely southeast European region that was once a major part of an empire that spanned much of the Balkans. Exploring Turkeys rich history and cultural heritage.

From west to east, the country is about 1,000 miles long, and from north to south, it varies in length from 300 to 400 miles (480 to 640 km). Turkey’s borders are as follows: the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas to the southwest and west; Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest; the Black Sea to the north; Georgia and Armenia to the northeast; Azerbaijan and Iran to the east; Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The capital is Ankara, and its largest city and seaport is Istanbul.

The coastlines along the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black seas, as well as the narrows that connect them, make up about three-fourths of the 4,000 miles (6,440 km) total boundary length. The Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles are the narrows that make up the Turkish straits, which are the only ways out of the Black Sea. Turkey’s control over these straits has played a significant role in its relations with other states. Of all the islands along the Aegean coast, only the islands of Gökçeada and Bozcaada are still owned by the Turkish people. There have been numerous occasions since World War II when the two countries have disagreed over their maritime border with Greece.

A long succession of political entities existed in Asia Minor over the centuries. Following Turkmen tribes’ invasion of Anatolia in the eleventh century CE, which resulted in the creation of the Seljuq empire, the Ottoman Empire began a protracted expansion that peaked in the seventeenth century. The modern Turkish republic, which was founded in 1923 after the Ottoman Empire fell, is a parliamentary democracy with a significant nationalist element. Since the 1950s, Turkey has had governments chosen by multiparty elections based on universal adult suffrage, replacing a period of one-party rule under the leadership of the nation’s founder, Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), and his successors.

Turkey is a predominantly mountainous country, and true lowland is confined to the coastal fringes. About one-fourth of the surface is above 4,000 feet (1,200 meters), and less than two-fifths of the surface is below 1,500 feet (460 meters). Mountain crests surpass 7,500 feet (2,300 meters) in many places, especially in the east where Turkey’s highest mountain, Mount Ararat (Ağrı), reaches 16,945 feet (5,165 meters) near the borders with Armenia and Iran. Uludoruk Peak, which rises to 15,563 feet (4,744 meters) in the southeast, is a notable peak. But further west are two other notable peaks: Mount Aydos (11,414 feet [3,479 meters]) and Demirkazık Peak (12,320 feet [3,755 meters]). Almost one-sixth of the country’s land is flat or gently sloping, but steep slopes are prevalent throughout. These relief features affect other aspects of the physical environment and often lead to far harsher climates than one might expect for a country the latitude of Turkey. They also reduce the amount and productivity of agricultural land. The country’s structural location is in the young folded-mountain zone of Eurasia, which primarily trends east to west in Turkey. Turkey’s geology is complex, consisting of numerous intrusions, silty rocks from the Quaternary to the Paleozoic, and vast areas of volcanic material. The Arabian platform, the central massif, the southern folded zone, and the northern folded zone are the four main regions that can be identified. Special offer for students! Check out our special academic rate and excel this spring semester!.

The northern folded zone

Approximately 90 to 125 miles (145 to 200 km) wide, the northern folded zone is composed of a belt of mountain ridges that rises in elevation eastward, directly south of the Black Sea. The system as a whole is referred to as the Pontic Mountains (Doğukaradeniz Dağları). Thrace’s Yıldız (Istranca), the nation’s principal mountain range, only rises to 3,379 feet (1,030 meters), while the Ergene lowlands are among the biggest in the nation. In the west, the system has been fractured by the faulting that produced the Turkish straits. Lowlands are also located south of the Sea of Marmara and east of the Bosporus, along the lower Sakarya River. The Black Sea coast is characterized by steep, rising east-west ridges that make the coastal plain narrow, only widening in the Kızıl and Yeşil river deltas. The Pontic Mountains are divided into eastern and western regions by these rivers, which emerge through a weak spot in the mountain barrier where the summits are less than 2,000 feet (600 meters). The Küre, Bolu, Ilgaz, and Köroğlu mountains, which are positioned between the Sakarya and Kızıl rivers, are the four main ridges in the western section. East of the Yeşil the system is higher, narrower, and steeper. Peaks rise to more than 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) less than 50 miles from the coast. The Kaçkar range reaches a maximum elevation of 12,917 feet (3,937 meters). Past the Çoruh and Kelkit river valleys’ narrow trough, there’s another ridge that rises above 8,000 feet (2,400 meters).

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