R
UDYARD KIPPLING (1865-1936), an English poet and writer once said, "East is east, and west is west and never the twain shall meet". Of course, he was mistaken by saying this because of the following explanation:T
he Anatolian peninsula, the extreme west point of the continent of Asia, is today practically the whole territory of the Republic of Turkey. Apart from a small area (3% of the total land) lies in Europe with the cities of EDİRNE (Adrianople), KIRKLARELİ, TEKİRDAĞ and a part of İSTANBUL (Byzantium, Constantinopolis, İslâmbol, Asitane, etc.), 97% of the country occupies the historic land of Asia Minor (or ANATOLIA = THE PLACE OF THE RISING SUN (or "The land where the sun rises from"), where over 90% of its population to be found. The 780,576 sq.kms. (301,380 sq.miles) of the total area of the country support a population of 67 millions (2000), for an area roughly 3 times the size of United Kingdom or United Kingdom and France put together or State of TEXAS in the United States of America. The land is called "The bridge of eastern and western worlds" and also "The Cradle of civilizations". You can also call her "Open Air Museum". It is placed, according to Greenwich Observation Center, at 25°40'E at Avlaka Point (Gökçeada) - 44°48'E at departure of River Aras (Araxas) from Turkey and 35°51'N at southernmost border of Turkey to Syria and - 42°06'N at İnce Point (Sinop). While Anatolia forms a clearly defined geographical zone; it contains a wide variety of different regions - temperate or Mediterranean areas, Asian steppe-land and mountainous districts. Anatolia throughout the centuries, enjoyed advantages of its position between Europe and Asia and its diversity of resources and has always been one of the theaters of human civilization, witnessing the birth of great empires and the migration of numerous peoples. Now occupied by Turkish muslim population of Asiatic origin but with its eyes turned resolutely to the West.A
natolia has seen Hatti, Hurrite, Mitanni, Hittite, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Turkish civilizations flourishing on its soil; some of the great religious cults of the ancient world took root here before Christianity and then Islam came to replace them.A
natolia is bordered by the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Seas, by the countries of Greece (212 kms/132 miles) and Bulgaria (269 kms/167 miles) in the west; Georgia, Armenia, Nahcivan (Azerbaycan) (610 kms/379 miles), Iran (454 kms/282 miles) in the east,and, Iraq (331 kms/206 miles), and Syria (877 kms/545 miles) in the south totaling up to 2,753 kms/1,710 miles. The coasts are 8,333 kms./5,178 miles long and lined with fertile plains. The length of the coasts of Turkey: BLACK SEA 1,695 kms/1,053 miles, inner sea MARMARA 1,189 kms/739 miles [Asiatic side of Bosphorus 35 kms/22 miles, European side of Bosphorus 55 kms/34 miles, Asiatic side of Sea of Marmara 663 kms412 miles, European side of Sea of Marmara 264 kms/164 miles, Asiatic side of Dardanelles 94 kms/58 miles and European side of Dardanelles 78/48.5 miles], AEGEAN 2,805 kms/1743 miles, MEDITERRANEAN 1,591 kms/989 miles long and lined with fertile plains. The distance between northernmost and southernmost points is 650 kms/404 miles, and, westernmost and easternmost points is 1,565 kms/973 miles. Turkey is characterized by the variety of its landscapes, and the differences between the natural regions of the country accentuated by the diversity of the climate.T
he country has three temperate climates: MEDITERRANEAN in the south and southwest, BLACKSEA in the north and STEPPE throughout most of Anatolia. The relief forms a fairly distinct pattern: Two coastal chains - The BLACKSEA RANGE to the north and TAURUS to the south - enclose an area of high plateaus and plains which, in some cases, have no outlets to the sea, and join together in eastern Turkey; to the west, more complex Aegean Zone comprises a group of basins and low mountain masses. European Turkey consists of the eastern part of Thrace, a low sedimentary plateau from which the Istranca chain rises.
Turkey is divided into 7 geographical regions: BLACK SEA, MARMARA, AEGEAN, MEDITERRANEAN, CENTRAL ANATOLIA, EASTERN ANATOLIA and SOUTH-EASTERN ANATOLIA. (You can also click the regions on the map on the left to go to the related page.)
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natolia (Asiatic part of Turkey) did not loose its world-wide geopolitical situation at any stage of the history. The oldest civilizations along with Egypt and Mesopotamia (the Land in between Two Rivers; i.e., Euphrates and Tigris) were established at Anatolia. Through the history the mountains performed barriers to the invasions and separated the civilizations from each other. Rivers created inhabitation places and caused the civilizations approach to each other. Oceans (seas) are one of the major causes for the advanced civilizations: playing role for forcing the civilizations to approach each other than separating them. If we take a look at the wold's map, we can easily see the world-wide importance of the Eastern Thrace's and Anatolia's positions. At the Mediterranean Area, where the world's most of the civilizations were formed around, there is no country that had/has the distinction of geopolitical position of these two. This distinction made Anatolia "THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATIONS" and attracted the ambition of many tribes.T
he matchless importance of Anatolia and Thrace made them the passages in between Asia and Europe, Near Est and Balkans, Mediterranean and Black Seas. As approaching to the Sea of Marmara, this geopolitical importance reaches to its peak. Straits were vital points for the states who wished to reach the world's sovereignity and maintain the world's empire. We can claim almost certainly that there is no other city established like Istanbul to be dominant geopolitically over to the both sides of a strait; Asia and Europe and Mediterranean and Black Seas. This is not a thought for the old ages. Even NAPOLEON of France set forth his opinion for Istanbul by saying, "The only city to be the capital city of World's Empire". Today the situation still keeps its importance and there is no force in the warm seas to stop an invasion that might come from the north when the straits fell.A
dditionally, there is no water existing on the world map as small as the Sea of Marmara carrying the importance this much by bearing the peninsulas on both sides of Istanbul, Dardanelles and Gallipoli where the junctions of Asia and Europe are located. The empires, maintaining Marmara as an inner sea, holding the straits and making Istanbul as capital city, saw to it to make Mediterranean and Black Seas inner seas separately. Because the soils of Asia and Europe continents cannot be controlled closely from elsewhere than Istanbul.O
riented toward the western camp today, Turkey taken up arms against Russian encroachment no less than 13 times within last 400 years. The most recent conflict occurred just after the World War II, when the Soviet Union embarked on a campaign of pressure and threats in an effort to break Turkey's hold on the Straits. And also during 1969-1980, the effort of breaking peace and administration in this country was ended on 12 Sep 1980 by the Turkish military forces. Additionally, in 1950, responding to a UN appeal for help in Korea, Turkey dispatched a brigade, which fought with courage and distinction. Since 1952, Turkey has been a dedicated member of NATO.
: 31 August 2004 / 18:00 GMT |
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