1 Turkey in Perspective CHAPTER 1 PROFILE 4 INTRODUCTION 4 FACTS AND FIGURES 4 CHAPTER 2 GEOGRAPHY 10 INTRODUCTION 10 GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS 10 CLIMATE 11 MAJOR CITIES 12 ISTANBUL 12 ANKARA 12 IZMIR 12 BURSA 13 ADANA 13 LAKES 13 LAKE VAN 13 LAKE TUZGOLU 14 LAKE BEYSEHIR 14 RIVERS 14 WILDLIFE 14 NATURAL HAZARDS 15 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS 15 CHAPTER 3 HISTORY 16 INTRODUCTION 16 ORIGINS OF THE TURKISH PEOPLE 16 THE SELJUK STATE 16 THE OTTOMAN ERA 17 FOUNDING OF THE EMPIRE 17 AN EMPIRE IN DECLINE 18 THE TURKISH REVOLUTION 1908-09 19 THE FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC 19 POST-ATATÜRK GOVERNANCE 20 THE COUNTRY IN CRISIS 21 THE REEMERGENCE OF ISLAM IN POLITICS 21 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 22 TURKEY TIMELINE 24 CHAPTER 4 ECONOMY 27 INTRODUCTION 27 2 BANKING 27 ENERGY 28 FOREIGN INVESTMENT 29 EXPORT PROCESSING ZONES 29 INDUSTRY 30 AGRICULTURE 31 TOURISM 31 CHAPTER 5 SOCIETY 32 ETHNIC GROUPS 32 RELIGION 33 GENDER ISSUES 33 MUSIC 34 LITERATURE 34 FOLKLORE 35 DANCE 35 WHIRLING DERVISHES 35 ORIENTAL DANCE 36 BELLY DANCE 36 SPORTS 36 CIRIT 36 OIL WRESTLING 37 COFFEE 37 CHAPTER SIX SECURITY 38 U.S.–TURKISH RELATIONS 38 THE COLD WAR ERA 38 THE POST-9/11 NEW WORLD ORDER 39 LOOKING AHEAD 39 RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES 40 RUSSIA 40 ARMENIA 41 SYRIA 41 IRAQ 42 IRAN 42 AZERBAIJAN 43 GEORGIA 43 BULGARIA 43 GREECE 44 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS 44 EUROPEAN UNION 44 NATO 45 TERRORIST ORGANIZATION 45 KURDISTAN WORKER’S PARTY (PKK) 45 MILITARY AND POLICE STRUCTURE 47 TURKISH ARMED FORCES 47 INTERNAL SECURITY 47 3 Chapter 1 Profile Introduction Turkey was the center of the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire that ruled the Muslim world for six centuries. After World War I, it became a republic in which state-sponsored secularism denied religion a role in public life. When an Islamist government was elected in 2002, the Turkish administration was forced to grapple with balancing the rights of religious conservatives against secularists. A member of NATO since 1952, Turkey is slated to be the first Muslim country to enter the European Union (EU). Facts and Figures1 Area: slightly larger than Texas total: 780,580 sq km (301,383 sq mi) land: 770,760 sq km (297,592 sq mi) water: 9,820 sq km (3,791 sq mi) Bordering countries: Bulgaria 240 km (149 mi), Greece 206 km (128 mi), Georgia 252 km (156.5 mi), Armenia 268 km (166.5 mi), Azerbaijan 9 km (5.6 mi), Iran 499 km (310 mi), Iraq 352 km (218.7 mi) and Syria 822 km (510.7 mi) Coastline: Turkey is bounded by the Mediterranean 1,577 km (980 mi), Aegean 2,805 km (1,743 mi), and Black Sea 1,695 km (1,053 mi), and bisected by the Marmara 927 km (576 mi), which divides Europe from Asia. Nationality: noun: Turk(s) adjective: Turkish Ethnic groups: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) Language: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian note: There is also a substantial Gagauz population in the European part of Turkey. 1 All statistics in this section are taken from the CIA World Factbook and are 2007 estimates unless otherwise noted. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html 4 Population: 71,158,647 (July 2007 est.) Age structure: 0–14 years: 24.9% (male 9,034,731/female 8,703,624) 15–64 years: 68.1% (male 24,627,270/female 23,857,507) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 2,253,383/female 2,682,132) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.88 years male: 70.43 years female: 75.46 years Total fertility rate: 1.89 children born/woman Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87.4% male: 95.3% female: 79.6% (2004 est.) Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Turkey conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye Government: republican parliamentary democracy Capital: Ankara Administrative: 81 provinces (iller, singular - ili); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel (Mersin), Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak National Independence Day: Republic Day, 29 October 1923 5 Legal system: The legal system is a civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems. Note: Turkey is a member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human Rights. They have not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction. Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch: chief of state: President Abdullah GUL (since 28 August 2007) head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 14 March 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Cemil CICEK (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Hayati YAZICI (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Nazim EKREN (since 29 August 2007) cabinet: The cabinet consists of a Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister. elections: The president is elected by the National Assembly for a maximum of two five- year terms. The prime minister is appointed by the president from among members of parliament. election results: Abdullah GUL received 339 votes in the third round of voting on 28 August 2007, after failing to garner the two-thirds vote required by law in the first two rounds. note: The president-elect must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot. Legislative branch: unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 22 July 2007 (next to be held on November 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 46.7%, CHP 20.8%, MHP 14.3%, independents 5.2%, and other 13.0%; seats by party - AKP 341, CHP 112, MHP 71, independents 26; note - seats by party as of 17 December 2007 - AKP 340, CHP 87, MHP 70, DTP 20, DSP 13, independents 6, other 12, vacant 2 (DTP entered parliament as independents; DSP entered parliament on CHP's party list); only parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats 6 Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay); Council of State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court Political parties and leaders: Anavatan Partisi (Motherland Party) or Anavatan [Erkan MUMCU]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Democratic Society Party or DTP [Nurettin DEMIRTAS]; Felicity Party or SP [Recai KUTAN] (sometimes translated as Contentment Party); Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI] (sometimes translated as Nationalist Movement Party); People's Rise Party (Halkin Yukselisi Partisi) or HYP [Yasar Nuri OZTURK]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Social Democratic People's Party or SHP [Murat KARAYALCIN]; True Path Party or DYP [Mehmet AGAR] (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party); Young Party or GP [Cem Cengiz UZAN] note: The parties listed above are some of the more significant of the 49 parties that Turkey had on 1 December 2004. International organizations: Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australia Group, Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Council of Europe (CE), European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), European Union (EU) (applicant), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Code Council (ICC), International Committee for Radionuclide Metrology (ICRM), International Development Association (IDA), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Energy Agency (IEA), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRCS), International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), International Labor Organization (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), Interpol, International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Organization of American States (OAS), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Organization