Area: 783,562 km²
Residents: 82,003,882 (2018)
Population density: 105 E / km²
Form of Government: Republican unitary state
System of Government: Presidential system
Neighboring countries: Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Syria
Capital: Ankara
National language: Turkish
Religions:
99% Muslims,
0.2% Christian religions,
0.04% Jews,
0.003% Jehovah’s Witnesses
Currency: Türk Lirası (Turkish Lira)
1 Lira (TRY) = 100 Kuruş
Exchange rates:
1 EUR = 10.186 TRY
1 TRY = 0.098 EUR
1 CHF = 9.395 TRY
1 TRY = 0.106 CHF
(rate from 14.07.2021)
Telephone area code: +90
Time zone: UTC + 2nd
In 2020, 4,622 Germans officially emigrated to Turkey and 4,462 returned to their homeland. Within the 10 years from 2010 to 2019, 59,223 Germans officially emigrated to Turkey and 42,931 moved back to Germany. Over 25,000 Germans now live here permanently. In addition, many spend the warm winter here year after year.
Turkey is a country of emigration and immigration at the same time. Especially after 1989, many repatriates came to the republic from the Balkans, Greece, the Middle East, Iran, Central Asia and the Crimea. Lately many displaced people from the Syrian civil war have come. The people in Turkey are open to most foreigners and are hospitable.
Germans often settle in the well-known holiday resorts, for example on the Turkish Riviera (Antalya and Alanya) or the Turkish Aegean coast (Marmaris, Datca and Bodrum). In Alanya alone, more than 6,000 Germans have a “Tapu”, that is, a certificate of real estate. Most of it is used as a holiday home, but some are also permanently inhabited. Currently over 1,500 Germans with a residence permit live in Alanya – most of them are pensioners.
The national and official language of Turkey is the Turkic language, Turkish. In addition, there are around twenty other languages spoken by minorities, most notably Kurmanji or Northern Kurdish with around 14 million speakers. In the tourist centers as well as in Istanbul you can often communicate in most of the common European foreign languages, including English and German, which are particularly widespread. In general, it is an advantage to have at least a dictionary with you or, even better, to master the most important Turkish words.
Turkey has mostly dry summers, but enough moisture for a green landscape with lots of forests. The Black Sea coast has enough rainy days. The interior of the country has a dry continental climate, which is characterized by hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Visit rctoysadvice for Turkey Travel Guide.
Geologically, Turkey is part of the Alpidian mountain belt. The north of Turkey in particular is one of the most earthquake-prone regions on earth, which has been hit by earthquakes several times in the past few decades. Politically, the country is divided into 81 provinces, geographically, however, the country is divided into seven regions.
The Marmara region is the smallest but most populous region in the northwest with a rich Byzantine and Ottoman history and the city on the Bosphorus, Istanbul. Central Anatolia is characterized by a tree-poor steppe landscape as well as the capital Ankara and the hiking paradise Cappadocia.
The Aegean region is home to the seaside resorts on the Aegean Sea, as well as Greek and Roman ruins and olive groves. The Mediterranean region is characterized by mountains, pine forests, the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Antalya.
The Turkish Black Sea region offers a lot of forests and mountains for hiking and winter sports as well as bathing resorts on the coast and further east plantations for hazelnuts and tea. Southeast Anatolia is characterized by a steppe climate with cold winters and hot, dry summers. Eastern Anatolia is the most mountainous part of the country with Mount Ararat.
