Content
Geography and historycbi:///cms/240867
Turkey stretches across two continents: Anatolia, the Asian part, covers most of the 800,000 square kilometres of national territory. Approximately three percent lie on the European continent. The country is surrounded by the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the Aegean and borders Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia and Georgia as well as Bulgaria and Greece. Turkey's geography is characterised by seven different landscapes with high plateaus and continental climates in Central and East Anatolia and flat coastal regions with Mediterranean climates in the South and West. The geographical regions vary strongly with regard to vegetation and weather conditions, thereby enabling broad agricultural utilisation. cbi:///cms/240869
Rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire cbi:///cms/240870
The Republic of Turkey is considered the heiress of the Ottoman Empire; at its height, the Ottoman Empire stretched to North and East Africa, to Southern Europe, into the Caucasus and the Middle East. The multiethnic state, which was founded in 1299, is considered one of the most powerful and influential empires in world history. With the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman state rose to great power. After the expansion came to a standstill at the gates of Vienna, the empire was increasingly driven back. With the relocation of global trade roads from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, the Ottomans lost trading privileges and suffered losses in the oriental trade business. A ramshackle state budget, domestic political problems and the strengthening of Europe finally led to the collapse of the world empire. cbi:///cms/240871
Founding of the republic under Kemal Atatürkcbi:///cms/240872
After the end of WW I, the Ottoman Empire was supposed to be distributed among the victorious powers. General Mustafa Kemal successfully formed the national resistance movement and proclaimed the new republic in 1923. Kemal "Atatürk" ("Father of all Turks") became the first president of the independent country. Until today, Atatürk’s state ideology is valid: he envisioned a society that is guided by Western ideals within a secular state and introduced modernisation measures. These were based on six pillars that are rooted in the constitution to this day. Among others, etatism is established in the constitution, which grants the government intervention power in both economy and social life. cbi:///cms/240873
Mediator between Europe and the Arab worldcbi:///cms/240874
Modern Turkey has a special role, socio-politically as well as economically: it is considered a mediator between the Western and the Arab world - a bridge between Orient and Occident. Due to its geographical location and economic power, it is of particular interest to the West from a security policy and economic perspective. The country is considered a role model of modernisation, economic growth and international relations. In addition, it is an attractive investment destination. These are major reasons for the negotiations for accession to the EU, which were initiated in 2005. In the Arab world, Turkey's political actions are also influenced by the protest movement that began in 2010 ("Arab Spring"). As a role model, the country is striving to actively contribute to the development in that region. cbi:///cms/240875
additional Informations
