Bosphorus
One of the world’s most strategic waterways, Bosphorus is the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara; it is an inundated valley that follows an irregular northeast-southwest course 32km (20 miles) long, 730-3300m (800-3600 yards) wide, 30-120m (100-395ft) deep.
Bosphorus comes from a Tracian word of unknown origin, interpreted in Greek as meaning "Ford of the Cow", from the legend of Io, one of the many lovers of Zeus, who swam across the sea here as a cow chased and continuously disturbed by flies sent by Hera.
Known in Turkish as Bogazici (the Strait), it links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and, with the Dardanelles (in Canakkale), separates Europe from Asia. It is a former river valley which was drowned by the sea at the end of the Tertiary period. This is a very busy strait with many ships and oil tankers, as well as local fishing and passenger boats.
The current flows north to south; however, a strong subsurface countercurrent with numerous points and coves sets up swirls and eddies that make navigation dangerous to the inexperienced.
There are two suspension toll bridges on this Strait: The first one over the Bosphorus between Beylerbeyi and Ortaköy, opened in 1973, is called as Bogazici Bridge, 1074m (1175yards) long, 6 lanes, 165m (540ft) height of piers. The second one between Anadolu Hisari and Rumeli Hisari, opened in 1988, is called as Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, 1090m (1192yd) long, 8 lanes, 65m from the water.
With the shores rising to heights up to 200m (650ft), lined with palaces, ruins, villages, and gardens, this is one of the most beautiful stretches of scenery in Turkey. The best way of seeing the Bosphorus in all its beauty is to take a trip on one of the coastal boats, in this way you can also admire many of the old Ottoman wooden houses (called as Yali in Turkish). You can also stay in some of the best hotels or eat in some of the best restaurants along its shores during your stay in this magnificent city.
Some of the interesting palaces, buildings or neighborhoods on the Bosphorus are: Galata tower, Dolmabahce Palace, Ciragan Palace, Yildiz Palace, Besiktas, Ortaköy, Arnavutköy, Bebek, Rumeli Fortress, Tarabya, Yeniköy, Istinye, Sariyer, Uskudar (Scutari), Kanlica, Beykoz, Anatolian Fortress, Beylerbeyi Palace and Kuleli Military High school.
8 Ağustos 2010 Pazar
Turkish facts and statistics
Turkish facts and statistics
Below you can find some useful information on the Republic of Turkey. For Passport and Visa information please Click Here.
Flag
Red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening. For more info on the Turkish Flag, please Click Here.
Geographic location
Geography location: South-western Asia (that part west of the Bosphorus is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria.
Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E
Area
total area: 780,580 sq km
land area: 770,760 sq km
water area: 9,820 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Texas, or larger than France and UK put together, or 2.5 times bigger than Italy.
Land boundaries
total: 2,648 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km.
Coastline: 7,200 km
Names
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Turkish long form); Türkiye (Turkish short form); Republic of Turkey (formal English); Turkey (English short form); Turchia (Italian); Türkei (German); Turkiet (Swedish); Turkije (Dutch); Turkki (Finnish); Turquia (Portuguese); Turquia (Spanish); Turquie (French); Tyrkia (Norwegian); Tyrkiet (Danish); Tyrkland (Icelandic)
Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only - to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
Territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea, 12 nm in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Climate
Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior.
Terrain
Terrain: mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
largest lake: Lake Van 3,713 square km
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower.
Land use
arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 66% (2006)
Environment
International agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Environmental Modification.
Current issues are: water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosphorus ship traffic.
Geographic note
strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas. Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country, in the city of Agri. The country is divided into 7 fictional geographic regions.
Population
Officially 71,517,100 as of 1st January 2009 (was 67,803,927 in 2000), effectively is around 73 million, average of 93 inhabitants live per square kilometer, 70.5% of the total population live in the cities and 29.5% in villages or small towns in the countryside.
Istanbul: 12,697,164 as of Jan 2009 (10,033,478 in 2000), 17.8 % of the total population, 2444 people per square kilometer
Ankara: 4,548,939 as of Jan 2009 (4,007,860 in 2000), 6.4 % of the total population
Izmir: 3.795.978 as of Jan 2009 (3,387,908 in 2000), 5.3 % of the total population, 316 people per square kilometer
Bayburt has the lowest population in Turkey: 75,675 (January 2009)
Age structure
total population: male 35,901,154; female 35,615,946 (as of January 2009)
0-14 years: 26,3% (male 9,570,773; female 9,071,618) (January 2009)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 23,655,657; female 23,288,033) (January 2009)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male 2,150,103; female 2,850,072)
Median age: total 28.5 years (male: 28 years; female: 29 years). More than half of the population is under the median age (as of Jan 2009)
Population growth rate: 1.24% (2006)
Birth rate: 18.7 births/1,000 population (2006)
Death rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 population (2006)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.008 male(s)/female (2008)
Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.5 years
male: 69.1 years
female: 74.0 years (2006)
Total fertility rate: 2.18 children born/woman (2006)
Nationality
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish
Ethnic divisions: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%
Religions: Muslim 99% (mostly Sunni), other 1% (Christian and Jews)
Languages: Turkish (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87%
male: 94.3%
female: 78.7% (2006 est.)
Government
( more on government )
Conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
Conventional short form: Turkey
Local long form: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
Local short form: Türkiye
Data code: TU or TR
Type of government: republican parliamentary democracy
Capital: Ankara
Administrative divisions
81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, 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, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, 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, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Independence
Independence: 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic, 29 October (1923)
Constitution: 7 November 1982 , amended on 17 October 2001 by TBMM
Legal system
derived from various European legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. Member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal.
Executive branch
Chief of state
President Abdullah GUL (ex-presidents were Ahmet Necdet SEZER, Suleyman DEMIREL) was elected in August 2007 for a five-year term (used to be seven years before 2007) by the National Assembly. (note: with the new articles of the Constitution, next President will be elected by the public vote.)
Head of government
Head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (ex-premieres were Abdullah GUL and Bulent ECEVIT) re-elected by universal suffrage and appointed by the President in July 2007.
National Security Council
Advisory body to the President and the cabinet
Cabinet
Council of Ministers appointed by the President on nomination of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral
Grand National Assembly of Turkey: (Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi), abbrev. TBMM (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court, judges appointed by the President; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay) and Council of State (Danistay), judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors. Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court.
Political pressure groups
Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD ; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB.
International organization participation
AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC.
Economic overview
Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2004 still accounted for 34% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. Its most important industry and largest exporter is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. The economic situation in recent years has been marked by rapid growth coupled with partial success in implementing structural reform measures. Inflation declined to 8.4% in 2007, down from 99% in 1997, but the public sector fiscal deficit probably remained near 10% of GDP due in large part to interest payments which accounted for 40% of central government spending in 2003. The government enacted a new tax law and speeded up privatization in 1998 but made no progress on badly needed social security reform. Ankara is trying to increase trade with other countries in the region yet most of Turkey's trade is still with OECD countries. Despite the implementation in January 1996 of a Customs Union with the EU, foreign direct investment in the country remains low - about $1 billion annually. Results in 2002-04 improved, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. A major political and economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will become a member of the EU. But further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Privatization sales are currently approaching $21 billion (2007).
GDP
GDP (Total): $402.7 billion (2006)
GDP: purchasing power parity - $551.6 billion (2005 est.)
GDP growth rate: 10.7% (2006)
GDP per capita: $5,482 (2006)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.7%
industry: 26.8%
manufacturing: 22.2%
services: 63.5% (2006)
(consumer prices): 94% (1995), 90% (1997), 75% (1998), 68% (1999), 45% (2000), 90% (2001), 31% (2002), 11% (2004), 7.72% (2005), 5.9% (2007)
Investment (gross fixed): 15.5% of GDP (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 20,5% (2007), (20% in 2005), 18% in 2001)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: 70.7% of GDP (2006)
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)
Distribution of family income: 44 (2002)
Labor force: 24.7 million (2005 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 35.9%, services 22.8%, industry 41.2% (2004)
note: about 3 million Turks work abroad (2005), mostly in Germany
Unemployment rate: 10.7% (plus underemployment of 3,5%) (2008 March)
Employment Rate: 42,1 (2007 March)
Budget
revenues: $93.58 billion
expenditures: $115.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.)
public debt: 67.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Industries: textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromate, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper.
Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (2004 est.)
Agriculture
Main products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses, citrus, livestock
Illicit drugs: major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish to Western Europe and the USA via air, land, and sea routes; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate.
Agricultural land: 391.219 sq km - 50.12% of the land area (2008)
Forest area: 211.887 sq km - 27% of the land area (2004)
Electricity
220 Volts
capacity: 18,710,000 kW
production: 191.2 billion kWh (2007 est.)
consumption: 140.3 billion kWh (2005)
export: 1.8 billion kWh (2005 est.)
imports: 636 million kWh (2005 est.)
Oil
production: 50,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
consumption: 715,100 bbl/day (2005 est.)
exports: 46,110 bbl/day (2001)
imports: 616,500 bbl/day (2001)
proved reserves: 288.4 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas
production: 980 million cu m (2005 est.)
consumption: 27.3 billion cu m (2005 est.)
exports: 0 cu m (2005 est.)
imports: 15.75 billion cu m (2001 est.)
proved reserves: 8.685 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance
$-32.77 billion (2007)
Exports: $105.9 billion f.o.b. (2007)
Commodities: apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment.
Partners: Germany 13.9%, UK 8.8%, US 7.7%, Italy 7.4%, France 5.8%, Spain 4.2% (2004)
Imports: $137 billion c.i.f. (2006)
Commodities: machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment.
Partners: Germany 12.9%, Russia 9.3%, Italy 7.1%, France 6.4%, US 4.8%, China 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2004)
External debt: $247.2 billion (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $60.7 billion (2006)
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $635.8 million (2002)
note: aid for Gulf war efforts from coalition allies (1991) $4.1 billion; aid pledged for Turkish Defense Fund $2.5 billion; aid for Iraqi war (2003) approx. $8.5 billion.
Currency
Turkish Lira - TL (formerly New Turkish lira - YTL)
Exchange rates: USD 1 = 1.49 TL , Euro 1 = 2.21 TL (07 December 2009).
As of 01/01/2005, six zeroes are dropped from the old TL by the Law, which made 1.000.000 TL equal to 1 YTL. Both TL and YTL banknotes were in physical circulation for one year in 2005 and the old TL banknotes are withdrawn from circulation as of 1 January 2006. As of 1st of January 2009, "Yeni" (New) is dropped off from the name of the currency and YTL is now called TL (Turkish Lira) again.
Some previous rates: US$ 1 = 1,420,000 (Dec. 2004), 1,670,000 (Jan. 2003), 1,400,000 (Feb. 2002), 538,000 (Jan 2000), 420,000 (Jul 1999), 270,000 (July 1998), 175,000 (October 1997), 60,502.1 (January 1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993), 6,872.4 (1992), 4,171.8 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
Railways
total: 10,991 km (2007)
gauge: 8,717 km standard + 2,274 km electrified (2007)
New high-speed train tracks are under construction between Istanbul-Ankara
total passenger capacity: 108,330 (2007)
capacity of Freight Wagons: 691,634 tons (2007)
Highways
( Detailed Road Map )
total: 354,421 km
paved: 140,850 km (including 1,987 km of expressways) (2006)
unpaved: 207,017 km (2002)
Waterways: about 1,200 km (2003)
Pipelines: gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2003)
Ports: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Izmit, Mersin, Samsun, Trabzon
Merchant marine
total: 526 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,666,895 GRT/7,311,504 DWT
ships by type: bulk carrier 108, cargo 228, chemical tanker 45, combination ore/oil 1, container 25, liquefied gas 6, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 50, petroleum tanker 33, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 22, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 8 (Cyprus 3, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Switzerland 1)
registered in other countries: 231 (2005 est.)
Airports
total: 120 (2004 est.) (88 with paved runways and 32 with unpaved runways)
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 15
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 046 m: 32
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 19
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 18
with paved runways under 914 m: 4
with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 046 m: 1
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 20 (2005 est.)
Heliports: 16 (2005 est.)
Communications
Country code: 90
Telephones: 18,978,223 (2005)
Telephone system: fair domestic and international systems, area codes
Mobile Phones: GSM 63,900,000 approximately (June 2008), three nets; Turkcell, Vodafone (ex-Telsim), Avea (Aria and Aycell have merged)
domestic: trunk microwave radio relay network; limited open-wire network
international: international service is provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; also by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002). Turkey has four communication satellites; Turksat 1B (31.3 degrees East, not operative since 2006) , Turksat 1C (31.3 degrees East), Turksat 2A (42 degrees East), and Turksat 3A (42 degrees East).
Radio broadcast stations: 36 National, 102 Regional, 955 Local, a total of 1,093 (2005)
Radios: 19.4 million (1997 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 24 National, 17 Regional, 218 Local, a total of 259 (2005)
Internet country code: .tr
Internet hosts: 355,215 (2004)
Internet users: approx. 20 million in 2008 (5.5 million in 2003, 8.5 million in 2005)
Defense
Branches: Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Land Forces, Naval Forces Command (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard Command, Gendarmerie (Jandarma)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 16,756,323 (2005 est.)
males fit for military service: 13,905,901 (2005 est.)
males reach military age (20) annually: 679,734 (2005 est.)
Defense expenditures: $10.1 billion (2004), 3.2% of GDP (2005)
Sources: CIA - The World Fact book 2006, Turkish Statistical Institute, World Bank.
Below you can find some useful information on the Republic of Turkey. For Passport and Visa information please Click Here.
Flag
Red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening. For more info on the Turkish Flag, please Click Here.
Geographic location
Geography location: South-western Asia (that part west of the Bosphorus is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria.
Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E
Area
total area: 780,580 sq km
land area: 770,760 sq km
water area: 9,820 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Texas, or larger than France and UK put together, or 2.5 times bigger than Italy.
Land boundaries
total: 2,648 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km.
Coastline: 7,200 km
Names
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Turkish long form); Türkiye (Turkish short form); Republic of Turkey (formal English); Turkey (English short form); Turchia (Italian); Türkei (German); Turkiet (Swedish); Turkije (Dutch); Turkki (Finnish); Turquia (Portuguese); Turquia (Spanish); Turquie (French); Tyrkia (Norwegian); Tyrkiet (Danish); Tyrkland (Icelandic)
Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only - to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
Territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea, 12 nm in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Climate
Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior.
Terrain
Terrain: mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
largest lake: Lake Van 3,713 square km
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower.
Land use
arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 66% (2006)
Environment
International agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Environmental Modification.
Current issues are: water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosphorus ship traffic.
Geographic note
strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas. Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country, in the city of Agri. The country is divided into 7 fictional geographic regions.
Population
Officially 71,517,100 as of 1st January 2009 (was 67,803,927 in 2000), effectively is around 73 million, average of 93 inhabitants live per square kilometer, 70.5% of the total population live in the cities and 29.5% in villages or small towns in the countryside.
Istanbul: 12,697,164 as of Jan 2009 (10,033,478 in 2000), 17.8 % of the total population, 2444 people per square kilometer
Ankara: 4,548,939 as of Jan 2009 (4,007,860 in 2000), 6.4 % of the total population
Izmir: 3.795.978 as of Jan 2009 (3,387,908 in 2000), 5.3 % of the total population, 316 people per square kilometer
Bayburt has the lowest population in Turkey: 75,675 (January 2009)
Age structure
total population: male 35,901,154; female 35,615,946 (as of January 2009)
0-14 years: 26,3% (male 9,570,773; female 9,071,618) (January 2009)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 23,655,657; female 23,288,033) (January 2009)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male 2,150,103; female 2,850,072)
Median age: total 28.5 years (male: 28 years; female: 29 years). More than half of the population is under the median age (as of Jan 2009)
Population growth rate: 1.24% (2006)
Birth rate: 18.7 births/1,000 population (2006)
Death rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 population (2006)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.008 male(s)/female (2008)
Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.5 years
male: 69.1 years
female: 74.0 years (2006)
Total fertility rate: 2.18 children born/woman (2006)
Nationality
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish
Ethnic divisions: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%
Religions: Muslim 99% (mostly Sunni), other 1% (Christian and Jews)
Languages: Turkish (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87%
male: 94.3%
female: 78.7% (2006 est.)
Government
( more on government )
Conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
Conventional short form: Turkey
Local long form: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
Local short form: Türkiye
Data code: TU or TR
Type of government: republican parliamentary democracy
Capital: Ankara
Administrative divisions
81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, 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, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, 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, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Independence
Independence: 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic, 29 October (1923)
Constitution: 7 November 1982 , amended on 17 October 2001 by TBMM
Legal system
derived from various European legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. Member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal.
Executive branch
Chief of state
President Abdullah GUL (ex-presidents were Ahmet Necdet SEZER, Suleyman DEMIREL) was elected in August 2007 for a five-year term (used to be seven years before 2007) by the National Assembly. (note: with the new articles of the Constitution, next President will be elected by the public vote.)
Head of government
Head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (ex-premieres were Abdullah GUL and Bulent ECEVIT) re-elected by universal suffrage and appointed by the President in July 2007.
National Security Council
Advisory body to the President and the cabinet
Cabinet
Council of Ministers appointed by the President on nomination of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral
Grand National Assembly of Turkey: (Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi), abbrev. TBMM (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court, judges appointed by the President; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay) and Council of State (Danistay), judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors. Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court.
Political pressure groups
Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD ; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB.
International organization participation
AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC.
Economic overview
Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2004 still accounted for 34% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. Its most important industry and largest exporter is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. The economic situation in recent years has been marked by rapid growth coupled with partial success in implementing structural reform measures. Inflation declined to 8.4% in 2007, down from 99% in 1997, but the public sector fiscal deficit probably remained near 10% of GDP due in large part to interest payments which accounted for 40% of central government spending in 2003. The government enacted a new tax law and speeded up privatization in 1998 but made no progress on badly needed social security reform. Ankara is trying to increase trade with other countries in the region yet most of Turkey's trade is still with OECD countries. Despite the implementation in January 1996 of a Customs Union with the EU, foreign direct investment in the country remains low - about $1 billion annually. Results in 2002-04 improved, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. A major political and economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will become a member of the EU. But further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Privatization sales are currently approaching $21 billion (2007).
GDP
GDP (Total): $402.7 billion (2006)
GDP: purchasing power parity - $551.6 billion (2005 est.)
GDP growth rate: 10.7% (2006)
GDP per capita: $5,482 (2006)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.7%
industry: 26.8%
manufacturing: 22.2%
services: 63.5% (2006)
(consumer prices): 94% (1995), 90% (1997), 75% (1998), 68% (1999), 45% (2000), 90% (2001), 31% (2002), 11% (2004), 7.72% (2005), 5.9% (2007)
Investment (gross fixed): 15.5% of GDP (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 20,5% (2007), (20% in 2005), 18% in 2001)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: 70.7% of GDP (2006)
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)
Distribution of family income: 44 (2002)
Labor force: 24.7 million (2005 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 35.9%, services 22.8%, industry 41.2% (2004)
note: about 3 million Turks work abroad (2005), mostly in Germany
Unemployment rate: 10.7% (plus underemployment of 3,5%) (2008 March)
Employment Rate: 42,1 (2007 March)
Budget
revenues: $93.58 billion
expenditures: $115.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.)
public debt: 67.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Industries: textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromate, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper.
Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (2004 est.)
Agriculture
Main products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses, citrus, livestock
Illicit drugs: major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish to Western Europe and the USA via air, land, and sea routes; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate.
Agricultural land: 391.219 sq km - 50.12% of the land area (2008)
Forest area: 211.887 sq km - 27% of the land area (2004)
Electricity
220 Volts
capacity: 18,710,000 kW
production: 191.2 billion kWh (2007 est.)
consumption: 140.3 billion kWh (2005)
export: 1.8 billion kWh (2005 est.)
imports: 636 million kWh (2005 est.)
Oil
production: 50,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
consumption: 715,100 bbl/day (2005 est.)
exports: 46,110 bbl/day (2001)
imports: 616,500 bbl/day (2001)
proved reserves: 288.4 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas
production: 980 million cu m (2005 est.)
consumption: 27.3 billion cu m (2005 est.)
exports: 0 cu m (2005 est.)
imports: 15.75 billion cu m (2001 est.)
proved reserves: 8.685 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance
$-32.77 billion (2007)
Exports: $105.9 billion f.o.b. (2007)
Commodities: apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment.
Partners: Germany 13.9%, UK 8.8%, US 7.7%, Italy 7.4%, France 5.8%, Spain 4.2% (2004)
Imports: $137 billion c.i.f. (2006)
Commodities: machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment.
Partners: Germany 12.9%, Russia 9.3%, Italy 7.1%, France 6.4%, US 4.8%, China 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2004)
External debt: $247.2 billion (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $60.7 billion (2006)
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $635.8 million (2002)
note: aid for Gulf war efforts from coalition allies (1991) $4.1 billion; aid pledged for Turkish Defense Fund $2.5 billion; aid for Iraqi war (2003) approx. $8.5 billion.
Currency
Turkish Lira - TL (formerly New Turkish lira - YTL)
Exchange rates: USD 1 = 1.49 TL , Euro 1 = 2.21 TL (07 December 2009).
As of 01/01/2005, six zeroes are dropped from the old TL by the Law, which made 1.000.000 TL equal to 1 YTL. Both TL and YTL banknotes were in physical circulation for one year in 2005 and the old TL banknotes are withdrawn from circulation as of 1 January 2006. As of 1st of January 2009, "Yeni" (New) is dropped off from the name of the currency and YTL is now called TL (Turkish Lira) again.
Some previous rates: US$ 1 = 1,420,000 (Dec. 2004), 1,670,000 (Jan. 2003), 1,400,000 (Feb. 2002), 538,000 (Jan 2000), 420,000 (Jul 1999), 270,000 (July 1998), 175,000 (October 1997), 60,502.1 (January 1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993), 6,872.4 (1992), 4,171.8 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
Railways
total: 10,991 km (2007)
gauge: 8,717 km standard + 2,274 km electrified (2007)
New high-speed train tracks are under construction between Istanbul-Ankara
total passenger capacity: 108,330 (2007)
capacity of Freight Wagons: 691,634 tons (2007)
Highways
( Detailed Road Map )
total: 354,421 km
paved: 140,850 km (including 1,987 km of expressways) (2006)
unpaved: 207,017 km (2002)
Waterways: about 1,200 km (2003)
Pipelines: gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2003)
Ports: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Izmit, Mersin, Samsun, Trabzon
Merchant marine
total: 526 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,666,895 GRT/7,311,504 DWT
ships by type: bulk carrier 108, cargo 228, chemical tanker 45, combination ore/oil 1, container 25, liquefied gas 6, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 50, petroleum tanker 33, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 22, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 8 (Cyprus 3, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Switzerland 1)
registered in other countries: 231 (2005 est.)
Airports
total: 120 (2004 est.) (88 with paved runways and 32 with unpaved runways)
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 15
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 046 m: 32
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 19
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 18
with paved runways under 914 m: 4
with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 046 m: 1
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 20 (2005 est.)
Heliports: 16 (2005 est.)
Communications
Country code: 90
Telephones: 18,978,223 (2005)
Telephone system: fair domestic and international systems, area codes
Mobile Phones: GSM 63,900,000 approximately (June 2008), three nets; Turkcell, Vodafone (ex-Telsim), Avea (Aria and Aycell have merged)
domestic: trunk microwave radio relay network; limited open-wire network
international: international service is provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; also by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002). Turkey has four communication satellites; Turksat 1B (31.3 degrees East, not operative since 2006) , Turksat 1C (31.3 degrees East), Turksat 2A (42 degrees East), and Turksat 3A (42 degrees East).
Radio broadcast stations: 36 National, 102 Regional, 955 Local, a total of 1,093 (2005)
Radios: 19.4 million (1997 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 24 National, 17 Regional, 218 Local, a total of 259 (2005)
Internet country code: .tr
Internet hosts: 355,215 (2004)
Internet users: approx. 20 million in 2008 (5.5 million in 2003, 8.5 million in 2005)
Defense
Branches: Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Land Forces, Naval Forces Command (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard Command, Gendarmerie (Jandarma)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 16,756,323 (2005 est.)
males fit for military service: 13,905,901 (2005 est.)
males reach military age (20) annually: 679,734 (2005 est.)
Defense expenditures: $10.1 billion (2004), 3.2% of GDP (2005)
Sources: CIA - The World Fact book 2006, Turkish Statistical Institute, World Bank.
Ataturk
Ataturk
See also
His life
His reforms
His principles
His speeches
Savarona yacht
Gallipoli war
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born in Salonica (now in Greece) in 1881. He is renown as the founder of the Republic of Turkey.
In 1915, he emerged as a military hero at the Dardanelles-Gallipoli and later became the leader of the Turkish national liberation struggle in 1919.
In 1923, as the creator of the new Republic of Turkey, Atatürk established a form of government that reflected the wishes of the people thru the Parliament.
Sweeping cultural and socio-political reforms took place. Between 1926 and 1930, legal changes led the way for Islamic religious laws to be abolished and a secular system emerged.
Atatürk initiated a program for economic development in Turkey, which consisted of agricultural expansion, industrial and technological advances.
Determined not to stop there, Atatürk undertook the greatest challenge of all, a reform of the existing language. In 1928, he decided to abolish the Arabic script and incorporated the Latin alphabet with the Turkish.
With this came the impetus to develop the education of the country's citizens. Primary education was declared compulsory and great prominence was given to the education of women.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was President for 15 years, until his death in 1938, on November 10th. His achievements are a legacy to the modern state of Turkey and he is considered a pioneer of national liberation. Today his Mausoleum is in Ankara.
He was a great defender of the idea of peace at home and in the world. He explained his ideals about the responsibilities of humankind to each other by saying "Humankind is a single body and each nation a part of that body. We must never say 'What does it matter to me if some part of the world is ailing?' If there is such an illness, we must concern ourselves with it as though we were having that illness".
In 1981, his memory was honored by the United Nations and UNESCO on the occasion of the centennial of his birth. He will be always remembered as saying "Unless the life of the nation faces peril, war is a crime. If war were to break out, nations would rush to join their armed forces and national resources. The swiftest and most effective measure is to establish an international organization which would prove to the aggressor that its aggression cannot pay".
He was not just a Turkish leader who led his country's war against aggressors, but also a peaceful son of humankind who sent very important messages to the other nations about the necessity of a peaceful and mutually respectful co-existence of all nations on the same planet.
See also
His life
His reforms
His principles
His speeches
Savarona yacht
Gallipoli war
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born in Salonica (now in Greece) in 1881. He is renown as the founder of the Republic of Turkey.
In 1915, he emerged as a military hero at the Dardanelles-Gallipoli and later became the leader of the Turkish national liberation struggle in 1919.
In 1923, as the creator of the new Republic of Turkey, Atatürk established a form of government that reflected the wishes of the people thru the Parliament.
Sweeping cultural and socio-political reforms took place. Between 1926 and 1930, legal changes led the way for Islamic religious laws to be abolished and a secular system emerged.
Atatürk initiated a program for economic development in Turkey, which consisted of agricultural expansion, industrial and technological advances.
Determined not to stop there, Atatürk undertook the greatest challenge of all, a reform of the existing language. In 1928, he decided to abolish the Arabic script and incorporated the Latin alphabet with the Turkish.
With this came the impetus to develop the education of the country's citizens. Primary education was declared compulsory and great prominence was given to the education of women.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was President for 15 years, until his death in 1938, on November 10th. His achievements are a legacy to the modern state of Turkey and he is considered a pioneer of national liberation. Today his Mausoleum is in Ankara.
He was a great defender of the idea of peace at home and in the world. He explained his ideals about the responsibilities of humankind to each other by saying "Humankind is a single body and each nation a part of that body. We must never say 'What does it matter to me if some part of the world is ailing?' If there is such an illness, we must concern ourselves with it as though we were having that illness".
In 1981, his memory was honored by the United Nations and UNESCO on the occasion of the centennial of his birth. He will be always remembered as saying "Unless the life of the nation faces peril, war is a crime. If war were to break out, nations would rush to join their armed forces and national resources. The swiftest and most effective measure is to establish an international organization which would prove to the aggressor that its aggression cannot pay".
He was not just a Turkish leader who led his country's war against aggressors, but also a peaceful son of humankind who sent very important messages to the other nations about the necessity of a peaceful and mutually respectful co-existence of all nations on the same planet.
The Ottoman state and government
The Ottoman state and government
See also
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Sultans
The Ottomans inherited a rich mixture of political traditions from vastly disparate ethnic groups: Turks, Persians, Mongols, Mesopotamian and, of course, Islam. The Ottoman state, like the Turkish, Mongol, and Mesopotamian states rested on a principle of absolute authority in the monarch. The nature of Ottoman autocracy, however, is greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted in the West, particularly in world history textbooks.
The central function of the ruler or Sultan in Ottoman political theory was to guarantee justice (Adalet in Turkish) in the land. All authority hinges on the ruler's personal commitment to justice. This idea has both Turco - Persian and Islamic aspects. In Islamic political theory, the model of the just ruler was Solomon in the Hebrew histories (Süleyman is named after Solomon). The justice represented by the Solomonic ruler is a distributive justice; this is a justice of fairness and equity that comes closer to the Western notion of justice. In addition, however, adalet (justice) has Turco - Persian coordinates; in this tradition, adalet, or justice, is the protection of the helpless from the rapacity of corrupt and predatory government. In this sense, justice involves protecting the lowest members of society, the peasantry, from unfair taxation, corrupt magistracy, and inequitable courts. This, in Ottoman political theory, was the primary task of the Sultan. He personally protected his people from the excesses of government, such as predatory taxation and the corruption of local officials. For the Ottomans, the ruler could only guarantee this justice if he had absolute power. For if he was not an absolute ruler, that meant that he would be dependent on others and so subject to corruption. Absolute authority, then, was at the service of building a just government and laws rather than elevating the ruler above the law as Europeans have interpreted the Sultanate.
In order to ensure adalet , the Ottomans set up a number of practices and institutions in the central government surrounding the Sultan. The first was the establishment of a bureaucracy drawn from the Sultan's inner circle. This bureaucracy in turn controlled local governments; this would become the model of European absolutism in the seventeenth century. Other institutions and political practices were:
Observance of government : The Sultan's job was primarily to keep a watch on all the officials. In some cases, this observance of government involved the personal involvement of the Sultan. He would sometimes observe in secret the proceedings of the Divan, which was the central advisory group to the Sultan, and sometimes observe proceedings of ulama courts. For instance, at about the same time that Martin Luther was condemned to death by the Diet of Worms, Sultan Süleyman secretly observed the trial of Molla Kabiz who asserted the spiritual superiority of Jesus Christ over Muhammad. After questioning by the ulama court and refusing to recant, Molla was sentenced to death. Süleyman, however, overturned the verdict because the arguments the courts made had not disproved Molla's arguments (eventually, Molla's arguments were overcome in a later trial).
Periodically, the Sultan was required to tour local governments in disguise to ensure that magistrates and justices were operating justly. If the Sultan believed that an injustice was being committed against the people, he would interfere directly and overturn the decision. Islamic historians argue that the Ottoman Empire decline primarily because later Sultans took less and less interest in maintaining justice in their Empire. For the most part, however, the Sultan monitored local officials through a vast, complex, and elaborate system of spies who would report back to the central bureaucracy. The intelligence gathering system in the Ottoman Empire was the best in the world until the twentieth century!
Siyaset (Politics): Rooting out corruption meant nothing if nothing was done about it. Public agents and officials that abused their power and the peasantry were subjected to a special jurisdiction called the siyaset. The siyaset were a set of severe punishments imposed by the Sultan on corrupt officials; there was no way out, no cash compensation could take the place of the corporeal or, more often, capital punishments swiftly and severely meted out to corrupt officials. In the siyaset system, the most severe crimes involved illegal taxation or forced labor of the peasantry, staying in their homes without permission or billeting troops without permission, and requiring peasants against their will to provide food for them or for soldiers. Such crimes almost certainly meant the death penalty.
Public declaration of laws and taxes : In order to prevent fraudulent taxes and arbitrary laws by public officials, the Sultanic "orders" (ferman) and taxes were declared and posted in public. There was, then, always direct dissemination of central government to the people directly.
Accessibility : Perhaps the most important aspect of Ottoman centralized government was universal access to centralized authority. The highest reaches of power - with the exception of the person of the Sultan - was available to each and every citizen of the Empire. Every single member of Ottoman society could approach the Imperial Council with grievances against government officials; these official petitions were called "ard-i mahdar" and were always treated with the utmost seriousness. If the Imperial Council ruled against the officials, they would often be subjected to the siyaset.
Public opinion : The most common misconception about Islamic rulers in general and Ottoman rulers in particular was that they were removed, aloof, and uninterested in their people. While this may be physically true, it was not ideologically true. In fact, in the Ottoman state, public opinion was regarded as the only true foundation on which state authority rested. If the people ceased to support their rulers, it was argued, then the rulers would soon fall from power. The Sultanic government, then, assiduously cultivated public opinion, for it was recognized that the enemies of the Sultan were also cultivating adverse public opinion. The government did this not only through propaganda, but through policy as well. In addition to prosecuting corrupt government officials and publicly declaring taxes and laws, the Ottoman government also cultivated public opinion in its wars of conquests.
Soldiers were not allowed to mistreat peasants nor take anything from them without their permission or reimbursement. All the Ottoman wars of the conquest in the sixteenth century were assiduously planned years in advance. The government would lay up stores of supplies all along the campaign route so that the armies could feed themselves without taking anything from the general population. The Ottoman conquerors believed that no conquest could stand without the goodwill of the general population of the conquered, so military campaigns were remarkably fair and easy on the average person.
The Ottomans also paid attention to an early form of public opinion polling and were probably the first government to actively monitor public opinion through quantifiable means. The "opinion poll" that they used was the Friday prayers. In most Islamic states, one of the aspects of Friday prayer is to pray for the welfare and life of the ruler. This is an optional part of the Friday prayer, so its inclusion generally means that the members of the mosque think well of the ruler. Its omission frequently means the opposite. The Ottomans paid very strict attention to Friday prayers throughout the Empire in order to precisely gauge public sentiments.
The Structure of Government
Officially, the Sultan was the government. He enjoyed absolute power and, in theory at least, was personally involved in every governmental decision. In the Ottoman experience of government, everything representing the state government issued from the hands of the Sultan himself.
The Sultan also assumed the title of Caliph, or supreme temporal leader, of Islam. The Ottomans claimed this title for several reasons: the two major holy sites, Mecca and Medina, were part of the Empire, and the primary goal of the government was the security of Muslims around the world, particularly the security of the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. As Caliph, the Sultan was responsible for Islamic orthodoxy. Almost all of the military conquests and annexations of other countries were done for one of two reasons: to guarantee the safe passage of Muslims to Mecca (the justification for invading non-Muslim territories) and the rooting out of heterodox or heretical Islamic practices and beliefs (the justification for invading or annexing Muslim territories).
Historians simply can't agree on how the Sultanate was passed from generation to generation among the Ottomans. In the early history of the Empire, the Sultanate clearly passes from father to eldest son; in 1603, at the death of Ahmed I (1603-1617), the Sultanate passed to the brother of the Sultan. Still, the Ottomans did not seem to have a hereditary system based on primogeniture (crown passes to the eldest son) or seniority (crown passes to the next oldest brother). In both Turkish and Mongol monarchical systems, the passing of the crown is a haphazard affair. Both the Turkish and Mongol peoples believed that the crown fell to the most worthy inheritor. Each individual in the hereditary line, brothers and sons, were equally entitled to the crown. This meant that successions were almost always major struggles among contending parties. The Ottomans seem to have operated in a similar system. When a Sultan passed away, the crown, it was believed, fell to the most worthy successor (almost always the eldest son). Selim I had to fight for the Sultanate, but Süleyman was the only son of Selim and so inherited the crown without a struggle. Once a Sultan had assumed the throne, all his brothers were executed as well as all their sons - had Selim I lost his bid for the crown, Süleyman would have been killed. These executions guaranteed that there would be no future wars or struggles between claimants to the throne since all the contenders but one were out of the picture.
In the seventeenth century, Ottoman Sultans began to revise this practice and simply imprisoned their brothers - this is what permitted Ahmed I to be succeeded by his brother. Western historians point to this practice as one of the central reasons why the Sultanic government failed. Since the crown was falling to individuals that had been imprisoned much if not most of their lives, the Ottoman state saw a succession of mad Sultans and the corresponding increase in power of a corrupt bureaucracy.
The fundamental qualification for the Sultanate was the individual's worthiness to fill the position. The Ottomans believed that simple succession proved that the Sultan was worthy of the crown; however, the Sultan may grow old, feeble, or corrupt and thus lose his worthiness to serve as Sultan. Selim I came to the throne by deposing his old father, Bayezid II (1481-1512), who was too old to lead the army against external threats. When Süleyman had become an old man, his two sons, Bayezid and Mustafa, his favorite son, plotted to overthrow him. Faced with this treason, the old Süleyman had to execute them both and this seems to have broken his spirit completely.
The Ottomans followed the old Turkish and Mongol tradition of considering the Sultan's lands to be a joint possession of the Sultan's family. Accordingly, the Ottoman lands were parceled out to members of the royal family when each Sultan came to power. Conquered lands were considered the private property of the Sultan.
Although the Sultan was regarded as personally responsible for every government decision, in reality the government was run by a large bureaucracy. This bureaucracy was controlled by a rigid and complex set of rules, and the Sultan himself was constrained by these rules. At the top of the bureaucracy was the Divan (couch), which served as a cabinet to the Sultan for making decisions. The most powerful member of the Sultan's government was the Grand Vizier (like a prime minister of our days) who largely oversaw all the executive functions of the government. Appointments to these positions were not arbitrary but followed strict rules.
See also
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Sultans
The Ottomans inherited a rich mixture of political traditions from vastly disparate ethnic groups: Turks, Persians, Mongols, Mesopotamian and, of course, Islam. The Ottoman state, like the Turkish, Mongol, and Mesopotamian states rested on a principle of absolute authority in the monarch. The nature of Ottoman autocracy, however, is greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted in the West, particularly in world history textbooks.
The central function of the ruler or Sultan in Ottoman political theory was to guarantee justice (Adalet in Turkish) in the land. All authority hinges on the ruler's personal commitment to justice. This idea has both Turco - Persian and Islamic aspects. In Islamic political theory, the model of the just ruler was Solomon in the Hebrew histories (Süleyman is named after Solomon). The justice represented by the Solomonic ruler is a distributive justice; this is a justice of fairness and equity that comes closer to the Western notion of justice. In addition, however, adalet (justice) has Turco - Persian coordinates; in this tradition, adalet, or justice, is the protection of the helpless from the rapacity of corrupt and predatory government. In this sense, justice involves protecting the lowest members of society, the peasantry, from unfair taxation, corrupt magistracy, and inequitable courts. This, in Ottoman political theory, was the primary task of the Sultan. He personally protected his people from the excesses of government, such as predatory taxation and the corruption of local officials. For the Ottomans, the ruler could only guarantee this justice if he had absolute power. For if he was not an absolute ruler, that meant that he would be dependent on others and so subject to corruption. Absolute authority, then, was at the service of building a just government and laws rather than elevating the ruler above the law as Europeans have interpreted the Sultanate.
In order to ensure adalet , the Ottomans set up a number of practices and institutions in the central government surrounding the Sultan. The first was the establishment of a bureaucracy drawn from the Sultan's inner circle. This bureaucracy in turn controlled local governments; this would become the model of European absolutism in the seventeenth century. Other institutions and political practices were:
Observance of government : The Sultan's job was primarily to keep a watch on all the officials. In some cases, this observance of government involved the personal involvement of the Sultan. He would sometimes observe in secret the proceedings of the Divan, which was the central advisory group to the Sultan, and sometimes observe proceedings of ulama courts. For instance, at about the same time that Martin Luther was condemned to death by the Diet of Worms, Sultan Süleyman secretly observed the trial of Molla Kabiz who asserted the spiritual superiority of Jesus Christ over Muhammad. After questioning by the ulama court and refusing to recant, Molla was sentenced to death. Süleyman, however, overturned the verdict because the arguments the courts made had not disproved Molla's arguments (eventually, Molla's arguments were overcome in a later trial).
Periodically, the Sultan was required to tour local governments in disguise to ensure that magistrates and justices were operating justly. If the Sultan believed that an injustice was being committed against the people, he would interfere directly and overturn the decision. Islamic historians argue that the Ottoman Empire decline primarily because later Sultans took less and less interest in maintaining justice in their Empire. For the most part, however, the Sultan monitored local officials through a vast, complex, and elaborate system of spies who would report back to the central bureaucracy. The intelligence gathering system in the Ottoman Empire was the best in the world until the twentieth century!
Siyaset (Politics): Rooting out corruption meant nothing if nothing was done about it. Public agents and officials that abused their power and the peasantry were subjected to a special jurisdiction called the siyaset. The siyaset were a set of severe punishments imposed by the Sultan on corrupt officials; there was no way out, no cash compensation could take the place of the corporeal or, more often, capital punishments swiftly and severely meted out to corrupt officials. In the siyaset system, the most severe crimes involved illegal taxation or forced labor of the peasantry, staying in their homes without permission or billeting troops without permission, and requiring peasants against their will to provide food for them or for soldiers. Such crimes almost certainly meant the death penalty.
Public declaration of laws and taxes : In order to prevent fraudulent taxes and arbitrary laws by public officials, the Sultanic "orders" (ferman) and taxes were declared and posted in public. There was, then, always direct dissemination of central government to the people directly.
Accessibility : Perhaps the most important aspect of Ottoman centralized government was universal access to centralized authority. The highest reaches of power - with the exception of the person of the Sultan - was available to each and every citizen of the Empire. Every single member of Ottoman society could approach the Imperial Council with grievances against government officials; these official petitions were called "ard-i mahdar" and were always treated with the utmost seriousness. If the Imperial Council ruled against the officials, they would often be subjected to the siyaset.
Public opinion : The most common misconception about Islamic rulers in general and Ottoman rulers in particular was that they were removed, aloof, and uninterested in their people. While this may be physically true, it was not ideologically true. In fact, in the Ottoman state, public opinion was regarded as the only true foundation on which state authority rested. If the people ceased to support their rulers, it was argued, then the rulers would soon fall from power. The Sultanic government, then, assiduously cultivated public opinion, for it was recognized that the enemies of the Sultan were also cultivating adverse public opinion. The government did this not only through propaganda, but through policy as well. In addition to prosecuting corrupt government officials and publicly declaring taxes and laws, the Ottoman government also cultivated public opinion in its wars of conquests.
Soldiers were not allowed to mistreat peasants nor take anything from them without their permission or reimbursement. All the Ottoman wars of the conquest in the sixteenth century were assiduously planned years in advance. The government would lay up stores of supplies all along the campaign route so that the armies could feed themselves without taking anything from the general population. The Ottoman conquerors believed that no conquest could stand without the goodwill of the general population of the conquered, so military campaigns were remarkably fair and easy on the average person.
The Ottomans also paid attention to an early form of public opinion polling and were probably the first government to actively monitor public opinion through quantifiable means. The "opinion poll" that they used was the Friday prayers. In most Islamic states, one of the aspects of Friday prayer is to pray for the welfare and life of the ruler. This is an optional part of the Friday prayer, so its inclusion generally means that the members of the mosque think well of the ruler. Its omission frequently means the opposite. The Ottomans paid very strict attention to Friday prayers throughout the Empire in order to precisely gauge public sentiments.
The Structure of Government
Officially, the Sultan was the government. He enjoyed absolute power and, in theory at least, was personally involved in every governmental decision. In the Ottoman experience of government, everything representing the state government issued from the hands of the Sultan himself.
The Sultan also assumed the title of Caliph, or supreme temporal leader, of Islam. The Ottomans claimed this title for several reasons: the two major holy sites, Mecca and Medina, were part of the Empire, and the primary goal of the government was the security of Muslims around the world, particularly the security of the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. As Caliph, the Sultan was responsible for Islamic orthodoxy. Almost all of the military conquests and annexations of other countries were done for one of two reasons: to guarantee the safe passage of Muslims to Mecca (the justification for invading non-Muslim territories) and the rooting out of heterodox or heretical Islamic practices and beliefs (the justification for invading or annexing Muslim territories).
Historians simply can't agree on how the Sultanate was passed from generation to generation among the Ottomans. In the early history of the Empire, the Sultanate clearly passes from father to eldest son; in 1603, at the death of Ahmed I (1603-1617), the Sultanate passed to the brother of the Sultan. Still, the Ottomans did not seem to have a hereditary system based on primogeniture (crown passes to the eldest son) or seniority (crown passes to the next oldest brother). In both Turkish and Mongol monarchical systems, the passing of the crown is a haphazard affair. Both the Turkish and Mongol peoples believed that the crown fell to the most worthy inheritor. Each individual in the hereditary line, brothers and sons, were equally entitled to the crown. This meant that successions were almost always major struggles among contending parties. The Ottomans seem to have operated in a similar system. When a Sultan passed away, the crown, it was believed, fell to the most worthy successor (almost always the eldest son). Selim I had to fight for the Sultanate, but Süleyman was the only son of Selim and so inherited the crown without a struggle. Once a Sultan had assumed the throne, all his brothers were executed as well as all their sons - had Selim I lost his bid for the crown, Süleyman would have been killed. These executions guaranteed that there would be no future wars or struggles between claimants to the throne since all the contenders but one were out of the picture.
In the seventeenth century, Ottoman Sultans began to revise this practice and simply imprisoned their brothers - this is what permitted Ahmed I to be succeeded by his brother. Western historians point to this practice as one of the central reasons why the Sultanic government failed. Since the crown was falling to individuals that had been imprisoned much if not most of their lives, the Ottoman state saw a succession of mad Sultans and the corresponding increase in power of a corrupt bureaucracy.
The fundamental qualification for the Sultanate was the individual's worthiness to fill the position. The Ottomans believed that simple succession proved that the Sultan was worthy of the crown; however, the Sultan may grow old, feeble, or corrupt and thus lose his worthiness to serve as Sultan. Selim I came to the throne by deposing his old father, Bayezid II (1481-1512), who was too old to lead the army against external threats. When Süleyman had become an old man, his two sons, Bayezid and Mustafa, his favorite son, plotted to overthrow him. Faced with this treason, the old Süleyman had to execute them both and this seems to have broken his spirit completely.
The Ottomans followed the old Turkish and Mongol tradition of considering the Sultan's lands to be a joint possession of the Sultan's family. Accordingly, the Ottoman lands were parceled out to members of the royal family when each Sultan came to power. Conquered lands were considered the private property of the Sultan.
Although the Sultan was regarded as personally responsible for every government decision, in reality the government was run by a large bureaucracy. This bureaucracy was controlled by a rigid and complex set of rules, and the Sultan himself was constrained by these rules. At the top of the bureaucracy was the Divan (couch), which served as a cabinet to the Sultan for making decisions. The most powerful member of the Sultan's government was the Grand Vizier (like a prime minister of our days) who largely oversaw all the executive functions of the government. Appointments to these positions were not arbitrary but followed strict rules.
The Ottoman Empire
Origins of the Ottoman Empire
See also
Ottoman government
Ottoman Sultans
Pressured out of their homes in the Asian steppes by the Mongols, the Turkish nomadic tribes converted to Islam during the eighth and ninth centuries. By the tenth century, one of the Turkish tribes, the Seljuk, had become a significant power in the Islamic world and had adopted a settled life that included Islamic orthodoxy, a central administration, and taxation. However, many other Turkish groups remained nomadic and, pursuing the gazi tradition, sought to conquer land for Islam and to acquire war booty for themselves. This led them into conflict with the Seljuk Turks, and to pacify the nomadic tribes, the Seljuks directed them to the eastern domain of the Byzantine Empire, Anatolia. The tribe known as the Ottomans arose from one of the smaller emirates established in northwestern Anatolia after 1071. The dynasty was named for Osman (1259-1326), who began to expand his kingdom into the Byzantine Empire in Asia Minor, moving his capital to Bursa in 1326.
Ottoman Empire
( enlarge this map )The political and geographical entity governed by the Muslim Ottoman Turks. Their empire was centered in present-day Turkey, and extended its influence into southeastern Europe as well as the Middle East. Europe was only temporarily able to resist their advance: the turning point came at the Battle of Varna in 1444 when a European coalition army failed to stop the Turkish advance. Only Constantinople (Istanbul) remained in Byzantine hands and its conquest in 1453 seemed inevitable after Varna. The Turks subsequently established an empire in Anatolia and southeastern Europe which lasted until the early twentieth century.
Although the Ottoman Empire is not considered a European kingdom per se, Ottoman expansion had a profound impact on a continent already stunned by the calamities of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and the Ottoman Turks must, therefore, be considered in any study of Europe in the late Middle Ages. The ease with which the Ottoman Empire achieved military victories led Western Europeans to fear that ongoing Ottoman success would collapse the political and social infrastructure of the West and bring about the downfall of Christendom. Such a momentous threat could not be ignored and the Europeans mounted crusades against the Ottomans in 1366, 1396, and 1444, but to no avail. The Ottomans continued to conquer new territories.
One of a number of Turkish tribes that migrated from the central Asian steppe, the Ottomans were initially a nomadic people who followed a primitive shamanistic religion. Contact with various settled peoples led to the introduction of Islam and under Islamic influence, the Turks acquired their greatest fighting tradition, that of the gazi warrior. Well trained and highly skilled, gazi warriors fought to conquer the infidel, acquiring land and riches in the process.
While the gazi warriors fought for Islam, the greatest military asset of the Ottoman Empire was the standing paid army of Christian soldiers, the Janissaries. Originally created in 1330 by Orhan, the janissaries were Christian captives from conquered territories. Educated in the Islamic faith and trained as soldiers, the janissaries were forced to provide annual tribute in the form of military service. To counter the challenges of the gazi nobility, Murad I (1319-1389) transformed the new military force into the elite personal army of the Sultan. They were rewarded for their loyalty with grants of newly acquired land and janissaries quickly rose to fill the most important administrative offices of the Ottoman Empire.
During the early history of the Ottoman Empire, political factions within Byzantium employed the Ottoman Turks and the janissaries as mercenaries in their own struggles for imperial supremacy. In the 1340's, a usurper's request for Ottoman assistance in a revolt against the emperor provided the excuse for an Ottoman invasion of Thrace on the northern frontier of the Byzantine Empire. The conquest of Thrace gave the Ottomans a foothold in Europe from which future campaigns into the Balkans and Greece were launched and Adrianople (Edirne) became the Ottoman capital in 1366. Over the next century, the Ottomans developed an empire that took in Anatolia and increasingly larger sections of Byzantine territories in Eastern Europe and Asia Minor.
Ottoman expansion into Europe was well underway in the late 14th century. Gallipoli was conquered in 1354 and a vast crusading army was crushed at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. The disaster was so great that the knights of Western Europe were discouraged of launching a new expedition against the Turks. The appearance of the Tatars under Tamerlane early in the fifteenth century temporarily delayed Turkish advances but the Ottomans soon resumed attacks on Byzantium and Eastern Europe. A Hungarian - Polish army was decimated at Varna in 1444 by Murad II and Ottoman conquests were virtually unchecked during the reign of his son, Mehmed II the Conqueror (1432-1481).
Constantinople itself was captured in 1453, sending a shock wave across Europe, and its name was changed to Istanbul. With the fall of Byzantium, a wave of Byzantine refugees fled to the Latin West, carrying with them the classical and Hellenistic knowledge that provided additional impetus to the burgeoning humanism of the Renaissance.
Athens fell in 1456 and Belgrade narrowly escaped capture when a peasant army led by the Hungarian Janos Hunyadi held off a siege in the same year, nevertheless, Serbia, Bosnia, Wallachia, and the Khanate of Crimea were all under Ottoman control by 1478. The Turks commanded the Black Sea and the northern Aegean and many prime trade routes had been closed to European shipping. The Islamic threat loomed even larger when an Ottoman beachhead was established at Otranto in Italy in 1480.
Although the Turkish presence in Italy was short-lived, it appeared as if Rome itself must soon fall into Islamic hands. In 1529, the Ottomans had moved up the Danube and besieged Vienna. The siege was unsuccessful and the Turks began to retreat. Although the Ottomans continued to instill fear well into the 16th century, internal struggles began to deteriorate the once overwhelming military supremacy of the Ottoman Empire. The outcome of battles was no longer a foregone conclusion and Europeans began to score victories against the Turks.
Despite military success of their territorial expansion, there remained problems of organization and government within the Ottoman Empire. Murad II attempted to limit the influence of the nobility and the gazi by elevating faithful former slaves and janissaries to administrative positions. These administrators came to provide an alternative voice to that of the nobility and, as a result, Murad II and successive Sultans were able to play one faction against the other, a feature that came to typify the Ottoman Empire. The power of the janissaries often overrode a weak sultan and the elite military force occasionally acted as "king-makers".
Another weakness was that primogeniture was not used in Islam and the transference of power from a deceased sultan to his son was frequently disputed. If a sultan died without a male heir or if he left several sons, succession was violently contested. In the early period, to prevent ongoing rivalries, all male relatives of a newly crowned sultan were put to death. Later, however, the potential rivals were merely imprisoned for life. Some historians consider that this policy of imprisonment contributed to the decline of the Ottoman Empire as mentally unstable and politically inexperienced sultans were rescued from prison and placed upon the throne. Nevertheless, despite frequent disputes over succession, the Ottoman Empire managed to produce effective leaders in the late Middle Ages and a comprehensive government policy developed.
Despite the difficulties of succession and administrative control, the Ottomans had a number of advantages that contributed to their success, the enormous wealth of the Empire being the most significant asset. As the Ottoman Empire expanded, it acquired control of the trade routes to the East and many European powers, such as Venice and Genoa, paid great sums for the privilege of access to these routes.
Although the atrocities of the "Infidel Turk" struck fear into the hearts of all Christians in the late Middle Ages, in actuality, the Ottomans generally allowed religious groups to continue to practice their own faiths within the conquered territories. They also tended to preserve the established feudal institutions and, in many cases, permitted the co-existence of law codes to regulate the different ethnic and religious groups. Their administrative and governmental systems were well developed and highly effective and most lands under Ottoman control were well managed during this time.
See also
Ottoman government
Ottoman Sultans
Pressured out of their homes in the Asian steppes by the Mongols, the Turkish nomadic tribes converted to Islam during the eighth and ninth centuries. By the tenth century, one of the Turkish tribes, the Seljuk, had become a significant power in the Islamic world and had adopted a settled life that included Islamic orthodoxy, a central administration, and taxation. However, many other Turkish groups remained nomadic and, pursuing the gazi tradition, sought to conquer land for Islam and to acquire war booty for themselves. This led them into conflict with the Seljuk Turks, and to pacify the nomadic tribes, the Seljuks directed them to the eastern domain of the Byzantine Empire, Anatolia. The tribe known as the Ottomans arose from one of the smaller emirates established in northwestern Anatolia after 1071. The dynasty was named for Osman (1259-1326), who began to expand his kingdom into the Byzantine Empire in Asia Minor, moving his capital to Bursa in 1326.
Ottoman Empire
( enlarge this map )The political and geographical entity governed by the Muslim Ottoman Turks. Their empire was centered in present-day Turkey, and extended its influence into southeastern Europe as well as the Middle East. Europe was only temporarily able to resist their advance: the turning point came at the Battle of Varna in 1444 when a European coalition army failed to stop the Turkish advance. Only Constantinople (Istanbul) remained in Byzantine hands and its conquest in 1453 seemed inevitable after Varna. The Turks subsequently established an empire in Anatolia and southeastern Europe which lasted until the early twentieth century.
Although the Ottoman Empire is not considered a European kingdom per se, Ottoman expansion had a profound impact on a continent already stunned by the calamities of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and the Ottoman Turks must, therefore, be considered in any study of Europe in the late Middle Ages. The ease with which the Ottoman Empire achieved military victories led Western Europeans to fear that ongoing Ottoman success would collapse the political and social infrastructure of the West and bring about the downfall of Christendom. Such a momentous threat could not be ignored and the Europeans mounted crusades against the Ottomans in 1366, 1396, and 1444, but to no avail. The Ottomans continued to conquer new territories.
One of a number of Turkish tribes that migrated from the central Asian steppe, the Ottomans were initially a nomadic people who followed a primitive shamanistic religion. Contact with various settled peoples led to the introduction of Islam and under Islamic influence, the Turks acquired their greatest fighting tradition, that of the gazi warrior. Well trained and highly skilled, gazi warriors fought to conquer the infidel, acquiring land and riches in the process.
While the gazi warriors fought for Islam, the greatest military asset of the Ottoman Empire was the standing paid army of Christian soldiers, the Janissaries. Originally created in 1330 by Orhan, the janissaries were Christian captives from conquered territories. Educated in the Islamic faith and trained as soldiers, the janissaries were forced to provide annual tribute in the form of military service. To counter the challenges of the gazi nobility, Murad I (1319-1389) transformed the new military force into the elite personal army of the Sultan. They were rewarded for their loyalty with grants of newly acquired land and janissaries quickly rose to fill the most important administrative offices of the Ottoman Empire.
During the early history of the Ottoman Empire, political factions within Byzantium employed the Ottoman Turks and the janissaries as mercenaries in their own struggles for imperial supremacy. In the 1340's, a usurper's request for Ottoman assistance in a revolt against the emperor provided the excuse for an Ottoman invasion of Thrace on the northern frontier of the Byzantine Empire. The conquest of Thrace gave the Ottomans a foothold in Europe from which future campaigns into the Balkans and Greece were launched and Adrianople (Edirne) became the Ottoman capital in 1366. Over the next century, the Ottomans developed an empire that took in Anatolia and increasingly larger sections of Byzantine territories in Eastern Europe and Asia Minor.
Ottoman expansion into Europe was well underway in the late 14th century. Gallipoli was conquered in 1354 and a vast crusading army was crushed at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. The disaster was so great that the knights of Western Europe were discouraged of launching a new expedition against the Turks. The appearance of the Tatars under Tamerlane early in the fifteenth century temporarily delayed Turkish advances but the Ottomans soon resumed attacks on Byzantium and Eastern Europe. A Hungarian - Polish army was decimated at Varna in 1444 by Murad II and Ottoman conquests were virtually unchecked during the reign of his son, Mehmed II the Conqueror (1432-1481).
Constantinople itself was captured in 1453, sending a shock wave across Europe, and its name was changed to Istanbul. With the fall of Byzantium, a wave of Byzantine refugees fled to the Latin West, carrying with them the classical and Hellenistic knowledge that provided additional impetus to the burgeoning humanism of the Renaissance.
Athens fell in 1456 and Belgrade narrowly escaped capture when a peasant army led by the Hungarian Janos Hunyadi held off a siege in the same year, nevertheless, Serbia, Bosnia, Wallachia, and the Khanate of Crimea were all under Ottoman control by 1478. The Turks commanded the Black Sea and the northern Aegean and many prime trade routes had been closed to European shipping. The Islamic threat loomed even larger when an Ottoman beachhead was established at Otranto in Italy in 1480.
Although the Turkish presence in Italy was short-lived, it appeared as if Rome itself must soon fall into Islamic hands. In 1529, the Ottomans had moved up the Danube and besieged Vienna. The siege was unsuccessful and the Turks began to retreat. Although the Ottomans continued to instill fear well into the 16th century, internal struggles began to deteriorate the once overwhelming military supremacy of the Ottoman Empire. The outcome of battles was no longer a foregone conclusion and Europeans began to score victories against the Turks.
Despite military success of their territorial expansion, there remained problems of organization and government within the Ottoman Empire. Murad II attempted to limit the influence of the nobility and the gazi by elevating faithful former slaves and janissaries to administrative positions. These administrators came to provide an alternative voice to that of the nobility and, as a result, Murad II and successive Sultans were able to play one faction against the other, a feature that came to typify the Ottoman Empire. The power of the janissaries often overrode a weak sultan and the elite military force occasionally acted as "king-makers".
Another weakness was that primogeniture was not used in Islam and the transference of power from a deceased sultan to his son was frequently disputed. If a sultan died without a male heir or if he left several sons, succession was violently contested. In the early period, to prevent ongoing rivalries, all male relatives of a newly crowned sultan were put to death. Later, however, the potential rivals were merely imprisoned for life. Some historians consider that this policy of imprisonment contributed to the decline of the Ottoman Empire as mentally unstable and politically inexperienced sultans were rescued from prison and placed upon the throne. Nevertheless, despite frequent disputes over succession, the Ottoman Empire managed to produce effective leaders in the late Middle Ages and a comprehensive government policy developed.
Despite the difficulties of succession and administrative control, the Ottomans had a number of advantages that contributed to their success, the enormous wealth of the Empire being the most significant asset. As the Ottoman Empire expanded, it acquired control of the trade routes to the East and many European powers, such as Venice and Genoa, paid great sums for the privilege of access to these routes.
Although the atrocities of the "Infidel Turk" struck fear into the hearts of all Christians in the late Middle Ages, in actuality, the Ottomans generally allowed religious groups to continue to practice their own faiths within the conquered territories. They also tended to preserve the established feudal institutions and, in many cases, permitted the co-existence of law codes to regulate the different ethnic and religious groups. Their administrative and governmental systems were well developed and highly effective and most lands under Ottoman control were well managed during this time.
Seas of Turkey
Black Sea
Black Sea (Karadeniz in Turkish) lies to the north of Turkey, bordering with two regions; Marmara and Black Sea. Besides Turkey, other countries that circle the Black Sea are; Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia. It's connected to the Sea of Marmara with the Bosphorus Strait in the southwest. Some of the important ports on the Black Sea are; Istanbul, Trabzon, Samsun, Sinop, Burgas, Varna, Constanza, Yalta, Odessa, Sevastopol, Kerch, Novorossiysk, Sochi, Sukhumi, Poti, and Batumi.
Black Sea is an inland sea covering an area of about 420 thousand square kilometers reaching at 2206 meters in its deepest point. Below 200 meters the oxygen level in the water is very low so marine life is very limited below this depth. Most known fish they catch in the Black Sea are; Black Sea turbot, gurnard, and small sharks.
Its waters are warm in the summer, very cold in the winter. Its salinity is around 0,18% because of a constant inflow of fresh water from rivers surrounding it, the excess water flows on the surface through the Bosphorus meanwhile the warm and salty waters of the Mediterranean reach the Black Sea with deep water currents, maintaining the stratification and salinity levels. The most important rivers flowing into the Black Sea are Danube from north east, Kizilirmak, Sakarya and Yesilirmak from Anatolia in the south.
Black Sea is one of the youngest seas on the Earth, its used to be a big fresh water lake some 8000 years ago. The name is probably derived from the color of its deep waters.
Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi in Turkish) is an inland sea within the Marmara region connecting to the Black Sea with the Bosphorus Strait in the northeast, and to the Aegean with the Dardanelles Strait in the southwest. It lies between Thrace and Anatolia parts of Turkey, covering an area of over 11thousand square kilometers. It is approximately 280 km long from northeast to southwest and about 80 km wide at its greatest width. Its maximum depth reaches 1355 meters near the center.
There are many marble sources on its islands which gave its name to the Sea; marble is Marmaros in Greek and Mermer in Turkish. Some of the main islands in the Sea of Marmara are; Avsa, Marmara, Imrali, and Princes Islands near Istanbul (Buyukada, Heybeli, Burgaz, Kinali, and Sedef).
The salinity level is little bit over that of the Black Sea, but much less than the oceans. However, sea-bottom waters are much more saline almost as of the Mediterranean, but like in the Black Sea these two layers do not get combined.
Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea (Ege Denizi in Turkish) is a part of Mediterranean Sea lying between Turkey and Greece. There is Mediterranean Sea to the south, Greek Peninsula to the west, Anatolia and part of Thrace to the east. It's connected to the Sea of Marmara by Dardanelles Strait to the northeast. It covers an area of 214thousand square kilometers, stretching for about 660 kilometers from north to south, and reaching at a maximum depth of 3543 meters. Tides are very limited in the Aegean Sea.
Aegean Sea gave its name to the Aegean region and shows a typical Mediterranean climate characteristics; summers are dry and winters are rainy but not much cold. The water temperature during summer months reaches 23-24 degrees Celsius, and usually northern part of the Sea is a little bit cooler than its southern part. In contrary, northern part is abundant about the fish than its southern part.
There were many ancient civilizations who settled on its shores in the past, such as Minoans, Mycenaean, Trojans, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, Ottomans and so on. It's said that its name is coming either from Aegea, an Amazonian queen who died in the sea, or from Aegeus, the father of Theseus, who drowned himself in the sea.
There are approximately 3000 big and small islands in the Aegean Sea, most of them belong to Greece today. Some of the most famous Greek islands in the Aegean are; Crete, Rhodes, Lesbos, Chios, Santorini, Mykonos, Patmos, Delos, Paros, Kos, Symi, Samos and so on. Turkey has very few small islands and only two mid-size islands in front of the Dardanelles; Bozcaada and Gokceada. Because of this high concentration of islands and rockies, there are also many gulfs and bays in the Aegean which attracts many people for sailing in this crystal clear waters.
Aegean Sea and some of the Aegean islands brought several controversial issues between Turkey and Greece, both NATO countries, regarding mostly sovereignty and related rights in the area. Relations between Turkey and Greece were very sour between 1970's and mid 1990's because of these disputes on territorial waters, national airspace and FIR lines, military flights, demilitarization of some of the islands, and islets that had an unknown status of sovereignty. But in the last 10 years both countries are working hard to improve bilateral relations reducing tensions and holding diplomatic lines always open.
Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea (Akdeniz in Turkish) is surrounded by Asia to the east, Europe to the north and Africa to the south. It's connected to the Atlantic Ocean to the west with Gibraltar Strait. It's also connected to the Red Sea in the southeast with the Suez Canal in Egypt, a man-made canal built in 1869. And to the east it's connected to the Sea of Marmara by Dardanelles Strait. Aegean and Marmara Seas are often considered as a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The sea gave also its name to the Mediterranean region of Turkey.
Mediterranean covers about 2,5million square kilometers, its shores were home to many ancient civilizations in the history, such as Phoenicians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Lycians, Arabs, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, Ottomans and so on. The name comes from Latin; Medi means middle, Terra means land or place. The Romans called it Mare Nostrum, Our Sea. In Turkish it's called Akdeniz, White Sea.
There aren't much tides in the Mediterranean because of its narrow connection with the Atlantic. The average depth is about 1500 meters and the deepest point reaches at 5267 meters. The coastline is approximately 46,000 kilometers long.
Countries that border with the Mediterranean are;
In Europe, from west to east; Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, Greece, and European shores of Turkey.
In Asia, from north to south; Asian shores of Turkey, Syria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt.
In Africa, from east to west; Egypt, Libya, Tunis, Algeria, and Morocco.
Biggest islands in the Mediterranean are; Cyprus, Crete, Rhodes, Lesbos, Chios, Corfu in the eastern Mediterranean; Sardegna, Corsica, Sicily, Malta in the central Mediterranean; Ibiza, Majorca, Minorca in the western Mediterranean.
Black Sea (Karadeniz in Turkish) lies to the north of Turkey, bordering with two regions; Marmara and Black Sea. Besides Turkey, other countries that circle the Black Sea are; Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia. It's connected to the Sea of Marmara with the Bosphorus Strait in the southwest. Some of the important ports on the Black Sea are; Istanbul, Trabzon, Samsun, Sinop, Burgas, Varna, Constanza, Yalta, Odessa, Sevastopol, Kerch, Novorossiysk, Sochi, Sukhumi, Poti, and Batumi.
Black Sea is an inland sea covering an area of about 420 thousand square kilometers reaching at 2206 meters in its deepest point. Below 200 meters the oxygen level in the water is very low so marine life is very limited below this depth. Most known fish they catch in the Black Sea are; Black Sea turbot, gurnard, and small sharks.
Its waters are warm in the summer, very cold in the winter. Its salinity is around 0,18% because of a constant inflow of fresh water from rivers surrounding it, the excess water flows on the surface through the Bosphorus meanwhile the warm and salty waters of the Mediterranean reach the Black Sea with deep water currents, maintaining the stratification and salinity levels. The most important rivers flowing into the Black Sea are Danube from north east, Kizilirmak, Sakarya and Yesilirmak from Anatolia in the south.
Black Sea is one of the youngest seas on the Earth, its used to be a big fresh water lake some 8000 years ago. The name is probably derived from the color of its deep waters.
Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi in Turkish) is an inland sea within the Marmara region connecting to the Black Sea with the Bosphorus Strait in the northeast, and to the Aegean with the Dardanelles Strait in the southwest. It lies between Thrace and Anatolia parts of Turkey, covering an area of over 11thousand square kilometers. It is approximately 280 km long from northeast to southwest and about 80 km wide at its greatest width. Its maximum depth reaches 1355 meters near the center.
There are many marble sources on its islands which gave its name to the Sea; marble is Marmaros in Greek and Mermer in Turkish. Some of the main islands in the Sea of Marmara are; Avsa, Marmara, Imrali, and Princes Islands near Istanbul (Buyukada, Heybeli, Burgaz, Kinali, and Sedef).
The salinity level is little bit over that of the Black Sea, but much less than the oceans. However, sea-bottom waters are much more saline almost as of the Mediterranean, but like in the Black Sea these two layers do not get combined.
Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea (Ege Denizi in Turkish) is a part of Mediterranean Sea lying between Turkey and Greece. There is Mediterranean Sea to the south, Greek Peninsula to the west, Anatolia and part of Thrace to the east. It's connected to the Sea of Marmara by Dardanelles Strait to the northeast. It covers an area of 214thousand square kilometers, stretching for about 660 kilometers from north to south, and reaching at a maximum depth of 3543 meters. Tides are very limited in the Aegean Sea.
Aegean Sea gave its name to the Aegean region and shows a typical Mediterranean climate characteristics; summers are dry and winters are rainy but not much cold. The water temperature during summer months reaches 23-24 degrees Celsius, and usually northern part of the Sea is a little bit cooler than its southern part. In contrary, northern part is abundant about the fish than its southern part.
There were many ancient civilizations who settled on its shores in the past, such as Minoans, Mycenaean, Trojans, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, Ottomans and so on. It's said that its name is coming either from Aegea, an Amazonian queen who died in the sea, or from Aegeus, the father of Theseus, who drowned himself in the sea.
There are approximately 3000 big and small islands in the Aegean Sea, most of them belong to Greece today. Some of the most famous Greek islands in the Aegean are; Crete, Rhodes, Lesbos, Chios, Santorini, Mykonos, Patmos, Delos, Paros, Kos, Symi, Samos and so on. Turkey has very few small islands and only two mid-size islands in front of the Dardanelles; Bozcaada and Gokceada. Because of this high concentration of islands and rockies, there are also many gulfs and bays in the Aegean which attracts many people for sailing in this crystal clear waters.
Aegean Sea and some of the Aegean islands brought several controversial issues between Turkey and Greece, both NATO countries, regarding mostly sovereignty and related rights in the area. Relations between Turkey and Greece were very sour between 1970's and mid 1990's because of these disputes on territorial waters, national airspace and FIR lines, military flights, demilitarization of some of the islands, and islets that had an unknown status of sovereignty. But in the last 10 years both countries are working hard to improve bilateral relations reducing tensions and holding diplomatic lines always open.
Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea (Akdeniz in Turkish) is surrounded by Asia to the east, Europe to the north and Africa to the south. It's connected to the Atlantic Ocean to the west with Gibraltar Strait. It's also connected to the Red Sea in the southeast with the Suez Canal in Egypt, a man-made canal built in 1869. And to the east it's connected to the Sea of Marmara by Dardanelles Strait. Aegean and Marmara Seas are often considered as a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The sea gave also its name to the Mediterranean region of Turkey.
Mediterranean covers about 2,5million square kilometers, its shores were home to many ancient civilizations in the history, such as Phoenicians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Lycians, Arabs, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, Ottomans and so on. The name comes from Latin; Medi means middle, Terra means land or place. The Romans called it Mare Nostrum, Our Sea. In Turkish it's called Akdeniz, White Sea.
There aren't much tides in the Mediterranean because of its narrow connection with the Atlantic. The average depth is about 1500 meters and the deepest point reaches at 5267 meters. The coastline is approximately 46,000 kilometers long.
Countries that border with the Mediterranean are;
In Europe, from west to east; Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, Greece, and European shores of Turkey.
In Asia, from north to south; Asian shores of Turkey, Syria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt.
In Africa, from east to west; Egypt, Libya, Tunis, Algeria, and Morocco.
Biggest islands in the Mediterranean are; Cyprus, Crete, Rhodes, Lesbos, Chios, Corfu in the eastern Mediterranean; Sardegna, Corsica, Sicily, Malta in the central Mediterranean; Ibiza, Majorca, Minorca in the western Mediterranean.
Turkish facts and statistics
Turkish facts and statistics
Below you can find some useful information on the Republic of Turkey. For Passport and Visa information please Click Here.
Flag
Red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening. For more info on the Turkish Flag, please Click Here.
Geographic location
Geography location: South-western Asia (that part west of the Bosphorus is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria.
Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E
Area
total area: 780,580 sq km
land area: 770,760 sq km
water area: 9,820 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Texas, or larger than France and UK put together, or 2.5 times bigger than Italy.
Land boundaries
total: 2,648 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km.
Coastline: 7,200 km
Names
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Turkish long form); Türkiye (Turkish short form); Republic of Turkey (formal English); Turkey (English short form); Turchia (Italian); Türkei (German); Turkiet (Swedish); Turkije (Dutch); Turkki (Finnish); Turquia (Portuguese); Turquia (Spanish); Turquie (French); Tyrkia (Norwegian); Tyrkiet (Danish); Tyrkland (Icelandic)
Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only - to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
Territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea, 12 nm in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Climate
Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior.
Terrain
Terrain: mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
largest lake: Lake Van 3,713 square km
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower.
Land use
arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 66% (2006)
Environment
International agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Environmental Modification.
Current issues are: water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosphorus ship traffic.
Geographic note
strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas. Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country, in the city of Agri. The country is divided into 7 fictional geographic regions.
Population
Officially 71,517,100 as of 1st January 2009 (was 67,803,927 in 2000), effectively is around 73 million, average of 93 inhabitants live per square kilometer, 70.5% of the total population live in the cities and 29.5% in villages or small towns in the countryside.
Istanbul: 12,697,164 as of Jan 2009 (10,033,478 in 2000), 17.8 % of the total population, 2444 people per square kilometer
Ankara: 4,548,939 as of Jan 2009 (4,007,860 in 2000), 6.4 % of the total population
Izmir: 3.795.978 as of Jan 2009 (3,387,908 in 2000), 5.3 % of the total population, 316 people per square kilometer
Bayburt has the lowest population in Turkey: 75,675 (January 2009)
Age structure
total population: male 35,901,154; female 35,615,946 (as of January 2009)
0-14 years: 26,3% (male 9,570,773; female 9,071,618) (January 2009)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 23,655,657; female 23,288,033) (January 2009)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male 2,150,103; female 2,850,072)
Median age: total 28.5 years (male: 28 years; female: 29 years). More than half of the population is under the median age (as of Jan 2009)
Population growth rate: 1.24% (2006)
Birth rate: 18.7 births/1,000 population (2006)
Death rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 population (2006)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.008 male(s)/female (2008)
Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.5 years
male: 69.1 years
female: 74.0 years (2006)
Total fertility rate: 2.18 children born/woman (2006)
Nationality
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish
Ethnic divisions: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%
Religions: Muslim 99% (mostly Sunni), other 1% (Christian and Jews)
Languages: Turkish (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87%
male: 94.3%
female: 78.7% (2006 est.)
Government
( more on government )
Conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
Conventional short form: Turkey
Local long form: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
Local short form: Türkiye
Data code: TU or TR
Type of government: republican parliamentary democracy
Capital: Ankara
Administrative divisions
81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, 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, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, 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, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Independence
Independence: 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic, 29 October (1923)
Constitution: 7 November 1982 , amended on 17 October 2001 by TBMM
Legal system
derived from various European legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. Member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal.
Executive branch
Chief of state
President Abdullah GUL (ex-presidents were Ahmet Necdet SEZER, Suleyman DEMIREL) was elected in August 2007 for a five-year term (used to be seven years before 2007) by the National Assembly. (note: with the new articles of the Constitution, next President will be elected by the public vote.)
Head of government
Head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (ex-premieres were Abdullah GUL and Bulent ECEVIT) re-elected by universal suffrage and appointed by the President in July 2007.
National Security Council
Advisory body to the President and the cabinet
Cabinet
Council of Ministers appointed by the President on nomination of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral
Grand National Assembly of Turkey: (Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi), abbrev. TBMM (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court, judges appointed by the President; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay) and Council of State (Danistay), judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors. Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court.
Political pressure groups
Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD ; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB.
International organization participation
AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC.
Economic overview
Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2004 still accounted for 34% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. Its most important industry and largest exporter is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. The economic situation in recent years has been marked by rapid growth coupled with partial success in implementing structural reform measures. Inflation declined to 8.4% in 2007, down from 99% in 1997, but the public sector fiscal deficit probably remained near 10% of GDP due in large part to interest payments which accounted for 40% of central government spending in 2003. The government enacted a new tax law and speeded up privatization in 1998 but made no progress on badly needed social security reform. Ankara is trying to increase trade with other countries in the region yet most of Turkey's trade is still with OECD countries. Despite the implementation in January 1996 of a Customs Union with the EU, foreign direct investment in the country remains low - about $1 billion annually. Results in 2002-04 improved, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. A major political and economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will become a member of the EU. But further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Privatization sales are currently approaching $21 billion (2007).
GDP
GDP (Total): $402.7 billion (2006)
GDP: purchasing power parity - $551.6 billion (2005 est.)
GDP growth rate: 10.7% (2006)
GDP per capita: $5,482 (2006)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.7%
industry: 26.8%
manufacturing: 22.2%
services: 63.5% (2006)
(consumer prices): 94% (1995), 90% (1997), 75% (1998), 68% (1999), 45% (2000), 90% (2001), 31% (2002), 11% (2004), 7.72% (2005), 5.9% (2007)
Investment (gross fixed): 15.5% of GDP (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 20,5% (2007), (20% in 2005), 18% in 2001)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: 70.7% of GDP (2006)
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)
Distribution of family income: 44 (2002)
Labor force: 24.7 million (2005 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 35.9%, services 22.8%, industry 41.2% (2004)
note: about 3 million Turks work abroad (2005), mostly in Germany
Unemployment rate: 10.7% (plus underemployment of 3,5%) (2008 March)
Employment Rate: 42,1 (2007 March)
Budget
revenues: $93.58 billion
expenditures: $115.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.)
public debt: 67.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Industries: textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromate, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper.
Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (2004 est.)
Agriculture
Main products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses, citrus, livestock
Illicit drugs: major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish to Western Europe and the USA via air, land, and sea routes; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate.
Agricultural land: 391.219 sq km - 50.12% of the land area (2008)
Forest area: 211.887 sq km - 27% of the land area (2004)
Electricity
220 Volts
capacity: 18,710,000 kW
production: 191.2 billion kWh (2007 est.)
consumption: 140.3 billion kWh (2005)
export: 1.8 billion kWh (2005 est.)
imports: 636 million kWh (2005 est.)
Oil
production: 50,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
consumption: 715,100 bbl/day (2005 est.)
exports: 46,110 bbl/day (2001)
imports: 616,500 bbl/day (2001)
proved reserves: 288.4 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas
production: 980 million cu m (2005 est.)
consumption: 27.3 billion cu m (2005 est.)
exports: 0 cu m (2005 est.)
imports: 15.75 billion cu m (2001 est.)
proved reserves: 8.685 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance
$-32.77 billion (2007)
Exports: $105.9 billion f.o.b. (2007)
Commodities: apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment.
Partners: Germany 13.9%, UK 8.8%, US 7.7%, Italy 7.4%, France 5.8%, Spain 4.2% (2004)
Imports: $137 billion c.i.f. (2006)
Commodities: machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment.
Partners: Germany 12.9%, Russia 9.3%, Italy 7.1%, France 6.4%, US 4.8%, China 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2004)
External debt: $247.2 billion (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $60.7 billion (2006)
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $635.8 million (2002)
note: aid for Gulf war efforts from coalition allies (1991) $4.1 billion; aid pledged for Turkish Defense Fund $2.5 billion; aid for Iraqi war (2003) approx. $8.5 billion.
Currency
Turkish Lira - TL (formerly New Turkish lira - YTL)
Exchange rates: USD 1 = 1.49 TL , Euro 1 = 2.21 TL (07 December 2009).
As of 01/01/2005, six zeroes are dropped from the old TL by the Law, which made 1.000.000 TL equal to 1 YTL. Both TL and YTL banknotes were in physical circulation for one year in 2005 and the old TL banknotes are withdrawn from circulation as of 1 January 2006. As of 1st of January 2009, "Yeni" (New) is dropped off from the name of the currency and YTL is now called TL (Turkish Lira) again.
Some previous rates: US$ 1 = 1,420,000 (Dec. 2004), 1,670,000 (Jan. 2003), 1,400,000 (Feb. 2002), 538,000 (Jan 2000), 420,000 (Jul 1999), 270,000 (July 1998), 175,000 (October 1997), 60,502.1 (January 1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993), 6,872.4 (1992), 4,171.8 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
Railways
total: 10,991 km (2007)
gauge: 8,717 km standard + 2,274 km electrified (2007)
New high-speed train tracks are under construction between Istanbul-Ankara
total passenger capacity: 108,330 (2007)
capacity of Freight Wagons: 691,634 tons (2007)
Highways
( Detailed Road Map )
total: 354,421 km
paved: 140,850 km (including 1,987 km of expressways) (2006)
unpaved: 207,017 km (2002)
Waterways: about 1,200 km (2003)
Pipelines: gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2003)
Ports: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Izmit, Mersin, Samsun, Trabzon
Merchant marine
total: 526 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,666,895 GRT/7,311,504 DWT
ships by type: bulk carrier 108, cargo 228, chemical tanker 45, combination ore/oil 1, container 25, liquefied gas 6, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 50, petroleum tanker 33, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 22, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 8 (Cyprus 3, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Switzerland 1)
registered in other countries: 231 (2005 est.)
Airports
total: 120 (2004 est.) (88 with paved runways and 32 with unpaved runways)
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 15
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 046 m: 32
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 19
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 18
with paved runways under 914 m: 4
with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 046 m: 1
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 20 (2005 est.)
Heliports: 16 (2005 est.)
Communications
Country code: 90
Telephones: 18,978,223 (2005)
Telephone system: fair domestic and international systems, area codes
Mobile Phones: GSM 63,900,000 approximately (June 2008), three nets; Turkcell, Vodafone (ex-Telsim), Avea (Aria and Aycell have merged)
domestic: trunk microwave radio relay network; limited open-wire network
international: international service is provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; also by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002). Turkey has four communication satellites; Turksat 1B (31.3 degrees East, not operative since 2006) , Turksat 1C (31.3 degrees East), Turksat 2A (42 degrees East), and Turksat 3A (42 degrees East).
Radio broadcast stations: 36 National, 102 Regional, 955 Local, a total of 1,093 (2005)
Radios: 19.4 million (1997 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 24 National, 17 Regional, 218 Local, a total of 259 (2005)
Internet country code: .tr
Internet hosts: 355,215 (2004)
Internet users: approx. 20 million in 2008 (5.5 million in 2003, 8.5 million in 2005)
Defense
Branches: Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Land Forces, Naval Forces Command (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard Command, Gendarmerie (Jandarma)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 16,756,323 (2005 est.)
males fit for military service: 13,905,901 (2005 est.)
males reach military age (20) annually: 679,734 (2005 est.)
Defense expenditures: $10.1 billion (2004), 3.2% of GDP (2005)
Sources: CIA - The World Fact book 2006, Turkish Statistical Institute, World Bank.
Below you can find some useful information on the Republic of Turkey. For Passport and Visa information please Click Here.
Flag
Red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening. For more info on the Turkish Flag, please Click Here.
Geographic location
Geography location: South-western Asia (that part west of the Bosphorus is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria.
Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E
Area
total area: 780,580 sq km
land area: 770,760 sq km
water area: 9,820 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Texas, or larger than France and UK put together, or 2.5 times bigger than Italy.
Land boundaries
total: 2,648 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km.
Coastline: 7,200 km
Names
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Turkish long form); Türkiye (Turkish short form); Republic of Turkey (formal English); Turkey (English short form); Turchia (Italian); Türkei (German); Turkiet (Swedish); Turkije (Dutch); Turkki (Finnish); Turquia (Portuguese); Turquia (Spanish); Turquie (French); Tyrkia (Norwegian); Tyrkiet (Danish); Tyrkland (Icelandic)
Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only - to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
Territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea, 12 nm in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Climate
Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior.
Terrain
Terrain: mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
largest lake: Lake Van 3,713 square km
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower.
Land use
arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 66% (2006)
Environment
International agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Environmental Modification.
Current issues are: water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosphorus ship traffic.
Geographic note
strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas. Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country, in the city of Agri. The country is divided into 7 fictional geographic regions.
Population
Officially 71,517,100 as of 1st January 2009 (was 67,803,927 in 2000), effectively is around 73 million, average of 93 inhabitants live per square kilometer, 70.5% of the total population live in the cities and 29.5% in villages or small towns in the countryside.
Istanbul: 12,697,164 as of Jan 2009 (10,033,478 in 2000), 17.8 % of the total population, 2444 people per square kilometer
Ankara: 4,548,939 as of Jan 2009 (4,007,860 in 2000), 6.4 % of the total population
Izmir: 3.795.978 as of Jan 2009 (3,387,908 in 2000), 5.3 % of the total population, 316 people per square kilometer
Bayburt has the lowest population in Turkey: 75,675 (January 2009)
Age structure
total population: male 35,901,154; female 35,615,946 (as of January 2009)
0-14 years: 26,3% (male 9,570,773; female 9,071,618) (January 2009)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 23,655,657; female 23,288,033) (January 2009)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male 2,150,103; female 2,850,072)
Median age: total 28.5 years (male: 28 years; female: 29 years). More than half of the population is under the median age (as of Jan 2009)
Population growth rate: 1.24% (2006)
Birth rate: 18.7 births/1,000 population (2006)
Death rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 population (2006)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.008 male(s)/female (2008)
Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.5 years
male: 69.1 years
female: 74.0 years (2006)
Total fertility rate: 2.18 children born/woman (2006)
Nationality
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish
Ethnic divisions: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%
Religions: Muslim 99% (mostly Sunni), other 1% (Christian and Jews)
Languages: Turkish (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87%
male: 94.3%
female: 78.7% (2006 est.)
Government
( more on government )
Conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
Conventional short form: Turkey
Local long form: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
Local short form: Türkiye
Data code: TU or TR
Type of government: republican parliamentary democracy
Capital: Ankara
Administrative divisions
81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, 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, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, 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, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Independence
Independence: 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic, 29 October (1923)
Constitution: 7 November 1982 , amended on 17 October 2001 by TBMM
Legal system
derived from various European legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. Member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal.
Executive branch
Chief of state
President Abdullah GUL (ex-presidents were Ahmet Necdet SEZER, Suleyman DEMIREL) was elected in August 2007 for a five-year term (used to be seven years before 2007) by the National Assembly. (note: with the new articles of the Constitution, next President will be elected by the public vote.)
Head of government
Head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (ex-premieres were Abdullah GUL and Bulent ECEVIT) re-elected by universal suffrage and appointed by the President in July 2007.
National Security Council
Advisory body to the President and the cabinet
Cabinet
Council of Ministers appointed by the President on nomination of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral
Grand National Assembly of Turkey: (Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi), abbrev. TBMM (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court, judges appointed by the President; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay) and Council of State (Danistay), judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors. Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court.
Political pressure groups
Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD ; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB.
International organization participation
AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC.
Economic overview
Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2004 still accounted for 34% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. Its most important industry and largest exporter is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. The economic situation in recent years has been marked by rapid growth coupled with partial success in implementing structural reform measures. Inflation declined to 8.4% in 2007, down from 99% in 1997, but the public sector fiscal deficit probably remained near 10% of GDP due in large part to interest payments which accounted for 40% of central government spending in 2003. The government enacted a new tax law and speeded up privatization in 1998 but made no progress on badly needed social security reform. Ankara is trying to increase trade with other countries in the region yet most of Turkey's trade is still with OECD countries. Despite the implementation in January 1996 of a Customs Union with the EU, foreign direct investment in the country remains low - about $1 billion annually. Results in 2002-04 improved, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. A major political and economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will become a member of the EU. But further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Privatization sales are currently approaching $21 billion (2007).
GDP
GDP (Total): $402.7 billion (2006)
GDP: purchasing power parity - $551.6 billion (2005 est.)
GDP growth rate: 10.7% (2006)
GDP per capita: $5,482 (2006)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.7%
industry: 26.8%
manufacturing: 22.2%
services: 63.5% (2006)
(consumer prices): 94% (1995), 90% (1997), 75% (1998), 68% (1999), 45% (2000), 90% (2001), 31% (2002), 11% (2004), 7.72% (2005), 5.9% (2007)
Investment (gross fixed): 15.5% of GDP (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 20,5% (2007), (20% in 2005), 18% in 2001)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: 70.7% of GDP (2006)
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)
Distribution of family income: 44 (2002)
Labor force: 24.7 million (2005 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 35.9%, services 22.8%, industry 41.2% (2004)
note: about 3 million Turks work abroad (2005), mostly in Germany
Unemployment rate: 10.7% (plus underemployment of 3,5%) (2008 March)
Employment Rate: 42,1 (2007 March)
Budget
revenues: $93.58 billion
expenditures: $115.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.)
public debt: 67.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Industries: textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromate, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper.
Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (2004 est.)
Agriculture
Main products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses, citrus, livestock
Illicit drugs: major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish to Western Europe and the USA via air, land, and sea routes; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate.
Agricultural land: 391.219 sq km - 50.12% of the land area (2008)
Forest area: 211.887 sq km - 27% of the land area (2004)
Electricity
220 Volts
capacity: 18,710,000 kW
production: 191.2 billion kWh (2007 est.)
consumption: 140.3 billion kWh (2005)
export: 1.8 billion kWh (2005 est.)
imports: 636 million kWh (2005 est.)
Oil
production: 50,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
consumption: 715,100 bbl/day (2005 est.)
exports: 46,110 bbl/day (2001)
imports: 616,500 bbl/day (2001)
proved reserves: 288.4 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas
production: 980 million cu m (2005 est.)
consumption: 27.3 billion cu m (2005 est.)
exports: 0 cu m (2005 est.)
imports: 15.75 billion cu m (2001 est.)
proved reserves: 8.685 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance
$-32.77 billion (2007)
Exports: $105.9 billion f.o.b. (2007)
Commodities: apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment.
Partners: Germany 13.9%, UK 8.8%, US 7.7%, Italy 7.4%, France 5.8%, Spain 4.2% (2004)
Imports: $137 billion c.i.f. (2006)
Commodities: machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment.
Partners: Germany 12.9%, Russia 9.3%, Italy 7.1%, France 6.4%, US 4.8%, China 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2004)
External debt: $247.2 billion (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $60.7 billion (2006)
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $635.8 million (2002)
note: aid for Gulf war efforts from coalition allies (1991) $4.1 billion; aid pledged for Turkish Defense Fund $2.5 billion; aid for Iraqi war (2003) approx. $8.5 billion.
Currency
Turkish Lira - TL (formerly New Turkish lira - YTL)
Exchange rates: USD 1 = 1.49 TL , Euro 1 = 2.21 TL (07 December 2009).
As of 01/01/2005, six zeroes are dropped from the old TL by the Law, which made 1.000.000 TL equal to 1 YTL. Both TL and YTL banknotes were in physical circulation for one year in 2005 and the old TL banknotes are withdrawn from circulation as of 1 January 2006. As of 1st of January 2009, "Yeni" (New) is dropped off from the name of the currency and YTL is now called TL (Turkish Lira) again.
Some previous rates: US$ 1 = 1,420,000 (Dec. 2004), 1,670,000 (Jan. 2003), 1,400,000 (Feb. 2002), 538,000 (Jan 2000), 420,000 (Jul 1999), 270,000 (July 1998), 175,000 (October 1997), 60,502.1 (January 1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993), 6,872.4 (1992), 4,171.8 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
Railways
total: 10,991 km (2007)
gauge: 8,717 km standard + 2,274 km electrified (2007)
New high-speed train tracks are under construction between Istanbul-Ankara
total passenger capacity: 108,330 (2007)
capacity of Freight Wagons: 691,634 tons (2007)
Highways
( Detailed Road Map )
total: 354,421 km
paved: 140,850 km (including 1,987 km of expressways) (2006)
unpaved: 207,017 km (2002)
Waterways: about 1,200 km (2003)
Pipelines: gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2003)
Ports: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Izmit, Mersin, Samsun, Trabzon
Merchant marine
total: 526 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,666,895 GRT/7,311,504 DWT
ships by type: bulk carrier 108, cargo 228, chemical tanker 45, combination ore/oil 1, container 25, liquefied gas 6, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 50, petroleum tanker 33, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 22, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 8 (Cyprus 3, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Switzerland 1)
registered in other countries: 231 (2005 est.)
Airports
total: 120 (2004 est.) (88 with paved runways and 32 with unpaved runways)
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 15
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 046 m: 32
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 19
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 18
with paved runways under 914 m: 4
with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 046 m: 1
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 20 (2005 est.)
Heliports: 16 (2005 est.)
Communications
Country code: 90
Telephones: 18,978,223 (2005)
Telephone system: fair domestic and international systems, area codes
Mobile Phones: GSM 63,900,000 approximately (June 2008), three nets; Turkcell, Vodafone (ex-Telsim), Avea (Aria and Aycell have merged)
domestic: trunk microwave radio relay network; limited open-wire network
international: international service is provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; also by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002). Turkey has four communication satellites; Turksat 1B (31.3 degrees East, not operative since 2006) , Turksat 1C (31.3 degrees East), Turksat 2A (42 degrees East), and Turksat 3A (42 degrees East).
Radio broadcast stations: 36 National, 102 Regional, 955 Local, a total of 1,093 (2005)
Radios: 19.4 million (1997 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 24 National, 17 Regional, 218 Local, a total of 259 (2005)
Internet country code: .tr
Internet hosts: 355,215 (2004)
Internet users: approx. 20 million in 2008 (5.5 million in 2003, 8.5 million in 2005)
Defense
Branches: Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Land Forces, Naval Forces Command (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard Command, Gendarmerie (Jandarma)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 16,756,323 (2005 est.)
males fit for military service: 13,905,901 (2005 est.)
males reach military age (20) annually: 679,734 (2005 est.)
Defense expenditures: $10.1 billion (2004), 3.2% of GDP (2005)
Sources: CIA - The World Fact book 2006, Turkish Statistical Institute, World Bank.
Turkish Army
Turkish Army
Turkey is located in the Center of the Caucasus, Middle East and the Balkans which are the most unstable regions in the World. Therefore the defense policy is designed to preserve and protect the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and vital interests of the country. The Turkish Armed Forces missions and responsibilities are clearly stated in the Constitution and determined by laws as to react against new security problems and crises in the new century, to be ready to face the uncertainties, and to ensure the security of Turkey against internal and external risks.
Military service in Turkey is compulsory for all male citizens between 20 - 41 years of age (with some exceptions such as handicapped, or mentally ill, or not healthy people). Women are allowed only to become officers choosing it as a career enrolling in military schools and not as conscripts. Those men who are 20 years of age but still continue their higher education at Universities or vocational training programs are allowed to postpone their draft until they have completed these programs. The duration of the basic military service varies: 15 months for privates (elementary or high school graduates), 12 months for reserve officers (University graduates), and 6 months for short-term privates (those who have earned a university degree and have not been enlisted as reserve officers).
For Turkish citizens who have lived or worked abroad for at least 3 years, a basic military training of 3 weeks is offered instead of the full-term military service if they pay a certain fee in foreign currency (was 10.000 old German Marks, equal to 5.112 Euros of today). Also in times when the General Staff assesses that the military reserve exceeds the required amount, paid military service of 1 month basic training is established for local citizens. After the 1999 earthquake, an exception was made and paid military service was accepted that year to help the economy using the collected money in reconstruction and rehabilitation of the cities suffered during that horrible earthquake of August 17th.
All Land, Naval and Air forces are connected to the Turkish General Staff, Gendarmerie forces are connected to the Land forces, and Coast Guard is connected to the Naval forces. The Chief of General Staff (General Ilker Basbug since August 2008, succeeding General Yasar Buyukanit and General Hilmi Ozkok) is appointed by the President as Commander of the Armed Forces and is responsible to the Prime Minister. His office is coordinated with the Ministry of Defense who is also responsible to the Premiere. The Council of Ministers is responsible to Turkish Grand National Assembly for national security and the preparation of the Armed Forces to defend the country. However, authority to declare a state of war and send Turkish Armed Forces to foreign countries or allow foreign armed forces to be stationed in Turkey rests with Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM).
Land Forces are organized into; 4 Corps Command (1st Army in Marmara area, 2nd Army in the Southeast, 3rd Army in the Northeast, Aegean Army in the Aegean region), Land Forces Training & Doctrine Command, and Land Forces Logistic Command. The country is divided into four military sectors on the basis of strategic conditions of terrain, logistics, communications, and the potential external threat. These sectors are assigned to four field armies, the first three of which would come under NATO command in the event of a NATO reinforced alert.
The First Army has its headquarters in Istanbul and is widely deployed in the European part of Turkey. Their responsibility is to defend Istanbul, Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, and Kocaeli Peninsula.
The Second Army has its headquartered in Malatya and is deployed in southeastern Anatolia with a defensive mission facing Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
The Third Army has its headquarters in Erzincan and is deployed in eastern Anatolia, covering the borders with Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan from the east and northeast. For the Armed Forces readiness against any possible crisis in the area (such as during Persian Gulf War and Iraqi War), most of the armored, mechanized, and commando brigades are located in the central region in order to act rapidly into any scenario around our borders.
The Aegean Army (or 4th Army) has its headquarter in Izmir and was established in mid-1970s against growing tensions with Greece in the Aegean Sea. Their responsibility is to defend the Aegean coast from the Dardanelles to the north down to Cyprus, and keeping sea routes and communication lines open in the Aegean. The Turkish peace corps on Cyprus are connected to the Aegean Army command structure.
Turkish Land Forces are composed by; 4 field armies, 10 army corps, 2 mechanized infantry division, 2 mechanized infantry division headquarters (tactical), 1 infantry division and 1 training division, 14 mechanized infantry brigades, 14 armored brigades, 12 infantry/regional security brigades, 5 commando brigades, and 5 training brigades.
Turkish Naval Forces are composed by; 13 submarines, 20 frigates, 21 fast patrol boats, 21 mine sweepers or hunters or layers, 52 various landing ships, 23 various maritime patrol aircraft or helicopters, and amphibious brigade. Navy's subordinate commands are; Fleet Command, Northern Sea Area Command, and Naval Training and Education Command.
Turkish Air Forces are composed by; 19 combat squadrons, 2 reconnaissance squadrons, 5 training squadrons, 6 transportation squadrons, 1 tanker squadron, and 8 surface to air missile (SAM) squadrons. These units are organized into; 2 tactical air forces (1st TAF HQ in Eskisehir and 2nd TAF HQ in Diyarbakir), 2 main air transport bases, tanker base, air training, and air logistics commands. After US Air Forces, Turkish Air Forces have the most number of F-16 aircraft in the world. Turkish Air Forces can participate in exercises conducted overseas flying non-stop thanks to their in-air refueling capability with tanker planes.
History
Turks had been always good soldiers since the times of the Turkic States and during the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. Especially during the Ottomans, the famous Janissaries were feared by all Europeans. But towards the end of the Ottoman Empire a new army had to be found because the defeat of its allies determined the end of the Empire, with the country being invaded and its army disarmed.
The last major battle of the Turkish Army was in early 1920's under the command of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk during the Turkish independence war after World War I. Between 1920-1923 the Army had to fight against Russian and Armenian militaries on the Eastern front, against Italian, French, and British militaries on the Southern front, and against Greek military on the western front. Gallipoli War was one of the most dramatic and heroic one amongst all. During World War II Turkey managed to stay neutral and thus the Army did not participate in any conflict until the Korean War (1950–1953). Turkey participated to this war with an infantry brigade to fight solely for humanitarian purposes and for the ideal of UN, gaining the appreciation of the world. 731 Turkish soldiers were killed in action (KIA) in Korea.
Turkey joined NATO on 18th of February 1952, and Allied Land Forces Southeastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST) was established same year in Izmir (JCSE - Joint Command Southeast today). To date, Turkey has made a contribution of US$ 340 million to the NATO Infrastructure Fund since she has joined the NATO Infrastructure Program in 1953. In return, Turkey has received a share of nearly US$ 5.2 billion from the NATO infra funds. Today the number of NATO members reached from the original 12 to 26 (Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States).
On July 20th, 1974, Turkey had to intervene to Cyprus as one of the peace Guarantor Powers (Turkey, Greece, Britain) on the Island according to International Treaties of 1958 in Zurich and 1959 in London, to end a coup sponsored by Greek paramilitary group EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston, National Organization of Freedom Fighters) and still continues to maintain military presence there with the Cyprus Turkish Peace Forces connected to the Aegean Army.
The Turkish army has been engaged in a conflict with the separatist and terrorist groups since the early 1980s, mainly concentrated in southeastern Turkey. Especially the 1st Commando Brigade based in Kayseri, the 2nd Commando Brigade based in Bolu, and the Amphibious Marine Brigade (3rd Commando Brigade) based in Foca/Izmir were deployed there for the fights and they were awarded with the "Distinguished Courage Medal of the Turkish Armed Forces".
After Korean War, Turkey has taken part in many Peace Support Operations joint with NATO for the regional and global peace, both military and un-military operations:
Between 1993-1994, Turkish Army took part in the Operation United Shield responding to famine conditions in Somalia (UNOSOM). A Turkish Lieutenant General (Cevik Bir) was assigned for one period to command UN Peace Keeping Force.
Operation Sharp Guard and Operation Deny Flight for Air Force patrol and escort missions over Bosnia between 1994-1995 and 1996-Present (UNPROFOR and IFOR/SFOR). In 2004 European Force (EUFOR) took over the responsibility of this force from NATO, but Turkey continues to participate in this Operation with a mechanized Battalion Task Force formed by 844 military personnel in Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, since then.
Albania (ALBA) in 1997.
Air Force patrol, escort and strike operations over Kosovo contributing with a Battalion Task Force between 1999-Present (KFOR and AFOR).
Operation Essential Harvest, conducted to disarm the Albanian militants in Macedonia, with a Company in 2001 around Petrovac region. Turkish military personnel was present also during Operation Amber Fox which began in 2001.
Operation Continual Freedom in Afghanistan between 2002-2003 and 2005-Present (ISAF). Turkey assumed the command of ISAF a couple of times in 2002, 2005, and lately in 2009. Turkish Army is still carrying out its mission with a company in the international assistance force in Kabul.
Several un-military observation and military consultation missions to support the UN in Bosnia-Herzegovina (UNMIBH and IPTF), East Timor, Georgia (UNOMIG), Al-Khalil in the West Bank (TIPH), Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM).
Participating in international joined help operations by NATO into areas where natural disasters occur or civil wars break out, such as sending air support and cargo carriers to the USA after Katrina disaster in 2005, or to Pakistan after the big earthquake in 2005, or to Darfur - Sudan in order to stop the violence in 2005 (UNMIS).
By the end of 2006, Turkish Army have also sent its peace keeping forces into southern Lebanon.
Most of the equipment and weapons systems used by the Turkish Armed Forces is of US origin. Today, other main weapons suppliers of Turkey are Germany, Israel, England, France and Russia.
Turkish Armed Forces are greater than those of France and Britain combined, with 514,000 men under arms and 380,000 in reserve, plus a robust air force with American fighters. Actually, it's the 2nd largest standing force in NATO after the United States, and 8th biggest number of active troops in the world.
In peace time, Turkish Armed Forces are ready to perform Disaster Relief Operations as was in recent earthquakes in Marmara Region. After August 17, 1999 Earthquake, Turkish Armed Forces improved its capabilities on specialized Search And Rescue (SAR) missions in order to better cope with large scale natural disasters.
Source: Turkish Armed Forces, NATO, and military reviews
Turkey is located in the Center of the Caucasus, Middle East and the Balkans which are the most unstable regions in the World. Therefore the defense policy is designed to preserve and protect the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and vital interests of the country. The Turkish Armed Forces missions and responsibilities are clearly stated in the Constitution and determined by laws as to react against new security problems and crises in the new century, to be ready to face the uncertainties, and to ensure the security of Turkey against internal and external risks.
Military service in Turkey is compulsory for all male citizens between 20 - 41 years of age (with some exceptions such as handicapped, or mentally ill, or not healthy people). Women are allowed only to become officers choosing it as a career enrolling in military schools and not as conscripts. Those men who are 20 years of age but still continue their higher education at Universities or vocational training programs are allowed to postpone their draft until they have completed these programs. The duration of the basic military service varies: 15 months for privates (elementary or high school graduates), 12 months for reserve officers (University graduates), and 6 months for short-term privates (those who have earned a university degree and have not been enlisted as reserve officers).
For Turkish citizens who have lived or worked abroad for at least 3 years, a basic military training of 3 weeks is offered instead of the full-term military service if they pay a certain fee in foreign currency (was 10.000 old German Marks, equal to 5.112 Euros of today). Also in times when the General Staff assesses that the military reserve exceeds the required amount, paid military service of 1 month basic training is established for local citizens. After the 1999 earthquake, an exception was made and paid military service was accepted that year to help the economy using the collected money in reconstruction and rehabilitation of the cities suffered during that horrible earthquake of August 17th.
All Land, Naval and Air forces are connected to the Turkish General Staff, Gendarmerie forces are connected to the Land forces, and Coast Guard is connected to the Naval forces. The Chief of General Staff (General Ilker Basbug since August 2008, succeeding General Yasar Buyukanit and General Hilmi Ozkok) is appointed by the President as Commander of the Armed Forces and is responsible to the Prime Minister. His office is coordinated with the Ministry of Defense who is also responsible to the Premiere. The Council of Ministers is responsible to Turkish Grand National Assembly for national security and the preparation of the Armed Forces to defend the country. However, authority to declare a state of war and send Turkish Armed Forces to foreign countries or allow foreign armed forces to be stationed in Turkey rests with Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM).
Land Forces are organized into; 4 Corps Command (1st Army in Marmara area, 2nd Army in the Southeast, 3rd Army in the Northeast, Aegean Army in the Aegean region), Land Forces Training & Doctrine Command, and Land Forces Logistic Command. The country is divided into four military sectors on the basis of strategic conditions of terrain, logistics, communications, and the potential external threat. These sectors are assigned to four field armies, the first three of which would come under NATO command in the event of a NATO reinforced alert.
The First Army has its headquarters in Istanbul and is widely deployed in the European part of Turkey. Their responsibility is to defend Istanbul, Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, and Kocaeli Peninsula.
The Second Army has its headquartered in Malatya and is deployed in southeastern Anatolia with a defensive mission facing Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
The Third Army has its headquarters in Erzincan and is deployed in eastern Anatolia, covering the borders with Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan from the east and northeast. For the Armed Forces readiness against any possible crisis in the area (such as during Persian Gulf War and Iraqi War), most of the armored, mechanized, and commando brigades are located in the central region in order to act rapidly into any scenario around our borders.
The Aegean Army (or 4th Army) has its headquarter in Izmir and was established in mid-1970s against growing tensions with Greece in the Aegean Sea. Their responsibility is to defend the Aegean coast from the Dardanelles to the north down to Cyprus, and keeping sea routes and communication lines open in the Aegean. The Turkish peace corps on Cyprus are connected to the Aegean Army command structure.
Turkish Land Forces are composed by; 4 field armies, 10 army corps, 2 mechanized infantry division, 2 mechanized infantry division headquarters (tactical), 1 infantry division and 1 training division, 14 mechanized infantry brigades, 14 armored brigades, 12 infantry/regional security brigades, 5 commando brigades, and 5 training brigades.
Turkish Naval Forces are composed by; 13 submarines, 20 frigates, 21 fast patrol boats, 21 mine sweepers or hunters or layers, 52 various landing ships, 23 various maritime patrol aircraft or helicopters, and amphibious brigade. Navy's subordinate commands are; Fleet Command, Northern Sea Area Command, and Naval Training and Education Command.
Turkish Air Forces are composed by; 19 combat squadrons, 2 reconnaissance squadrons, 5 training squadrons, 6 transportation squadrons, 1 tanker squadron, and 8 surface to air missile (SAM) squadrons. These units are organized into; 2 tactical air forces (1st TAF HQ in Eskisehir and 2nd TAF HQ in Diyarbakir), 2 main air transport bases, tanker base, air training, and air logistics commands. After US Air Forces, Turkish Air Forces have the most number of F-16 aircraft in the world. Turkish Air Forces can participate in exercises conducted overseas flying non-stop thanks to their in-air refueling capability with tanker planes.
History
Turks had been always good soldiers since the times of the Turkic States and during the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. Especially during the Ottomans, the famous Janissaries were feared by all Europeans. But towards the end of the Ottoman Empire a new army had to be found because the defeat of its allies determined the end of the Empire, with the country being invaded and its army disarmed.
The last major battle of the Turkish Army was in early 1920's under the command of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk during the Turkish independence war after World War I. Between 1920-1923 the Army had to fight against Russian and Armenian militaries on the Eastern front, against Italian, French, and British militaries on the Southern front, and against Greek military on the western front. Gallipoli War was one of the most dramatic and heroic one amongst all. During World War II Turkey managed to stay neutral and thus the Army did not participate in any conflict until the Korean War (1950–1953). Turkey participated to this war with an infantry brigade to fight solely for humanitarian purposes and for the ideal of UN, gaining the appreciation of the world. 731 Turkish soldiers were killed in action (KIA) in Korea.
Turkey joined NATO on 18th of February 1952, and Allied Land Forces Southeastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST) was established same year in Izmir (JCSE - Joint Command Southeast today). To date, Turkey has made a contribution of US$ 340 million to the NATO Infrastructure Fund since she has joined the NATO Infrastructure Program in 1953. In return, Turkey has received a share of nearly US$ 5.2 billion from the NATO infra funds. Today the number of NATO members reached from the original 12 to 26 (Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States).
On July 20th, 1974, Turkey had to intervene to Cyprus as one of the peace Guarantor Powers (Turkey, Greece, Britain) on the Island according to International Treaties of 1958 in Zurich and 1959 in London, to end a coup sponsored by Greek paramilitary group EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston, National Organization of Freedom Fighters) and still continues to maintain military presence there with the Cyprus Turkish Peace Forces connected to the Aegean Army.
The Turkish army has been engaged in a conflict with the separatist and terrorist groups since the early 1980s, mainly concentrated in southeastern Turkey. Especially the 1st Commando Brigade based in Kayseri, the 2nd Commando Brigade based in Bolu, and the Amphibious Marine Brigade (3rd Commando Brigade) based in Foca/Izmir were deployed there for the fights and they were awarded with the "Distinguished Courage Medal of the Turkish Armed Forces".
After Korean War, Turkey has taken part in many Peace Support Operations joint with NATO for the regional and global peace, both military and un-military operations:
Between 1993-1994, Turkish Army took part in the Operation United Shield responding to famine conditions in Somalia (UNOSOM). A Turkish Lieutenant General (Cevik Bir) was assigned for one period to command UN Peace Keeping Force.
Operation Sharp Guard and Operation Deny Flight for Air Force patrol and escort missions over Bosnia between 1994-1995 and 1996-Present (UNPROFOR and IFOR/SFOR). In 2004 European Force (EUFOR) took over the responsibility of this force from NATO, but Turkey continues to participate in this Operation with a mechanized Battalion Task Force formed by 844 military personnel in Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, since then.
Albania (ALBA) in 1997.
Air Force patrol, escort and strike operations over Kosovo contributing with a Battalion Task Force between 1999-Present (KFOR and AFOR).
Operation Essential Harvest, conducted to disarm the Albanian militants in Macedonia, with a Company in 2001 around Petrovac region. Turkish military personnel was present also during Operation Amber Fox which began in 2001.
Operation Continual Freedom in Afghanistan between 2002-2003 and 2005-Present (ISAF). Turkey assumed the command of ISAF a couple of times in 2002, 2005, and lately in 2009. Turkish Army is still carrying out its mission with a company in the international assistance force in Kabul.
Several un-military observation and military consultation missions to support the UN in Bosnia-Herzegovina (UNMIBH and IPTF), East Timor, Georgia (UNOMIG), Al-Khalil in the West Bank (TIPH), Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM).
Participating in international joined help operations by NATO into areas where natural disasters occur or civil wars break out, such as sending air support and cargo carriers to the USA after Katrina disaster in 2005, or to Pakistan after the big earthquake in 2005, or to Darfur - Sudan in order to stop the violence in 2005 (UNMIS).
By the end of 2006, Turkish Army have also sent its peace keeping forces into southern Lebanon.
Most of the equipment and weapons systems used by the Turkish Armed Forces is of US origin. Today, other main weapons suppliers of Turkey are Germany, Israel, England, France and Russia.
Turkish Armed Forces are greater than those of France and Britain combined, with 514,000 men under arms and 380,000 in reserve, plus a robust air force with American fighters. Actually, it's the 2nd largest standing force in NATO after the United States, and 8th biggest number of active troops in the world.
In peace time, Turkish Armed Forces are ready to perform Disaster Relief Operations as was in recent earthquakes in Marmara Region. After August 17, 1999 Earthquake, Turkish Armed Forces improved its capabilities on specialized Search And Rescue (SAR) missions in order to better cope with large scale natural disasters.
Source: Turkish Armed Forces, NATO, and military reviews
The Ottoman sultans
Home > History > The Ottoman sultans
The Ottoman sultans and their dynasty
See also
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman government
The Ottoman sultan was the absolute ruler of the territory. He was the head of the state and head of the government, and his words were the Law. He was the political, military, judicial, social, and religious leader. He was responsible only to Allah and God's Law, known as the Seriat (Sharia).
The Sultanate was inherited from father to the son during the early days of the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Fatih Mehmet, following the struggle for power between Yildirim Bayezit's sons for the throne, in the 15th century enacted the ruling of the murder of other siblings once the eldest was throned, in a decree (Ferman) named after himself. This application which was known as the "survival of the fittest" was enforced for about 250 years, until it was abandoned at the beginning of the 17th century and replaced with the rule of the "eldest family member" upon the death of a sultan. That is why after the 17th century a deceased sultan was rarely succeeded by his own son but usually by an uncle or brother. Also, all prospective future heirs to the throne were forced to live in the Harem's "cage" section, cut off from the rest of the world.
There were a total of 36 sultans who ruled between 1299-1922. The sultans of the Ottoman Empire, in chronological order, were:
Osman Gazi (1299-1324 or 1326)
Orhan Gazi (1324 or 1326-1360)
Murat I (1360-1389)
Yildirim Bayazid I (1389-1403)
Mehmet I (1403-1421)
Murat II (1421-1444 and 1446-1451)
Fatih Mehmet II (1444-1446 and 1451-1481)
Beyazid II (1481-1512)
Yavuz Selim I (1512-1520)
Suleyman I (1520-1566)
Selim II (1566-1574)
Murad III (1574-1595)
Mehmet III (1595-1603)
Ahmed I (1603-1617)
Mustafa I (1617-1618 and 1622-1623)
Genc Osman II (1618-1622)
Murad IV (1623-1640)
Ibrahim (1640-1648)
Avci Mehmed IV (1648-1687)
Suleyman II (1687-1691)
Ahmed II (1691-1695)
Avci Mehmed V (1648-1687)
Suleyman III (1687-1691)
Ahmed II (1691-1695)
Mustafa II (1695-1703)
Ahmed III (1703-1730)
Mahmud I (1730-1754)
Osman III (1754-1757)
Mustafa III (1757-1774)
Abdulhamid I (1774-1789)
Selim III (1789-1807)
Mustafa IV (1807-1808)
Mahmud II (1808-1839)
Abdulmecit (1839-1861)
Abdulaziz (1861-1876)
Murad V (1876)
Abdulhamid II (1876-1909)
Mehmed V (1909-1918)
Mehmed Vahdettin VI (1918-1922)
Vahdettin was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire. In November 1922, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk abolished the sultanate, so Vahdettin and his family were sent into exile in Europe. The sultan's descendants were not allowed to enter Turkey for about 50 years, when in 1974 the Turkish Grand National Assembly granted them the right to acquire Turkish citizenship if they requested. The last surviving heir to the past Ottoman throne, Mr. Ertugrul Osman, who was 4th in line to the throne, died in Istanbul on 23rd of September 2009 at the age of 97.
Virtual Turkey Tour © online
The Ottoman sultans and their dynasty
See also
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman government
The Ottoman sultan was the absolute ruler of the territory. He was the head of the state and head of the government, and his words were the Law. He was the political, military, judicial, social, and religious leader. He was responsible only to Allah and God's Law, known as the Seriat (Sharia).
The Sultanate was inherited from father to the son during the early days of the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Fatih Mehmet, following the struggle for power between Yildirim Bayezit's sons for the throne, in the 15th century enacted the ruling of the murder of other siblings once the eldest was throned, in a decree (Ferman) named after himself. This application which was known as the "survival of the fittest" was enforced for about 250 years, until it was abandoned at the beginning of the 17th century and replaced with the rule of the "eldest family member" upon the death of a sultan. That is why after the 17th century a deceased sultan was rarely succeeded by his own son but usually by an uncle or brother. Also, all prospective future heirs to the throne were forced to live in the Harem's "cage" section, cut off from the rest of the world.
There were a total of 36 sultans who ruled between 1299-1922. The sultans of the Ottoman Empire, in chronological order, were:
Osman Gazi (1299-1324 or 1326)
Orhan Gazi (1324 or 1326-1360)
Murat I (1360-1389)
Yildirim Bayazid I (1389-1403)
Mehmet I (1403-1421)
Murat II (1421-1444 and 1446-1451)
Fatih Mehmet II (1444-1446 and 1451-1481)
Beyazid II (1481-1512)
Yavuz Selim I (1512-1520)
Suleyman I (1520-1566)
Selim II (1566-1574)
Murad III (1574-1595)
Mehmet III (1595-1603)
Ahmed I (1603-1617)
Mustafa I (1617-1618 and 1622-1623)
Genc Osman II (1618-1622)
Murad IV (1623-1640)
Ibrahim (1640-1648)
Avci Mehmed IV (1648-1687)
Suleyman II (1687-1691)
Ahmed II (1691-1695)
Avci Mehmed V (1648-1687)
Suleyman III (1687-1691)
Ahmed II (1691-1695)
Mustafa II (1695-1703)
Ahmed III (1703-1730)
Mahmud I (1730-1754)
Osman III (1754-1757)
Mustafa III (1757-1774)
Abdulhamid I (1774-1789)
Selim III (1789-1807)
Mustafa IV (1807-1808)
Mahmud II (1808-1839)
Abdulmecit (1839-1861)
Abdulaziz (1861-1876)
Murad V (1876)
Abdulhamid II (1876-1909)
Mehmed V (1909-1918)
Mehmed Vahdettin VI (1918-1922)
Vahdettin was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire. In November 1922, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk abolished the sultanate, so Vahdettin and his family were sent into exile in Europe. The sultan's descendants were not allowed to enter Turkey for about 50 years, when in 1974 the Turkish Grand National Assembly granted them the right to acquire Turkish citizenship if they requested. The last surviving heir to the past Ottoman throne, Mr. Ertugrul Osman, who was 4th in line to the throne, died in Istanbul on 23rd of September 2009 at the age of 97.
Virtual Turkey Tour © online
Kaydol:
Kayıtlar (Atom)