TURKEY PACKAGES - October 2010...

Experience the wonders of Turkey sailing the extraordinary coastline, visit the many majestic ports rich in history, enjoy beautiful scenery and fantastic food and wine.

Enjoy 7 wondrous nights, twin share cabin on a skippered gulet sailing yacht for October 2010. Take the helm yourself and learn to sail or simply sit back, relax and our experienced skipper will take you from one magical port to another. Limited bookings from as little as $3,150 p.p. (Excl. air fares).

TURKEY is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace (Rumelia) in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe.

Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhichevan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. 

The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea and Archipelago are to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. Separating Anatolia and Thrace are the Sea of Marmara and the Turkish Straits (the Bosporus and the Dardanelles), which are commonly reckoned to delineate the border between Asia and Europe, thereby making Turkey transcontinental.

BASIC FACTS

Official name

Republic of Turkey

Capital

Ankara

Area

779,452 sq km
300,948 sq mi

Largest cities (population)

İstanbul 11,174,257 (2007 estimate)
Ankara 3,428,000 (2003 estimate)
İzmir 2,409,000 (2000)
Bursa 459,877 (2007 estimate)
Adana 395,388 (2007 estimate)
Gaziantep 217,505 (2007 estimate)
Konya 546,739 (2007 estimate)
Antalya 661,661 (2007 estimate)
Diyarbakır 605,325 (2007 estimate)
Mersin 539,607 (2007 estimate)
Kayseri 269,835 (2007 estimate)
Eskişehir 482,793 (2000)
Şanlıurfa 385,588 (2000)
Malatya 381,081 (2000)
Samsun 363,180 (2000)
Erzurum 361,235 (2000)
Kahramanmaraş 326,198 (2000)
Elâzığ 266,495 (2000)
Sivas 251,776 (2000)
İzmit 210,068 (1997 estimate)

Population

71,892,807 (2008 estimate)

Population growth rate

1.01 per cent (2008 estimate)

Population density

93 persons per sq km (2008 estimate)
242 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)

Urbanization

Per cent urban 67 per cent (2005 estimate)
Per cent rural 33 per cent (2005 estimate)

Life expectancy

Total 73.1 years (2008 estimate)
Female 75.7 years (2008 estimate)
Male 70.7 years (2008 estimate)

Infant mortality rate

37 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate)

Literacy rate

Total 87.6 per cent (2005 estimate)
Female 80.1 per cent (2005 estimate)
Male 94.9 per cent (2005 estimate)

Ethnic divisions

Turkish 80 per cent
Kurdish 17 per cent
Other 3 per cent

Languages

Turkish (official), Northern Kurdish, Dimli, Kabardian, South Azerbaijani, Western Farsi (Persian), North Levantine Spoken Arabic, North Mesopotamian Spoken Arabic, Balkan Gagauz Turkish, Bulgarian, Adyghe, other indigenous languages

Religions

Muslim (mostly Sunni), Christian, Jewish

Type of government

Presidential republic

independence 

October 29, 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

Constitution 

November 7, 1982; amended 1987, 1995, 2001, 2004

Voting rights 

Universal at age 21

Economy

Gross domestic product (GDP) (US$)402,710 million (2006)
GDP per capita (US$) 5,518.50 (2006)
GDP by economic sector
GDP, agriculture 9.7 per cent (2006)
GDP, industry 26.8 per cent (2006)
GDP, services 63.5 per cent (2006)

National budget (US$)

Total revenue 132,712 million (2006)
Total expenditure 117,603 million (2006)

Monetary unit

1 Turkish lira (TL), consisting of 100 kurus

Exports

Textiles, metals, tobacco, leather, cement, olive oil, wheat, dried fruits, nuts, fuels, chemicals, iron and steel products

Imports

Liquid fuels, machinery, iron and steel, transport equipment, chemicals, electrical and electronic equipment, plastics, rubber

Major trading partners for exports

Germany, United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Italy

Major trading partners for imports

Germany, Italy, United States, France, United Kingdom

Industries

Textiles, food processing, mining, steel, petroleum, construction, timber, paper

Agriculture

Principal crops: wheat, tobacco, cotton, olives, sugar beet, pulses, citrus fruits, nuts, barley, oilseeds, tea, vegetables, rice; livestock products: sheep, goats, cattle, poultry, dairy, eggs, meat, honey, hides

Natural resources

Antimony, coal, petroleum, natural gas, bauxite, manganese, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulphur, iron ore