General

Asian Turkey (made up largely of Asia Minor), which includes 97% of the country, is separated from European Turkey (made up of East Thrace) by the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles (which together form a water link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean). Northeast Asian Turkey includes part of historical Armenia, and Southeast Asian Turkey includes part of Kurdistan. European Turkey, which includes Edirne and most of Istanbul, is largely rolling agricultural land, drained by the Ergene River. Asian Turkey is mostly made up of highland and mountains, with some narrow strips of lowland in the west on the coasts of the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara and along the Simav, Gediz, and Menderes rivers; in the north on the Black Sea coast and along the Sakarya and Kizil Irmak rivers; and in the south on the Mediterranean coast and along the Aksu, Göksu, Seyhan, and Ceyhan rivers.

The centre of West Asian Turkey is made up of the vast semiarid Plateau of Anatolia (average height c.3,000 ft/914 m), which includes lakes Tuz and Beysehir and which is fringed in the north by the Köroglu Mts. and in the south by the Taurus Mts. In Northeast Turkey are the Pontic Mts. and in East Turkey are the Eastern Taurus Mts. Great Ararat Mt. (16,945 ft/5,165 m), the highest point in Turkey, and Lake Van are in the extreme eastern part of the country. Southeast Turkey is drained by the upper courses of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.