Turkey

The Turkish Republic (Turkish: Türkiye)listen (help·info); , is a bicontinental country located mainly in the Anatolian peninsula, with 3% of its territory located in the Balkan region of Southeastern Europe. Turkey borders eight countries: Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest; Georgia, Armenia and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan and to the northeast; Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the south. The Republic of Turkey is a democratic laic constitutional republic, whose political system was established in 1923. Turkey is a member state of the United Nations, NATO, OSCE, OECD, OIC and the Council of Europe. In October 2005, the European Union opened accession negotiations with Ankara.

Turkey straddles the Bosphorus straits that separate Southwest Asia from Southeast Europe. Anatolia is situated between the Black Sea on the north and the Mediterranean Sea to south, with the Aegean Sea and Marmara Sea (both branches of the Mediterranean) to the west. Because of its geographical position between Europe and Asia and three seas, Turkey has been a historical crossroads, the homeland of and battleground between several great civilizations, and a center of commerce.

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