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Extensible Markup Language | 1995-06-15 | 7KB | 19 lines

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <!DOCTYPE card PUBLIC "-//Apple, Inc.//DTD card V 2.0//EN" "" > <card> <id>48365</id> <filler1>0</filler1> <cantDelete> <false /> </cantDelete> <showPict> <true /> </showPict> <dontSearch> <false /> </dontSearch> <owner>5472</owner> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet_3106.css" /> <content> <layer>background</layer> <id>31</id> <text>TURKEYOfficial name: T├╝rkiye Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Turkey)Member of: UN, NATO, OECD, OSCEArea: 779452 km2 (300948 sq mi)Population: 59870000 (1993 est)Capital: Ankara 3022000 (city 2560000; 1990 census)Other major cities: Istanbul 6620000 (city 6293000), Izmir 2665000 (city 2319000), Adana 1430000 (city 972000), Bursa 1031000 (city 775000), Konya 1015000 (city 543000), Gaziantep 760000 (city 574000) (1990 census)Languages: Turkish (86%; official); Kurdish (under 15%). There is no agreement regarding the size of the Kurdish population in Turkey; some sources claim that 20% of TurkeyΓÇÖs population is Kurdish.Religions: Sunni Islam (67%), Shia Islam (30%), various Christian Churches (3%)GOVERNMENTThe 450-member National Assembly is elected by universal adult suffrage for five years. The President ΓÇô who is elected by the Assembly for seven years ΓÇô appoints a Prime Minister and a Cabinet commanding a majority in the Assembly.GEOGRAPHYTurkey west of the Dardanelles ΓÇô 5% of the total area ΓÇô is part of Europe. Asiatic Turkey consists of the central Anatolian Plateau and its basins, bordered to the north by the Pontic Mountains, to the south by the Taurus Mountains, and to the east by high ranges rising to Agridagi (Mount Ararat) at 5185 m (17 011 ft). Principal rivers: Euphrates (Firat) 1900 km (1180 mi), Tigris (Dicle) 2800 km (1740 mi). Climate: The coastal regions have a Mediterranean climate. The interior is continental with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters.ECONOMYAgriculture involves one half of the labor force. Major crops include wheat, rice, tobacco, and cotton. Both tobacco and cotton have given rise to important processing industries, and textiles are TurkeyΓÇÖs main export. Manufacturing ΓÇô in particular the chemical and steel industries ΓÇô has grown rapidly. Natural resources include copper and coal. Unemployment is severe. Money sent back by the large number of Turks working in Western Europe is a major source of foreign currency. Tourism is increasingly important. Currency: Turkish lira.HISTORYThe Hittite empire was founded around 1650 BC, and quickly gained control of all of Anatolia (present-day Turkey), spread to north Syria and later came into conflict with the Egyptians. By the 6th century BC (Persian) Achaemenid power was expanding into Anatolia. However, in 334 BC Alexander the Great crossed into Asia and destroyed the Achaemenid Empire. Anatolia was divided into several Hellenistic states until the Roman Empire took control of the area (133 BC). In ad 330 Emperor Constantine established the new city of Constantinople (now Istanbul), which became capital of the Byzantine Empire.In the 11th century the Muslim Seljuk Turks occupied most of Anatolia. In the 13th century the Seljuks were replaced by the Ottoman Turks, who by the end of the 14th century had conquered most of the Balkans. In 1453 the Christian Byzantine Empire fell with the loss of Constantinople, which became the Ottoman capital. Under Suleiman the Magnificent (reigned 1520ΓÇô66), the (Turkish) Ottoman Empire extended from the Danube to Aden and Eritrea, and from the Euphrates and the Crimea to Algiers. However, from that time the empire began a long decline in military and political might and in extent. The Ottoman Empire came to be regarded as ΓÇÿthe sick man of EuropeΓÇÖ, and the future of the empire and its Balkan territories troubled the 19th century as ΓÇÿthe Eastern QuestionΓÇÖ. In 1908 the Young Turks revolt attempted to stop the decline, but defeat in the Balkan Wars (1912ΓÇô13) virtually expelled Turkey from Europe.Alliance with Germany in World War I ended in defeat and the loss of all non-Turkish areas. The future of Turkey in Asia itself seemed in doubt when Greece took the area around Izmir and the Allies defined zones of influence. General Mustafa Kemal (1881ΓÇô1938) ΓÇô later known as Atat├╝rk (ΓÇÿfather of the TurksΓÇÖ) ΓÇô led forces of resistance in a civil war and went on to defeat Greece. TurkeyΓÇÖs present boundaries were established in 1923 by the Treaty of Lausanne. With the abolition of the sultanate (1922) Turkey became a republic, which Atat├╝rk transformed into a secular Westernized state. Islam was disestablished, Arabic script was replaced by the Latin alphabet, the Turkish language was revived, and womenΓÇÖs veils were banned.Soviet claims on Turkish territory in 1945 encouraged a pro-Western outlook, and in 1952 Turkey joined NATO. PM Adnan Menderes was overthrown by a military coup in 1960 and hanged on charges of corruption and unconstitutional rule. Civilian government was restored in 1961, but a pattern of violence and ineffective government led to a further army takeover in 1980. In 1974, after President Makarios was overthrown in Cyprus by a Greek-sponsored coup, Turkey invaded the island and set up a Turkish administration in the north (1975). Differences with Greece over Cyprus have damaged the countryΓÇÖs attempts to join the EC, as has the countryΓÇÖs record on human rights. In 1983 civilian rule replaced the military government. Since then Turkey has drawn as close as possible to Western Europe, although the emergence of Islamic fundamentalism since the late 1980s has raised doubts concerning TurkeyΓÇÖs European identity. Following the exodus of Iraqi Kurdish refugees into Turkey (1991), unrest among TurkeyΓÇÖs ethnic Kurds intensified. A Kurdish terrorist movement has been active not only in Turkey but also in Europe, where Turkish diplomatic and other offices have been targets. There has been international criticism of the actions of Turkish forces in containing this violence.</text> </content> <name>Turkey</name> <script></script> </card>