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Turkey
has land in two continents, Asia and Europe. Westerns side i.e.
European Turkey borders with Greece and Bulgaria and Eastern side
i.e. Asian part of Turkey borders with Iran, Iraq, Syria, Georgia,
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Standing
at the crossroads of two continents, Turkey has been a prized
possession of some of the world's greatest empires. A people
called Hittites established themselves in the area around 1500 BC
and were followed by Persians and Greeks. Muslims from central
Asia, won control in AD 1000s and established Islam and the
Turkish Language. Later a military leader, Mustafa Kemal became
president of Republic Turkey and he abolished Muslim schools and
the Islamic legal system.
A vast
plateau extends across the center of Turkey. Rimmed with
mountains, this plateau has especially hot summers and cold
winters. Turkey is also a land of lakes and rivers. Wheat and
maize are grown in the broad valleys and along the hot
Mediterranean coast there are olive groves, orange trees and
fields of cotton.
About
half of the Turkey's population lives in large towns. Some people
work in coal and chromium mines, others in factories producing
iron, steel, machinery and processed foods. Traditional cottage
industries are Carpet Making and Potteries.
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