Destination : Turkey

Turkey is the only country in the world that is divided over two continents. Thracia is the European part. It covers only 3% of the total surface of Turkey. The larger part is Anatolia which lies on the Asian continent. The total surface of the country is 780.000 km². Those who want to cross the country have to cover a distance of about 1.900 km. Most of the country's frontiers are formed by the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. The two main cities are Istanbul (European Part) and Ankara (Asian part).

The second feature of Turkey's geography is the enormous diversity of its landscapes : fertile valleys, dense pine woods, subtropical beaches, deserts, prairies and rough mountains. Based on the climate, relief and farm grounds the following areas can be discerned :

• Thracia, with its rolling hills, pine forests and broad-leaved forests.
• Marmara, which is more hilly. The highest mountain here is the Uludap (2.554 m) near Bursa. This region is also known as the garden of Istanbul.
• The Aegean area and the shores of the Mediterranean are also hilly with numerous pines forests.
• The heart of Turkey is formed by the Central Anatolian upland plains with an average altitude between 800 en 1.500 m. The Eastern and South-Eastern part of Anatolia displays a wild and rough beauty. The highest mountain in Turkey can be seen here : the Ararat, an extinguished volcano. The largest interior lake of Turkey is the Van-Gölü.
• The coast of the Black Sea, with the Pontian mountains.