20 Terrific Facts about Turkey

First published 29th October 2019 Robin James

Learn some interesting facts about the countries of the world and impress your friends with these 20 fun and interesting facts about Turkey

Turkey is a beautiful and ancient country in both Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
It is bordered by Bulgaria to the northwest, Georgia to the northeast, Iran, Armenia and Nakhchivan to the east, Syria and Iraq to the south and Greece to the west. It also has a coastline along the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west.
Fancy a spot of shopping, a dip in the sea or a history-packed adventure? Head for the coordinates of Turkey, which are 39.9167° N, 32.8333°

Flag of Turkey

Want to call your friends in Turkey? You’ll need to use the international dialling code +90.
The terrain here consists of a high central plateau, narrow coastal plains and several mountain ranges, so there’s lots to explore!
The total land area of Turkey is 300,948 square miles (779,452 square kilometres).
Turkey’s population was 80.81 million in 2018.
Despite popular misconception, the capital of Turkey is Ankara, not Istanbul and covers an area of 971 square miles (2,516 square kilometres) and has a population of 5.445 million (2018).
The average life span here is 77.16 years (2017).

Aya Sofia, Istanbul

Dating back to 1455, Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is one of the world’s oldest and largest covered markets. It boasts over 3,000 shops and can attract up to 400,000 visitors per day!
The Turkish enjoy a temperate climate, with hot dry summers and mild wet winters.
The official language of Turkey is Turkish, although Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian and Greek are also spoken here.

Turkish is a phonetic language, so words are pronounced the same way that they are read – at least that makes things a little easier!
As a country steeped in culture and history, Turkey has a total of 13 UNESCO World Heritage Sites!
Fancy taking part in the national sport? Well, you’ll have to strip off to the waist and douse yourself in oil! That’s right, oil wrestling is the national sport of Turkey! In fact, it’s the oldest continuously running sporting competition in the world, dating back to 1362!

Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey

With more than 10,000 plant species and 80,000 animal species, Turkey is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots!
Turkish Lira is the official currency here; make sure you stock up if you want to buy one of the many beautiful lanterns in the Grand Bazaar!
Turkey grows cotton, tobacco, olives and grains and rears livestock.
Its industry consists of textiles, food processing, mining, steel, petroleum and automobiles.
Turkey also exports foodstuffs, apparel, textiles and transport equipment.