Rent a Car Turkey - Geography Turkey

Turkey has long been known as the dividing point between Europe and Asia, and its geographic location has certainly contributed to its history. Technically part of the Middle east, anything north of the Bosphoros straight (which Istanbul straddles) has traditionally been seen as Europe, in fact Turkey is desperately trying to join the EU.

Stretching 1700kms from east to west and 1000kms from North to South, Turkey borders Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Syria. It also enjoys a sizeable coastline along the Black sea, Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. Within this huge land mass, are valleys abundant in agriculture, mountains, rolling plains, desert, and plenty of beaches and spectacular coastline. The area along the Black sea is covered in forest, as well parts of the Mediterranean coast.

The Mediterannean coastal regions are typically dry and sparse of vegetation, covered in olive and orange groves. The interior becomes quite undulating, while the further east you travel the more desert like it becomes. The north is more temporate.

Turkey has similar animal life to that in the Balkans and much of Europe: bears, deer, jackals, lynx, wild boars, wolves and rare leopards.