Republic of Turkey

Türkiye Cumhuriyeti

CAPITAL: Ankara

FLAG: The national flag consists of a white crescent (open toward the fly) and a white star on a red field.

ANTHEM: Istiklâl Mars¸i (March of Independence).

MONETARY UNIT: The Turkish lira (TL) is a paper currency of 100 kurus¸. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, and 100 liras, and notes of 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 250,000, and 500,000 liras. TL1 = $0.000000626 (or $1 = TL1,597,000.00) as of May 2003.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; National Sovereignty and Children's Day, 23 April; Spring Day, 1 May; Youth and Sports Day, 19 May; Victory Day, 30 August; Independence Day (Anniversary of the Republic), 29 October. Movable religious holidays include S¸eker Bayrami (three days) and Kurban Bayrami (four days).

TIME: 3 PM = noon GMT.

Location, Size, and Extent

The Republic of Turkey consists of Asia Minor, or Anatolia (Anadolu); the small area of eastern Thrace (Trakya), or Turkey in...