Turkey (country)

D

Local Government

Turkey is divided into 76 provinces, which are administered by governors (vali) representing the central government. The provinces are subdivided into districts, which have little political significance, and communes, which may levy local taxes and exercise other local powers.

E

Health and Welfare

Health care in Turkey is financed by the government for many of those who cannot afford to pay. Turkey has a ratio of 1 doctor to 806 people, and an infant mortality rate of 38 deaths per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth in 2007 was 70.4 years for men and 75.5 years for women.

F

Defence

In 2004 Turkey’s armed forces totalled about 514,850, including 402,000 in the army (mostly conscripts); 52,750 in the navy; and 60,100 in the air force. Some 25,000 to 30,000 troops were deployed in the Turkish-controlled section of Cyprus. An 18-month period of military service is required of all male citizens. In June 2002, Turkey took over command of the International Security and Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

G

International Organizations

Turkey is a member of the United Nations (UN), NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Economic Cooperation Organization, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), and is an associate member of the European Union.

VI

History

The first major civilization in Anatolia was that of the Hittites, about 1900 to 1200 bc, which originated in the central plateau. It was destroyed by invaders known as the Sea Peoples, who swept over Asia Minor and Syria towards the end of the 12th century bc. The destruction of the western Anatolian city of Troy, an event celebrated in ancient Greek legends, probably occurred during these invasions.

One group of the Sea Peoples, the Phrygians, established a kingdom that became the dominant Anatolian power in the 9th and 8th centuries bc. During this period the Greeks founded Miletus, Ephesus, and Priene and a number of other cities in Ionia, an area along the Aegean coast. About 700 bc the Phrygian kingdom was overrun and destroyed by the Cimmerians, a nomadic people who thereafter lived in western Asia Minor. In the 7th century bc the Lydians also appeared near the Aegean coast, where they founded a kingdom, the capital of which was Sardis. It was overthrown by the Persians under Cyrus the Great in 546 bc.