History
The history of Turkey, understood as the history of the region now forming the territory of the Republic of Turkey, includes the history of both Anatolia (the Asian part of Turkey) and Eastern Thrace (the European part of Turkey). These two previously politically distinct regions came under control of the Roman Empire in the second century BCE, eventually becoming the core of the Roman Byzantine Empire.
For times predating the Ottoman period, a distinction must be made between the history of the Turkic peoples, and the history of the territories now forming the Republic of Turkey. From the time when parts of what is now Turkey were conquered by the Seljuq dynasty, the history of Turkey spans the medieval history of the Seljuk Empire, the medieval to modern history of the Ottoman Empire, and the history of the Republic of Turkey since the 1920s
Geography
Turkey is located on the Black, Aegean, and Mediterranean Seas. The Turkish Straits (which are made up of the Sea of Marmara, the Strait of Bosphorus, and the Dardanelles) form the boundary between Europe and Asia. As a result, Turkey is considered to be in both Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia. The country has a varied topography that is made up of a high central plateau, a narrow coastal plain and several large mountain ranges. The highest point in Turkey is Mount Ararat, which is a dormant volcano located on its eastern border. The elevation of Mount Ararat is 16,949 feet (5,166 m).
The climate of Turkey is temperate and it has high, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The more inland one gets, however, the harsher the climate becomes. Turkey’s capital, Ankara, is located inland and has an average August high temperature of 83 degrees (28˚C) and January average low of 20 degrees (-6˚C).