Whois & Analysis for travelos.net

Istanbul (or), historically known as Constantinople and Byzantium, is the most populous city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural, and historic center.

Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosphorus strait (which separates Europe and Asia) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea.

Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives on the Asian side.

Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey (Turkish), is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe.

Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, parliamentary republic with a diverse cultural heritage.

Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and Iran to the east; Iraq and Syria to the south.

The country is encircled by seas on three sides: the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south.

The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, which together form the Turkish Straits, divide Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.

Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre.

Approximately 70-80% of the country's citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks.

Other ethnic groups include legally recognised(Armenians, Greeks, Jews) and unrecognised (Kurds, Circassians, Albanians, Bosniaks, Georgians, etc) minorities.

Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population.