Provinces of Turkey in the context of "Turkish language"

The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some 215,000 km (83,000 sq mi). In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn connects to the Black Sea, by the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, respectively. The Aegean Islands are located within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes. The sea reaches a maximum depth of 2,639 m (8,658 ft) to the west of Karpathos. The Thracian Sea and the Sea of Crete are main subdivisions of the Aegean Sea.

The Aegean Islands can be divided into several island groups, including the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, the Sporades, the Saronic islands and the North Aegean Islands, as well as Crete and its surrounding islands. The Dodecanese, located to the southeast, includes the islands of Rhodes, Kos, and Patmos; the islands of Delos and Naxos are within the Cyclades to the south of the sea. Lesbos is part of the North Aegean Islands. Euboea, the second-largest island in Greece, is located in the Aegean, despite being administered as part of Central Greece. Nine out of twelve of the Administrative regions of Greece border the sea, along with the Turkish provinces of Edirne, Çanakkale, Balıkesir, İzmir, Aydın and Muğla to the east of the sea. Various Turkish islands in the sea are Imbros, Tenedos, Cunda Island, and the Foça Islands.

Antalya is one of the largest cities in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province, the fifth-most populous province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Taurus Mountains. The urban population of the city is around 1.5 million, with a provincial population of 2,722,103.

The city was formerly known as Attalia and was founded in around 200 BC by King Attalus II of Pergamon. Attalia was soon conquered by the Romans. Roman rule saw the city thrive, including the construction of several new monuments, such as Hadrian's Gate, and the flourishing of nearby ancient cities such as Patara, Xanthos and Myra in the Lycia region; Perga, Aspendos and Side in Pamphylia; and Sagalassos, Antioch and Termessos in Pisidia. These cities were already significant centers before Roman influence. Antalya has changed hands several times, including to the Seljuk Empire in 1207 and an expanding Ottoman Empire in 1391. Ottoman rule brought relative peace and stability for the next five hundred years. The city was occupied by Italy for three years in the aftermath of World War I, but was returned to Turkey during the Turkish War of Independence.

Muğla Province (Turkish: Muğla ili, pronounced [muːɫa iˈli]) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey, at the country's southwestern corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its area is 12,654 km, and its population is 1,048,185 (2022). Its seat is the city of Muğla, about 20 km (12 mi) inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, lie on the coast.

The Gulf of Alexandretta or İskenderun (Turkish: İskenderun Körfezi) is a gulf of the eastern Mediterranean or Levantine Sea. It lies beside the southern Turkish provinces of Adana and Hatay.

Hatay Province (Turkish: Hatay ili, pronounced [ˈhataj]) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is 5,524 km (2,133 sq mi), and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province of Adana to the northwest, Osmaniye to the north, and Gaziantep to the northeast. It is partially situated on the Cilician Plain, a large fertile plain along the Cilicia region. Its administrative capital is Antakya (ancient Antioch), making it one of the three Turkish provinces not named after its administrative capital or any settlement. The second-largest city is İskenderun (formerly Alexandretta). Sovereignty over most of the province was disputed with neighbouring Syria, which claimed that the province had a demographic Arab majority, and has separated from its territory in violation of the terms of the French Mandate for Syria that was established on the heels of World War I; however, the issue has remained largely dormant since the thawing of Syrian-Turkish relations in the 2000s.

Nevşehir Province (Turkish: Nevşehir ili) is a province in central Turkey with its capital in Nevşehir. Its area is 5,485 km, and its population is 317,952 (2024). Its adjacent provinces are Kırşehir to the northwest, Aksaray to the southwest, Niğde to the south, Kayseri to the southeast, and Yozgat to the northeast. Nevşehir includes the area called Cappadocia – a tourist attraction in Turkey. The town of Göreme is also located in Nevşehir. Nevşehir was declared a World Peace City by the United Nations.

Cappadocia once included the area now covered by this province. This province is notable for the fairy chimneys of Göreme, the Ortahisar (middle fortress), and a number of old churches from the Byzantine period.

Aksaray Province (Turkish: Aksaray ili) is a province in central Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Konya along the west and south, Ankara to the northwest, Niğde to the southeast, Nevşehir to the east, and Kırşehir to the north. Its area is 7,659 km, and its population is 439.474 (2022). The provincial capital is the city of Aksaray.

Aksaray is one of the four provinces in Cappadocia, along with Nevşehir, Niğde, and Kayseri. Also, the 3,000-metre (9,843 ft) volcano Mount Hasan stands between Aksaray and Niğde. Summers are hot and dry on the plain, but the area is green and covered in flowers in springtime, when water streams off the mountainside. The 2,400 m2 salt lake (0.59 acres), Tuz Gölü, lies within the boundaries of Aksaray, a large swamp area with a maximum depth of 1 metre (3 ft 3 in).

Kırşehir Province (Turkish: Kırşehir ili) is a province in central Turkey, forming part of the Central Anatolia Region. Its area is 6,584 km, and its population is 244,519 (2022). The average elevation is approximately 985 meters above sea level. The provincial capital is Kırşehir. The geographical centre of all land surfaces on Earth is at 39°00′N 34°00′E / 39.000°N 34.000°E / 39.000; 34.000 (Geographical center of all land surfaces on Earth (Woods 1973)), in Kırşehir Province, Turkey.

Sivas Province (Turkish: Sivas ili) is a province of Turkey. It is located in the eastern part of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Its area is 28,164 km (the second largest province after Konya), and its population is 634,924 (2022). Its adjacent provinces are Yozgat to the west, Kayseri to the southwest, Kahramanmaraş to the south, Malatya to the southeast, Erzincan to the east, Giresun to the northeast, and Ordu to the north. Its capital is Sivas.

Most of Sivas Province has the typical continental climate of the Central Anatolian Region, in which summer months are hot and dry, while winter months are cold and snowy. However, the northern part of the province shows some features of the oceanic/humid subtropical Black Sea climate, while the eastern portion has influences of the Eastern Anatolian highland climate. This province is noted for its thermal springs.

Niğde Province (Turkish: Niğde ili) is a province in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey. Its area is 7,234 km, and its population is 365,419 (2022) of which 170,511 live in the city of Niğde. The population was 348,081 in 2000 and 305,861 in 1990. Neighbouring provinces are Kayseri, Adana, Mersin, Konya, Aksaray and Nevşehir.

The province is surrounded on three sides by mountain ranges: the Taurus Mountains, Mount Hasan, and the Melendiz Mountains.

Galatia (/ɡəˈleɪʃə/; Ancient Greek: Γαλατία, Galatía) was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (cf. Tylis), who settled here and became a small transient foreign tribe in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of the East, "Gallacia" ultimately deriving from the northwest of ancient Spain.

Edirne Province (Turkish: Edirne ili) is a Turkish province located in East Thrace. Part of European Turkey, it is one of only three provinces located entirely within continental Europe. Its area is 6,145 km, and its population is 414,714 (2022). Edirne Province is bordered by Tekirdağ Province and Kırklareli Province to the east, and the Gallipoli peninsula of Çanakkale Province to the south-east. It shares international borders with Bulgaria (Haskovo and Yambol Provinces) to the north and Greece (Eastern Macedonia and Thrace) to the west. Edirne is the capital of the province, and the largest city. It is the only province of Turkey that borders Greece.

Kırklareli Province (Turkish: Kırklareli ili) is a province in northwestern Turkey on the west coast of the Black Sea. The province neighbours Bulgaria to the north along a 180-kilometre (110 mi) long border. It borders the province of Edirne to the west and the province of Tekirdağ to the south and province of Istanbul to the southeast. Kırklareli is the capital city of the province. Its area is 6,459 km, and its population is 369,347 (2022). The province's and its central city's name means "the land of the forties" in Turkish and it may refer either to the forty Ottoman ghazis sent by the sultan Murad I to conquer the city for the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century or to the forty churches reported to be situated in the region before the Ottoman conquest, as attested by the former name of Kırklareli (Kırk Kilise in Turkish; Σαράντα Εκκλησιές). There is a memorial on a hilltop in Kırklareli city, called "Kırklar Anıtı" (the Memorial of the Forties in Turkish) to honor the Ottoman conquerors (For more on the name's origins, see Kırklareli). The province is bisected by the Yıldız (Istranca) mountain range. The north and northeastern parts of the province are among the least populated and under developed parts of Turkey. The districts to the south and west are more populated because the land is better suited for agriculture and industrial development. The north and eastern parts of the province are dominated by forests. Therefore, forestry is an important means of living in these areas. Fishing is done along the Black Sea coast.

Ankara Province (Turkish: Ankara ili, pronounced [ˈaŋkaɾa iˈli]) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey with the capital city Ankara. Its area is 25,632 km, and its population is 5,782,285 (2022).

This is a list of the largest cities and towns in Turkey by population, which includes cities and towns that are provincial capitals or have a population of at least 7,000. The total population of Turkey is 85,824,854 according to the 2025 mid-year estimate, making it the 18th most populated country in the world.

Since there are no defined city borders in Turkey and Turkish Statistical Institute publishes only the province and district populations, it is hard to estimate the exact populations of urban areas. However a rough estimate of the top cities are as follows.

İzmir Province (Turkish: İzmir ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts out of 30 in total. To the west, it is surrounded by the Aegean Sea, and it encloses the Gulf of Izmir. Its area is 11,891 square kilometres (4,591 square miles), and its population is 4,462,056 (2022). Neighboring provinces are Balıkesir to the north, Manisa to the east, and Aydın to the south. The traffic code of the province is 35.

Major rivers of the province include the Küçük Menderes river, Koca Çay (with Güzelhisar dam), and Bakırçay.

Bursa Province (Turkish: Bursa ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality in Turkey along the Sea of Marmara coast in northwestern Anatolia. It borders Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the north. Its area is 10,813 km, and its population is 3,194,720 (2022). Its traffic code is 16.

Almost all of Bursa Province (including the city of Bursa) is in the Marmara region, but the districts of Büyükorhan, Harmancık, Keles and Orhaneli are in the Aegean Region.

Antalya Province (Turkish: Antalya ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. It is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is 20,177 km, and its population is 2,688,004 (2022).

Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. Its capital city of the same name was the world's third most visited city by number of international arrivals in 2011, displacing New York. Antalya is Turkey's biggest international sea resort. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of ancient Lycia to the west, Pamphylia to the east, and part of Pisidia to the north. It features a shoreline of 657 km (408 mi) with beaches, ports, and ancient cities scattered throughout, including the World Heritage Site Xanthos. The provincial capital is Antalya city with a population of 1,344,000.