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Turkey in Asia
Asiatic Turkey, situated between 12° 40' and 42° N. lat. and 24° 50' and 51° E. long., occupies all of Asia Minor and Mesopotamia to the Persian frontier and the Arabian and Syrian deserts. The thousands of islands of the Archipelago, from Gallipoli to Rhodes and the large island of Cyprus off the Syrian coast, are included in Asiatic Turkey. It has nearly 3000 miles of sea-coast on the Mediterranean and Black Seas and the Sea of Marmora, and many fine harbors, of which the chief are Smyrna, Iskenderun, and the gulfs of Adalia and Samarlik. The entire upper peninsula is mountainous; Mesopotamia, and the territory which was once known as Babylonia, consist of a wide-stretching plain of moderate elevation; and in the S. and E. are sandy deserts of vast extent. The rivers flowing into the Black and Mediterranean Seas are mostly small, the chief being the Yeshil and Kizil Irmak and the Sakaria. The Euphrates and the Tigris, with their numerous tributaries, flow through Mesopotamia, and the Jordan through Palestine. Except in the extreme S. the climate is not unpleasant, but in Syria and along the valleys of the Tigris, Euphrates, and Jordan the summer heat is often intense. The hill country has a pleasant summer climate, and the winters of the sheltered valleys are mild. Very little rain falls between April and September, but heavy dews prevail.
PRODUCTIONS.-With so large an extent of territory, marked by wide differences in elevation, climate, and soil, the productions of Turkey in Asia cover a great range. From rye, millet, and barley in the N., to wheat and corn in the centre, and rice in the S., all kinds of cereals flourish. Hemp, flax, tobacco, cotton, olives, figs, dates, apricots, peaches, oranges, and grapes are cultivated in all parts. The forests contain oak, elm, and sycamore, the cedar and cypress of Lebanon, and the pine, fir, and other coniferous trees of the northern hills. Asia Minor is rich in minerals, and copper, lead, silver, and other valuable metals are found in Armenia. Iron and coal have long been mined in Syria, but the mineral resources of this vast country have never been systematically explored, and are in general undeveloped. Smyrna, Sinope, and Trebizonde are the principal ports; Aleppo, Bagdad, Damascus, and Tripoli are important commercial cities. The exports of Asiatic Turkey consist of grain, cotton, fruit, wine, silk, carpets, coffee, tobacco, and emery, but there are no reliable means of even estimating their extent, as no commercial statistics are obtainable. Of domestic animals, the camel, horse, ox, sheep, goat, and ass are the chief. There are few good roads in Asiatic Turkey, and only a few miles of railway. The capabilities of the country are vast, but centuries of misrule and official plunder have rendered the people careless and neglectful of their opportunities.
CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. - Recent events have directed much attention to this country, and the name of Kars, Batoum, and Erzerum have become familiar words, while the acquisition by Great Britain of the Isle of Cyprus has given a prominence to that country scarcely justified by its importance from an agricultural or commercial standpoint, but readily understood when its strategic position is considered. Asiatic Turkey is believed to contain fully 16,333,000 inhabitants, of whom 6,800,ooo are Turks proper, 2,000,000 Armenians, 1,000,000 Greeks, 1,000,000 Arabs, and the remainder Syrians, Kurds, Hebrews, Druses, aud Tartars.
RELIGION.-The State religion is Mohammedanism.
PERSIA.
Sovereign.-Shah Nasir-ed-Din, K.G., b. April 24, 1829; succeeded Sept. 10, 1848. Heir Apparent-Muzaffer-ed-Din Mirza, b. 1853.
This country lies between lat. 25° 30' and 39° 50' N., and long. 44° and 62° E.; its greatest length from Mount Ararat to the S.-E. corner is 1200 m., greatest breadth, 850; area, about 648,000 sq. m. It has a coast line of over 800 m. on the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, and of nearly 400 m. on the Caspian. Russia presses upon its N. boundary, on the W. it marches with the Turkish frontier, on the E. with Afghanistan and Beloochistan. There are a number of mountain ranges in the W. and S.-W. and near the Caspian Sea, of which the chief are the Elburz mountains. The E. half consists of an elevated plateau about 4000 ft. above sea level, much of which is little better than a desert. There are very few rivers, and fewer good harbors, but the salt lakes of the interior are large and plentiful. The summers are hot and dry, and the winters on the great central plateau are severe, with heavy frosts and snows.
The population is estimated at 7,653,600.