not have possibly turned into a Checkoslavakian?" ), Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews), 29 October 1923 (republic proclaimed succeeding the Ottoman Empire), Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria, Armenia 311 km, Azerbaijan 17 km, Bulgaria 223 km, Georgia 273 km, Greece 192 km, Iran 534 km, Iraq 367 km, Syria 899 km. It belongs to the Altay branch of the Ural-Altay linguistic google_ad_width = 468; The Turkish language now stretches from the Mongolian lands and China to the present day Turkey. originated in the high lands around the The Office of Public Affairs (OPA) is the single point of contact for all inquiries about the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). most-spoken first language: Mandarin Chinese 12.3%, Spanish 6%, English 5.1%, Arabic 5.1%, Hindi 3.5%, Bengali 3.3%, Portuguese 3%, Russian 2.1%, Japanese 1.7%, Punjabi, Western 1.3%, Javanese 1.1% (2018 est. Cruises I feature, or our site navigation on the left to locate the information you seek. Turks, too, for centuries being nomads, took their language along whereever they moved. Seljuk Turks in the late 11th century AD. this time to the top of the letter "g". The language being spoken in Turkey now is