Turkey ( Turkiye in Turkish ) is a country located at a point where the 3 continents of the old world ( Asia, Africa and Europe ) are closest to each other and where Asia and Europe meet.
Because of its geographical location, Anatolia has always been important throughout history and is the birthplace of many great civilizations.
The surface area of Turkey including the lakes is 814,578 km² / 314,503 sq miles. It is much larger than many European countries or even Texas (18%) in the US. Out of the total land, 97% is in Asia and this part is called Anatolia or Asia Minor; 3% is in Europe which is called Thrace.