Geography Question: Is Turkey part of Europe or the Middle East?

[Tuzenbach]

Because I'm really confused!

Thanks in Advance!

 

[Fenris]

Yes.



Turkey is considered to bridge both continents (and remember those are arbitrarily decided anyway). The area north west of the Bosphorus is traditinally considered part of Europe and the main area, what used to be considered Anatolia is considered part of Asia (well Asia minor).

So Yes, both and it depends.

 

[BOZ]

yeah... both. geographically, as well as culturally, it seems.

 

[Nyaricus]

It's both. Turkey, ATM, wants to get into the European Union, but can't (it's some political thing that (A) I'm not well versed on and (B) won't get into due to rules and policies of EN World) due to quality of life, etc etc (The CIA World Factbook would have more info). But it has a distinctly "Asian" (term used loosely) majority population.

It's kinda like Russia (which is also in both "continents"), except bordering the Mediterranian Sea - and with different European and Asian peoples.

And, as Fenris said, continents are altogether very arbitrary (there's really like Antartica, The Americas, Austrailia and "Europafricasia" (the last name I made up )

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

Is Panama in North America or South America?

 

[Guillaume]

Is Panama in North America or South America?

It's in Central America

 

[BOZ]

isn't Central America (the landmass between Mexico and the South American continent) really just the southern part of North America?

 

[Nyaricus]

isn't Central America (the landmass between Mexico and the South American continent) really just the southern part of North America?

Well, it's usually grouped with it, but I could see the argument for it being it's own region.

Honestly, call the whole bit The Americas and you get rid of alot of offbeat discussion like this

 

[Thunderfoot]

The correct term for the Turkey comment is (no lie) Eurasia - WARNING HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL CONTENT FOLLOWS!! During the early period of Western civilization, the areas were defines by their association with various water bodies, not land bodies - ie the Aegian, the Mediterranian, the Black, Red and Dead seas, etc. During the late eras of the BC (or BCE for modernists) regions began affixing themselves to land titles. Mostly thanks to the Alexander the Great, but also thanks to the Persian and Egyptians before him and the Romans thereafter (that is a loose generalization bacause I don't want to write a book - please bear with me)

The area that was west of Europe was known as Asia by the 1st century AD (or CE for modernists). The lands that we think of as culturally Asian, were undiscovered until Marco Polo, by which time, the "continent" train of thought was already in vogue (even though it was many years before it was fully realized). So the Rus, the Ottomans, the Goths, the Slavs and the Huns were all Eurasian, while the oriental societies became Asian. Later the term Middle-eastern came into practice, but the "damage" per se was already done.

Please not that this is a quick and dirty history/geography lessons and MANY MANY MANY things have been editied, left out and abridged for space sake. Please no trolls, if you want more information, take a history course.

Oh and BTW, Panama is on the North American continent in the Central American landmass.

 

[SWBaxter]

It's worth noting that "Europe" is a continent while "the Middle East" is a cultural region, so "both" is a perfectly acceptable answer.