Marmara

The Marmara Region forms a passage between the Balkan Peninsula and Anatolia. Europe and Asia are connected to each other in this region. It covers 8.5 percent of the country with a surface area of 67,000 km2 and It gets its name from the internal sea with the same name, which is entirely surrounded by land and connected to the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea through the straits. The islands of Bozcaada and Gokceada (Imroz), situated in the open sea off the Aegean coast, are also located in the Marmara Region.

The Marmara Region is surrounded by the Black Sea and Central Anatolia Regions to the east, the Aegean Region to the south and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. The borders of the Marmara Region are not in conformity with the provincial borders in many places just as in the other regions. Edirne, Kirklareli, Tekirdag, Istanbul, Kocaeli and Yalova Provinces are completely within the borders of the region. Some lands in Sakarya, Bilecik, Bursa, Balikesir and Canakkale Provinces are located within the borders of the Aegean or the Black Sea Regions.

The people in the Marmara Region make their living in industry, trade, tourism and agriculture. It is Turkey's main industrial region and the most developed area is the Istanbul-Bursa-Izmit triangle. Istanbul, which has been an important trade center since ancient times, is located on the intercontinental transport routes and makes the region superior throughout the country. Processed food items, textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, cement, paper, petrochemical products, durable household items, ships and yachts are among the main industrial goods produced in the region.

At the same time, the agriculture in the region has also diversified. Approximately half of the sown areas consists of wheat fields which is followed by sugar beet, corn and sunflower production. In the region, which realizes almost 73 percent of Turkey's sunflower and almost 30 percent of her corn production, the other important goods are vegetables and fruit. This region is in second place in corn production (after the Black Sea Region) and olive production (after the Aegean Region)among regions. Specially Gemlik olives are prefered throughout the whole country. Marmara region has also a developed viniculture, in Tekirdag, Sarkoy, Murefte, Avsa and Bozcaada that are known with grape production.