There are many nations in the world today. What makes a nation though? I believe it is all of these summed up into one word, culture. Culture’s definition is “The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.” There are many cultures in the world such as Turkey, India, and China.

            For instance Turkey has been around for over 3500 years. They are 99% Muslim and have many different ethnic groups. Their produces are also very strong, the exports as well as the imports. The main language is Turkish.

             India is another country with a strong economy. India has the number two economy throughout the entire world. They have been around for over 4500 years, are predominantly Hindi, and as well as Turkey also have strong exports as well as imports. India, unlike Turkey actually has two main languages, Hindi and English.

            China has the number one largest people group in the entire world that consists of over 1.3 billion people. The main language is Mandarin. Their produces however are lacking compared to the size and the population of the country.

Turkey

History

            Turkey which is “Türkiye” in the native tongue was dominated by many ancient civilizations and various people groups. Among them were the Hittites in 1800 B.C., the Greeks in 800 B.C. and the Persians in 600 B.C. Around 395 A.D. Turkey became part of the Byzantine Empire there are still Byzantine castles and various other land markings still around today. By 1300 A.D. the Ottoman Turks surmounted the Byzantine’s. The 13^th and the 15^th centuries were the core years of the Turkish Empire, which lasted another 600 years. However in 1908 “Young Turks” as they were called rose up and collapsed the Ottoman empire in 1918. That was under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Kemal is know as the father of turkey which is where the name Ataturk comes from. In 1923 Turkey was established as a republic.

Religion

             Turkey is about 99% Muslim, the other 1% is composed of Orthodox Christians, Gregorian Christians, Catholic, Suryani and Protestant Christians, and Jews. The Muslims worship in what is known as a Mosque. Five times a day a prayer call sounds and the devoted Muslims kneel on a prayer rug and bow down and sit up to say their prayers. Even though the majority of the population is Muslim, Turkey is known as a secular country and everyone has the ability of freedom of religion and beliefs. You cannot be forced to be in religious ceremonies or anything else against your will no blame can be attached to anyone because of there beliefs.

Ethnic Groups

            There is a high composite ethnic mixture in Turkey even though they descended from Osmanlis, or Ottomans. Turkey’s ethnic group consists of ¾ Turkish and the other ¼ is mainly Kurdish although there are some immigrants to the country. Most people think that Turkey is an Arabic speaking country since they are predominantly Muslim, this is not true. Arabic speaking people are actually the minority. When the “prayer call” goes off in the Mosques, the Turkish people do not understand what they are saying because they do not understand Arabic. Turkish is actually the official language of Turkey; however Kurdish is used in some of the south and southeastern cities.

Economy

            The Turkish people have a nice strong economy. Since 1970 great strides have been made towards not only strengthening but also to diversify the economy. The western part of Turkey has the most productive farmland of the whole country. In recent years the country has initialed the massive “Southeast Anatolia Project.” This project allows the country to use the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for irrigation and hydroelectric power. 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric plants on the two rivers are envisioned along with the project. In the late 1990’s the immense Ataturk Dam and Reservoir, as well as two other dams, and adjacent power plants had been completed, as well as six more dams were under construction on the upper part of the Euphrates River. Conflicts with Kurdish separatists, being strongly and bitterly opposed by Syria and Iraq, (who are worried that the downstream water flow from the rivers will be greatly reduced) the project is still underway. The ultimate goal behind the government’s intentions is that the Southeastern part of Turkey will be transformed into a prosperous and agricultural industrial region.

            Turkey’s main crops consist of cotton, wheat, barley, corn, rye, oats, rice, olives, figs, raisins, sugar beets, and fruit. A large number of goats and sheep along with cattle are raised. Although not a crop turkey is famous for Turkish delight. Turkish delight is exported all over the world.

            The main minerals abstracted from the earth are coal, chromium, lignite, copper and iron ores, antimony, mercury, and boron. A small portion of petroleum is produced as well. The main industrial centers are Istanbul, Ankara (which is the capital of Turkey) Karabuk, Bursa, Izmir, Adana, Samsun, and Diyarbakir. Some of the country’s manufactures include textiles, clothing, processed food, iron, steel, petroleum, construction materials, such as cement and marble, forest products, wine, chemical and fertilizer. Turkey is very famous for their manufacture of carpets, pipes, artifacts, and pottery. There is also a substantial tourist trade.

            The main ports of Turkey are, Izmir, Samsun, Iskenderun, Mersin, and Trabzon. One of the middle East’s best road and rail way systems are found in Turkey, which also includes the Baghdad Railway. The yearly imports are substantially bigger then their exports. Turkeys main imports consist of machinery, crude oil, metals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, rubber, and chemicals; the principal exports are textiles, clothing, iron and steel products, agricultural produce, and minerals. The top trading partners are Germany, the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Turkey also joined in a customs union in 1995. Great numbers of Turks are employed in Europe, especially in Germany.

Government

            Turkey has a parliamentary democracy which is governed under the constitution of 1982. The executive branch amounts of a president, who is elected for a seven-year-term by the national assembly. There is also a prime minister who is elected by the president. There is a cabinet, but the policy making body is the national security council, which is run by the military.

India

History

            India is one of the earliest civilizations of the world, and the most ancient of the Indian civilization was the Indus valley civilization. The most the Indus valley flourished happened to be around 2500 B.C. to 1700 B.C. The culture itself was highly-developed, the chief urban centers were Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Why the valley’s economy declined is uncertain. It is highly likely that the short comings and major shifts of the major rivers in the valley may have dispossessed the cites of the flood waters that were needed for their agricultural lands, thus causing a drought, and became more accessible to raiding and enemy attacks. At the same time, the Indo-Aryan people group happened to be migrating through the northwestern mountain passes to the Indian subcontinent, and settled into the Punjab and Ganges valleys.

            Over the next 2,000 years the Indo-Aryans developed the Brahmanic civilization, where Hinduism became known. The first and most important Aryan kingdom was formed In Magadha, near the present-day capital Patna. It was there during the rieng of Bimbisara which was from 540-490 B.C., that the creators of Jainism and Buddhism preached. Kosala which happened to be the most powerful and strongest kindom also was around that time period.

            About 327-325 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered the province of Gandhara in the Northwest part of India that became apart of the Persian Empire. The Persians were driven out by Chandragupta of Magadha who also happened to be the founder of the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta grandson who took over the Mauryan Empire ruled around 232 B.C. and is perhaps known as the greatest ruler of the ancient. He unified all of India except for the southern tip. Buddhism was widely spread and propagated by Asoka to Sri Lanka and the South Eastern provinces, and is still greatly worshiped and practiced still today.

            For the next 1600 years all was quiet until the British conquered and took over India, which was during 1843-1849. India now pushes to be an independent country free of all reign from foreign land

            India’s major religion is Hinduism. Hinduism is practiced by approximately 80% of the population. Hinduism has three basic practices. There is the Puja (known as worship), the cremation of the dead, and the rules and regulations of the caste system. Hinduism is not a proselytizing religion meaning you cannot be converted. So your either born a Hindu or you’re not. The other 20% of the religion is made of 4% Muslim, 2.4% Christian, 2% Sikh, 0.7% Buddhist, 0.5% Jains, and 0.4% other.

Ethnic Groups

            India is the world’s second most popular nation (China is number one). The ethnic groups are complex, but there are two major strains people groups: the Aryan which are located in the north, and the Dravidian which is located in the south. There is major tremendous cultural diversity; the numerous amounts of different languages that are spoken throughout the country are evidence to this. Even though Hindi (which is spoken in the north) as well as English are used officially as the two main languages, there are more then 1,600 hundred different languages and dialects spoken throughout the country. The constitution of India also recognizes about 15 languages regionally Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

            The Indian economy seems like two different worlds. The first one is the villages in India which make up about ¼ of the population, are mainly supported by primitive agriculture; happen to live below the poverty line. The second one is the urban life of India which happens to be one of the most heavily industrialized areas in the world with an upper middle-class population.

            The villages produce about 55% of India’s property and employ about 70% of the country. Large variables of rice are grown where the land is level and the water is plentiful. The crops that are grown consist of wheat, pulses, sugarcane, jowar (sorghum), bajra (a cereal), and corn. Cotton, tobacco, oilseeds, and jute are the principal nonfood crops. Large tea plantations are also located in Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The opium poppy is also grown, both for the legal pharmaceutical market and the illegal drug trade.

            There are more cattle in India per capital then any other country; however the economic value of the livestock is severely limited due to the Hindu prohibition of slaughter against type of cattle. Sheep and ghost are also raised in the barren portions of the regions of the west and northwest part of India. Water buffalo is another livestock that is grown in India and fishing brings another large portion of the economy together.

            Tree’s that come from heavily forested mountain slopes are cut down and are also another trade in India. These trees consist of oak, pine, sal, teak, ebony, palms, and bamboo, and the cutting of timber is a great rural occupation. Besides the coal, iron, mica, manganese, and ilmenite, of which the country ranks high in world wide, India's mineral resources, are rather large, but have not been as of yet fully exploited. The main mining areas consist of Chota Nagpur Plateau of South Jharkhand and the hill lands of South West, West Bengal, North Orissa, and Chhattisgarh. Magnesite, bauxite, chromite, salt, and gypsum have also been found throughout the country. Although they have oil fields in Assam and Gujarat states India is deficient in petroleum.

            The industries of India are traditionally limited to agricultural processing and light manufacturing, mainly in cotton, wool, and silk tiles; however jute and leather products have been greatly explored and dignified in recent years, it employs about 15% of the workforce in India. Large textile workshops are located in Bombay and Ahmadabad as well as a big iron and steel complex which are located at Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bhilainagar, Durgapur, and Bokaro. (that is mainly conducted by the Tata family).      

            The electronics are located in Bangalore. Large amounts of machine tools, transportation equipment, chemicals, and cut diamonds are also found in India. The film industry is also quite popular in India, the main film industry is in Bombay.
Almost all the towns are connected to each other by state-owned railroad stations which oddly enough is one of the most extensive networks in the world. The system is put together with a broad-gauge track which is about 5 feet wide, there are also other types of gauges but the 5 feet wide gauge is the most popular. Other ways of transportation consist of roads and airports. The roads ways are surprisingly increasing with the improvement of highways and better roads. The international airports are located in New Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras. The leading ports are Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, Kochi, and Vishakhapatnam. The most popular exports consist of and jewelry, clothing, engineering goods, chemicals, computer software, cotton thread, fabric, and handicrafts; and the chief imports are, petroleum, fertilizers, and chemicals which are brought in from the United States, European Union countries, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Saudia Arabia, and Japan.

            India’s government is made up of a federal state with a parliamentary form of government. The country is governed by the constitution of 1949 but has been in effect since 1950. The president of India runs for a five year term which is appointed by the elected members of the state and federal parliaments. In theory the president is supposed to have the full executive power; however the power is possessed by the prime minister, who is the head of the majority party in the federal parliament and council of ministers which also include a cabinet that is appointed by the president. The ministers are then responsible to the lower house of the Parliament, but they also have to be members of the Parliament.

             The federal parliament is composed of or based on two legislative chambers or branches. The first chamber is the upper house which is the council of the states and consists of the most 250 members. The majority of these members are assigned by each state, also each state’s delegates are chosen by its elected assembly. An addition 12 members are chosen and appointed by the president. One third of the members retire every year. The second chamber is the lower house, and is elected every 5 years, although it may be reduced earlier by the president. There are 545 members appointed among the states for this house. India also has a supreme court that is appointed by the president.
Until the early 1990’s the Congress party generally dominated the Indian politics. Other parties also consist of Janata Dal party, the Bharatiya Janata party, the Communist party of India/Marxist, and the Communist party of India. There are also a large number of regional parties.

            China

History

            China was formed by the Shang dynasty which was from 1523-1027 B.C. After 1027 B.C. the Chou dynasty took place. This was a rather rocky period for it had many different leaders such as Confucius, Loa Tzu, and Mencius. However during this time the basis for the Chinese education was written.

             During 221-206 B.C. the Ch’in dynasty was the first Imperial dynasty that was centralized to govern China during the stable periods. The Great Wall was also started during this period.

 From 202 B.C.-220 the Han dynasty ruled. The Han dynasty was deemed China’s imperial age for the expansionist policies, long peaceable rule, and the great artistic foundations that were set.

             From 220-265 was a period known as the three kingdoms, which opened up four centuries of warfare by the cannibalistic man Hsiung-nu. China experienced a rapid culture movement during the rule of the three kingdoms. Buddhism emerged from India and the Chinese adapted this religion as well as Taoism. China also adapted medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and architecture from India.

            Around 264-420 the Tsin dynasty took the reigns and art was adopted. The Chinese favored painting and the decoration of Buddhist grottoes flourished. Feudalism was also partly revived during this time period.

            From 581-907 was a rather peaceful and brilliant era. Poetry, art, a new civil service system, and mare important developments of the land took place.

             The Five dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era lasted from 907-1279  Gunpowder was first used for military purposes during this period. Artistic progress and scholarly studies were marked by improvement of printing techniques by the invention of a movable type (one of the first forms of a printing press).

            The Ming dynasty was established in 1368 and lasted till 1644. This time was set out to restore the Chinese culture by the study of Sung life. This idea was lost however during the 15^th century to European trade.

             From 1644-1996 the Ch’ien-Lung dynasty handled the reigns. China was probably and still is probably at its peak territorial extent.

Religion

          The religion in China has varied greatly since the beginning of Chinese history. The main religions in China are Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese folk Religion, and Heaven Worship.

            To study religion in China is very complicated by several factors. A lot of Chinese beliefs are from sacred concepts of a somewhat spiritual world that does not invoke the concept of any certain god or any god for that matter. The Chinese beliefs are more of a philosophy and can be rather problematic. Taoism however developed a religious organization that included priests, monks, and temples.

            China differs then many Western religions. China’s religions are not organizations that demand exclusive members. The Chinese can participate in more then one religion. For instance a person may belong to a Buddhist temple but live according to the Taoist principles and also participate in the ancestral worship rituals. 

            China also has other religions such as Islam, Judaism, and Christianity

However these three religions combined do not even make up 5% of the country.

Ethnic Groups

            Only one ethnic group pretty much makes up the entire country of China that happens to be around 1.3 billion, and that is the Han Chinese which is around 91% another 55 ethnic groups makes up the other 9%. The official language of China is called Mandarin. About 70% of China speaks Mandarin however that is just the very peak of the linguistic mountain. The country has hundreds of dialects inside other dialects.

Economy

            Even though China is a developing country with a rather low income, the economic growth since the 1970’s has shot up. A large portion of the growth is due to liberalization policies. The GDP has grown four times its size from 1978-1998.

            Agriculture is the largest occupation in all of china, which involves over 50% of the population. However agriculture is restricted in the Eastern part of China except for oasis farming in Xinjiang and Qinghai, some irrigated areas in Inner Mongolia and Gansu, and sheltered valleys in Tibet. China is the world’s largest producer of rice and wheat and a major producer of sweet potatoes, sorghum, millet, barley, peanuts, corn, soybeans, and potatoes. In retrospect of cash crops, China is number one in cotton and tobacco and is an important producer of oilseeds, silk, tea, ramie, jute, hemp, sugarcane, and sugar beets.

            Livestock based on a large scale is confined to the borders and provinces of the north and the west; it is mainly nomadic pastoral type. China is the number one seller of meat (including beef, veal, mutton, lamb, and pork). Sheep, cattle, and goats are the most common types of livestock. Horses, donkeys, and mules are work animals in the north, while oxen and water buffalo are used for plowing chiefly in the south. Hogs and poultry are widely raised in China, furnishing important export staples, such as hog bristles and egg products. Fish and pork supply most of the animal protein in the Chinese diet. Fishing has also been a large part of China’s economy.

            China is one of the most major mineral-mining countries in the entire world. The most abundant mineral is coal, China is ranked number one for coal production. Coal is found although out China but mainly in the north and northeastern parts. There are also large iron-ore deposits in different spots in China. The main mines are in Anshan and Benxi on the Liaoning province. Oil fields were also discovered in the 1960’s and were made a net exported mineral throughout the world in the 1990’s.

            China's leading minerals that are exported are tungsten, antimony, tin, magnesium, molybdenum, mercury, manganese, barite, and salt. China is in the worlds top four producers of antimony, magnesium, tin, tungsten, and zinc, and ranks second (after the United States) in the production of salt, sixth in gold, and eighth in lead ore. There are large deposits of uranium in the northwest, especially in Xinjiang; there are also mines in Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces. Alumina is found in many parts of the country; China is one of world's largest producers of aluminum. There are also deposits of vanadium, magnetite, copper, fluorite, nickel, asbestos, phosphate rock, pyrite, and sulfur.

Government
            China only has one party in its government, which is the Chinese Communist party. The country is governed under the constitution of 1982 which was amended in 1993 which was the 5^th time since 1948. The legislature is the National People’s Congress also known as the NPC, which consists of deputies that are elected for a five year term. The NPC also decides the national economy strategy, they also elect or remove the high officeholders and can change China’s constitution. The executive branch is made up of a president who is head of state.