Anatolia: The Asian Part of Turkey, Not the Middle East

**Anatolia (Asia Minor)** is the peninsula that forms the **Asian portion of Turkey** (97% of its land). It is bounded by the Black Sea (N), Mediterranean (S), Aegean (W), and the Turkish Straits (NW). While Turkey spans both Europe and Asia, Anatolia itself is *in* Asia—not a separate Middle Eastern region. The term "Middle East" is geopolitical; Anatolia is geographic.