The mercantile fleet is developing rapidly in consequence of the provision in the Lausanne Treaty that the coastal and port serv ices, as well as the fishing, are an exclusive privilege to the Turkish national flag, though exceptions have been made in the case of certain well-known lines. The steamship company "Seiri Sefain" alone possesses a fleet of 6o units.
The New Turkey.—Sport and scout organizations are much in favour now all over Turkey, and are helped by the authorities.
Other facts of a general character important from a military point of view were the reforms of Mustafa Kemal, which aimed at the rousing of national pride and feeling by abolishing obsolete religious and political prejudices and introducing up-to-date methods. Moreover, the emigration and expulsion of the ethni cal minorities have given a homogeneous basis to the State, and in this respect only the Kurds in the regions of the Mosul fron tier remain as a source of disquiet for the Turks.
From a topographical point of view, the salient feature of Asiatic Turkey is that it is a plateau, surrounded on three sides by the sea and by high ranges of mountains. This creates a double line of defence, one on the sea coast and another on the mountain ranges, especially on the northern and southern coasts. The western coast, with its parallel valleys between the sea and the range of the inland plateau, is the more accessible one. On the east the plateau is guarded by the high Armenian moun tains, extending far towards Persia and the Caucasus.
Against an enemy coming from the Caucasus and the Black Sea, the defence of Turkey is highly favoured by the mountainous character of the territory. There are four roads from Russia to Turkey. The first is along the coast, from Batum (terminus of the railway from Tiflis) to Trebizond. It passes between the coast and the mountain range of Lazistan and is not easy for movements. The second is from Batum and Olti along the valley of the river Chorokh in the direction of Bai burt. The third route is the classical road from Alexandretta on the Mediterranean to Tiflis and the basin of the Caspian Sea. At Erzerum it is crossed by the other classical road from Tehran to Trebizond. The railways Tiflis-Alexandropol-Kars-Erzerum, Tabriz-Nakhichevan-Alexandropol and the branch line Nakhiche van-Bayazid-Alashkerd are highly important in this respect and make possible military action on an extensive scale.
The defence is favoured further by the fact that both Kars and Erzerum are successive fortresses. The railway, Angora-Qaisari Sivas-Erzinjan-Erzerum, will assist the defence if constructed. The fourth route, giving access to Armenia and Kurdistan, runs from Erivan through Bayazid, and through the valley of the Murad-Tchai (upper course of the Euphrates) arrives at Melaz kerd, from where there are roads from Erzerum, Bitlis, Diarbekr and Kharput.
Owing to the demilitarized zones along the frontiers with Greece and Bulgaria and on the Straits (Bos porus and Dardanelles), the defence of Thrace is important in the sense of a tete-de-pont, serving for the defence of Asia Minor itself, along the important water line Bosporus-Marmora Sea Dardanelles, on its European side. A defence far in the interior from the coast of the Sea of Marmora, i.e., at Adrianople and Chorli, in some respects might be useful for Turkey, but the Straits remaining unfortified, the flanks would be highly endan gered. The real line of defence remains the line of the Bosporus and Dardanelles. In this respect the Asiatic coast of the Sea of Marmora has a very important bearing, especially with its numer ous fjord-like bays.
This coast is more easily accessible for an enemy than the Black Sea or Mediterranean coast, owing to the fine harbours and numerous parallel roads to the interior far up the plateau. The country, moreover, is the richest of all Asia Minor, it being the cradle of ancient civilizations. But, although the islands off the coast, the Dodecanese, are not in the hands of the Turks, with good manoeuvring they might make difficult any landing operation, since good roads and railways are available in these regions.
This coast, from Magri to Alexan dretta, has the same features in general as the Black Sea coast, presenting a double defence line. In addition, the range of the plateau, i.e., the Lycian and Cilician Taurus and the Anti-Taurus are higher and steeper, with no good roads for the interior.