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The southernmost country of the Balkans, Greece is embraced by the Aegean, Ionian, and Cretan Seas. Its mainly mountainous territory includes more than 2000 islands. Only one-third of the land is cultivated. There is a strong seafaring tradition, and some of the world's biggest shipowners are Greek. Greece is rich in minerals – including chromium, whose occurrence is rare. Relations with Turkey, marked by conflict and territorial disputes, have improved in recent years. To the north, however, upheavals in Albania and the conflicts in former Yugoslavia have made for greater instability.