Greece (Greek: Ελλάδα, transliterated: Elláda, historically Ἑλλάς, Hellás), officially the Hellenic Republic is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia (The Republic of Macedonia) to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east and south of mainland Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies to the west. Both parts of the Eastern Mediterranean basin feature a vast number of islands.