|
Turkey (Turkish:
Türkiye), officially the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian
country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in
Southwestern Asia and the Balkan region of Southeastern
Europe. Turkey borders eight countries: Bulgaria to the
northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast;
Armenia, Iran and the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan to
the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. In addition,
it borders the Black Sea to the north; the Aegean Sea to the
west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Turkey also
contains the Sea of Marmara that is used by geographers to
mark the border between Europe and Asia, thus making the
country transcontinental.
The region comprising modern Turkey has seen the birth of
major civilisations including the Byzantine and Ottoman
Empires. Owing to its strategic location at the intersect of
two continents, Turkey's culture is a unique blend of
eastern and western tradition, often described as a bridge
between the two civilisations. With a powerful regional
presence from the Adriatic to China in the Eurasian landbelt
between Russia and India,[2] Turkey has come to acquire
increasing strategic significance.
Turkey is a democratic, secular, constitutional republic
whose political system was established in 1923 under the
leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk following the fall of
the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of the First World War.
Since then, Turkey has increasingly integrated with the West
while continuing to foster relations with Eastern world. It
is a founding member of the United Nations, the OIC, the
OECD and the OSCE,a member state of the Council of Europe
since 1949 and of NATO since 1952. Since 2005, Turkey is in
accession negotiations with the European Union, having been
an associate member since 1963.
|
