Background: Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of
the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws to replace
traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN and in 1949 it became
a member of NATO. Turkey occupied the northern portion of Cyprus in 1974 to
prevent a Greek takeover of the island; relations between the two countries
remain strained. Periodic military offensives against Kurdish terrorists have
dislocated part of the population in southeast Turkey and have drawn international
condemnation.
Free Geocoding
