Turkey (lang-trT�rkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey (AudioTur-T�rkiye_Cumhuriyeti.oggT�rkiye Cumhuriyeti), is a Eurasian country situated in the Anatolian peninsula, located in Western Asia, and Eastern Thrace, located in southeastern Europe (Southern Europe). Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia (Georgia (country)) to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Eastern Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.

Turks began migrating into the area now called Turkey in the eleventh century. The process was greatly accelerated by the Seljuk victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert. Several small beyliks and the Seljuk Sultanate of R�m (Sultanate of R�m) ruled Anatolia until the Mongol Empires invasion. Starting from the thirteenth century, the Ottoman beylik (Ottomans) united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed following its defeat in World War I, parts of it were occupied by the victorious Allies (Allies of World War I). A cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal Atat�rk, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; in 1923, they would establish the modern Republic of Turkey with Atat�rk as its first president.

Turkeys location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.cite booktitle=Ataturkfirst=Andrewlast=Mangopublisher=Overlookyear=2000isbn=1-5856-7011-1cite booktitle=History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkeyfirst=Stanford Jaylast=Shawcoauthors=Kural Shaw, Ezelpublisher=Cambridge University Pressyear=1977isbn=0-5212-9163-1 Ethnic Turks (Turkish people) form the majority of the population, with a significant minority of Kurds (Kurdish people). The predominant religion in Turkey is Islam, and the countrys official language is Turkish (Turkish language).

Turkey is a democratic (democracy), secular (secular state), unitary (unitary state), constitutional republic, with an ancient and historical cultural heritage. Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West (Western world) through membership in organizations such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G-20 major economies. Turkey began full membership negotiations (Accession of Turkey to the European Union) with the European Union in 2005, having been an associate member (Ankara Agreement) of the European Economic Community since 1963 and having reached a customs union agreement (European Union-Turkey Customs Union) in 1995. Turkey has also fostered close cultural, political, economic and industrial relations with the Eastern world, particularly with the Middle East and the Turkic states (List of Turkic states and empires) of Central Asia, through membership in organizations such as the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and Economic Cooperation Organization. Given its strategic location, large economy and army, Turkey is classified as a regional power by political scientists and economists worldwide.