Name: Turkey Continent: Asia Population: 68,100,000 Religion: Muslim 100%

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 1952 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 but have begun to improve over the past three years. In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-Leninist, separatist group, initiated an insurgency in Southeast Turkey, often using terrorist tactics to try to attain its goal of an independent Kurdistan. The group - whose leader, Abdullah OCALAN, was captured in Kenya in February 1999 and sentenced to death by a Turkish court - has observed a unilateral cease-fire since September 1999, although there have been occasional clashes between Turkish military units and some of the 4,000-5,000 armed PKK militants, most of whom currently are encamped in northern Iraq. The PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) in April 2002. Information from the CIA World Fact Book

Timeline of Events Date Event 1663   1663 Ottoman army defeated at Vienna 1908 3 July 1908 Young Turk Revolution of 1908 attempts to reform government institutions of the Ottoman Empire 1945   1945 Turkey joins the United Nations 1952   1952 Turkey becomes a member of NATO 1974   1974 Turkey starts occupying northern Cyprus to prevent Greek takeover of island 2000 16 May 2000 Ahmet Necdet Sezer Becomes President of Turkey Go here for timeline sources.