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Once the centre of the Ottoman Empire, the modern Republic of Turkey was established in 1923 by nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Straddling the continents of Europe and Asia, Turkey's strategically important location has given it major influence in the region - and control over the entrance to the Black Sea.

Progress towards democracy and a market economy was halting after Ataturk's death in 1938. The army, seeing itself as guarantor of the constitution, repeatedly ousted governments in the second half of the 20th Century.

Joining the European Union has been a longstanding ambition. Membership talks were launched in 2005, but have stalled over serious misgivings about Turkey's human rights record.

Kurds make up about a fifth of the population. Kurdish separatists who accuse the Turkish state of seeking to destroy their cultural identity have been waging a guerrilla war since the 1980s.
Source: BBC.com