A Brief History of Turkey

Turkey's first known human inhabitants appeared in the Mediterranean region as early as 7500 BC and it has been ruled through the centuries by diverse cultures including the sun-worshiping Hittites, the Greeks who drove out the gentle Persians (who then migrated to India), and the Byzantines including Constantine. By 1453, the Ottomans under Mehmet the Conqueror had taken over Constantinople.

The Ottoman Sultanate lasted till the War of Independence in 1920-22 led by Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk or Father Turk). Kemal abolished the Sultanate and set about reinventing Turkish society and this is considered the birth of the Turkish Republic. Under Ataturk, Turkey went through a period of reform and secularism was strongly instituted into the constitution as well as in the fabric of society. Constantinople became Istanbul and women obtained the right to vote. Even today, Atatürk remains a hero in Turkey.

The east and south-east of Turkey saw years of civil war in the 1980s and 1990s between Turkish forces and those of the secessionist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in which over 30,000 people died. The PKK seeks greater political and cultural rights for the Kurdish community. Clashes between Kurdish fighters and Turkish forces in the south-east continue and dozens have died in the violence.