May 19, 2013
The week's top five must-sees,
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The week's top five must-sees,
delivered to your inbox.
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Description
Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country, located mostly on Anatolia in Western Asia and on East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea is to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles demarcate the boundary between Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia. Turkey's location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.
The country's official language is Turkish, a Turkic language, which is spoken by approximately 85% of the population as mother tongue. The most numerous ethnic group is the Turks, who constitute between 70% and 75% of the population according to The World Factbook. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority and, according to the same source, number around 18% of the population while other ethnic minorities are estimated to be at 7–12%. The vast majority of the population is Muslim.
(via Freebase)
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![New wave of protests sweeps Muslim world over anti-Islam film [Al-Alam, Iran]](/images/image_cache/base-10588000/10588696/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=ba3b1480a2efe0ceb93168c909f963cd)
![Turkey refuses to hand over fugitive Iraqi VP al-Hashemi [Al-Alam, Iran]](/images/image_cache/base-10277000/10277803/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=68cb27d7117440fa84f79b1d877b127a)
![Fugitive Iraqi VP al-Hashemi rejects death sentence, calls terror trial a 'sham' [Dubai TV, UAE]](/images/image_cache/base-10176000/10176523/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=d317372a83ebd2efcfa76c4fd6d745c4)
![Turkey launches major operation against suspected Kurdish militants [Al-Alam, Iran]](/images/image_cache/base-9920000/9920246/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=b2959f894b2d8699ef695d7e833b54b6 "Reuters/Ihlas News Agency")
![CIA training, arming anti-Syrian regime militias in Turkey [Syria TV, Syria]](/images/image_cache/base-9843000/9843126/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=9e3b0a52727303abe17a526ac731ddc7)
![Turkey temporarily closes borders to Syrian refugees [Press TV, Iran]](/images/image_cache/base-9450000/9450967/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=10e852d4580e21082247152c2bf6ef66)
![Kurds fight police in southeastern Turkey during PKK rally [IBA, Israel]](/images/image_cache/base-9400000/9400995/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=a084f8b4a94d6cf4d88ed54882562208)
