ABSTRACT
Turkey stands between Europe and Asia both geographically and historically. Its culture embraces the traditions of ancient Greece and Rome, and its land was home to such legendary figures as St. Nicholas, Helen of Troy, King Midas, and Saul of Tarsus, who would become the Apostle Paul. The Ottoman Empire placed Turkey at the apogee of Middle Eastern politics with control over a vast sweep of land from Tunisia in the west to the Persian Gulf in the east, and much of the Balkans in Europe. Ataturk defined his purpose for modern Turkey in six principles: republicanism, nationalism, populism, reformism, statism, and secularism, and together they became "Kemalism." Following Ataturk's death, Ismet Inonu became president and maintained Ataturk's model of strong one-party rule. Inonu kept Turkey neutral during World War II despite German pressure, largely due to fear of the Soviet Union. Turkey is a parliamentary multiparty democracy that continues in many ways the legacy of Kemal Ataturk.
