Independence: Turkey celebrates October 29, 1923, the date on which the Republic of Turkey was declared after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, as its date of independence.

Public Holidays: New Year’s Day (January 1), Feast of the Sacrifice (January 10, 2006; variable date determined by the Islamic calendar), National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (April 23), Commemoration of Atatürk and Youth and Sports Day (May 19), Victory Day (August 30), Republic Day (October 29), and the End of Ramadan (October 24, 2006; variable date determined by the Islamic calendar).

Flag: The flag has a red background with a white crescent, open to the

right, on the left side and a five-pointed white star in the center.

RECENT NEWS ARTICLES

5.2 magnitude quake strikes northwest Turkey  -  24 Oct 2006
International Herald Tribune,AP. ISTANBUL, Turkey An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 struck northwest Turkey on Tuesday, the Kandilli Observatory said, shaking parts of Istanbul. ...

Turkey set to withdraw appeal against fine  -  24 Oct 2006
Planet-F1...the winner's trophy at the end of August's Turkish GP after being introduced as the president of the Turkish Cypriot 'state', which is only recognised by Turkey ...

First shipments of imported greenhouse cucumbers from Turkey ...  -  24 Oct 2006
Agricultural Marketing Project,According to information provided by the specialists of "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal, first shipments of Turkish greenhouse cucumbers entered ...

Thinking More Loudly on Turkeyâ€™s EU Bid  -  24 Oct 2006
Journal of Turkish Weekly,Last week I discussed that while Europeans might be deliberately unaware of the developments in Turkey that support for European Union membership was dwindling ...

'Food, agriculture, biotechnology' workshop, Turkey  -  24 Oct 2006
Cordis News,A research conference entitled 'Food, agriculture, biotechnology' will take place on 9 November in Istanbul, Turkey. The conference ...

By joining EU, Turkey loses control over its borders â€“ Franceâ€™ ...  -  24 Oct 2006
Regnum,...of France to Armenia Henri Cuny told journalists about the legislation criminalizing public denial of Genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Turkey in 1915. ...

Turkey, EU try to break deadlock over Cyprus  -  24 Oct 2006
Southeast European Times,Turkey and the EU held talks on a Finnish proposal to end the deadlock over allowing Cypriot vessels and planes into Turkish ports and airfields. ...

TURKEY: LAWMAKERS TO DRAW UP LIST OF FRENCH AND EUROPEAN ' ...  -  24 Oct 2006
AKI,Ankara, 24 Oct. (AKI) - The Turkish parliament is to draw up a "shame list" of massacres allegedly carried out by European nations ...

Drummer Carl Palmer Coming to Turkey  -  24 Oct 2006
Zaman Online,Carl Palmer, regarded as one of the best drummers of this age, will be in Turkey for two performances, Enka in Istanbul, and for an international festival in ...

Turkey : Organization of Islamic Conference meet today  -  24 Oct 2006
Fibre2fashion.com,Ministry of Industry & Trade announced that the 3rd Experts Group meeting Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)-member cotton producing countries, kicked ...

Manisaspor mania hits Turkey  -  24 Oct 2006
uefa.com,They won promotion through the leagues and earned national attention after appointing former Turkey coach Mustafa Denizli to lead them in the 2003/04 campaign ...

Journalists Without Borders ranks Turkey 100th in "media freedom"  -  24 Oct 2006
HÃ¼rriyet,According to the Paris-based media organization "Journalists Without Borders," Turkey ranks 100th in the world in the arena of "freedom in the media." A list ...

Quilters Create Turkey Postcards for the Troops  -  24 Oct 2006
PowerHomeBiz.com (press release)...postcards. How-to-Quilt.com has created a packet of turkey patterns for the postcards, and is providing them free for everyone. ...

Turkey to sell Halkbank  -  24 Oct 2006
Turkish Press,..."We have gone through a major privatisation process ... Now we have Halkbank, the second-largest bank of Turkey which is going to be privatised very soon. ...

Turks can live without EU - poll  -  24 Oct 2006
Independent Online,Less than a third of Turks think Turkey must enter the European Union, a poll showed on Tuesday, the latest sign of waning support for membership as Ankara ...

Grange holds turkey supper, Oct. 28  -  24 Oct 2006
KeepMEcurrent.com,By Sabbathday Lake Grange. GRAY/NEW GLOUCESTER (Oct 23, 2006): Sabbathday Lake Grange will be holding its annual Turkey Supper on Saturday, Oct. ...

KDKA & National City Team Up For Turkey Fund  -  24 Oct 2006
KDKA,...in need have a Happy Thanksgiving. There are three ways you can contributed to the KD Turkey Fund. You can drop off your donation ...

Perhaps a smile would give Posh a little polish  -  24 Oct 2006
Tonight,Yep, there are going to be great photos of kids tucking into Turkey Twizzlers - and just wait till you get to the recipe for Dairylea milk-shakes. Delicious. ...

Iran deports 75 Pakistanis after arresting them for illegal entry  -  24 Oct 2006
International Herald Tribune,AP. QUETTA, Pakistan Iranian border guards have deported 75 Pakistanis captured in Iran for allegedly trying to enter neighboring Turkey without travel documents ...

A trek past ancient ruins and monster legends  -  24 Oct 2006
Sydney Morning Herald,...natural phenomenon. It is just one of many points of interest along the Lycian Way, Turkey's first long-distance footpath. The 500 ...

This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant.