Is Turkey in the Middle East or Europe?

Turkey occupies a unique geographic position, lying partly in Asia and partly in Europe. Its status between these two continents has been debated throughout history. While Turkey has strong ties to the Middle East, most of the country lies within Europe.

Turkey’s Geographic Position

Modern day Turkey is located on the Anatolian peninsula, which bridges the continents of Europe and Asia. The Bosporus strait runs through Istanbul, dividing the European and Asian sides of the city. Territorially, about 3% of Turkey’s land mass lies in Europe (East Thrace) while the remaining 97% is in Asia (Anatolia).

However Turkey’s connections to Europe go beyond geography. The country has been closely linked to Europe historically culturally, economically and politically.

History of Turkey-Europe Relations

• Turkey’s predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, conquered parts of Southeast Europe starting in the 14th century This brought much of the Balkans under Ottoman influence for centuries.

• Turkish republic founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk oriented Turkey toward Europe and Western ideals. Turkey allied with the United States and became a NATO member in 1952.

• Turkey applied for associate membership in the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1959. It later applied for full EEC membership in 1987 and its application was eventually accepted in 1999.

• Accession talks for Turkey to join the European Union (EU) as a full member began in 2005. As of 2022 Turkey is still a candidate country hoping to join the EU.

Geographical and Cultural Connections

• Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city and business capital, straddles the Bosporus strait between Europe and Asia. The historic city was capital of the Roman and Byzantine empires.

• Turkish Thrace in Europe contains East Thrace, where the Gallipoli peninsula saw World War I battles. Greece and Bulgaria also border European Turkey.

• Turkish population centers and economic activity are concentrated in the European side of the country. Ankara, the capital, and other major cities like Izmir and Bursa are in West Turkey.

• Christianity has existed in Turkey since biblical times. Some of the earliest Christian communities were established in ancient Asia Minor and Constantinople.

• The Latin alphabet replaced Arabic script as the official Turkish alphabet in 1928 as part of westernizing reforms.

• Turkey participates in European athletic competitions like UEFA and the Olympics as opposed to Middle Eastern ones. Major Turkish soccer clubs play in the European leagues.

Economic Ties to Europe

• Turkey joined the EU customs union in 1995 for trade in manufactured goods. Most of Turkey’s exports flow into the EU single market.

• Germany is Turkey’s top export destination followed by the United Kingdom, Italy and other European countries. Turkey relies heavily on machinery, vehicles and other goods from the EU.

• The EU is the biggest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Turkey, particularly from Netherlands, Germany, Spain and the UK.

• Turkey attracts tens of millions of European tourists annually as a popular Mediterranean destination. Tourism accounted for nearly 7% of Turkey’s GDP in 2019, much of it from Europe.

• As of 2022, over 5 million Turkish citizens live in EU countries, particularly Germany. Turkey and the EU have agreements to allow labor migration.

Is Turkey in the Middle East?

While Turkey has political, economic and demographic heft in the Middle East, categorizing it as a Middle Eastern country is problematic:

• The Middle East is not a clearly defined geographic or political region. Definitions vary and typically center on Western Asia. Turkey lies further west.

• Turkey’s dominant ethnicity, language and religious tradition in Sunni Islam are shared with Middle Eastern nations. But Turkey’s secular democracy differs politically.

• Turkey was the successor state to the Ottoman Empire which ruled over much of the Middle East. But modern Turkey oriented itself more closely with the West after the empire fell.

• Turkey has tense relations and strategic rivalries with some key Middle Eastern nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia. It gets involved in affairs like Syria’s civil war largely due to geographic proximity.

• The vast majority of Turks ethnically and culturally identify with Europe and the West rather than the Middle East. Politically, deepening EU integration remains a priority.

While Turkey straddles Asia and Europe, its modern identity has been shaped through extensive engagement with Europe. Turkey’s geography, history, society, economy and politics are intertwined with Europe despite regional influences from the Middle East. Classifying Turkey as a Middle Eastern country does not accurately reflect where the nation belongs in 2022 – at the edge of Europe looking toward the West. Its unique bridging position between continents remains.