Photo Essay: Turkey’s Year of Turbulence

Facing an increasingly vitriolic debate over the role of Islam in society and watching its European dreams slip away, this vital crossroads between East and West is in the midst of a full-blown political crisis.

Smoke signals: Its been a tumultuous year in Turkey. Whether its Kurdish unrest or an increasingly vitriolic debate over the role of Islam in society, this nation of 72 million has seen an unprecedented level of political ferment in recent months. Above, a Kurdish youth demonstrates during Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year, on March 23. Many Kurds, who comprise roughly 20 percent of Turkeys population, accuse the government of trying to suppress their language and culture.

Photo: SAYGIN SERDAROGLU/AFP/Getty Images

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