Culture

Turkey has a population of about 74,816,000 people. About 85% of the people are descendants of Asian people called Turks. About 48% of Turkey's people live in cities and towns, and about 52% live in rural areas. More than 90% of all Turks speak Turkish, the country's official language. About 6% speak Kurdish, and the rest speak Arabic, Greek, or one of the other languages of the minority groups. Turkey is lucky in that it has a richness and variety in cultural and natural resources and the preservation and development of these have been stipulated by law. Many organizations have been set up in connection with this subject and preservation has now become a subject that concerns many organizations, institutions and people. Turkey has approximately 2,700 historical ruins some dating back to prehistoric times and 41,000 works of culture.

Religion:
More than 98% of the Turkish people are Muslims. However, Turkey as no state religion, and the Constitution guarantees religious freedom. The population thus includes members of the Armenian Apostolic and Greek Orthodox churches, Roman and Eastern Catholics, and Jews. One of the most controversial issues in Turkey is whether Turkish society should be organized on a religious basis. Islamic law provides specific rules for all areas of life-economic, political, and social. In the 1920s, the government made religion a private matter, restricting it to personal morals and behavior. But many Turks objected. Today, the dispute continues over what part of Islam should have in Turkish life. Turkey has a democratic government and strong tradition of secularism. Nevertheless, the Turkish state's interpretation of secularism has resulted in religious freedom violations for many of Turkey's citizens. The 2009 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report placed Turkey on its Watch List' with countries such as Afghanistan, Cuba, the Russian Federation, and Venezuela.