"TURKEY’S NATIONAL IDENTIY CRISIS
LONDON - The Turks, a nomadic people who originated in Central Asia, have had a national identity crisis for the past seven hundred years. They simply cannot decide whether to look west, and be Europeans, or look East and remain part of Asia. Their peninsula, Asia Minor, puts them squarely in the middle of this giant conundrum.
In the Fifteenth Century, the great Ottoman sultan, Mehmet II, surnamed the Conqueror, dreamed of restoring the Roman Empire under Ottoman rule by capturing Constantinople and Rome, and making them his twin capitals.
In 1453, Mehmet’s forces stormed Constantinople. He at once ordered his armies to invade Italy and capture Rome.
The only way for Mehmet’s armies to reach Italy was to cross the wild mountains of Albania to get to the Adriatic coast. From the Albanian coast to southern Italy is only 65 km across the narrow Strait of Otranto."
More:Eric Margolis | Foreign Correspondent : TURKEY’S NATIONAL IDENTIY CRISIS