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TURKEY
--
About
toErupt in the News!
by
Keith W. Stump
Turkey's unique position between t he Muslim Middle East
and the Christian West carries far-reaching implications for the future!
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T IS TIME
to awake to the
importance of modern Tur–
key in world affairs!
This largely ignored nation is
rapidly becoming a force to be
reckoned with in the internation–
al arena. Yet few today under–
stand the tremendous s ignifi–
cance of this ancient and strategi–
cally situated country.
A quick glance at a map tells
much of the story.
Turkey is wbere East meets West!
Geographically, Texas-sized T urkey
stands as a literal
bridge
between
Europe and the Middle East- the
two major focal points of Bible
prophecy.
By virtue of its crucial location,
Turkey is destined to play a major
role in coming world events. Lying
precariously close to the flash points
Aprll 1985
of the volatile Middle East on the
one hand , and the evolving super–
power of Eu rope on the other, Tur–
key will be drawn unavoidably into
the vortex of impending upheaval
prophesied for those regions.
l t is time to focus attention on
this intriguing country, to under–
stand something of its past, its
present- and its momentous fu–
ture!
Crossroads of East and West
To comprehend the future role of
Turkey in world affairs, we must
fi rst look br iefly at its past.
T urkey's destiny was determined
from the beginning by its geograph–
ical position. Since the dawn of his–
tory, the península of Asia Minor or
Anatolia (on which líes Turkey
today) has been a major route for the
migration of peoples. lts
lo~ation
between two continents made it a
major crossroads for t ravel and trade
between Europe and Asia- the
ancient intersection of Eastern and
Western civilizations.
T he focal point of this activity was
the fabled city known today as lstan–
bul.
Straddling the strategic Bosporus
waterway, sprawling Istanbul is a
truly cosmopolitan city, the only one
in the world built on two cont inents.
It
is a unique combination of East
and Wes t , old and new. Its breath–
taking skyline yet today lends cre–
dence to the age-old saying: " Jf one
had but a single glance to give the
world, one should gaze at Istanbul."
The story of lstanbul spans 27 cen–
turies. Actually, it is the history of
three
cities on the same site-Byzan–
tium, Constantinople and Istanbul.
Ancient Byzantium was founded
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