"During this period, Greek soldiers along the border with Turkey were on alert after receiving reports that Turkey planned to help thousands of refugees slip into Greece illegally. In 1987, the Sismik incident nearly started a war between Greece and Turkey. During the Cyprus Missile Crisis, between early 1997 and late 1998, tensions continued between Greece and Turkey, due to Greece's support of the Cypriot position. In 1999, Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, was captured by the Turkish Intelligence Service agents in Nairobi, Kenya, while leaving the Greek Embassy. Öcalan was carrying both Greek and Cypriot"
"Turkey Turkey ( ), officially the Republic of Turkey ( ), is a transcontinental country located mainly in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. East Thrace, located in Europe, is separated from Anatolia by the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorous strait and the Dardanelles (collectively called the Turkish Straits). Turkey is bordered by Greece and Bulgaria to its northwest; Georgia to its northeast; Armenia, the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the south. Ankara is its capital but Istanbul is the country's largest city. Approximately"
"Thrace Thrace (; Modern , ""Thráki""; , ""Trakiya""; ) is a geographical and historical area in Southeast Europe, now split between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south and the Black Sea to the east. It comprises southeastern Bulgaria (Northern Thrace), northeastern Greece (Western Thrace) and the European part of Turkey (East Thrace). In antiquity, it was also referred to as ""Europe"", prior to the extension of the term to describe the whole continent. The name ""Thrace"" comes from the Thracians, an ancient Indo-European people inhabiting Southeast"
"has been divided de facto since the Turkish military intervention of 1974, following a coup d'état directed from Greece. The southern part of the island is under the control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus, while the northern part is administered by Turkish Cypriots. In 1983, their administration proclaimed itself the ""Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus"" (""TRNC""). The United States does not recognize the ""TRNC,"" nor does any other country except Turkey. A buffer zone, or ""green line,"" patrolled by UNFICYP, separates the two parts. In 2003 Turkish Cypriot authorities relaxed many restrictions on movement between the two"
"political theses and ones which we would be unable to explain or defend,” after several complaints were handed to Turkey's Foreign Ministry saying Turkish fisher boats had entered Greece's territorial waters. Greek–Turkish relations The relations between the Greek and the Turkish states have been marked by alternating periods of mutual hostility and reconciliation ever since Greece won its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832. Since then the two countries have faced each other in four major wars—the Greco-Turkish War (1897), the First Balkan War of 1912 to 1913, the First World War (1914 to 1918) and finally the Greco-Turkish"
"Greek–Turkish relations The relations between the Greek and the Turkish states have been marked by alternating periods of mutual hostility and reconciliation ever since Greece won its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832. Since then the two countries have faced each other in four major wars—the Greco-Turkish War (1897), the First Balkan War of 1912 to 1913, the First World War (1914 to 1918) and finally the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22), which was followed by the Greco-Turkish population exchange and a period of friendly relations in the 1930s and 1940s. Both countries entered NATO in 1952. Relations deteriorated again in"
"Romani people (15%). In the 2014 European elections in Greece, 42,533 people from Eastern Macedonia and Thrace voted for the Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace, which represents what it regards as the Muslim minority in Greece. These Muslim minority populations are completely distinct from the Ottoman-era Greek Muslims, such as the Vallahades of western Greek Macedonia, who were almost entirely expatriated to Turkey as part of the 1923-24 Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Eastern Macedonia and Thrace () is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the northeastern parts of"
"in Southeastern Europe (Thrace) and the remainder in Southwestern Asia (Anatolia or Asia Minor). Turkey has borders with Greece, Bulgaria in the Thrace and Syria, Iraq, Iran, Georgia, Armenia, and Nahcivan (Azerbaijan) in the south and east Anatolia that is also called Asia Minor. The shape of the country resembles a rectangle, stretching in the eastwest direction for approximately 1,565 kilometers and in the north-south direction for nearly 650 kilometers. The three sides of Turkey are surrounded by seas: in the north, the Black Sea; in the northwest, the Sea of Marmara; in the west, the Aegean Sea; and in"
"into Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot regions, the larger Greek-Cypriot Region, controlled by the Cypriot Government, claims that the 1960 Constitution basically remains in force, whereas the Turkish-Cypriot region claims to have seceded by the Declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983. The Constitution provided for under the Agreements divided the Cypriot people into two communities on the basis of ethnic origin. The President had to be a Greek-Cypriot elected by the Greek-Cypriots, and the Vice-President a Turkish-Cypriot elected by the Turkish-Cypriots. The Vice-President was granted the right of a final veto on laws passed by the"
"two countries. Moreover, after the end of Graeco-Turkish War and the subsequent Treaty of Lausanne and population exchange between Greece and Turkey, all Muslims except Western Thrace, were exchanged for all Orthodox in Turkey except for those in Istanbul. The villages of the exchanged populations (Bulgarians and Muslims) in Greece were resettled with Greeks from Asia Minor, and the Balkans (mainly from Bulgaria and Yugoslavia). By 1928, Greece's demography had drastically changed from the position in 1830: the country had turned into a nation-state, non-Greeks and most of the population spoke Greek.The Arvanites and Aromanians today proclaim themselves as Greeks."
"Greek Cypriots, in separate referendums in 2004. However, negotiations for solving the Cyprus dispute are still ongoing between Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot political leaders. In 1978, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its NATO allies) was founded, and since 1984 the PKK and other Kurdish groups are engaged in an armed conflict with Turkey. The Kurds demand separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan or to have autonomy and greater political and cultural rights for Kurds inside the Republic of Turkey. More than 40,000 people have died as a result of the conflict."
"Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I between May 1919 and October 1922. It is known as the Western Front (, ) of the Turkish War of Independence in Turkey and the Asia Minor Campaign () or the Asia Minor Catastrophe () in Greece. The Greek campaign was launched primarily because the western Allies, particularly British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, had promised Greece territorial gains at the expense of the Ottoman Empire, recently defeated in World War I."
"Taksim (politics) Taksim (, ""division"") was the objective of Turkish Cypriots who supported a partition of the island of Cyprus into Turkish and Greek portions, a concept declared as early as 1957 by Dr. Fazıl Küçük. Turkish nationalism in Cyprus developed mainly in response to Greek nationalism and desire for ""enosis"", union with Greece. Initially, the Turkish Cypriots favoured the continuation of the British rule. However, they were alarmed by the Greek Cypriot calls for ""enosis"" as they saw the union of Crete with Greece, which led to the exodus of Cretan Turks, as a precedent to be avoided, and"
"declared, more than 36% of the territory was occupied by Turkish forces. The ceasefire line of 1974 today still separates the two communities and is generally referred to as the Green Line (or the 'Atilla Line'), and also runs through Nicosia, making it the only divided capital in the world. The Turkish Army and the Greek side conducted policies ethnic cleansing in the territories that came under their respective control. Turkey was found guilty by the European Commission of Human Rights for displacement of persons, deprivation of liberty, ill treatment, deprivation of life and deprivation of possessions. The Turkish policy"
"History of nationality in Cyprus A ""de facto"" republic where Greek and Turkish Cypriots share many customs but maintain distinct identities based on religion, language, and close ties with their respective ""motherlands"", Cyprus is an island with a highly complex history of nationality due to its bi-communal nature and the ongoing conflict between the two groups. An internationally recognized region, Cyprus is partitioned into four main parts under effective control of the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognized only by Turkey), the UN-controlled Green Line, and British bases Akrotiri and Dhekelia respectively. Despite its history of"
"For many Greek Cypriots these municipalities were the first stage on the way to the partition they feared. The Greek Cypriots wanted ""enosis"", integration with Greece, while Turkish Cypriots wanted ""taksim"", partition between Greece and Turkey. Resentment also rose within the Greek Cypriot community because Turkish Cypriots had been given a larger share of governmental posts than the size of their population warranted. In accordance with the constitution 30% of civil service jobs were allocated to the Turkish community despite being only 18.3% of the population. Additionally, the position of vice president was reserved for the Turkish population, and both"
"the idea that Greece belonged to the Western civilization, Westernizing professors of the Greek Universities Thanos Veremis and Theodore Couloumbis expressed their opposition to such a stand, which aimed at excluding Greece from Western civilization and accused their American colleague ""of discovering new barbarians"". The dispute between the Western and the Eastern Parties took paramount proportions after the Greek economic crisis started in 2009 and in the summer of 2015, with the decision of the leftist Tsipras government to organize a referendum on the relations of the country with the European Union, Greece was once more split between West and"
"state in the northern part of the island. Taksim (politics) Taksim (, ""division"") was the objective of Turkish Cypriots who supported a partition of the island of Cyprus into Turkish and Greek portions, a concept declared as early as 1957 by Dr. Fazıl Küçük. Turkish nationalism in Cyprus developed mainly in response to Greek nationalism and desire for ""enosis"", union with Greece. Initially, the Turkish Cypriots favoured the continuation of the British rule. However, they were alarmed by the Greek Cypriot calls for ""enosis"" as they saw the union of Crete with Greece, which led to the exodus of Cretan"
"and several others organizations by whom it is recognized as the sole legitimate government of the whole island. Greece calls for the removal of Turkish troops from Cyprus and the restoration of a unified state. The Republic of Cyprus is receiving strong support from Greece in international forums with the latter maintaining a military contingent on the island, and Greek officers filling key positions in the Cypriot National Guard. Other issues dividing Greece and Turkey involve the delimitation of the continental shelf in the Aegean Sea, territorial waters and airspace. In March 1987 a dispute concerning oil drilling rights, almost"
"War of Independence. With the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Northern Thrace was incorporated into the semi-autonomous Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, which united with Bulgaria in 1885. The rest of Thrace was divided among Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey at the beginning of the 20th century, following the Balkan Wars, World War I and the Greco-Turkish War. In Summer 1934, up to 10.000 Jews were maltreated, bereaved and then forced to quit the region (see 1934 Thrace pogroms). Today, ""Thracian"" is a geographical term used in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. Two main gods of the Bessi Thracians were Dionysus (worshiped"
"began in the late 19th century and gained pace in the first quarter of the 20th century, especially during World War I. Today there are more than 320,000 people of different Christian denominations, representing less than 0.4 percent of Turkey's population, including an estimated 80,000 Oriental Orthodox, 35,000 Catholics, 18,000 Antiochian Greeks, 5,000 Greek Orthodox and 8,000 Protestants, mostly ethnic Turkish. There is also a small group of ethnic Orthodox-Christian Turks (mostly living in Istanbul or Izmir) who follow the Greek Orthodox or Syriac Orthodox church. They are often confused with ethnic Greeks. Some of them actually have a Greek"
"in a mutual population exchange between Greece and Turkey, between the two countries. As a result, the Muslim population of Greece, with the exception of Western Thrace, was relocated to Turkey. According to historian Justin McCarthy, between the years 1821–1922, from the beginning of the Greek War of Independence to the end of the Ottoman Empire, five million Muslims were driven from their lands and another five and one-half million died, some of them killed in wars, others perishing as refugees from starvation or disease. According to Michael Mann McCarthy is often viewed as a scholar on the Turkish side"
"period of time in Greece is known as the Turkocracy. Ottoman lands were divided up into pashaliks, also called eyalets; in the case of the lands that form present-day Greece, these were Morea and Roumelia. Pashaliks were further sub-divided into sanjaks which were often divided into feudal chifliks (Turkish ""çiftlik"" (farm), Greek ""τσιφλίκι"" ""tsifliki""). Any surviving Greek troops, whether regular Byzantine forces, local militia, or mercenaries had either to join the Ottoman army as janissaries, serve in the private army of a local Ottoman notable, or fend for themselves. Many Greeks wishing to preserve their Greek identity, Orthodox Christian religion,"
"Greece Greece (), officially the Hellenic Republic (Greek: ), historically also known as Hellas, is a country located in Southern and Southeast Europe, with a population of approximately /1e6 round 0 million as of . Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the"
"total of 13 times, winning seven, drawing three and losing three games. Both countries have been described as ""punching above their weight""; with Greece winning Euro 2004 despite being classified as underdogs prior to the competition, and Turkey followed-up their World Cup semi-final appearance in 2002 by advancing to the semi-finals of Euro 2008, where they were knocked out by Germany. Due to tension between the two countries and the dispute over Cyprus, coupled with several incidents occurring during matches between Turkish and Greek clubs, it has been described as one of the biggest international football rivalries. Turkey B ""Third"
"of sympathy and generous assistance provided by ordinary Greeks and Turks in both cases. These acts were encouraged from the top and took many foreigners by surprise, preparing the public for a breakthrough in bilateral relations, which had been marred by decades of hostility over anti-Greek pogroms, territorial disputes and the situation in the divided island of Cyprus. Ten years later, Greece has become one of the key supporters of Turkey's struggle to enter the European Union. Yet, despite the confidence Greece and Cyprus have shown, voting YES for Turkey in order to begin its entry negotiations with the European"
"Greco-Turkish War (1897) The Greco-Turkish War of 1897, also called the Thirty Days' War and known in Greece as the Black '97 (, ""Mauro '97"") or the Unfortunate War (Ατυχής πόλεμος, ""Atychis polemos"") (Turkish: ""1897 Osmanlı-Yunan Savaşı"" or ""1897 Türk-Yunan Savaşı""), was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Its immediate cause was the question over the status of the Ottoman province of Crete, whose Greek majority long desired union with Greece. Despite the Ottoman victory on the field, an autonomous Cretan State under Ottoman suzerainty was established the following year (as a result of"
"Greeks in Turkey The Greeks in Turkey () constitute a population of Greek and Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox Christians who mostly live in Istanbul, as well as on the two islands of the western entrance to the Dardanelles: Imbros and Tenedos ( and ""Bozcaada""). They are the remnants of the estimated 200,000 Greeks who were permitted under the provisions of the Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations to remain in Turkey following the 1923 population exchange, which involved the forcible resettlement of approximately 1.5 million Greeks from Anatolia and East Thrace and of half a million Turks from"
"Greece in 1912, during the First Balkan War. The area was struck by an earthquake in 1978, and by flooding due to rainfall in October 2006. Thessaloniki is also the birthplace of Mustafa Kemal, founder of the modern Turkey. The Thessaloniki regional unit is subdivided into 14 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): The Thessaloniki Prefecture () was created when the area joined with the rest of Greece during the First Balkan War in 1913. Its area was then the largest in the country covering about 7% of all of Greece. The prefectures of Pella"
"Demographics of Cyprus The people of Cyprus are broadly divided into two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, who share many cultural traits but maintain distinct identities based on ethnicity, religion, language, and close ties with their respective motherlands. Before the dispute started in 1964 the peoples of Cyprus (then 77% Greek Cypriots, 18% Turkish Cypriots, 5% other communities, including Armenians and Maronites) were dispersed over the entire island. The Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 de facto partitioned the island into two political areas: 99.5% of Greek Cypriots now live in the Republic of Cyprus while 98.7%"
"the leftist AKEL and centrist Democratic Party rejecting the offer, preferring to remain opposition parties. The results of early negotiations between the Greek and Turkish politicians resulted in a broad agreement in principle to reunification as a bicameral, bi-zonal federation with territory allocated to the Greek and Turkish communities within a united island. However, agreement was never reached on the finer details, and the two sides often met deadlock over the following points, among others: The Greek side: The Turkish side: The continued difficulties in finding a settlement presented a potential obstacle to Cypriot entry to the European Union, for"
"The intervention came after more than a decade of intercommunal violence (1963–1974) between the island's Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, resulting from the constitutional breakdown of 1963. Turkey invoked its role as a guarantor under the Treaty of Guarantee in justification for the military intervention. Turkish forces landed on the island in two waves, securing 37% of the island's territory in the northeast for the Turkish Cypriots, who had been isolated in small enclaves across the island prior to the military intervention. In the aftermath, the Turkish Cypriots declared a separate political entity in the form of the Turkish Federated"
"round of discussion was held in Geneva, Switzerland. Unlike before, this time the talks involved the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. During the discussions the Turkish Cypriots, supported by Turkey, insisted on some form of geographical separation between the two communities. Makarios refused to accept the demand, insisting that Cyprus must remain a unitary state. Despite efforts to break the deadlock, the two sides refused to budge. On 14 August, Turkey demanded from Clerides acceptance of a proposal for a federal state, in which the Turkish Cypriot community (who, at that time, comprised about 18% of the population and owned about"