OLLI: Turkey at the Crossroads of Geography and History

Like the Eastern Roman and Byzantine empires, Turkey was the most important center of Christianity in the first millennium. By the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire emerged and expanded to include Southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Africa. In the 20th century, Ataturk became the progressive founding leader of the new westward leaning Republic of Turkey. This presentation by Mike Kukral, Rose-Hulman associate professor, looks at the amazing mosaic of architectural and cultural legacies of western Turkey today along with a few comments on current issues.