Turkey sits at a cultural and geographic crossroads where the Eastern and Western worlds meet. Historically a devoutly Muslim country, Turkey — from the volatile eastern Kurdish region near the Iraqi border, to the industrial central region of Anatolia, to the world-class city of Istanbul — is today anything but homogeneous. As it enters what may be the final chapter in its 40-year quest to join the European Union, Turkey remains a country many Westerners still struggle to understand.

In this episode’s essay, Christopher Caldwell examines the issues facing Turkish society in the new millennium, and gives his perspective on a country at a key turning point in its history.