Gallery: Turkey: New Crossroad

While maintaining a secular government, the people of Turkey have seemed to be getting more religious over the past couple of years. The number of women wearing head scarves has dramatically increased, even in such a tourist rich city as Istanbul. In fact the popularity of AKP, the religious-rooted party, has grown enormously. With the growing religious climate, the Turkish army and secular elite, as well as people of the international community, have grown increasingly worrisome over whether the country might lose its secular tradition and replace it with Islamic Sharia Law in the country. Yet, most Turks themselves are not worried about this potential shift because many are proud of their secular lifestyle while maintaining a religious frame of mind. As a bridge between east and west, Turkey has always been one of the most important crossroads of different cultures and ideologies.