"Traditionally, Turkey has been known as a country of emigration. Starting from the early 1960s ... large numbers of Turkish nationals migrated to western European countries ... Recently, Turkey has also become known as a country of transit to the European Union for irregular migrants from Asian countries ... What is less well known is that Turkey has long been a country of immigration and asylum. From 1923 to 1997, more than 1.6 million people immigrated to Turkey ..." (Quoted from article)