6:05:40 > 6:05:44TURKISH STYLE MUSIC
6:06:06 > 6:06:09Behind me is the Bosphorus, the ancient waterway
6:06:09 > 6:06:11that historically separates East from West.
6:06:11 > 6:06:1597% of Turkey is actually in Asia.
6:06:15 > 6:06:17Only 3% is in Europe.
6:06:17 > 6:06:19But what if the whole country was to become a member state
6:06:19 > 6:06:21of the European Union?
6:06:21 > 6:06:23Well, that would extend the borders
6:06:23 > 6:06:25of what would then be known as Europe
6:06:25 > 6:06:28all the way to Iraq, Iran and Syria.
6:06:28 > 6:06:32The population of Turkey is currently at 75 million.
6:06:32 > 6:06:36But that is projected to rise by nine million come 2023.
6:06:36 > 6:06:39That would make Turkey the EU's largest member state.
6:06:39 > 6:06:41Turkey could potentially be entitled to have
6:06:41 > 6:06:44the maximum number of seats in the European Parliament
6:06:44 > 6:06:48that a country can occupy, with 96 MEPs.
6:06:48 > 6:06:51The UK only gets 73.
6:06:51 > 6:06:54If Turkey were already a member of the EU then technically
6:06:54 > 6:06:56she could expect to receive
6:06:56 > 6:06:59one third of the EU's entire structural aid budget,
6:06:59 > 6:07:02a whopping £11 billion.
6:07:02 > 6:07:04And a further £8 billion in farming subsidies -
6:07:04 > 6:07:07three times more than UK farmers receive.
6:07:07 > 6:07:10It would also mean that Turkey would be getting out
6:07:10 > 6:07:13as much as the UK taxpayer is paying in.
6:07:13 > 6:07:18With an average monthly salary in Turkey of just £429,
6:07:18 > 6:07:20compared to £2,200 in the UK,
6:07:20 > 6:07:24it's predicted as many as 15 million migrants
6:07:24 > 6:07:27could leave for Europe within the first ten years of EU membership.
6:07:27 > 6:07:29In Turkey, it's actually a criminal offence
6:07:29 > 6:07:31to criticise the government,
6:07:31 > 6:07:33that could land you with a jail sentence.
6:07:33 > 6:07:37Last year, nine journalists were sent to prison in Turkey.
6:07:37 > 6:07:43On a list of press freedoms, Turkey ranks 149th out of 180 countries.
6:07:43 > 6:07:46It might explain why I felt more comfortable filming this
6:07:46 > 6:07:47back here in the UK.
6:07:47 > 6:07:51According to a United Nations report in 2011,
6:07:51 > 6:07:55women in Turkey are ten times more likely to suffer physical violence
6:07:55 > 6:07:56than those in Europe.
6:07:56 > 6:07:58It's estimated there's one honour killing
6:07:58 > 6:08:01every single week in Istanbul alone.
6:08:01 > 6:08:03And more than a quarter of Turkish women
6:08:03 > 6:08:05are married before their 18th birthday.
6:08:05 > 6:08:07At the start of the last century,
6:08:07 > 6:08:09one fifth of the population of Turkey was Christian.
6:08:09 > 6:08:11But over the course of 100 years
6:08:11 > 6:08:13that community has dramatically disappeared.
6:08:13 > 6:08:19Today, only 0.2% of people in Turkey practise Christianity openly.
6:08:19 > 6:08:23Recent changes to education policy has also seen a great number
6:08:23 > 6:08:26of state schools turned into Islamic Imam schools,
6:08:26 > 6:08:29with many pupils who can't afford to pay for their schooling
6:08:29 > 6:08:32being forced to accept a religious education instead.
6:08:32 > 6:08:35When the current ruling party first came to power,
6:08:35 > 6:08:39the number of pupils registered at Imam schools was 63,000.
6:08:39 > 6:08:42Today, that number is closer to a million.
6:08:42 > 6:08:45Just days after filming outside the Hagia Sophia,
6:08:45 > 6:08:49a suicide attacker detonated a bomb in the same location,
6:08:49 > 6:08:51killing ten tourists.
6:08:51 > 6:08:54The assailant has been identified as an Islamic State affiliate
6:08:54 > 6:08:57who had come into the country from Syria.
6:08:59 > 6:09:01David Cameron has been pushing hard
6:09:01 > 6:09:03for Turkey to become the 29th member state.
6:09:03 > 6:09:07We, the British people, are not going to have a say on that.
6:09:10 > 6:09:13This is just one of the major risks to Britain
6:09:13 > 6:09:15coming down the tracks from the EU.
6:09:15 > 6:09:18When the referendum comes, vote to leave.