If you look at the map here, you'll see that a little piece of Turkey is on the European side, snuggled up against Bulgaria. Istanbul straddles a strait called the Bosphorous, a.k.a. the Istanbul strait (see pic below), that physically separates the European landmass from the Asian land mass (often referred to as Anatolia), which is one reason why so many writers talk about how Istanbul is the place where "The East meets the West," because it quite literally does.
Now if you want to get into a discussion about whether Turkey's identity is European or Asian...well, that's a very subjective and hot topic at the moment. Some Turks will say that Turkey is European not only geographically, but culturally, which is why it should join the E.U. Others will say Turkey is its own entity, a bridge between the East and West, making it both and neither at the same time--a status it should revel in, instead of trying to be one or the other. And still others will say that Turkey is Islamic (and perhaps becoming more so, with the current administration) and its culture lies in its Asiatic roots and current allies.
After living here for nine months, I tend to lean towards the second assertion. To me, Turkey's European identity is something like the image below--a nation that runs parallel to Europe but never quite merges with it, observing Europe always on the horizon, perhaps with longing, curiosity, and some resentment, yet mostly content with its borders.
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