Polls have opened in Turkey's general election, in what is seen as a crucial test of its secular tradition.  
The early election was called to resolve a political crisis after parliament repeatedly failed to agree on a candidate for president.  
 
Secular parties and the powerful military blocked the nomination of a devout Muslim for the post by the Islamic-rooted ruling AK Party.  
 
They said Turkey's secularism was in danger - a claim the AKP dismissed.
Some 42 million people are eligible to vote in the poll, while 14 parties are vying for seats in the 550-member parliament.  
 
The voting started at 0700 (0400 GMT) in eastern Turkey, and polls opened an hour later in the rest of the country.  
 
Sentiments high  
 
Voters have been heading home from the beaches by the coach load, interrupting their holidays to take part in the polls, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in the capital Ankara says.  
 
Some of them say they have made a special effort to come back this time because they believe that the secular system needs to be protected, our correspondent says.  
The role of religion here will be a key issue at the ballot box, and so will Turkey's relations with the outside world, our correspondent adds.  
 
 
Nationalist sentiment is running high, fed by bitter disappointment with the EU. Renewed fighting with separatist Kurds and talk of an incursion into northern Iraq will also influence the result, she says.  
 
All election banners, slogans and party flags were taken down on Saturday night, in accordance with Turkey's electoral law.  
 
Record of growth  
 
The election has been called in an effort to break a stalemate over a package of constitutional reforms proposed by the current government of Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan.  
 
 
Those reforms include a proposal for the country's president to be elected directly by the people, rather than by parliament.  
 
They were put forward by the AK Party, whose candidate for the presidency, Abdullah Gul, was repeatedly rejected by parliament.  
 
Turkey's current president and its secularist establishment have vowed to resist what they regard as the Islamist agenda of the AK Party.  
 
Mr Erdogan's government denies the claims, saying its record in office proves the contrary.  
 
The government has overseen almost five straight years of economic growth and opened membership negotiations with the European Union.