Portal:Turkey

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Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye [ˈtyɾcije]), officially the Republic of Türkiye (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti [ˈtyɾcije dʒumˈhuːɾijeti] (listen)), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is off the south coast. Most people are Turks, and Kurds are the largest minority. Ankara is Turkey's capital, while Istanbul is its largest city and financial centre.

One of the world's earliest permanently settled regions, present-day Turkey was home to important Neolithic sites like Göbekli Tepe, and was inhabited by ancient civilisations including the Hattians, Hittites, Anatolian peoples, Mycenaean Greeks, Persians and others. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great which started the Hellenistic period, most of the ancient regions were culturally Hellenised, and this continued during the Byzantine era. The Seljuk Turks began migrating in the 11th century, and the Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into small Turkish principalities. Beginning in the late 13th century, the Ottomans united the principalities and conquered the Balkans, and the Turkification of Anatolia increased during the Ottoman period. After Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1453, Ottoman expansion continued under Selim I. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire became a global power. From the late 18th century onwards, the empire's power declined with a gradual loss of territories. Mahmud II started a period of modernisation in the early 19th century. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 restricted the authority of the Sultan and restored the Ottoman Parliament after a 30-year suspension, ushering the empire into a multi-party period. The Three Pashas took control with the 1913 coup d'état, and entered World War I as one of the Central Powers in 1914. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Greek and Assyrian subjects. After its defeat in the war, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned.

The Turkish War of Independence against the occupying Allied Powers resulted in the abolition of the Sultanate on 1 November 1922, the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne (which superseded the Treaty of Sèvres) on 24 July 1923 and the proclamation of the Republic on 29 October 1923. With the reforms initiated by the country's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey became a secular, unitary and parliamentary republic. Turkey remained neutral during most of World War II, but entered the closing stages of the war on the side of the Allies. Turkey played a prominent role in the Korean War and joined NATO in 1952. During the Cold War years, the country endured two military coups in 1960 and 1980, and a period of economic and political turmoil in the 1970s. The economy was liberalised in the 1980s, leading to stronger economic growth and political stability. Since 2002, the country's political system has been dominated by the AKP and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, under whom a decade of rapid growth in nominal GDP took place until 2013, which was followed by a period of recession and stagnation between 2013 and 2020, and high inflation as of 2023. The AKP government's initial economic achievements, which were financed through privatization revenues and loans, were overshadowed by democratic backsliding and an erosion in the separation of powers and civil liberties, which gained momentum after the parliamentary republic was replaced by an executive presidential system with a referendum in 2017.

Turkey is a regional power with a geopolitically strategic location. The economy of Turkey, which is a founding member of the OECD and G20, is classified among the E7, EAGLEs and NICs, and currently ranks twentieth-largest in the world by nominal GDP and eleventh-largest by PPP. Turkey is a charter member of the United Nations, the IMF and the World Bank; a founding member of the OSCE, OIC, BSEC, ECO, MIKTA, TURKSOY and OTS; and an early member of NATO. After becoming one of the early members of the Council of Europe in 1950, Turkey became an associate member of the EEC in 1963, joined the EU Customs Union in 1995, and started accession negotiations with the European Union in 2005. Turkey has a rich cultural legacy shaped by centuries of history and the influence of the various peoples that have inhabited its territory over several millennia; it is home to 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is among the most visited countries in the world. (Full article...)

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Many motifs are used in traditional kilims, handmade flat-woven rugs, each with many variations. In Turkish Anatolia in particular, village women wove themes significant for their lives into their rugs, whether before marriage or during married life. Some motifs represent desires, such as for happiness and children; others, for protection against threats such as wolves (to the flocks) and scorpions, or against the evil eye. These motifs were often combined when woven into patterns on kilims. With the fading of tribal and village cultures in the 20th century, the meanings of kilim patterns have also faded.

In these tribal societies, women wove kilims at different stages of their lives, choosing themes appropriate to their own circumstances. Some of the motifs used are widespread across Anatolia and sometimes across other regions of West Asia, but patterns vary between tribes and villages, and rugs often expressed personal and social meaning. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Turkey-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Members of the Bayar cabinet wearing a white tie and top hat. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 2Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem (1847–1914) was another prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 3View from Levent district in Istanbul. Istanbul's skyline has changed especially since the early 2000s. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 4Turkish delight (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 5An Oil wrestling tournament in Istanbul. This has been the national sport of Turkey since Ottoman times. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 6Mount Ararat (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 7View of Beydağları Coastal National Park (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 8Namık Kemal was a prominent Turkish poet, novelist, playwright and journalist of the late-19th-century Ottoman Empire. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 9Map showing the Anatolian Plate, the North Anatolian Fault and East Anatolian Fault in Turkey. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 10Anıtkabir designed by Emin Halid Onat and Ahmet Orhan Arda (1944–53) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 11Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) (from History of Turkey)
Image 12Topkapı Palace, Istanbul. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 13Map of earthquakes in Turkey 1900–2017 (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 14Originally a church, later a mosque, and now a Grand mosque, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul was built by the Byzantines in the 6th century. (from History of Turkey)
Image 15Fault lines and earthquakes (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 16Orhan Veli Kanık was the founder of the Garip Movement in Turkish poetry. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 17Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca was one of the most prolific Turkish poets of the Turkish Republic with more than 60 collections of his poems published, laureate of the Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath Award. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 18Ahmed Hamdi Akseki Mosque (2013) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 19Isbank Tower 1 (1995–2000) in Levent district of Istanbul (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 20Beaches of Marmaris on the Turkish Riviera. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 21Ankara Opera House, designed by Şevki Balmumcu (1933–34) and renovation by Paul Bonatz (1946–47). (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 22The Fountain of Ahmed III is an iconic example of Tulip period architecture (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 23Nuri Bilge Ceylan won a number of awards in the annual Cannes Film Festival, including the best director award at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival for his film Üç Maymun ("Three Monkeys"). He has also won five FIPRESCI awards. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 24Mehmed II enters Constantinople by Fausto Zonaro (from History of Turkey)
Image 25Mount Erciyes near Kayseri (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 26Antalya (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 27Istanbul (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 28Turkish coffee (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 29Interior of the Sultanahmet Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 30First Ziraat Bank Headquarters (1925–29) in Ankara designed by Giulio Mongeri is an important symbol of the First National Architectural Movement. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 31Köppen climate types of Turkey (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 32Beaches and marina of Kemer near Antalya on the Turkish Riviera (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 33The Ishak Pasha Palace, Eastern Turkey. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 34A view of Levent from Kanlıca across the Bosporus (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 35View of Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta National Park (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 36The sultan of the golden age, Suleiman the Magnificent. (from History of Turkey)
Image 37Roosevelt, İnönü and Churchill at the Second Cairo Conference which was held between 4–6 December 1943. (from History of Turkey)
Image 38Turkish national basketball team won the silver medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 39Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 40One of the main entrance gates of the Dolmabahçe Palace. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 41Thrace and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom in its maximum extent under Sitalces (431-424 BC) (from History of Turkey)
Image 42Istanbul University Faculty of Science and Faculty of Literature Buildings (1944–52) designed by Sedad Hakkı Eldem and Emin Onat (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 43Istanbul and the Bosphorus (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 44A view from the interior of a traditional Turkish house, by John Frederick Lewis (1805–1875) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 45Esenboğa International Airport, Ankara (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 46Sami Frashëri (1850–1904) and his wife Emine, May 1884. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 47The Nation's Library of the Presidency, Ankara (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 48The Bath-Gymnasium complex at Sardis in Turkey. (from History of Turkey)
Image 49Kaçkar Mountains (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 50Ankara (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 51Tevfik Fikret (1867–1915) was a prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 52Istanbul Sapphire (2006–11) is the tallest building in Turkey and 4th in Europe. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 53Topographic map of Turkey (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 54Designed by Şekip Akalın, Ankara Central Station (1937) is a notable art deco design of its era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 55Night view of the Taksim Mosque (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 56Karagöz and Hacivat are the lead characters of the traditional Turkish shadow play, popularized during the Ottoman period. (from Culture of Turkey)

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... that the Mosque of Kefeli in Istanbul was used jointly as a church by Roman Catholic and Armenian believers before becoming a mosque? (July 20, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 155
... that Morocco–Turkey relations started as early as the 16th century, with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Northern Africa? (October 26, 2010)
... that the ticket lottery site for the December 2007 Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert featuring Led Zeppelin, crashed due to over a billion page views of fans seeking to purchase the 20,000 tickets on sale? (January 8, 2008) Wikipedia:Recent additions 198
... that the Montreux Convention of 1936 is an international treaty regulating the Dardanelles and Bosporus Straits? (July 8, 2008) Wikipedia:Recent additions 221
... that during the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1570–1573, the 8,500-strong Venetian garrison of Famagusta in Cyprus held out for eleven months against an Ottoman army of 200,000 men? (December 13, 2008) Wikipedia:Recent additions 236
... that unlike other cemeteries in Turkey that accommodate one religion only, Mersin Interfaith Cemetery includes graves of Muslims, Christians and Jews? (January 15, 2014)
... that a hydro dam was built by a state agency within the borders of the Munzur Valley National Park in Turkey, violating the existing laws for its protection? (October 28, 2010)

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Image 1Antalya
Image 2Tünel, Istanbul
Image 3Rize
Image 4Ölüdeniz
Image 5Lahmacun
Image 618th-century Ottoman barber's apron
Image 7A faculty of Sakarya University
Image 8Safranbolu
Image 9Tarkan with Hungarian fans
Image 10The ancient Lake Abant Nature Park in Bolu
Image 11Kemer
Image 12Atatürk praying
Image 13A tram in Istanbul
Image 14the Bosphorus Bridge
Image 15A Kocek
Image 16Iznik, 16th-century vase
Image 17Yagli gures
Image 181. picture on portal: The prominent towers of Dayro d-Mor Gabriel; 15th December 2005
Image 19The sun setting over the Golden Horn in the city of Istanbul.
Image 20The tughra of Mahmud II. "Mahmud Han bin Abdulhamid muzaffer daima" ("Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious").
Image 21The Temple of Athena at Priene, an ancient site near Turunçlar in Aydın province.
Image 22Aydilge Sarp; Turkish singer, songwriter and novelist
Image 23Flag of Turkey, from flowers
Image 24the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne
Image 25Cappadocia
Image 26An airplane with a nazar boncuğu symbol that is said to offer protection from the "evil eye".

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Tarkan Tevetoğlu (Turkish pronunciation: [taɾˈkan teveˈtoːɫu]; born 17 October 1972) is a Turkish singer-songwriter. Since the early 1990s, with the successful sales of his albums, he has been a prominent figure of pop music, recognized in Turkey and worldwide.

Tarkan was born and raised in Alzey, Rhineland-Palatinate. In 1986, he moved to Turkey together with his family. Tarkan, who had been interested in music since his childhood, went to high school at Karamürsel and took music lessons. In the following years, he met the owner of İstanbul Plak, Mehmet Söğütoğlu, and signed a contract to release his own album. (Full article...)

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Burak Yılmaz Piri Reis Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Ahmet Necdet Sezer Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Fethullah Gülen Nureddin Pasha Tuncay Şanlı İsmet İnönü Sıla (singer) Orhan Pamuk Erol Gelenbe Kemal Derviş Hande Yener Sertab Erener Said Altınordu Junayd of Aydın Daron Acemoglu

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U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey speak to the media after the two leaders met at the White House, December 7, 2009

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Videos from Turkey on Wikimedia Commons

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“

Heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

”

1934 ~ Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

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Turkish proverbs in Wikiquote

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Recognized content

	Alanya, Byzantine Empire, SMS Goeben, The Turk, List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul, Italian War of 1521–1526, Italian War of 1542–1546, List of battleships of the Ottoman Empire, Rhodes blood libel
	2004 Istanbul summit, 2008 Turkish Grand Prix, Battle of Manzikert, Battle of Marash, Battle of Vaslui, Church of St. Polyeuctus, First Crusade, Great Zab, Hood event, Limyra Bridge, Siege of Szigetvár, Night Attack at Târgoviște, Third Perso-Turkic War, Walls of Constantinople, Gallipoli Campaign, Battle of Lone Pine