Portal:Turkey

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Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a smaller part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; and the Aegean Sea, Greece, and Bulgaria to the west. Turkey is home to over 86 million people; most are ethnic Turks, while Kurds are the largest ethnic minority. Officially a secular state, Turkey has a Muslim-majority population. Ankara is Turkey's capital and second-largest city. Istanbul is its largest city and economic center. Other major cities include İzmir, Bursa, and Antalya.

First inhabited by modern humans during the Late Paleolithic, present-day Turkey was home to various ancient peoples. The Hattians were assimilated by the Hittites and other Anatolian peoples. Classical Anatolia transitioned into cultural Hellenization after Alexander the Great's conquests, and later Romanization during the Roman and Byzantine eras. The Seljuk Turks began migrating into Anatolia in the 11th century, starting the Turkification process. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into Turkish principalities. Beginning in 1299, the Ottomans united the principalities and expanded. Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) in 1453. During the reigns of Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire became a global power. From 1789 onwards, the empire saw major changes, reforms, centralization, and rising nationalism while its territory declined.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, persecution of Muslims during the Ottoman contraction and in the Russian Empire resulted in large-scale loss of life and mass migration into modern-day Turkey from the Balkans, Caucasus, and Crimea. Under the control of the Three Pashas, the Ottoman Empire entered World War I in 1914, during which the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian subjects. Following Ottoman defeat, the Turkish War of Independence resulted in the abolition of the sultanate and the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne. Turkey emerged as a more homogenous nation state. The Republic was proclaimed on 29 October 1923, modelled on the reforms initiated by its founder and first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Turkey remained neutral during most of World War II, but was involved in the Korean War. Several military interventions interfered with the transition to a multi-party system.

Turkey is an upper-middle-income and emerging country; its economy is the world's 16th-largest by nominal and 11th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP. As the 15th-largest electricity producer in the world, Turkey aims to become a hub for regional energy transportation. It is a unitary presidential republic. Turkey is a founding member of the OECD, G20, and Organization of Turkic States. With a geopolitically significant location, Turkey is a NATO member and has its second-largest military personnel. It may be recognized as an emerging, a middle, and a regional power. As an EU candidate, Turkey is part of the EU Customs Union.

Turkey has coastal plains, a high central plateau, and various mountain ranges with rising elevation eastwards. Turkey's climate is diverse, ranging from Mediterranean and other temperate climates to semi-arid and continental types. Home to three biodiversity hotspots, Turkey is prone to frequent earthquakes and is highly vulnerable to climate change. Turkey has a universal healthcare system, growing access to education, and increasing levels of innovativeness. It is a leading TV content exporter. With numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites and intangible cultural heritage inscriptions, and a rich and diverse cuisine, Turkey is the fourth most visited country in the world. (Full article...)

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Map of the Turkish people around the world

Turks (Turkish: Türkler), or Turkish people, are the largest Turkic ethnic group, comprising the majority of the population of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. They generally speak the various Turkish dialects. In addition, centuries-old ethnic Turkish communities still exist across other former territories of the Ottoman Empire. Article 66 of the Constitution of Turkey defines a Turk as anyone who is a citizen of the Turkish state. While the legal use of the term Turkish as it pertains to a citizen of Turkey is different from the term's ethnic definition, the majority of the Turkish population (an estimated 70 to 75 percent) are of Turkish ethnicity. The vast majority of Turks are Sunni Muslims, with a notable minority practicing Alevism.

The ethnic Turks can therefore be distinguished by a number of cultural and regional variants, but do not function as separate ethnic groups. In particular, the culture of the Anatolian Turks in Asia Minor has underlain and influenced the Turkish nationalist ideology. Other Turkish groups include the Rumelian Turks (also referred to as Balkan Turks) historically located in the Balkans; Turkish Cypriots on the island of Cyprus, Meskhetian Turks originally based in Meskheti, Georgia; and ethnic Turkish people across the Middle East, where they are also called Turkmen or Turkoman in the Levant (e.g. Iraqi Turkmen, Syrian Turkmen, Lebanese Turkmen, etc.). Consequently, the Turks form the largest minority group in Bulgaria, the second largest minority group in Iraq, Libya, North Macedonia, and Syria, and the third largest minority group in Kosovo. They also form substantial communities in the Western Thrace region of Greece, the Dobruja region of Romania, the Akkar region in Lebanon, as well as minority groups in other post-Ottoman Balkan and Middle Eastern countries. The mass immigration of Turks also led to them forming the largest ethnic minority group in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. There are also Turkish communities in other parts of Europe as well as in North America, Australia and the Post-Soviet states. Turks are the 13th largest ethnic group in the world. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars (from History of Turkey)
Image 2Kaçkar Mountains. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 3Roosevelt, İnönü and Churchill at the Second Cairo Conference which was held between 4–6 December 1943. (from History of Turkey)
Image 4An oil wrestling tournament (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 5Butterfly Valley on the Turkish Riviera. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 6A lady handweaves a carpet in Cappadocia (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 7Turkish folk dance regions (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 8Originally 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 9View of Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta National Park (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 10Map of earthquakes in Turkey 1900–2023 (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 11100th year anniversary in Republic Day (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 12A Turkish belly dancer (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 13Mount Nemrut, Adıyaman (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 14Turkish coffee (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 15Turkish national basketball team won the silver medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 16Dolmabahçe Palace in İstanbul, built by the Balyan family (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 17Hıdırellez celebrations (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 18View of Beydağları Coastal National Park (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 19Namık Kemal was a prominent Turkish poet, novelist, playwright and journalist of the late-19th-century Ottoman Empire. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 20Köppen climate types of Turkey (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 21Istanbul (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 22Map showing the Anatolian Plate, the North Anatolian Fault and East Anatolian Fault in Turkey. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 23Elif Şafak, a prominent writer and LGBT activist. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 24A woman in traditional clothing (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 25Nuri Bilge Ceylan (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 26'Two Musician Girls' of Osman Hamdi Bey. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 27Visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to Turkey in October 1917. Together with the Mehmed V and Enver Pasha (from History of Turkey)
Image 28Grand Post Office in Istanbul, an example of the first national architectural movement. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 29Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem (1847–1914) was another prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 30Aziz Sancar was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 31Fazıl 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 32Beaches and marina of Kemer near Antalya on the Turkish Riviera. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 33Mount Ararat (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 34Thrace and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom in its maximum extent under Sitalces (431-424 BC) (from History of Turkey)
Image 35The sultan of the golden age, Suleiman the Magnificent. (from History of Turkey)
Image 36Selimiye Mosque in Edirne (1568–1574) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 37Selection of Turkish food (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 38A view of Levent from Kanlıca across the Bosporus. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 39Kitesurfers in Akyaka, Muğla (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 40Regions of Roman Anatolia (from History of Turkey)
Image 41Halide Edip Adıvar was a novelist, teacher, and a nationalist and feminist intellectual. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 42Mount Erciyes near Kayseri (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 43Turkey women's national volleyball team won 22 consecutive matches in 2023. In that period, they completed the Nations League, European Championship and Olympic Qualification Round / FIVB World Cup matches undefeated. Being the first team to do so in history. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 44Bronze Age Anatolia (from History of Turkey)
Image 45The empire in 555 under Justinian the Great, at its greatest extent since the fall of the Western Roman Empire (its vassals in pink) (from History of Turkey)
Image 46Tevfik Fikret (1867–1915) was a prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 47Entrance portal of the Karatay Madrasa in Konya (c. 1251) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 48Mehmed II enters Constantinople by Fausto Zonaro (from History of Turkey)
Image 49The Ottoman Empire in 1683, at the start of the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) (from History of Turkey)
Image 50Karagöz and Hacivat are the lead characters of Turkish shadow play, popularized during the Ottoman period. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 51Topkapı Palace in Seraglio Point (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 52Sami Frashëri (1850–1904) and his wife Emine, May 1884. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 53Antalya (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 54Atatürk on the cover of the Time magazine, Vol. I No. 4, March 24, 1923. Title: "Mustapha Kemal Pasha" (from History of Turkey)
Image 55Kilitbahir in Gallipoli (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 56Istanbul LGBT Pride 2013 at Taksim Square during Gezi Park protests (from History of Turkey)
Image 57Ankara (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 58Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 59Lake Van (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 60Yalıs along Sarıyer (from Culture of Turkey)

Did you know - show different entries

... that Turkish-Romani musician Selim Sesler was called "the Coltrane of the clarinet"? (May 16, 2014)
... that the 2011-opened Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar Literature Museum Library in Istanbul is housed in a building, which once served for Ottoman sultans to accept salutes during a military parade? (February 26, 2014)
... that during the Italian War of 1542–1546, the population of Toulon, France was expelled to make room for an Ottoman naval base? (November 2, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 183
... that the Akhurian River is said to have turned completely red because of a major battle nearby? (January 28, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 118
... that the Milion
(pictured) of Constantinople was the origin of all the roads into the European cities of the Byzantine Empire? (February 27, 2008)
... that the 1976 crash of Turkish Airlines Flight 452, resulting in the death of 154 people, is the all-time worst aviation accident in Turkey? (October 8, 2009) Wikipedia:Recent additions 249
... that the lighthouse Rumeli Feneri was built in 1855 in order to provide safe navigation for the French and British war ships entering the Istanbul Strait from Black Sea during the Crimean War? (June 14, 2010)

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Image 1Ölüdeniz
Image 2A Kocek
Image 3Tarkan with Hungarian fans
Image 4Lahmacun
Image 5Lake Akdoğan in Muş
Image 618th-century Ottoman barber's apron
Image 7Aydilge Sarp; Turkish singer, songwriter and novelist
Image 8The tughra of Mahmud II. "Mahmud Han bin Abdulhamid muzaffer daima" ("Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious").
Image 9Tünel, Istanbul
Image 10Mount Nemrut
Image 11the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne
Image 12A tram in Istanbul
Image 13Flag of Turkey, from flowers
Image 14Safranbolu
Image 15A faculty of Sakarya University
Image 16Cappadocia
Image 17Kemer
Image 18The Temple of Athena at Priene, an ancient site near Turunçlar in Aydın province.
Image 19An airplane with a nazar boncuğu symbol that is said to offer protection from the "evil eye".
Image 20The sun setting over the Golden Horn in the city of Istanbul.
Image 21the Bosphorus Bridge
Image 22Antalya
Image 231. picture on portal: The prominent towers of Dayro d-Mor Gabriel; 15th December 2005
Image 24Rize
Image 25Iznik, 16th-century vase
Image 26Atatürk praying
Image 27The ancient Lake Abant Nature Park in Bolu

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Yılmaz with Beşiktaş in 2023

Burak Yılmaz (born 15 July 1985) is a Turkish professional football coach and former player who played as a forward. He is the current head coach of Süper Lig club Gaziantep.

Yılmaz is one of nine players to play for each of the Big Three clubs of Istanbul, and one of only two players who have played for these three clubs as well as Trabzonspor along with Sergen Yalçın. (Full article...)

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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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“

A satiated man doesn't know what's hunger, a healthy man doesn't know what's disease.

”

Turkish proverb

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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