Portal:Turkey

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Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly 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 (and Cyprus) to the south; and the Aegean Sea, Greece, and Bulgaria to the west. Turkey is home to over 85 million people; most are ethnic Turks, while ethnic 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 its economic and financial center, as well as the largest city in Europe. Other major cities include İzmir, Bursa and Antalya.

Human habitation began in the Late Paleolithic. Home to important Neolithic sites like Göbekli Tepe and some of the earliest farming areas, present-day Turkey was inhabited by various ancient peoples. Hattians were assimilated by the incoming Anatolian peoples. Increasing diversity during Classical Anatolia transitioned into cultural Hellenization following the conquests of Alexander the Great; Hellenization continued 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 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 transformation, reforms, and centralization 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. After its defeat, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned. The Turkish War of Independence resulted in the abolition of the sultanate in 1922 and the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. The Republic was proclaimed on 29 October 1923, modelled on the reforms initiated by the country's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Turkey remained neutral during most of World War II, but was involved in the Korean War. Coups in 1960 and 1980 interrupted the transition to a multi-party system.

Turkey is an upper-middle-income and emerging country; its economy is the 18th- or 11th-largest in the world. 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 regional power and an early member of NATO. An EU-candidate, Turkey is part of the EU Customs Union, CoE, OIC, and TURKSOY. Turkey has coastal plains, a high central plateau, and various mountain ranges; its climate is temperate with harsher conditions in the interior. Home to three biodiversity hotspots, Turkey is prone to frequent earthquakes and is highly vulnerable to climate change. Turkey has universal healthcare, growing access to education, and increasing innovativeness. It is a leading TV content exporter. With 21 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 30 UNESCO 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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Clockwise from top left: Delegation gathered in Sivas Congress to determine the objectives of the Turkish National Movement; Turkish civilians carrying ammunition to the front; Kuva-yi Milliye infantry; Turkish horse cavalry in chase; Turkish Army's capture of Smyrna; troops in Ankara's Ulus Square preparing to leave for the front.

The Turkish War of Independence (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns and a revolution waged by the Turkish National Movement, after parts of the Ottoman Empire were occupied and partitioned following its defeat in World War I. The conflict was between the Turkish Nationalists against Allied and separatist forces over the application of Wilsonian principles, especially national self-determination, in post-World War I Anatolia and Eastern Thrace. The revolution concluded the collapse of the Ottoman Empire; the Ottoman monarchy and the Islamic caliphate were abolished, and the Republic of Turkey was declared in Anatolia and Eastern Thrace. This resulted in a transfer of vested sovereignty from the sultan-caliph to the nation, setting the stage for Republican Turkey's period of nationalist revolutionary reform.

While World War I ended for the Ottoman Empire with the Armistice of Mudros, the Allied Powers continued occupying and securing land per the Sykes–Picot Agreement, as well as to facilitate the prosecution of former members of the Committee of Union and Progress and those involved in the Armenian genocide. Ottoman military commanders therefore refused orders from both the Allies and the Ottoman government to surrender and disband their forces. In an atmosphere of turmoil throughout the remainder of the empire, sultan Mehmed VI dispatched Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atatürk), a well-respected and high-ranking general, to Anatolia to restore order; however, Mustafa Kemal became an enabler and eventually leader of Turkish Nationalist resistance against the Ottoman government, Allied powers, and separatists.

In an attempt to establish control over the power vacuum in Anatolia, the Allies agreed to launch a Greek peacekeeping force into Anatolia and occupy Smyrna (İzmir), inflaming sectarian tensions and beginning the Turkish War of Independence. A nationalist counter government led by Mustafa Kemal was established in Ankara when it became clear the Ottoman government was appeasing the Allied powers. The Allies soon pressured the Ottoman government in Constantinople to suspend the Constitution, shutter Parliament, and sign the Treaty of Sèvres, a treaty unfavorable to Turkish interests that the "Ankara government" declared illegal. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Köppen climate types of Turkey (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 2Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem (1847–1914) was another prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 3Mehmed II enters Constantinople by Fausto Zonaro (from History of Turkey)
Image 4One of the main entrance gates of the Dolmabahçe Palace. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 5Turkish national basketball team won the silver medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 6Thrace and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom in its maximum extent under Sitalces (431-424 BC) (from History of Turkey)
Image 7The Bath-Gymnasium complex at Sardis in Turkey. (from History of Turkey)
Image 8An Oil wrestling tournament in Istanbul. This has been the national sport of Turkey since Ottoman times. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 9Kaçkar Mountains (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 10Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 11View of Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta National Park (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 12Namık Kemal was a prominent Turkish poet, novelist, playwright and journalist of the late-19th-century Ottoman Empire. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 13Orhan Veli Kanık was the founder of the Garip Movement in Turkish poetry. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 14Atatürk on the cover of the Time magazine, Vol. I No. 4, March 24, 1923. Title: "Mustapha Kemal Pasha" (from History of Turkey)
Image 15Turkish delight (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 16Turkish coffee (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 17Sami Frashëri (1850–1904) and his wife Emine, May 1884. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 18Ortaköy Mosque in the first quarter of the 20th century (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 19Anıtkabir designed by Emin Halid Onat and Ahmet Orhan Arda (1944–53) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 20Istanbul Sapphire (2006–11) is the tallest building in Turkey and 4th in Europe. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 21Map showing the Anatolian Plate, the North Anatolian Fault and East Anatolian Fault in Turkey. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 22Map of the Hittite Empire at its greatest extent, with Hittite rule c. 1350–1300 BC represented by the green line (from History of Turkey)
Image 23Lake Van (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 24The 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 25Roosevelt, İnönü and Churchill at the Second Cairo Conference which was held between 4–6 December 1943. (from History of Turkey)
Image 26A view of Levent from Kanlıca across the Bosporus (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 27The Nation's Library of the Presidency, Ankara (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 28Fazıl 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 29Mount Ararat (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 30Map of the Lydian Kingdom in its final period of sovereignty under Croesus, c. 547 BC. (from History of Turkey)
Image 31Ankara (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 32First 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 33Antalya (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 34View from Levent district in Istanbul. Istanbul's skyline has changed especially since the early 2000s. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 35Istanbul University Faculty of Science and Faculty of Literature Buildings (1944–52) designed by Sedad Hakkı Eldem and Emin Onat (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 36Designed by Şekip Akalın, Ankara Central Station (1937) is a notable art deco design of its era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 37Topkapı Palace, Istanbul. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 38Mount Erciyes near Kayseri (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 39The Ishak Pasha Palace, Eastern Turkey. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 40Map of earthquakes in Turkey 1900–2023 (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 41Adnan Menderes, İsmet İnönü, and the other members of the Parliament wearing a white tie and top hat. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 42Mount Nemrut, Adıyaman (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 43The sultan of the golden age, Suleiman the Magnificent. (from History of Turkey)
Image 44Istanbul (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 45The Ottoman Empire in 1683, at the start of the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) (from History of Turkey)
Image 46The Fountain of Ahmed III is an iconic example of Tulip period architecture (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 47Interior of the Sultanahmet Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 48Night view of the Taksim Mosque (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 49A view from the interior of a traditional Turkish house, by John Frederick Lewis (1805–1875) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 50Beaches and marina of Kemer near Antalya on the Turkish Riviera (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 51View of Beydağları Coastal National Park (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 52Ankara Opera House, designed by Şevki Balmumcu (1933–34) and renovation by Paul Bonatz (1946–47). (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 53Yalikavak Palmarina in Bodrum (2014) designed by Emre Arolat (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 54Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars (from History of Turkey)
Image 55Tevfik Fikret (1867–1915) was a prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 56Butterfly Valley on the Turkish Riviera. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 57Karagöz and Hacivat are the lead characters of the traditional Turkish shadow play, popularized during the Ottoman period. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 58Originally 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)

Did you know - show different entries

... that Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the head of the Turkish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, is also a member of parliament from Antalya Province? (January 24, 2010)
... that ten days before the ratification of the Peace of Szeged, Vladislaus, King of Hungary, swore an oath which invalidated it and all future treaties with the Ottoman Empire? (May 25, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 143
... that it was discovered that about 10,000 Muslim graves in Cebeci Asri Cemetery, Ankara, Turkey were not oriented in the direction required by Islam? (March 29, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 130
... that the Gazi Race, named in honor of Gazi Mustafa Kemal, the founder of the Turkish Republic, was won by racehorses owned by succeeding presidents İsmet İnönü and Celâl Bayar? (December 8, 2011)
... that the military prowess of the Tulunid dynasty of Arab Egypt was due to its multi-ethnic army composed of Turkish, Sudanese, and Greek soldiers? (May 10, 2008) Wikipedia:Recent additions 219
... that the Şeyh Süleyman Mosque in Istanbul was almost certainly an annex of Constantinople's Monastery of Pantokrator in the Byzantine Age? (December 8, 2010)
... that the Turkish military coup of 1971 is known as a coup by memorandum? (August 10, 2004) Wikipedia:Recent additions 13

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Image 1A faculty of Sakarya University
Image 2Antalya
Image 3The tughra of Mahmud II. "Mahmud Han bin Abdulhamid muzaffer daima" ("Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious").
Image 4the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne
Image 5Aydilge Sarp; Turkish singer, songwriter and novelist
Image 61. picture on portal: The prominent towers of Dayro d-Mor Gabriel; 15th December 2005
Image 7Iznik, 16th-century vase
Image 8Tünel, Istanbul
Image 9The sun setting over the Golden Horn in the city of Istanbul.
Image 10Atatürk praying
Image 11Tarkan with Hungarian fans
Image 12the Bosphorus Bridge
Image 13Safranbolu
Image 14Flag of Turkey, from flowers
Image 15Kemer
Image 1618th-century Ottoman barber's apron
Image 17Lake Akdoğan in Muş
Image 18A tram in Istanbul
Image 19Rize
Image 20Mount Nemrut
Image 21An airplane with a nazar boncuğu symbol that is said to offer protection from the "evil eye".
Image 22Cappadocia
Image 23The Temple of Athena at Priene, an ancient site near Turunçlar in Aydın province.
Image 24The ancient Lake Abant Nature Park in Bolu
Image 25A Kocek
Image 26Ölüdeniz
Image 27Lahmacun

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Sami Erol Gelenbe (born 22 August 1945, Istanbul), a Turkish and French computer scientist, electronic engineer and applied mathematician, pioneered the field of Computer System and Network Performance. Currently Professor in the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Informatics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (2017- ), he is also an Associate Researcher in the I3S Laboratory (CNRS, University of Côte d'Azur, Nice) and Abraham de Moivre Laboratory (CNRS, Imperial College). Fellow of several National Academies, he Chairs the Informatics Section of Academia Europaea since 2023. His previous Professorial Chairs include the University of Liège (1974-1979), University Paris-Saclay (1979-1986), University Paris Descartes (1986-2005), NJIT (1991–93), ECE Chair at Duke University (1993-1998), University Chair Professor and Director of EECS, University of Central Florida (1998-2003), and Dennis Gabor Professor and Head of Intelligent Systems and Networks, Imperial College (2003-2019). (Full article...)

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

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Lake Bafa Nature Park, 2015

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Videos from Turkey on Wikimedia Commons

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“

Today the Soviet Union is a friend and an ally. We need this friendship. However, no one can know what will happen tomorrow. Just like the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires it may tear itself apart or shrink in size. The people that it holds so tightly in its grip may one day slip away. The world may see a new balance of power. It is then that Turkey must know what to do. Ally Soviets have under their control our brothers with whom we share language, beliefs and roots. We must be prepared to embrace them. Being ready does not mean that we will sit quietly and wait. We must get ready. How does a people get prepared for such an endeavour? By strengthening the natural bridges that exist between us. Language is a bridge... Religion is a bridge... History is a bridge... We must delve into our roots and reconstruct what history has divided. We can't wait for them to approach us. We must reach out to them.

”

29 October 1933 ~ 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