Portal:Turkey

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Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small 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 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 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 the country's 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 12th-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 force. 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; 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 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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Little Ararat (left) and Greater Ararat (right); View from Yerevan, Armenia

Mount Ararat, also known as Masis or Mount Ağrı, is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in easternmost Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey and the Armenian highlands with an elevation of 5,137 m (16,854 ft); Little Ararat's elevation is 3,896 m (12,782 ft). The Ararat massif is about 35 km (22 mi) wide at ground base. The first recorded efforts to reach Ararat's summit were made in the Middle Ages, and Friedrich Parrot, Khachatur Abovian, and four others made the first recorded ascent in 1829.

In Europe, the mountain has been called by the name Ararat since the Middle Ages, as it began to be identified with "mountains of Ararat" described in the Bible as the resting-place of Noah's Ark, despite contention that Genesis 8:4 does not refer specifically to a Mount Ararat. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1The sultan of the golden age, Suleiman the Magnificent. (from History of Turkey)
Image 2Turkish coffee (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 3Orhan Veli Kanık was the founder of the Garip Movement in Turkish poetry. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 4Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars (from History of Turkey)
Image 5Roosevelt, İnönü and Churchill at the Second Cairo Conference which was held between 4–6 December 1943. (from History of Turkey)
Image 6Yalikavak Palmarina in Bodrum (2014) designed by Emre Arolat (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 7Sami Frashëri (1850–1904) and his wife Emine, May 1884. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 8Ankara Opera House, designed by Şevki Balmumcu (1933–34) and renovation by Paul Bonatz (1946–47). (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 9Mount Ararat (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 10Night view of the Taksim Mosque (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 11Fazıl 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 12Mehmed II enters Constantinople by Fausto Zonaro (from History of Turkey)
Image 13View of Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta National Park (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 14Map of earthquakes in Turkey 1900–2023 (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 15Karagöz and Hacivat are the lead characters of Turkish shadow play, popularized during the Ottoman period. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 16Köppen climate types of Turkey (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 17First 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 18An oil wrestling tournament in Istanbul. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 19Butterfly Valley on the Turkish Riviera. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 20Atatürk on the cover of the Time magazine, Vol. I No. 4, March 24, 1923. Title: "Mustapha Kemal Pasha" (from History of Turkey)
Image 21The Bath-Gymnasium complex at Sardis in Turkey. (from History of Turkey)
Image 22A view of Levent from Kanlıca across the Bosporus. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 23Map of Istanbul by the miniature artist Matrakçı Nasuh (from Culture 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 25Kaçkar Mountains. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 26Antalya (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 27Tevfik Fikret (1867–1915) was a prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 28Anıtkabir designed by Emin Halid Onat and Ahmet Orhan Arda (1944–53) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 29Lake Van (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 30Originally 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 31Map of the Lydian Kingdom in its final period of sovereignty under Croesus, c. 547 BC. (from History of Turkey)
Image 32Mount Erciyes near Kayseri (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 33Selimiye Mosque in Edirne (1568–1574) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 34Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem (1847–1914) was another prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 35Namık Kemal was a prominent Turkish poet, novelist, playwright and journalist of the late-19th-century Ottoman Empire. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 36View from Levent district in Istanbul. Istanbul's skyline has changed especially since the early 2000s. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 37Ankara (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 38Istanbul University Faculty of Science and Faculty of Literature Buildings (1944–52) designed by Sedad Hakkı Eldem and Emin Onat (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 39Thrace and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom in its maximum extent under Sitalces (431-424 BC) (from History of Turkey)
Image 40Istanbul (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 41View of Beydağları Coastal National Park (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 42Map showing the Anatolian Plate, the North Anatolian Fault and East Anatolian Fault in Turkey. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 43Entrance portal of the Karatay Madrasa in Konya (c. 1251) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 44Istanbul Sapphire (2006–11) is the tallest building in Turkey and 4th in Europe. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 45The Ottoman Empire in 1683, at the start of the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) (from History of Turkey)
Image 46Beaches and marina of Kemer near Antalya on the Turkish Riviera. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 47The Nation's Library of the Presidency, Ankara (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 48Mount Nemrut, Adıyaman (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 49Turkish delight (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 50Turkish national basketball team won the silver medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 51Designed by Şekip Akalın, Ankara Central Station (1937) is a notable art deco design of its era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 52Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. (from Culture of Turkey)

Did you know - show different entries

... that Wilhelm von Pressel designed the first railroad in Turkey? (July 25, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 155
... that local boyars protested against the Russian annexation of Bessarabia after the Russo-Turkish War in 1812, arguing that the Ottoman Empire had no right to cede a Moldavian territory that was not theirs in the first place? (February 3, 2008) Wikipedia:Recent additions 203
... that Tahir Aydoğdu and his father Gültekin are both players of the qanun, an instrument of Turkish classical music? (July 8, 2013)
... that footballer Hasan Ahmet Sari left Istanbul with his family after living through the 1999 İzmit earthquake? (August 18, 2011)
... that Ethiopian-born Meryem Erdoğan, impressed by her countrywoman Elvan Abeylegesse's success, illegally immigrated to Turkey at age 16 in order to become a distance runner? (August 18, 2010)
... that the oldest known lemon squeezers were found in Kütahya, Turkey and date to the first quarter of the 18th century? (March 25, 2008) Wikipedia:Recent additions 213
... that as requested in his will, the grave of Turkish folk singer Neşet Ertaş was placed at the foot of his father's? (November 14, 2012)

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Image 1The sun setting over the Golden Horn in the city of Istanbul.
Image 2A Kocek
Image 3Rize
Image 4A tram in Istanbul
Image 5Lahmacun
Image 6Ölüdeniz
Image 7Cappadocia
Image 8Tünel, Istanbul
Image 9Flag of Turkey, from flowers
Image 10Safranbolu
Image 11Atatürk praying
Image 12Antalya
Image 13Aydilge Sarp; Turkish singer, songwriter and novelist
Image 14The tughra of Mahmud II. "Mahmud Han bin Abdulhamid muzaffer daima" ("Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious").
Image 15The ancient Lake Abant Nature Park in Bolu
Image 161. picture on portal: The prominent towers of Dayro d-Mor Gabriel; 15th December 2005
Image 17Tarkan with Hungarian fans
Image 18the Bosphorus Bridge
Image 19A faculty of Sakarya University
Image 20Iznik, 16th-century vase
Image 2118th-century Ottoman barber's apron
Image 22Mount Nemrut
Image 23Kemer
Image 24The Temple of Athena at Priene, an ancient site near Turunçlar in Aydın province.
Image 25the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne
Image 26Lake Akdoğan in Muş
Image 27An airplane with a nazar boncuğu symbol that is said to offer protection from the "evil eye".

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Miniature from the Majma al-Tawarikh by Hafiz Abru circa 1425; which depicts accession to the throne by Alp Arslan

Alp Arslan, born Muhammad Alp Arslan bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty and the empire. He greatly expanded Seljuk territories and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south, east and northwest. His victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 ushered in the Turkoman settlement of Anatolia. (Full article...)

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