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 Anatolian peoples. 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. Following Ottoman defeat, the Turkish War of Independence resulted in the abolition of the sultanate and the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne. 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 world's 18th-largest by nominal and 11th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP. 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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The mass media in Turkey includes a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing disparate views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive. However, media ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few large private media groups which are typically part of wider conglomerates controlled by wealthy individuals, which limits the views that are presented. In addition, the companies are willing to use their influence to support their owners' wider business interests, including by trying to maintain friendly relations with the government. The media exert a strong influence on public opinion. Censorship in Turkey is also an issue, and in the 2000s Turkey has seen many journalists arrested and writers prosecuted. On Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Index it has fallen from being ranked around 100 in 2005 to around 150 in 2013.

In reaction to the failed coup d'état on 15 July 2016, over 150 media organisations, including newspapers, television and radio channels, news agencies, magazines and publishing houses, have been closed by the government of Turkey, and 160 journalists have been jailed. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Did you know - show different entries

... that Turkish serial killer Özgür Dengiz broke into fits of laughter when discussing his cannibalism? (December 1, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 190
... that the prices of goods in the Phrygian city of Aizanoi were controlled by an edict of Roman emperor Diocletian? (May 18, 2012)
... that, when completed, the Deriner Dam will be the tallest in Turkey? (September 7, 2010)
... that the mosque of Kalenderhane
(pictured) in Istanbul contained the most ancient cycle of frescoes portraying Saint Francis of Assisi still extant? (May 27, 2007)
... that the third officer of the MV Horizon-1, a cargo ship recently hijacked by Somali pirates, is a 24-year old Turkish woman? (July 27, 2009) Wikipedia:Recent additions 246
... that human rights activist Ayse Nur Zarakolu, an Amnesty International "prisoner of conscience", was arrested 30 times and jailed four for violating censorship laws in Turkey? (March 13, 2009) Wikipedia:Recent additions 242
... that the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, one of the largest covered markets in the world, attracts between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily? (March 19, 2012)

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Selected picture

Image 1Lahmacun
Image 21. picture on portal: The prominent towers of Dayro d-Mor Gabriel; 15th December 2005
Image 3Tünel, Istanbul
Image 418th-century Ottoman barber's apron
Image 5An airplane with a nazar boncuğu symbol that is said to offer protection from the "evil eye".
Image 6the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne
Image 7A Kocek
Image 8The tughra of Mahmud II. "Mahmud Han bin Abdulhamid muzaffer daima" ("Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious").
Image 9Ölüdeniz
Image 10Antalya
Image 11Aydilge Sarp; Turkish singer, songwriter and novelist
Image 12The ancient Lake Abant Nature Park in Bolu
Image 13Mount Nemrut
Image 14Tarkan with Hungarian fans
Image 15Cappadocia
Image 16Flag of Turkey, from flowers
Image 17Kemer
Image 18A tram in Istanbul
Image 19Safranbolu
Image 20A faculty of Sakarya University
Image 21Atatürk praying
Image 22Iznik, 16th-century vase
Image 23The sun setting over the Golden Horn in the city of Istanbul.
Image 24the Bosphorus Bridge
Image 25The Temple of Athena at Priene, an ancient site near Turunçlar in Aydın province.
Image 26Lake Akdoğan in Muş
Image 27Rize

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İnönü in 1938

Mustafa İsmet İnönü (Turkish pronunciation: [isˈmet ˈinœny]; 24 September 1886 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish army officer and statesman who served as the second president of Turkey from November 11, 1938, to May 22 1950, and as its prime minister three times: from 1923 to 1924, 1925 to 1937, and 1961 to 1965.

İnönü is acknowledged by many as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's right-hand man, with their friendship going back to the Caucasus campaign. In the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, he served as the first chief of the General Staff from 1922 to 1924 for the regular Turkish army, during which he commanded forces during the First and Second Battles of İnönü. Atatürk bestowed İsmet with the surname İnönü, the site of the battles, when the 1934 Surname Law was adopted. He was also chief negotiator in the Mudanya and Lausanne conferences for the Ankara government, successfully negotiating away the Sevre treaty for the Treaty of Lausanne. As his prime minister for most of his presidency, İnönü executed many of Atatürk's modernizing and nationalist reforms. İnönü gave the orders to carry out the Zilan Massacre. (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 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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Paragliding in Ölüdeniz area, Muğla

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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