Portal:Turkey

Esenlikler! Türkiye portalına hoş geldiniz. Hi! Welcome to the Turkey portal.

Flag of Turkey

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...)

Selected article -

The monastery before its destruction in 1915

Surb Karapet Monastery of Mush (Armenian: Մշո Սուրբ Կարապետ վանք, Msho Surb Karapet vank, also known by other names) was an Armenian Apostolic monastery in the historic province of Taron, about 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Mush (Muş), in present-day eastern Turkey.

Surb Karapet translates to "Holy Precursor" and refers to John the Baptist, whose remains are believed to have been stored at the site by Gregory the Illuminator in the early fourth century. The monastery subsequently served as a stronghold of the Mamikonians—the princely house of Taron, who claimed to be the holy warriors of John the Baptist, their patron saint. It was expanded and renovated many times in later centuries. By the 20th century, it was a large fort-like enclosure with four chapels. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images

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

Image 1Nuri Bilge Ceylan (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 2Ankara (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 3Mount Erciyes near Kayseri (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 4Istanbul (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 5View of Beydağları Coastal National Park (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 6Selimiye Mosque in Edirne (1568–1574) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 7Originally 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 8Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars (from History of Turkey)
Image 9A lady handweaves a carpet in Cappadocia (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 10Visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to Turkey in October 1917. Together with the Mehmed V and Enver Pasha (from History of Turkey)
Image 11Entrance portal of the Karatay Madrasa in Konya (c. 1251) (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 12'Two Musician Girls' of Osman Hamdi Bey. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 13The 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 14Topkapı Palace in Seraglio Point (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 15Istanbul LGBT Pride 2013 at Taksim Square during Gezi Park protests (from History of Turkey)
Image 16Grand Post Office in Istanbul, an example of the first national architectural movement. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 17Namık Kemal was a prominent Turkish poet, novelist, playwright and journalist of the late-19th-century Ottoman Empire. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 18A woman in traditional clothing (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 19Kitesurfers in Akyaka, Muğla (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 20Thrace and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom in its maximum extent under Sitalces (431-424 BC) (from History of Turkey)
Image 21Sami Frashëri (1850–1904) and his wife Emine, May 1884. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 22A Turkish belly dancer (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 23Halide Edip Adıvar was a novelist, teacher, and a nationalist and feminist intellectual. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 24Mount Nemrut, Adıyaman (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 25Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 26Beaches and marina of Kemer near Antalya on the Turkish Riviera. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 27View of Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta National Park (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 28A view of Levent from Kanlıca across the Bosporus. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 29Karagöz and Hacivat are the lead characters of Turkish shadow play, popularized during the Ottoman period. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 30Selection of Turkish food (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 32100th year anniversary in Republic Day (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 33Antalya (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 34Butterfly Valley on the Turkish Riviera. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 35Kaçkar Mountains. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 36Map of earthquakes in Turkey 1900–2023 (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 37Köppen climate types of Turkey (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 38Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem (1847–1914) was another prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 39Turkish folk dance regions (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 40Regions of Roman Anatolia (from History of Turkey)
Image 41Aziz Sancar was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 42Map showing the Anatolian Plate, the North Anatolian Fault and East Anatolian Fault in Turkey. (from Geography of Turkey)
Image 43Elif Şafak, a prominent writer and LGBT activist. (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 44Bronze Age Anatolia (from History of Turkey)
Image 45Hıdırellez celebrations (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 46Turkish coffee (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 47Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, built by the Balyan family (from Culture of Turkey)
Image 48Turkey 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 49The sultan of the golden age, Suleiman the Magnificent. (from History of Turkey)
Image 50Mount Ararat (from Geography of Turkey)

Did you know -

... that the world's longest tunnel system is the two parallel tunnels at the Atatürk Dam of Şanlıurfa in southeastern Turkey? (February 14, 2008)
... that the sports hall of Europe's largest prison complex in Istanbul was converted into a courtroom because the existing one was not big enough to accommodate the hearings of the Ergenekon trial? (February 11, 2010)
... that the Esma Sultana Mansion
(pictured), a multipurpose event venue in Istanbul, Turkey, looks ruined because only its interior was reconstructed after a 1975 fire? (December 1, 2008)
... that the first uterus transplantation in the world with an organ taken from a cadaver was performed by Dr. Ömer Özkan and his team at the Akdeniz University? (February 8, 2012)
... that the crown in the coat of arms of Amsterdam is the Imperial Crown of Austria?
... that the Turkish tanbur is one of the four musical instruments that make up Turkish classical music's basic quartet? (May 23, 2007)
... that following a corruption scandal in Turkey, PM Erdoğan reshuffled his cabinet appointing ten ministers, among them nine new – Ala, Çavuşoğlu, Elvan, Güllüce, Işık, İslam, İşler, Kılıç and Zeybekci? (January 31, 2014)

Selected picture

Image 1Tarkan with Hungarian fans
Image 2A tram in Istanbul
Image 3Lahmacun
Image 41. picture on portal: The prominent towers of Dayro d-Mor Gabriel; 15th December 2005
Image 5Safranbolu
Image 6A faculty of Sakarya University
Image 7Tünel, Istanbul
Image 8Iznik, 16th-century vase
Image 9the Bosphorus Bridge
Image 10Rize
Image 11Mount Nemrut
Image 12Antalya
Image 13A Kocek
Image 14Flag of Turkey, from flowers
Image 15The sun setting over the Golden Horn in the city of Istanbul.
Image 1618th-century Ottoman barber's apron
Image 17Kemer
Image 18Ölüdeniz
Image 19An airplane with a nazar boncuğu symbol that is said to offer protection from the "evil eye".
Image 20the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne
Image 21Aydilge Sarp; Turkish singer, songwriter and novelist
Image 22The ancient Lake Abant Nature Park in Bolu
Image 23The Temple of Athena at Priene, an ancient site near Turunçlar in Aydın province.
Image 24The tughra of Mahmud II. "Mahmud Han bin Abdulhamid muzaffer daima" ("Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious").
Image 25Lake Akdoğan in Muş
Image 26Cappadocia
Image 27Atatürk praying

Selected biography -

Pamuk in 2009

Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952; Turkish pronunciation: [feˈɾit oɾˈhan paˈmuk]) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, he has sold over 13 million books in 63 languages, making him the country's best-selling writer.

Pamuk's novels include Silent House, The White Castle, The Black Book, The New Life, My Name Is Red and Snow. He is the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches writing and comparative literature. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2018. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

Selected video -

Boats in Istanbul

More selected videos
Videos from Turkey on Wikimedia Commons

Selected quote -

“

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

More selected quotes
Turkish proverbs in Wikiquote

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