Portal:Turkey
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Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a 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, while Istanbul is its largest city and economic and financial center. Other major cities include İzmir, Bursa, and Antalya.
Turkey was first inhabited by modern humans during 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. The Hattians were assimilated by the Anatolian peoples, such as the Hittites. 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 Constantinople (now known as 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 a 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. 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 17th-largest by nominal and 12th-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 a universal healthcare system, growing access to education, and increasing levels of 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 fifth most visited country in the world. (Full article...)
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The Turkish economic crisis (Turkish: Türkiye ekonomik krizi) is a financial and economic crisis in Turkey. It is characterized by the Turkish lira (TRY) plunging in value, high inflation, rising borrowing costs, and correspondingly rising loan defaults. The crisis was caused by the Turkish economy's excessive current account deficit and large amounts of private foreign-currency denominated debt, in combination with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's increasing authoritarianism and his unorthodox ideas about interest rate policy. Some analysts also stress the leveraging effects of the geopolitical frictions with the United States. Following the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was confined of espionage charges after the failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, the Trump administration exerted pressure towards Turkey by imposing further sanctions. The economic sanctions therefore doubled the tariffs on Turkey, as imported steel rises up to 50% and on aluminum to 20%. As a result, Turkish steel was priced out of the US market, which previously amounted to 13% of Turkey's total steel exports.[better source needed]
After a period of modest recovery in 2020 and early 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Turkish lira plunged following the replacement of Central Bank chief Naci Ağbal with Şahap Kavcıoğlu, who slashed interest rates from 19% to 14%. The lira lost 44% of its value in 2021 alone. In 2023, however, Erdoğan began to follow orthodox banking methods under the guidance of Mehmet Şimşek and Hafize Gaye Erkan. The interest rate has stood at 50% since March 2024 upon the advice of Fatih Karahan, the governor of the central bank who succeeded Erkan. This contributed to the decline of inflation, since as of November 2024, inflation is at 47.09%, down from its all-time high of 83%. (Full article...)
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- ... that according to US and Turkish officials, the MV Kısmetim-1 was deliberately sunk in December 1992 by its crew in order to prevent the capture of the illicit drug load? (February 1, 2009) Wikipedia:Recent additions 239
- ... 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 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 crown in the coat of arms of Amsterdam is the Imperial Crown of Austria?
- ... that Monastery of the Transfiguration of Kinaliada is where Byzantine emperor Romanos IV Diogenes was exiled after his eyes were gouged out? (April 9, 2013)
- ... that Trabzonspor were the first Turkish soccer team entitled to participate in the UEFA Women's Champions League? (September 19, 2009) Wikipedia:Recent additions 248
- ... that the female footballer Bilgin Defterli decided to go to Germany because she saw no chance to play football in Turkey due to the dissolution of women's football leagues in 2003? (December 19, 2013)
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Sami Erol Gelenbe (born 22 August 1945, Istanbul) is a Turkish and French computer scientist, electronic engineer and applied mathematician, renowned for pioneering work in computer system and network performance. His academic career spans several prestigious institutions and roles, including current positions as Professor at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Informatics of the Polish Academy of Sciences since 2017, and visiting professorships at King's College London, the I3S Laboratory (CNRS, University of Côte d'Azur) and the Abraham de Moivre Laboratory (CNRS, Imperial College London).
A Fellow of several national academies, Gelenbe has chaired the Informatics Section of Academia Europaea since 2023. His extensive professorial tenures include roles at the University of Liège, University Paris-Saclay, University Paris Descartes, NJIT, Duke University, the University of Central Florida, and Imperial College, where he served as the Dennis Gabor Professor and Head of Intelligent Systems and Networks. (Full article...)
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“ | Everything we see in the world is the creative work of women. | ” |
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