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. The Ottoman entry into World War I was followed by defeat and partitioning. The end of the Ottoman Empire was accompanied by mass displacement and large-scale loss of human life. 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 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 an emerging 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 numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites and 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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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. 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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General images

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

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

Did you know - show different entries

... that although the Nuri Demirağ Nu D.38 transport aircraft was completed in 1941, it was not flown until 1944? (January 24, 2011)
... that the Hood Event was an incident following the US invasion of Iraq where a group of Turkish special forces operating in northern Iraq was captured and interrogated by the US military, later becoming the basis for the 2006 film Valley of the Wolves Iraq? (February 24, 2006) Wikipedia:Recent additions 55
... that the Montreux Convention of 1936 is an international treaty regulating the Dardanelles and Bosporus Straits? (July 8, 2008) Wikipedia:Recent additions 221
... that in 1983, Yıldırım Aktuna, a neuropsychiatrist and later a politician, founded Turkey’s first alcohol and drug rehabilitation center at the country's largest psychiatric hospital in Istanbul? (December 31, 2009)
... that the land of Haydarpaşa Cemetery, a burial ground in Istanbul, Turkey for British Commonwealth soldiers from three wars, belonged to Suleiman the Magnificent? (May 16, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 141
... that after being deposed by his brotherAbdul Hamid II, Ottoman sultan Murad V was detained in the Malta Pavilion? (December 16, 2008) Wikipedia:Recent additions 236
... that Cold War-era spy Hüseyin Yıldırım, sentenced to life without parole in the United States, was later pardoned and secretly extradited to Turkey, where he stayed only one day in prison? (April 2, 2014)

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Image 1A tram in Istanbul
Image 2Cappadocia
Image 3Tarkan with Hungarian fans
Image 4Iznik, 16th-century vase
Image 5Kemer
Image 6Antalya
Image 7the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne
Image 8Atatürk praying
Image 9The ancient Lake Abant Nature Park in Bolu
Image 10Lahmacun
Image 11The sun setting over the Golden Horn in the city of Istanbul.
Image 121. picture on portal: The prominent towers of Dayro d-Mor Gabriel; 15th December 2005
Image 13The Temple of Athena at Priene, an ancient site near Turunçlar in Aydın province.
Image 14Flag of Turkey, from flowers
Image 15Safranbolu
Image 16A faculty of Sakarya University
Image 17An airplane with a nazar boncuğu symbol that is said to offer protection from the "evil eye".
Image 18Ölüdeniz
Image 19Aydilge Sarp; Turkish singer, songwriter and novelist
Image 20A Kocek
Image 21Rize
Image 22Tünel, Istanbul
Image 2318th-century Ottoman barber's apron
Image 24Mount Nemrut
Image 25the Bosphorus Bridge
Image 26The tughra of Mahmud II. "Mahmud Han bin Abdulhamid muzaffer daima" ("Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious").
Image 27Lake Akdoğan in Muş

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Said Altınordu (born Said Bey, 24 July 1912 – 17 November 1978), alternatively spelled Sait Altınordu, was a Turkish international footballer. Being a notable one-club man, Altınordu remains one of the most symbolic footballers of the Turkish city of İzmir, along with Vahap Özaltay of Altay S.K. and Fuat Göztepe of Göztepe S.K. His identification with Altınordu S.K. led him to choose the official name of the club as his surname, following the Surname Law of Turkey enacted in 1934.

Altınordu served Altınordu S.K. his entire career, earned 4 caps for Turkey national football team between 1932 and 1937. Winning 6 İzmir Football League titles at Altınordu S.K., he is widely accepted by Altınordu S.K. as the legendary player of the club. He was also part of Turkey's squad at the 1936 Summer Olympics. (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 Erol Gelenbe Kemal Derviş Hande Yener Sertab Erener 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