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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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Abandoned military vehicle used during the putsch in Ankara, near the bombed building of Directorate of Police, 16 July

In the evening of 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted to seize control of several places in Ankara, Istanbul, Marmaris and elsewhere, such as the Asian side entrance of the Bosphorus Bridge, but failed to do so after forces and civilians loyal to the state defeated them. The Council cited an erosion of secularism, elimination of democratic rule, disregard for human rights, and Turkey's loss of credibility in the international arena as reasons for the coup. The government said it had evidence the coup leaders were linked to the Gülen movement, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the Republic of Turkey and led by Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish businessman and a well-known Islamic scholar who lived in exile in Pennsylvania. The Turkish government alleged that Gülen was behind the coup (which Gülen denied) and that the United States was harboring him. Events surrounding the coup attempt and the purges in its aftermath reflect a complex power struggle between Islamist elites in Turkey.

During the coup attempt, over 300 people were killed, and more than 2,100 were injured. Many government buildings, including the Turkish Parliament and the Presidential Palace, were bombed from the air. Mass arrests followed, with at least 40,000 detained, including at least 10,000 soldiers and 2,745 judges (who were arrested the next morning on 16th July), for being affiliated with the coup attempt. 15,000 education staff were also suspended and the licenses of 21,000 teachers working at private institutions were revoked after the government stated they were loyal to Gülen. More than 77,000 people have been arrested and over 160,000 fired from their jobs, on reports of connections to Gülen. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Did you know - show different entries

... 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 the 1993 Bayburt Üzengili avalanche in north-eastern Turkey killed 59 people and 650 livestock, and caused the relocation of the village to a safe zone? (October 20, 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 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 Istanbul Hezarfen Airfield hosts around 30,000 music fans every September for the annual Rock'n Coke open air music festival? (January 20, 2009) Wikipedia:Recent additions 239
... that the Church of St. George of Samatya in Istanbul may have been given to the Armenian community because of the intercession of a favorite of Sultan Ibrahim? (October 22, 2011)
... that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
(pictured), founder of the Republic of Turkey, established the first commercial Turkish winery in 1925? (December 20, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 193

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Selected picture

Image 1Cappadocia
Image 2the Bosphorus Bridge
Image 3Atatürk praying
Image 4A faculty of Sakarya University
Image 5Aydilge Sarp; Turkish singer, songwriter and novelist
Image 6Lake Akdoğan in Muş
Image 7An airplane with a nazar boncuğu symbol that is said to offer protection from the "evil eye".
Image 8Antalya
Image 9Ölüdeniz
Image 10Safranbolu
Image 11Rize
Image 12Tünel, Istanbul
Image 13A Kocek
Image 14Mount Nemrut
Image 15Flag of Turkey, from flowers
Image 16Lahmacun
Image 17The tughra of Mahmud II. "Mahmud Han bin Abdulhamid muzaffer daima" ("Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious").
Image 18Kemer
Image 19Tarkan with Hungarian fans
Image 201. picture on portal: The prominent towers of Dayro d-Mor Gabriel; 15th December 2005
Image 21A tram in Istanbul
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 Selimiye Mosque in Edirne
Image 2518th-century Ottoman barber's apron
Image 26The sun setting over the Golden Horn in the city of Istanbul.
Image 27Iznik, 16th-century vase

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Tarkan in concert, 2011

Tarkan Tevetoğlu (Turkish pronunciation: [taɾˈkan teˈve.toːɫu]; born 17 October 1972) is a German-born Turkish singer-songwriter. Since the early 1990s, with his successful albums, he has been a prominent figure of pop music, recognized both in Turkey and worldwide.

Tarkan was born and raised in Alzey, Rhineland-Palatinate, in the-then West Germany. In 1986, he moved to Turkey together with his family. Tarkan, who had been interested in music since his childhood, went to high school at Karamürsel and took music lessons. In the following years, he met the owner of İstanbul Plak, Mehmet Söğütoğlu, and signed a contract to release his albums. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
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 Said Altınordu Junayd of Aydın Daron Acemoglu

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Boats in Istanbul

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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