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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 incoming Anatolian peoples. Increasing diversity during 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. After its defeat, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned. The Turkish War of Independence resulted in the abolition of the sultanate in 1922 and the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. 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 18th- or 11th-largest in the world. 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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Abandoned military vehicle used during putsch in Ankara, near the bombed building of Directorate of Police, July 16

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

Did you know - show different entries

... that the largest oil field in Turkey lies near the city of Batman and the Batman River? (March 1, 2011)
... that the 1621 Battle of Khotyn resulted directly in the death of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth leader, hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, and indirectly in the death of the Ottoman Empire commander, sultan Osman II? (July 20, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 155
... that Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes survived the 1959 Turkish Airlines Gatwick crash almost uninjured, but was executed by hanging a year and a half later? (January 5, 2008) Wikipedia:Recent additions 198
... that in the Night Attack skirmish, Vlad III Dracula is said to have been "one of the first European crusaders to use gunpowder in a deadly artistic way"? (April 26, 2006) Wikipedia:Recent additions 63
... that one of the accused assassins of Turkish former government minister Gün Sazak later hijacked an airplane to Bulgaria with accomplices? (February 21, 2014)
... that the Battle of Wawon is considered to be Turkey's first real combat action since the end of World War I? (December 1, 2009)
... that the Vefa Kilise Mosque
(pictured) in Istanbul is one of the first examples of byzantine churches of Constantinople which were converted into mosques by the Ottomans? (July 13, 2007) Wikipedia:Recent additions 154

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Image 1A faculty of Sakarya University
Image 2The sun setting over the Golden Horn in the city of Istanbul.
Image 3A tram in Istanbul
Image 4Lake Akdoğan in Muş
Image 51. picture on portal: The prominent towers of Dayro d-Mor Gabriel; 15th December 2005
Image 6Mount Nemrut
Image 7the Bosphorus Bridge
Image 8Atatürk praying
Image 9the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne
Image 10The tughra of Mahmud II. "Mahmud Han bin Abdulhamid muzaffer daima" ("Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious").
Image 11Ölüdeniz
Image 12The ancient Lake Abant Nature Park in Bolu
Image 13Kemer
Image 14The Temple of Athena at Priene, an ancient site near Turunçlar in Aydın province.
Image 15An airplane with a nazar boncuğu symbol that is said to offer protection from the "evil eye".
Image 16Lahmacun
Image 17Cappadocia
Image 18Iznik, 16th-century vase
Image 19Aydilge Sarp; Turkish singer, songwriter and novelist
Image 20Safranbolu
Image 21Flag of Turkey, from flowers
Image 22A Kocek
Image 23Tünel, Istanbul
Image 2418th-century Ottoman barber's apron
Image 25Rize
Image 26Antalya
Image 27Tarkan with Hungarian fans

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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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Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, three kilometres southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey

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Videos from Turkey on Wikimedia Commons

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“

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

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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