Turkish people

For other uses of "Turkish", see Turk (disambiguation).

For all peoples of Turkey, see Demographics of Turkey.

Turkish people
Türkler

Total population
c. 90 million
Regions with significant populations
Turkey	c. 77,000,000
Germany	3,450,000
Bulgaria	746,664
France	550,000
United States	450,000-
Netherlands	420,000
United Kingdom	300,000
TRNC	250,000
Austria	240,000
Uzbekistan	220,000
Belgium	320,000
Australia	200,000
Saudi Arabia	150,000
Greece	120,000
Rep. Macedonia	100,000
Russia	100,000
Switzerland	100,000
Azerbaijan	100,000
Sweden	60,000
Denmark	50,000
Serbia (Kosovo)	50,000
Canada	38,000 ± 13,000-
Romania	32,596
Italy	11,077
Japan	10,000
Cyprus (South)	2.200
Liechtenstein	884
Languages
Turkish
Religion
Predominantly Muslim. Minorities of Christianity and Judaism, as well as Atheism.

The Turkish people (Turkish: Türk Halkı), also known as "Turks" (Türkler), are a nation (Millet) defined mainly by a sense of sharing a common Turkish culture and having Turkish as a first language, but also the overwhelming majority are citizens of Turkey, or children of citizens of Turkey.

In the Republic of Turkey, an early history text provided the definition of being a Turk as "any individual within the Republic of Turkey, whatever his faith, who speaks Turkish, grows up with Turkish culture and adopts the Turkish ideal, is a Turk." This ideal came from the beliefs of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In a historic context the word Turk or Turkish has also a wider meaning, because there are Turks in Balkans, Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia as well as America. Today, the word is primarily used for the inhabitants of Turkey, but may also refer to the members of sizeable Turkish-speaking populations in the Republic of Macedonia, Greece (in particular in Thrace), Kosovo (Serbia), Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and other lands of the former Ottoman Empire. Large Turkish communities have also been established in Western Europe (particularly in Germany), North America and Australia.

History

Main article: History of the Turkish people

Anatolia, the landmass that is now Turkey, was a cradle for a wide variety of civilizations and kingdoms during antiquity. Major civilizations and kingdoms that have settled in or invaded Anatolia include the Arabs, Assyrians, Celts, Cimmerians, Etruscans, Galatians, Goths, Hattians, Hittites, Greeks, Ionians, Lydians, Mongols, Pelasgians, Persians, Phrygians, Romans, Scythians, Thracians, Trojans, Urartians, Byzantines, Seljuk Turks and Ottoman Turks

The word "Turk" was first documented in the 6th century in Central Asia. The Oğuz were the main Turkic people that moved into Anatolia. Many Turks began their migration after the victory of the Seljuks against the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert. The victory, led by Alp Arslan, paved the way for Turkish hegemony in Anatolia. This also marked the beginning of the decline of the Byzantine empire.

In the centuries after Manzikert, local populations began to assimilate to the emerging Turkish population. Over time, as word spread regarding the victory of the Turks in Anatolia, more Turkic ghazis arrived from the Caucasus, Persia and Central Asia. Turkish migrants began to intermingle with the local inhabitants, which helped to bolster the Turkish-speaking population. A slow process of conversion to Islam took place, thanks in large measure to the efforts of the Sufis as well as intermarriage. Adoption of the Turkish language, culture and customs often times accompanied conversion to Islam.

The Ottoman Empire, originally based in the Söğüt region of western Anatolia, was also erected by the Oghuz Turks. Following the Balkan Wars and the Russian conquest of the Caucasus and annexation of Crimea, many Turkic speaking Muslims in the North Caucasus, Balkans and Crimea emigrated to the territory of present day Turkey. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire and formation of the Republic of Turkey, these various cultures and languages melded into one supra identity and culture. The modern Turks of Turkey, thus, are composed of various Turkic groups from various regions.

By the late 19th century, Turks were evenly spread throughout Eastern Europe and, most noticeably, the Balkans; however, territorial losses in the Balkans sparked a large scale exodus from that region. This was finalized by a population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923.

Seljuk era

The Seljuks (Selçuklular) were a Turkish tribe from Central Asia. In the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks established an enlightened, tolerant government in Central Anatolia that fostered a great culture.

The success of the Seljuk Turks stimulated a response from Latin Europe in the form of the First Crusade. A counteroffensive launched in 1097 by the Byzantine emperor with the aid of the crusaders dealt the Seljuks a decisive defeat. Konya fell to the crusaders, and after a few years of campaigning Byzantine rule was restored in the western third of Anatolia.

Although a Turkish revival in the 1140s nullified many of the Christian gains, greater damage was done to Byzantine security by dynastic strife in Constantinople in which the largely French contingents of the Fourth Crusade and their Venetian allies intervened. In 1204 these crusaders installed Count Baldwin of Flanders in the Byzantine capital as emperor of the so-called Latin Empire of Constantinople, dismembering the old realm into tributary states where West European feudal institutions were transplanted intact. Independent Greek kingdoms were established at Nicaea and Trebizond (present-day Trabzon) and in Epirus from remnant Byzantine provinces. Turks allied with Greeks in Anatolia against the Latins, and Greeks with Turks against the Mongols. In 1261 Michael Palaeologus of Nicaea drove the Latins from Constantinople and restored the Byzantine Empire, but as an essentially Balkan state reduced in size to Thrace and northwestern Anatolia.

Seljuk Rum survived in the late thirteenth century as a vassal state of the Mongols, who had already subjugated the Great Seljuk sultanate at Baghdad. Mongol influence in the region had disappeared by the 1330s, leaving behind gazi amirates competing for supremacy. From the chaotic conditions that prevailed throughout the Middle East, however, a new power emerged in Anatolia--the Ottoman Turks.

In 1037, they entered Persia and established their first powerful state, called by historians the Empire of the Great Seljuks. They captured Baghdad in 1055 and a relatively small contingent of warriors—about 5000 by some estimates—moved into eastern Anatolia. In 1071, the Seljuks engaged the armies of the Byzantine Empire at Manzikert (Malazgirt), north of Lake Van. The Byzantines were defeated decisively, and Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes was captured. With no potent Byzantine force to stop them, the Seljuk Turks flooded into Anatolia and took control of most of Eastern and Central Anatolia. They established their capital at Konya (ca. 1150) and ruled what would be known as the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum.

Ottoman era

Mahmud II started the modernization of Turkey

Starting as a small warrior band raiding the Byzantine frontier, the Ottoman Turks built an empire from Morocco to Iran, from the deserts of Iraq and Arabia to the gates of Vienna.

As the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum weakened in the late 1200s, warrior chieftains claimed the lands of Northwestern Anatolia, along the Byzantine Empire's borders. Initially a tribe in Western Anatolia, the Ottoman Turks built an empire that would eventually stretch from Morocco and Austria to Iran. Ertugrul Gazi ruled the lands around Sögüt, a town between Bursa and Eskisehir. Upon his death in 1281, his son, Osman, from whom the empire took its name, expanded the territory to 16,000 square kilometers.

Osman's son, Orhan, conquered Iznik (Nicaea) and took his armies across the Dardanelles and into Thrace and Europe by 1362. By 1452 the Ottomans controlled almost all of the former Byzantine lands except Constantinople. In 1453, Mehmet the Conqueror took the city and made it his capital, extinguishing the 1100-year-old Byzantine Empire forever.

The Ottoman Empire c. 1683

By 1452 the Ottomans controlled almost all of the former Byzantine lands except the great "Second Rome" of Constantinople. In 1453 Mehmet the Conqueror took the city and made it his capital, extinguishing the 1100-year-old Byzantine Empire forever. As an isolated military action, the taking of Constantinople did not have a critical effect on European security, but to the Ottoman Dynasty the capture of the imperial capital was of supreme symbolic importance. Mehmet II regarded himself as the direct successor to the Byzantine emperors. He made Constantinople the imperial capital, as it had been under the Byzantine emperors, and set about rebuilding the city. The cathedral of Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque, and Constantinople--which the Turks called Istanbul (from the Greek phrase eis tin polin , "to the city")--replaced Baghdad as the center of Sunni Islam. The city also remained the ecclesiastical center of the Greek Orthodox Church, of which Mehmet II proclaimed himself the protector and for which he appointed a new patriarch after the custom of the Byzantine emperors.

Selim I (r. 1512-20) extended Ottoman sovereignty southward, conquering Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. He also gained recognition as guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Selim I's son, Süleyman I (r. 1520-66), was called the "lawgiver" (kanuni ) by his Muslim subjects because of a new codification of seriat undertaken during his reign. In Europe, however, he was known as Süleyman the Magnificent, a recognition of his prowess by those who had most to fear from it. The reign of Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566) is known as the Ottoman golden age. The brilliance of the Sultan's court and the might of his armies outshone those of England's Henry VIII, France's François I, and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. After Süleyman, however, the empire declined rapidly due, in part, to poor leadership; many successive Sultans largely depended upon their Grand Viziers to run the empire. When Süleyman died in 1566, the Ottoman Empire was a world power. Most of the great cities of Islam--Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus, Cairo, Tunis, and Baghdad were under the sultan's crescent flag. The Porte exercised direct control over Anatolia, the sub-Danubian Balkan provinces, Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia. Egypt, Mecca, and the North African provinces were governed under special regulations, as were satellite domains in Arabia and the Caucasus, and among the Crimean Tartars. In addition, the native rulers of Wallachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, and Ragusa (Dubrovnik) were vassals of the sultan.

The Ottoman sultanate lasted for over 600 years, but its last three centuries were marked by stagnation and eventual decline. By the 19th century, the Ottomans had fallen well behind the rest of Europe in science, technology, industry, education, commerce and military might. Reformist Sultans such as Selim III (1789-1807) and Mahmut II (1808-1839) succeeded in pushing Ottoman bureaucracy, society and culture ahead, but were unable to cure all of the empire's ills.

Despite its collapse, the Ottoman empire has left an indelible mark on Turkish culture and architecture. Ottoman culture has given the Turkish people a splendid legacy of art, architecture and domestic refinement, as a visit to Istanbul's Topkapi Palace readily shows.

The Turkish Republic

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

The Turkish Republic was born from the disastrous World War I defeat of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman war hero, Mustafa Kemal Pasha (later called Atatürk), fled Istanbul to Anatolia in 1919; he organized the remnants of the Ottoman army into an effective fighting force, and rallied the people to the nationalist cause. By 1923 the nationalist government had driven out the invading armies, abolished the Ottoman Empire, promulgated a republican constitution, and established Turkey's new capital in Ankara.

The new government passed drastic reforms in order to reconstruct Ottoman social structure and politics. Polygamy was abolished, women were granted suffrage and equal legal rights, secularism was institutionalized, the Arabic alphabet was replaced by the Latin alphabet for written Turkish. The Fez and veil were outlawed, and European dress was encouraged.

Upon the founder's death, his place at the head of the party and the nation was taken by his comrade-in-arms General Ismet Inönü, another hero of the War of Independence. Following Atatürk's advice, Inönü preserved Turkey's precarious neutrality during World War II, figuring that the war could only end in disaster for Turkey.

Chronology of Major Kemalist Reforms:

• 1922 Sultanate abolished (November 1).
• 1923 Treaty of Lausanne secured (July 24). Republic of Turkey with capital at Ankara proclaimed (October 29).
• 1924 Caliphate abolished (March 3). Traditional religious schools closed, seriat abolished. Constitution adopted (April 20).
• 1925 Dervish brotherhoods abolished. Fez outlawed by the Hat Law (November 25). Veiling of women discouraged; Western clothing for men and women encouraged. Western (Gregorian) calendar adopted.
• 1926 New civil, commercial, and penal codes based on European models adopted. New civil code ended Islamic polygamy and divorce by renunciation and introduced civil marriage. Millet system ended.
• 1927 First systematic census. 1928 New Turkish alphabet (modified Latin form) adopted. State declared secular (April 10); constitutional provision establishing Islam as official religion deleted.
• 1933 Islamic call to worship and public readings of the Kuran (Quran) required to be in Turkish rather than Arabic.
• 1934 Women given the vote and the right to hold office. Law of Surnames adopted--Mustafa Kemal given the name Kemal Atatürk (Father Turk) by the Grand National Assembly; Ismet Pasha took surname of Inönü.
• 1935 Sunday adopted as legal weekly holiday. State role in managing economy written into the constituti

Geographic distribution

See also: Turkish diaspora

Turks primarily live in Turkey. Significant minorities of Turks live in neighboring Bulgaria (see Turks in Bulgaria), Cyprus (see Turkish Cypriots), the Western Thrace region of Greece, Republic of Macedonia, the Dobruja region of Romania and Kosovo (especially in Prizren).

Immigration in the 20th century has resulted in large Turkish communities in Germany, America and Australia. Sizable populations are (note that these are figures for Turkish nationals) also found in France (400,000), the Netherlands (350,000), the United Kingdom (300,000), Austria (250,000), Belgium (120,000), Switzerland (80,000), Sweden (40,000) Italy (11.077) and Liechtenstein (884).

Turks in Europe

File:Turkisch-day-in-Berlin.jpg

Turkish parade in Berlin featuring a recreated Ottoman military band

The largest number of Turkish immigrant workers is to be found in Germany, of course, followed by the Benelux countries, France, Austria, and Switzerland. Germany took in an influx of men alone between 1961 and 1973. This was followed by the massive arrival of their families up until about 1981. Elsewhere in Europe the purely male migration took place from 1965 to 1974. Family reunifications were likewise spread over the period up until and including the first half of the '80s. As a result, Europe's Turkish population consists of a majority of families, with almost total male/female parity. The Turkish diaspora in Europe is growing steadily. For Western Europe as a whole it rose from 1,988 million in 1985 to 3,034 million in 1996 (2,944 million in the EU countries). This is a 52.6% increase over one decade.

Germany hosts 2/5 of the Turkish immigrants. It is followed by importance by the Benelux countries, France and Austria. Between 1961-1973 there was a big influx of Turkish men alone in Germany, which was followed by the arrival of their families up until 1981. Five years later, the same phenomenon took also place in the rest of the countries. 35% of the Turkish living in Germany live in North Rhineland-Westphalia. Berlin, with 136.400 Turkish hosts, by its own 5% of the Turkish immigrants in Europe.

The Turkish immigration to Europe rose from 1.988 million in 1985 to 3.034 in 1996. This increase is explained by the continuation of migration through marriages and by the high birth rate of Turkish population. This high rate has as a consequence that Turkish migrant population is very young (1/3 is under 18 years old). More than 80% of these young people have been born and schooled in Europe.

Turks in North America

In the United States, the largest Turkish communities are found in Paterson, New York City, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles. Since the 1970s, the number of Turkish immigrants has risen to more than 2,000 per year. Little Arabia is a neighborhood in Paterson, New Jersey which is sometimes called Little İstanbul because of its large number of Turks. Paterson has always been home to immigrants looking to make a start in the new world.

There is also a growing Turkish population in Canada, Turkish immigrants have settled mainly in Montreal and Toronto, although there are small Turkish communities in Calgary, Edmonton, London, Ottawa, and Vancouver. The population of Turkish Canadians in Metropolitan Toronto may be as large as 5,000.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Turkey

Traditional Turkish coffee is ubiquitous in Turkish homes

The culture of Turkish people is a diverse one, derived from various elements of the Ottoman Empire, European, and the Islamic traditions. Turkish culture is an immense mixture partly produced by the rich history. The original lands of Turks is Central Asia, bordering China. From this location, they were forced to move west for various reasons more than a thousand years ago. On the way to Anatolia they have interacted with chinese, indian, middle eastern, European and Anatolian civilizations, and today's Turkish culture carries motives from each one of these diverse cultures.

Because of the different historical factors playing an important role in defining a Turkish identity, the culture of Turkey is an interesting combination of clear efforts to be "modern" and Western, alongside a desire to maintain traditional religious and historical values.

Language

Main article: Turkish language

Turkish is a very ancient language going back 5500 to 8500 years. It has a phonetic, morphological and syntactic structure, and at the same time it possesses a rich vocabulary. The fundamental features, which distinguish the Ural-Altaic languages from the Indo-European, are as follows; vowel harmony's are used which is a feature of all Ural-Altaic tongues, the absence of gender, agglutination, adjectives precede nouns, and verbs come at the end of the sentence.

Countries with significant Turkish-speaking populations

The Turkish language is a member of the ancient Oghuz subdivision of Turkic languages, which in turn is a branch of the proposed Altaic language family. Turkish is for the most part, mutually intelligible with other Oghuz languages like Azeri, Crimean Tatar, Gagauz, Turkmen and Urum, and to a lesser extent with other Turkic languages.

Modern Turkish differs greatly from the Ottoman Turkish language, the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire, which was influenced by Arabic and Persian. During the Ottoman period, the language was essentially a mixture of Turkish, Persian, and Arabic, differing considerably from the everyday language spoken by the empire's Turkish subjects, to the point that they had to hire arzıhâlcis (request-writers) to communicate with the state. After the proclamation of the Turkish Republic in early 20th century, many of the foreign borrowings in the language were replaced with Turkic equivalents in a language reform by the newly founded Turkish Language Association. Almost all government documents and literature from the Ottoman period and the early years of the Republic are thus unintelligible to today's Turkish-speaker without translation.

Historically, there were many dialects of Turkish that were spoken throughout Anatolia and the Balkans that differed significantly from each other. After the proclamation of the Republic, the Istanbul dialect was adopted as the standard. There is no official effort to protect regional dialects, and some are currently under threat of disappearing as they face the standard language used in the media and educational system.

Arts

A transition from Islamic artistic traditions under the Ottoman Empire to a more secular , Western orientation has taken place in Turkey. Turkish painters today are striving to find their own art forms, free from Western influence. Sculpture is less developed, and public monuments are usually heroic representations of Ataturk and events from the war of independence. Literature is considered the most advanced of contemporary Turkish arts. Many critics regard Kemal Tahir as the greatest modern Turkish novelist. Among authors translated into English is Yasar Kemal.

Architecture

Ortaköy mosque, Istanbul

Turkish architecture reached its peak during the Ottoman period. Ottoman architecture, influenced by Seljuk, Byzantine and Arab architecture, came to develop a style all of its own.

The years 1300-1453 constitute the early or first Ottoman period, when Ottoman art was in search of new ideas. During this period we encounter three types of mosque: tiered single-domed and sub line-angled mosques. The Junior Haci Özbek Mosque (1333) in Iznik, the first important centre of Ottoman art, is the first example of Ottoman single-domed mosques.

The architectural style which was to take on classical form after the conquest of Istanbul, was born in Bursa and in Edirne. The Great Mosque (Ulu Cami) in Bursa was the first Seljuk mosque to be converted into a domed one. Edirne was the last Ottoman capital before Istanbul, and it is here that we witness the final stages in the architectural development that culminated in the construction of the great mosques of Istanbul. The buildings constructed in Istanbul between the capture of the city and the construction of the mosque of Sultan Bayezit are also considered works of the early period. Among these are the mosques of Fatih (1470), the mosque of Mahmutpasa, Tiled Pavilion and Topkapi Palace.

In Ottoman times the mosque did not exist by itself. It was looked on by society as being very much interconnected with city planning and communal life. Beside the mosque there were soup kitchens, theological schools, hospitals, Turkish baths and tombs.

Examples of Ottoman architecture of the classical period, aside from Istanbul and Edirne, can also be seen in Egypt, Tunisia, Algiers, the Balkans and Hungary, where mosques, bridges, fountains and schools were built.

During the years 1720-1890, Ottoman art deviated from the principles of classical times. In the 18th century, during the Lale (Tulip) period, Ottoman art came under the influence of the excessive decorations of the west; Baroque, Rococo, Ampir and other styles intermingled with Ottoman art. Fountains became the characteristic structures of this period. An eclecticism set in. The Aksaray Valide mosque in Istanbul is an example of the mixture of Turkish art and Gothic style.

Baths (Hamam)

When the Turkish people came to Turkey, they brought with them their own bathing customs, which were quite different from those of the Romans and the Byzantines. The two mingled together and this together with the Muslim’s fetish for cleanliness and their respect for water created the Turkish baths.

A typical Turkish Bath, also known as the Hamam, has three rooms. There is the caldarium or the room with a steamy hot bath, the tepidarium or the warm room for washing with soap and water and the cool room for resting afterwards. Most of the Turkish baths came up in the 16th century when Mahmut I realized good profit could be made from them. Later in the century, it was felt that the Turkish baths were using up the country’s water and wood resources and limits were put on their construction. Today there are about 20 Turkish Baths existing. Most popular is the Cemberlitas Hamami in Vezirhan Cad, the 18th century Cagaloglu Hamami, the Yerebatan Caddesi at Ankara Caddesi – that was apparently visited by Edward VIII, and Florence Nightingale.

Evil Eye

Turkish aircraft with nazar

Known as nazar (Turkish: nazar boncuğu or nazarlık), is a very strong part of Turkish culture. The Evil Eye belief says that when someone eyes your good fortune with jealousy or gluttony, bad luck in some form is bound to befall you. It is also widely held that any accolade or praise, however well meaning it may be, is always tinged with a bit of greed and spite. It is these greedy and spiteful looks, which are directed towards you consciously or unconsciously, that have the power to cause you harm. Therefore, they are to be wary of.

The Turkish people believe that there are basically three kinds of evil looks: the first is the unconscious evil eye, which causes harm unintentionally. The second kind of evil eye causes harm with intent and deliberation, while the third kind of evil eye, which is believed to be the most potent kind, is the invisible eye. The belief in the ability of desirous eyes to cause harm is omnipresent in the Turkish social strata and even extends its sway on people with colored eyes. The Turks believe that people with eyes in an unusual color are wicked, do not desire the good of others and hence seek their harm and misery.

The Turks are especially circumspect of people with blue eyes. They believe that blue-eyed people, however enchanting and attractive their eyes may look, essentially harbor negative feelings about others and when this negative energy gets transmitted to others, much harm and distress is caused.

Music

See also: Music of Turkey

File:Sertab Erener-eurovision.jpg

Sertab Erener at the ESC in 2003

Turkey is a country in western Asia and Southeast Europe and on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and is a crossroads of cultures from across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus and South and Central Asia. The music of Turkey includes elements of Central Asian folk music, Arabic, Persian classical music, ancient Greco-Roman music and modern European and American popular music. Turkey, rich in musical heritage, has developed this art in two areas, Turkish classical music (similar to Greco- Roman) and Turkish folk music (Similar to Central Asian). The biggest Turkish pop star of the 20th century was probably Sezen Aksu, known for overseeing the Turkish contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest and was known for her light pop music.

European classical composers in the 18th century were fascinated by Turkish music, particularly the strong role given to the brass and percussion instruments in Ottoman Janissary bands called Mehter who were the fist marching military band in History. Joseph Haydn wrote his Military Symphony to include Turkish instruments, as well as some of his operas. Turkish instruments were also included in Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony Number 9. Mozart wrote the "Ronda alla turca" in his Sonata in A major and also used Turkish themes in his operas. Although this Turkish influence was a fad, it introduced the cymbals, bass drum, and bells into the symphony orchestra, where they remain. For details, see Turkish music (style).

Jazz musician Dave Brubeck wrote his "Blue Rondo à la Turk" as a tribute to Mozart and Turkish music.

Turkish pop music boasts numerous mainstream artists with large followings since the 1960s like Ajda Pekkan and Sezen Aksu, and younger pop stars like Sertab Erener, Tarkan, Serdar Ortac and Mustafa Sandal. Underground music and the genres of electronica, hip-hop, rap and dance music saw an increased demand and activity following the 1990s.

Turkish rock music, sometimes referred to as Anatolian rock, initiated during the 1960s by individuals like Cem Karaca, Barış Manço, and Erkin Koray, has seen wide-range success and has grown a considerable fan base. A few of the more mainstream Turkish rock bands include Mor ve Ötesi, Duman, and maNga. Individual rock performers like Şebnem Ferah, Özlem Tekin, Teoman and Emre Aydın have substantial fan-bases. Turkey also boasts numerous large-scale rock festivals and events. Annually held rock festivals include Barışarock, Rock'n Coke, during many of which internationally renowned bands / artists frequently take the stage together with Turkish artists.

In 2003, a Turkish singer Sertab Erener won the Eurovision Song Contest with her song Everyway That I Can.

Tevfik Fikret (1867–1915), a prominent poet of the late Ottoman era.

Literature

Main article: Turkish literature

Before the adaptation of Islam, the Seljuqs had a mainly oral tradition. With the adoptation of Islam, Turks were influenced with Persian culture and they developed literature using the Persian structures, such as mesnevi, gazel etc. With the 19th century and the tanzimat period, artists began to use western structures. The republican period is dominated with western forms of literature.

Turkish belongs to the Altay branch of the Uralo-Altay linguistic family. Through the span of history, Turks have spread over a wide geographical area, taking their language with them. Turkish speaking people have lived in a wide area stretching from today's Mongolia to the north coast of the Black Sea, the Balkans, East Europe, Anatolia, Iraq and a wide area of northern Africa. Due to the distances involved, various dialects and accents have emerged. The history of the language is divided into three main groups, old Turkish (from the 7th to the 13th centuries), mid-Turkish (from the 13th to the 20th) and new Turkish from the 20th century onwards. During the Ottoman Empire period Arabic and Persian words invaded the Turkish language and it consequently became mixed with three different languages. During the Ottoman period which spanned five centuries, the natural development of Turkish was severely hampered.

Then there was the "new language" movement. In 1928, five years after the proclamation of the Republic, the Arabic alphabet was replaced by the Latin one, which in turn speeded up the movement to rid the language of foreign words. The Turkish Language Institute was established in 1932 to carry out linguistic research and contribute to the natural development of the language. As a consequence of these efforts, modern Turkish is a literary and cultural language developing naturally and free of foreign influences.

Turkish literature was the joint product of the Turkish clans and was mostly oral. The oldest known examples of Turkish writings are on obelisks dating from the late 7th and early 8th centuries. The Orhun monumental inscriptions written in 720 for Tonyukuk, in 732 for Kültigin and in 735 for Bilge Kagan are masterpieces of Turkish literature with their subject matter and perfect style. Turkish epics dating from those times include the Yaratilis , Saka, Oguz-Kagan, Göktürk, Uygur and Manas.

The "Book of Dede Korkut", put down in writing in the 14th century, is an extremely valuable work that preserves the memory of that epic era in beautiful language.

Following Turkish migrations into Anatolia in the wake of the Malazgirt victory in 1071, the establishment of various Beyliks in Anatolia and the eventual founding of the Seljuk and Ottoman Empires set the scene for Turkish literature to develop along two distinct lines, with "divan" or classical literature drawing its inspiration from the Arabic and Persian languages and Turkish folk literature still remaining deeply rooted in Central Asian traditions.

Divan poets did not have independent philosophies, they were content to express the same ideas in different ways. The magnificence of the poet came from his artistry in finding original and beautiful forms of expression. The most famous of the Divan poets were Baki, Fuzuli, Nedim and Nef'i.

Initially based on two foreign literary traditions, Arab and Persian, literature gradually stopped being merely imitative and took on Ottoman national characteristics.

To a certain extent, the Turkish folk literature which has survived till our day, reflects the influence of Islam and the new life style and form of the traditional literature of Central Asia after the adoption of Islam. Turkish folk literature comprised anonymous works of bard poems and Tekke (mystical religious retreats) literature. Yunus Emre who lived in the second half of the 13th and early 14th centuries was an epoch making poet and sufi (mystical philosopher) expert in all three areas of folk literature as well as divan poetry. Important figures of poetic literature were Karacaoglan, Atik Ömer, Erzurumlu Emrah and Kayserili Seyrani.

Ottoman Shadow Plays

Hacivat (left) and Karagöz (right)

The Turkish tradition of shadow play called Karagöz and Hacivat was performed by a single puppet master, who voiced all of the characters, and accompanied by a classical Ottoman music ensemble. Some believe that the first Karagöz-Hacivat play was performed for sultan Selim I in Egypt after his conquest of the Memluks, but 17th century writer Evliya Çelebi stated that it had been performed in the Ottoman palace as early as the reign of Bayezid I. The traditon of Shadow plays are still famous today, mainly in Turkey, however is also used in celebrations throughout the Turkish diaspora

Shadow Theater gained great popularity among the people and the Turkish puppeteers much improved the techniques they had inherited from others. The colorless and motionless presentations of the Egyptian shadow play gained much rich coloring and mobility in the Turkish form of the art.

Poetry

Main article: Turkish poetry

Prose

See also: Prose of the Republic of Turkey

A painting by Nazmi Ziya Guran (1881–1937)

The backgrounds of current novelists can be traced back to "Young Pens" (Genç Kalemler) journal in Ottoman period. Young Pens was published in Selanik under the Ömer Seyfettin, Ziya Gökalp ve Ali Canip Yontem. They covered the social and political concepts of their time with the nationalistic perspective. They became the core of a movement which will be called national literature.

With the declaration of republic, Turkish literature becomes interested in folkloric styles. This was also the first time the literature was escaping from the western influence and begin to mix western forms with others. During the 1930s Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoglu and Vedat Nedim Tor begin to publish KADRO. KADRO was revolutionary in its look at the life.

Orhan Pamuk is a Turkish novelist of post-modern literature. He is hugely popular in his homeland, but also with a growing readership around the globe. As one of Europe's most prominent novelists, his work has been translated into more than twenty languages. He is the recipient of major Turkish and international literary awards. His most recent novel is "Snow". Pamuk won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006, with his melancholic point of view to various cultures in Istanbul. However, a big debate is going on in Turkey about Pamuk winning; many Turks think that he won the prize because of his political ideas.

Religion

See also: Religion in Turkey

The vast majority of Turks are, at least in a nominal sense, Muslim. The most popular sect is the Hanafite school of Sunni Islam, which was officially espoused by the Ottoman Empire. There is, however, a significant number that adheres to the Alevi sect of Shia Islam. The presence of Alevis is estimated at 15-20% of the population, though some reports indicate only 10%. Sufism, particularly the Mevlevi and Nakshbandi orders, has had a significant influence on Turkish culture. Sufism also played a large role in the conversion of the Turks to Islam. Religion has taken a shift towards more of a cultural identity amongst Turks rather than a set of fixed, theological beliefs due to secularization. Nevertheless, many Turks today increasingly acknowledge Islam's tremendous role in shaping Turkish history and society.

In addition, there are small groups that adhere to Christianity. Although they are primarily Eastern Orthodox, there are Roman Catholics and Protestants as well.

Symbols

The most widely used symbol by Turkish people is the crescent moon and a star. The crescent and star, while generally regarded as Islamic symbols today, have long been used in Asia Minor and by the ancient Turks, earlier than the advent of Islam. According to archaeological excavations, Göktürks used the crescent and star figure on their coins. The 1500-year-old coin includes three crescent moon figures and a star near a person. The Turkish flag is also widely used by the Turkish Cypriot community in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

• 
  The late Ottoman Navy flag
• 
  Ottoman Naval Flag, flying on all military vessels 1793-1844
• 
  Ottoman Religious Flag, or the Flag of the Caliphate 1793-1844
• 
  Flag of The Republic of Turkey

Turkish Delight

Turkish Delight has an illustrious past. It is one of the most ancient sweet dishes in the world, dating back 230 years. There are several stories surrounding its origin.

One legend has that there was a certain Sultan who believed that the way to a woman’s heart was through her stomach. He had in his armor, recipes for some very exotic and innovative dishes, with which he wooed his mistresses. Once, very eager to please his numerous mistresses, he ordered his chefs to prepare a novel dessert. Thus, the Turkish Delight came into being as a royal delicacy, which very soon became one of the most coveted dishes to have ever come out of the royal kitchens.

Another story has that Turkish Delight originated as the result of rivalry between the royal chefs to be in the good books of the Sultan. One chef made a dish with cornstarch, flavors and sugary syrup and filled it with nuts and dried fruits. This is what we now know as the Turkish Delight. Turkish Delights took the west by storm. Pablo Picasso regarded them as aides to his concentration and as such, had them regularly, while Winston Churchill and Napoleon gorged on pistachio filled Turkish Delights. Today, the Turkish Delight is one of the most favored teatime snacks all around the globe.

Turkish phenotypes and diversity

Turkey is situated on the bridgehead between Europe and Asia. Data on the DNA of Turkish people suggests that a human demographic expansion occurred sequentially in the Middle East, through Anatolia, and finally to the rest of Europe. The estimated time of this expansion is roughly 50,000 years ago, which corresponds to the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe. Recent genetic research has confirmеd the local, Anatolian origins of the Turks and that genetic flow between Turks and Asiatic peoples has been marginal. The major components, 94.1% (haplogroups E3b, G, J, I, L, N, K2, and R1), are shared with European and Near Eastern populations. In contrast, only a minor share of haplogroups are attributed to Central Asian (C, Q and O; 3.4%), Indian (H, R2; 1.5%), and African (A, E3*, E3a; 1%) affinity. The comprehensive high resolution SNP analysis provides evidence of slight paternal gene flow (<9%) from Central Asia. Various estimates exist of the proportion of gene flow associated with the arrival of Central Asian Turkic speaking people to Anatolia. One study based on an analysis of Y-chromosomes from Turkey suggested that Central Asians have only made a 10% genetic contribution (Rolf et al. 1999). Another study suggests roughly 30% based upon mtDNA control region sequences and one STR Y-chromosome (Di Benedetto et al. 2001). While it is likely that genetic flow from Central Asia to Anatolia has occurred repeatedly throughout prehistory, uncertainties exist with respect to the source populations and the number of such episodes between Central Asia and Europe. These uncertainties confound any assessment of the genetic contribution of the 11th century AD Oghuz nomads responsible for the Turkic language replacement. The recent Y-chromosome data provides candidate haplogroups to differentiate lineages specific to the postulated source populations, thus overcoming potential artifacts caused by indistinguishable overlapping gene flows. Using Central Asian Y-chromosome data from either 13 populations and 149 samples (Underhill et al. 2000) or 49 populations and 1,935 samples (Wells et al. 2001) where these diagnostic lineages occur at 33% and 18%, respectively, their estimated contribution is 8.5%. During the Bronze Age, the population of Anatolia expanded and reached an estimated level of 12 million people during the late Roman Period (Russell 1958). Such a large preexistent Anatolian population would have reduced the impact of the subsequent arrival of the Turkic-speaking Seljuk and Osmanlı groups from Central Asia. Although the genetic research of Anatolia still remains somewhat inchoate, the excavations of these new levels of shared Y-chromosome heritage and subsequent diversification provide new clues to Anatolian prehistory, as well as a substantial foundation for comparisons with other populations. The results demonstrate Anatolia’s role as a buffer between culturally and genetically distinct populations, being both an important source and recipient of gene flow.(See the plot:)

Possible genetic links

File:Turk of karahissar.jpg

Meyers Blitz-Lexikon (Leipzig, 1932) shows a Turkish man as an example of the ethnic Turkish type.

The question to what extent a gene flow from Central Asia to Anatolia has contributed to the current gene pool of the Turkish people, and what the role is in this of the 11th century invasion by Oghuz Turks, has been the subject of several studies. A factor that makes it difficult to give reliable estimates, is the problem of distinguishing between the effects of different migratory episodes. Per Chinese records, Kyrgyz Turks were the last Turks left ancient Mongolia due to massive Mongol settlement from east 600 A.D. Kirgyz Turks possessed lighter hair color (including reddish), lighter eye colors and they were taller in height and strong people. Recent genetics research dated 2003 confirms the studies indicating that the Turkic peoples originated from Central Asia and therefore are possibly related with Xiongnu. According to the study, Turkish Anatolian tribes may have some ancestors who originated in an area north of Mongolia at the end of the Xiongnu period (3rd century BCE to the 2nd century CE), since modern Anatolian Turks appear to have some common genetic markers with the remains found at the Xiongnu period graves in Mongolia:

The researchers found that interbreeding between Europeans and Asians occurred much earlier than previously thought. They also found DNA sequences similar to those in present-day Turks, supporting the idea that most of the Turks originated in Central Asia. Interestingly, this paternal lineage has been, at least in part (6 of 7 STRs), found in a present-day Turkish individual (Henke et al. 2001). Moreover, the mtDNA (female linkeage) sequence shared by four of these paternal relatives (from graves 46, 52, 54, and 57) were also found in a Turkish individuals (Comas et al. 1996), suggesting a possible Turkish origin of these ancient specimens. Two other individuals buried in the B sector (graves 61 and 90) were characterized by mtDNA sequences found in Turkish people (Calafell 1996; Richards et al. 2000).

See also

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External links

• 55 milyon kişi 'etnik olarak' Türk
• Bosworth, Clifford E. The History of the Seljuq Turks: From the Jami al-Tawarikh.
• Findley, Carter Vaughn. The Turks in World History.
• Petkova, Lilia. The Ethnic Turks in Bulgaria: Social Integration and Impact on Bulgaria-Turkish Relations, 1947-2000.
• Shaw, George Stanford. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey.
• Ethnologue report for the Turkish language
• DNA Diversity in Turkey
• Germany's Second Doubts Abouts its Turkish population
• Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in the Anatolian Peninsula (Turkey)
• Excavating Y-chromosome haplotype strata in Anatolia
• The NGM Study "Who were the Phoenicians" and the Return of the Phoenicians (includes links of modern Turks and some ties to the Ancient Phoenicians)
• Turkey: Country Studies from the US Library of Congress
• BBC News Country Profile for Turkey
• Cultural Exchange Programs in Turkey
• Council of Europe's Turkey Page

Template:Turkey-related topics