TURKEY

Turkish is the official and most widely spoken language in the country, being the first language of approximately 85% of the population. It is the most widely spoken language in the Turkic language family and is written with the Latin alphabet, (the Arabic script was replaced in 1928). Kurdish is the second most popular language, spoken by about 12% of the population, and concentrated in the heavily Kurdish Southeast of the country. A small minority, (~2%) of the population speak Arabic as their first language. Additionally, there are many smaller indigenous languages that are still spoken only in small minority communities [i].

Owing to its position at a crossroads between Europe and Asia and to the legacy of the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire, modern Turkey boasts a diverse and unique culture. The Turks, originally hailing from central Asia, have a different culture than the Greek inhabitants of Anatolia or the inhabitants of the Levant. The late Ottoman Empire began to emulate Western culture as part of a modernization effort when the Empire fell behind the leading European states in the mid to late 19th century [ii]. This has left modern Turkey with a unique blend of Middle East and Western cultures unique to the nation.

Turkey is officially a secular nation and, for much of the history of the modern nation, was strictly secular, with secularism being a core guiding principle of the early republic. 98% of the population is Muslim. The majority of Turkish Muslims are Sunni at 80%, with Shiites making up around 18% of the population; about 1% profess no religion. All other religions, including Christianity and Judaism, make up at most about 1% of the population [iii]. Despite the secularism of the government, the population is deeply religious with religious observances being strictly followed and over 80% of the population abstaining from alcohol.

Turkey has been a presidential system since 2018 when the older parliamentary system, in place since 1923, was replaced. The current president is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been president since 2014 and before that was Prime Minister since 2003. Under Erdoğan’s watch, Turkey has become more authoritarian, with the country now being listed as “Not Free” [iv] by Freedom House. Traditionally, Turkey has been a close ally of the United States, since joining NATO in 1952. More recently, as ties between Turkey, the United States and the European Union have frayed, Turkey has taken a more independent role in the region [v].

Turkey is the 19th largest economy in the world and is considered a newly developed country. It is still in the process of industrializing, Turkey’s currency is the Lira. ‘Lira’ [vi] currencies have been in circulation in the Ottoman Empire since the 19th century, but the modern currency dates from 1923. Due to a steady loss of value over the 20th century, the Lira was redenominated in 2005. Turkey then faced another crisis [vii] in 2018, where the Lira rapidly lost value owing to the inability of the central bank to raise interest rates due to political pressure [viii].

The Republic of Turkey emerged out of the defeated Ottoman Empire [ix]. After WWI, the Ottoman Empire collapsed leaving a vacuum in the region. Turkey, the successor state to the empire, was occupied by the victorious powers and Greece claimed the coast of Anatolia. The Turks formed a new government under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk [x], and fought off its enemies to form the modern Republic. Turkey then spent most of the 1930’s and 1940’s embarking on a far-reaching plan of westernization. Turkey remained neutral during WWII, but joined NATO in 1952 due to threats from the Soviet Union [xi].

Bisecting two continents, Turkey has a small amount of territory in Europe known as East Thrace [xii]. The majority of the country is located in Asia, specifically the Anatolian peninsula. Turkey controls the Bosporus Strait on both sides; a strategic waterway that connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The population is concentrated along the Bosporus, with the only significant inland city being the capital of Ankara. The climate of Turkey varies, from a Mediterranean climate near the coast, to arid climates in the Southeast. The country is very mountainous, being home to the Köroğlu, Pontic, and Taurus mountain ranges [xiii].