Datasets:

vocab-transformers

/

wiki-en-passages-20210101

like 0

11125639

Turkey

The country's tumultuous transition to multiparty democracy was interrupted by military coups d'état in 1960 and 1980, as well as by military memorandums in 1971 and 1997. Between 1960 and the end of the 20th century, the prominent leaders in Turkish politics who achieved multiple election victories were Süleyman Demirel, Bülent Ecevit and Turgut Özal.

11125639

Turkey

Following a decade of Cypriot intercommunal violence and the coup in Cyprus on 15 July 1974 staged by the EOKA B paramilitary organisation, which overthrew President Makarios and installed the pro-Enosis (union with Greece) Nikos Sampson as dictator, Turkey invaded Cyprus on 20 July 1974 by unilaterally exercising Article IV in the Treaty of Guarantee (1960), but without restoring the status quo ante at the end of the military operation. In 1983 the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognised only by Turkey, was established. The Annan Plan for reunifying the island was supported by the majority of Turkish Cypriots, but rejected by the majority of Greek Cypriots, in separate referendums in 2004. However, negotiations for solving the Cyprus dispute are still ongoing between Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot political leaders.

11125639

Turkey

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK (designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States, the European Union and NATO) has been active since 1984, primarily in the southeast of the country. More than 40,000 people have died as a result of the conflict. In 1999 PKK's founder Abdullah Öcalan was arrested and sentenced for terrorism and treason charges. In the past, various Kurdish groups have unsuccessfully sought separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdish state, while others have more recently pursued provincial autonomy and greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. In the 21st century some reforms have taken place to improve the cultural rights of ethnic minorities in Turkey, such as the establishment of TRT Kurdî, TRT Arabi and TRT Avaz by the TRT.

11125639

Turkey

Since the liberalisation of the Turkish economy in the 1980s, the country has enjoyed stronger economic growth and greater political stability. Turkey applied for full membership of the EEC in 1987, joined the EU Customs Union in 1995 and started accession negotiations with the European Union in 2005. In a non-binding vote on 13 March 2019, the European Parliament called on the EU governments to suspend EU accession talks with Turkey, citing violations of human rights and the rule of law; but the negotiations, effectively on hold since 2018, remain active as of 2020.

11125639

Turkey

In 2013, widespread protests erupted in many Turkish provinces, sparked by a plan to demolish Gezi Park but soon growing into general anti-government dissent. On 15 July 2016, an unsuccessful coup attempt tried to oust the government. As a reaction to the failed coup d'état, the government carried out mass purges.

11125639

Turkey

Between 9 October – 25 November 2019, Turkey conducted a military offensive into north-eastern Syria.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey has a unitary structure in terms of administration and this aspect is one of the most important factors shaping the Turkish public administration. When three powers (executive, legislative and judiciary) are taken into account as the main functions of the state, local administrations have little power. Turkey does not have a federal system, and the provinces are subordinate to the central government in Ankara. Local administrations were established to provide services in place and the government is represented by the province governors ("vali") and town governors ("kaymakam"). Other senior public officials are also appointed by the central government instead of the mayors ("belediye başkanı") or elected by constituents. Turkish municipalities have local legislative bodies ("belediye meclisi") for decision-making on municipal issues.

11125639

Turkey

Within this unitary framework, Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces ("il" or "vilayet") for administrative purposes. Each province is divided into districts ("ilçe"), for a total of 973 districts. Turkey is also subdivided into 7 regions ("bölge") and 21 subregions for geographic, demographic and economic purposes; this does not refer to an administrative division. The centralised structure of decision-making in Ankara is stated by some academics as an impediment to good local governance, and occasionally causes resentment in the municipalities of urban centres that are inhabited largely by ethnic minority groups, such as the Kurds. Steps towards decentralisation since 2004 have proven to be a highly controversial topic in Turkey. The efforts to decentralise the administrative structure are also driven by the European Charter of Local Self-Government and with Chapter 22 ("Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural Instruments") of the "acquis" of the European Union. A decentralisation program for Turkey has been a topic of discussion in the country's academics, politics and the broader public.

11125639

Turkey

Between 1923 and 2018, Turkey was a parliamentary representative democracy. A presidential system was adopted by referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and make appointments to the bureaucracy and the courts. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralised state.

11125639

Turkey

Executive power is exercised by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, called the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.

11125639

Turkey

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a four-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts.

11125639

Turkey

The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is ten percent of the votes.

11125639

Turkey

Supporters of Atatürk's reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from Islamists, representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a secular constitution and Westernised culture, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamism, a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Even before the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe said the country had autocratic tendencies and warned of a "dramatic regression of [Turkey's] democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

11125639

Turkey

In 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rated Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a "hybrid regime". In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as "Not Free". In 2019 Turkey ranked 110th out of 167 countries in the Democracy Index.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey's judicial system has been wholly integrated with the system of continental Europe. For instance, the Turkish Civil Code has been modified by incorporating elements mainly of the Swiss Civil Code and Code of Obligations, and the German Commercial Code. The Administrative Code bears similarities with its French counterpart, and the Penal Code with its Italian counterpart.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey has adopted the principle of the separation of powers. In line with this principle, judicial power is exercised by independent courts on behalf of the Turkish nation. The independence and organisation of the courts, the security of the tenure of judges and public prosecutors, the profession of judges and prosecutors, the supervision of judges and public prosecutors, the military courts and their organisation, and the powers and duties of the high courts are regulated by the Turkish Constitution.

11125639

Turkey

According to Article 142 of the Turkish Constitution, the organisation, duties and jurisdiction of the courts, their functions and the trial procedures are regulated by law. In line with the aforementioned article of the Turkish Constitution and related laws, the court system in Turkey can be classified under three main categories; which are the Judicial Courts, Administrative Courts and Military Courts. Each category includes first instance courts and high courts. In addition, the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes rules on cases that cannot be classified readily as falling within the purview of one court system.

11125639

Turkey

Law enforcement in Turkey is carried out by several departments (such as the General Directorate of Security and Gendarmerie General Command) and agencies, all acting under the command of the President of Turkey or mostly the Minister of Internal Affairs. According to figures released by the Justice Ministry, there are 100,000 people in Turkish prisons as of November 2008, a doubling since 2000.

11125639

Turkey

In the years of government by the AKP and Erdoğan, particularly since 2013, the independence and integrity of the Turkish judiciary has increasingly been said to be in doubt by institutions, parliamentarians and journalists both within and outside of Turkey; due to political interference in the promotion of judges and prosecutors, and in their pursuit of public duty. The "Turkey 2015 report" of the European Commission stated that "the independence of the judiciary and respect of the principle of separation of powers have been undermined and judges and prosecutors have been under strong political pressure."

11125639

Turkey

Turkey is a founding member of the United Nations (1945), the OECD (1961), the OIC (1969), the OSCE (1973), the ECO (1985), the BSEC (1992), the D-8 (1997) and the G20 (1999). Turkey was a member of the United Nations Security Council in 1951–1952, 1954–1955, 1961 and 2009–2010. In 2012 Turkey became a dialogue partner of the SCO, and in 2013 became a member of the ACD.

11125639

Turkey

In line with its traditional Western orientation, relations with Europe have always been a central part of Turkish foreign policy. Turkey became one of the early members of the Council of Europe in 1950, applied for associate membership of the EEC (predecessor of the European Union) in 1959 and became an associate member in 1963. After decades of political negotiations, Turkey applied for full membership of the EEC in 1987, became an associate member of the Western European Union in 1992, joined the EU Customs Union in 1995 and has been in formal accession negotiations with the EU since 2005. Today, EU membership is considered as a state policy and a strategic target by Turkey. Turkey's support for Northern Cyprus in the Cyprus dispute complicates Turkey's relations with the EU and remains a major stumbling block to the country's EU accession bid.

11125639

Turkey

The other defining aspect of Turkey's foreign policy was the country's long-standing strategic alliance with the United States. The Truman Doctrine in 1947 enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece during the Cold War, and resulted in large-scale U.S. military and economic support. In 1948 both countries were included in the Marshall Plan and the OEEC for rebuilding European economies. The common threat posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War led to Turkey's membership of NATO in 1952, ensuring close bilateral relations with the US. Subsequently, Turkey benefited from the United States' political, economic and diplomatic support, including in key issues such as the country's bid to join the European Union. In the post–Cold War environment, Turkey's geostrategic importance shifted towards its proximity to the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Balkans.

11125639

Turkey

The independence of the Turkic states of the Soviet Union in 1991, with which Turkey shares a common cultural and linguistic heritage, allowed Turkey to extend its economic and political relations deep into Central Asia, thus enabling the completion of a multi-billion-dollar oil and natural gas pipeline from Baku in Azerbaijan to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey. The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline forms part of Turkey's foreign policy strategy to become an energy conduit from the Caspian Sea basin to Europe. However, in 1993, Turkey sealed its land border with Armenia in a gesture of support to Azerbaijan (a Turkic state in the Caucasus region) during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, and it remains closed.

11125639

Turkey

Under the AKP government, Turkey's influence has grown in the formerly Ottoman territories of the Middle East and the Balkans, based on the "strategic depth" doctrine (a terminology that was coined by Ahmet Davutoğlu for defining Turkey's increased engagement in regional foreign policy issues), also called Neo-Ottomanism. Following the Arab Spring in December 2010, the choices made by the AKP government for supporting certain political opposition groups in the affected countries have led to tensions with some Arab states, such as Turkey's neighbour Syria since the start of the Syrian civil war, and Egypt after the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi. , Turkey does not have an ambassador in either Syria or Egypt. Diplomatic relations with Israel were also severed after the Gaza flotilla raid in 2010, but were normalised following a deal in June 2016. These political rifts have left Turkey with few allies in the East Mediterranean, where rich natural gas fields have recently been discovered; in sharp contrast with the original goals that were set by the former Foreign Minister (later Prime Minister) Ahmet Davutoğlu in his "zero problems with neighbours" foreign policy doctrine. In 2015, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar formed a "strategic alliance" against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. However, following the rapprochement with Russia in 2016, Turkey revised its stance regarding the solution of the conflict in Syria. In January 2018, the Turkish military and the Turkish-backed forces, including the Free Syrian Army and Ahrar al-Sham, began an intervention in Syria aimed at ousting U.S.-backed YPG from the enclave of Afrin. In 2020, Turkey openly intervened in Libya at the request of the GNA. There is a dispute over Turkey's maritime boundaries with Greece and Cyprus and drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey recognizes and supports the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya, which has been torn by a civil war since 2014.

11125639

Turkey

The Turkish Armed Forces consist of the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Force. The Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard operate as parts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in peacetime, although they are subordinated to the Army and Navy Commands respectively in wartime, during which they have both internal law-enforcement and military functions. The Chief of the General Staff is appointed by the President. The Council of Ministers is responsible to the Parliament for matters of national security and the adequate preparation of the armed forces to defend the country. However, the authority to declare war and to deploy the Turkish Armed Forces to foreign countries or to allow foreign armed forces to be stationed in Turkey rests solely with the Parliament.

11125639

Turkey

Every fit male Turkish citizen otherwise not barred is required to serve in the military for a period ranging from three weeks to a year, dependent on education and job location. Turkey does not recognise conscientious objection and does not offer a civilian alternative to military service.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey has the second-largest standing military force in NATO, after the US Armed Forces, with an estimated strength of 495,000 deployable forces, according to a 2011 NATO estimate. Turkey is one of five NATO member states which are part of the nuclear sharing policy of the alliance, together with Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. A total of 90 B61 nuclear bombs are hosted at the Incirlik Air Base, 40 of which are allocated for use by the Turkish Air Force in case of a nuclear conflict, but their use requires the approval of NATO.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey has maintained forces in international missions under the United Nations and NATO since the Korean War, including peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Yugoslavia and the Horn of Africa. Turkey supported the coalition forces in the First Gulf War. Turkish Armed Forces contribute military personnel to the International Security Assistance Force, Kosovo Force, Eurocorps and EU Battlegroups. Turkey maintains a force of 36,000 troops in Northern Cyprus since 1974. In recent years, Turkey has assisted Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq and the Somali Armed Forces with security and training. Turkish Armed Forces have overseas military bases in Albania, Iraq, Qatar, and Somalia.

11125639

Turkey

In the 2016 Global Peace Index, Turkey ranked 145th out of 163 countries in the world, mainly because of its "increasingly strained relations with its neighbors", according to Forbes.

11125639

Turkey

The human rights record of Turkey has been the subject of much controversy and international condemnation. Between 1959 and 2011 the European Court of Human Rights made more than 2400 judgements against Turkey for human rights violations on issues such as Kurdish rights, women's rights, LGBT rights, and media freedom. Turkey's human rights record continues to be a significant obstacle to the country's membership of the EU.

11125639

Turkey

In the latter half of the 1970s, Turkey suffered from political violence between far-left and far-right militant groups, which culminated in the military coup of 1980. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States, the European Union and NATO) was founded in 1978 by a group of Kurdish militants led by Abdullah Öcalan, seeking the foundation of an independent, Marxist-Leninist state in the region, which was to be known as Kurdistan. The initial reason given by the PKK for this was the oppression of Kurds in Turkey. A full-scale insurgency began in 1984, when the PKK announced a Kurdish uprising. Following the arrest and imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan in 1999, the PKK modified its demands into equal rights for ethnic Kurds and provincial autonomy within Turkey. Since the conflict began, more than 40,000 people have died, most of whom were Turkish Kurds. The European Court of Human Rights and other international human rights organisations have condemned Turkey for human rights abuses. Many judgments are related to cases such as civilian deaths in aerial bombardments, torturing, forced displacements, destroyed villages, arbitrary arrests, murdered and disappeared Kurdish journalists, activists and politicians.

11125639

Turkey

On 20 May 2016, the Turkish parliament stripped almost a quarter of its members of immunity from prosecution, including 101 deputies from the pro-Kurdish HDP and the main opposition CHP party. In reaction to the failed coup attempt on 15 July 2016, over 160,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants have been suspended or dismissed, 77,000 have been formally arrested, and 130 media organisations, including 16 television broadcasters and 45 newspapers, have been closed by the government of Turkey. 160 journalists have been imprisoned.

11125639

Turkey

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the AKP government has waged one of the world's biggest crackdowns on media freedom. Many journalists have been arrested using charges of "terrorism" and "anti-state activities" such as the Ergenekon and Balyoz cases, while thousands have been investigated on charges such as "denigrating Turkishness" or "insulting Islam" in an effort to sow self-censorship. In 2017, the CPJ identified 81 jailed journalists in Turkey (including the editorial staff of "Cumhuriyet", Turkey's oldest newspaper still in circulation), all directly held for their published work (the country ranked first in the world in that year, with more journalists in prison than in Iran, Eritrea or China); while in 2015 Freemuse identified nine musicians imprisoned for their work (ranking third after Russia and China). In 2015 Turkey's media was rated as "not free" by Freedom House. In its resolution "The functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey" on 22 June 2016, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe warned that "recent developments in Turkey pertaining to freedom of the media and of expression, erosion of the rule of law and the human rights violations in relation to anti-terrorism security operations in south-east Turkey have (...) raised serious questions about the functioning of its democratic institutions."

11125639

Turkey

Renowned Turkish journalists who were murdered for their opinions include Abdi İpekçi (1929–1979, editor-in-chief of "Milliyet"); Çetin Emeç (1935–1990, chief columnist and coordinator of "Hürriyet"); Uğur Mumcu (1942–1993, columnist and investigative journalist of "Cumhuriyet"); and Hrant Dink (1954–2007, founder and editor-in-chief of "Agos").

11125639

Turkey

During the October 2019 offensive into Syria, Turkish forces have been accused of war crimes, such as targeting civilians with white phosphorus and various other human rights violations. Turkey has officially rejected the claims, with the Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar stating that chemical weapons don't exist in the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces.

11125639

Turkey

Amnesty International stated that it had gathered evidence of war crimes and other violations committed by Turkish and Turkey-backed Syrian forces who are said to "have displayed a shameful disregard for civilian life, carrying out serious violations and war crimes, including summary killings and unlawful attacks that have killed and injured civilians".

11125639

Turkey

Turkey is a transcontinental Eurasian country. Asian Turkey, which includes 97 percent of the country, is separated from European Turkey by the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles. European Turkey comprises 3 percent of the country's territory. The territory of Turkey is more than long and wide, with a roughly rectangular shape. It lies between latitudes 35° and 43° N, and longitudes 25° and 45° E. Turkey's land area, including lakes, occupies , of which are in Southwest Asia and in Europe. Turkey is the world's 37th-largest country in terms of area. The country is encircled by seas on three sides: the Aegean Sea to the west, the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean to the south. Turkey also contains the Sea of Marmara in the northwest.

11125639

Turkey

The European section of Turkey, also known as East Thrace () is located at the easternmost edge the Balkan peninsula. It forms the border between Turkey and its neighbours Greece and Bulgaria. The Asian part of the country mostly consists of the peninsula of Anatolia, which consists of a high central plateau with narrow coastal plains, between the Köroğlu and Pontic mountain ranges to the north and the Taurus Mountains to the south. Eastern Turkey has a more mountainous landscape and is home to the sources of rivers such as the Euphrates, Tigris and Aras. The western portion of the Armenian highland is located in eastern Turkey; this region contains Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest point at , and Lake Van, the largest lake in the country. Southeastern Turkey is located within the northern plains of Upper Mesopotamia.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey is divided into seven geographical regions: Marmara, Aegean, Black Sea, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia and the Mediterranean. The uneven north Anatolian terrain running along the Black Sea resembles a long, narrow belt. This region comprises approximately one-sixth of Turkey's total land area. As a general trend, the inland Anatolian plateau becomes increasingly rugged as it progresses eastward.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey's varied landscapes are the product of complex earth movements that have shaped the region over thousands of years and still manifest themselves in fairly frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. The Bosphorus and the Dardanelles owe their existence to the fault lines running through Turkey that led to the creation of the Black Sea. The North Anatolian Fault Line runs across the north of the country from west to east, along which major earthquakes took place in history. The latest of those big earthquakes was the 1999 İzmit earthquake.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey's extraordinary ecosystem and habitat diversity has produced considerable species diversity. Anatolia is the homeland of many plants that have been cultivated for food since the advent of agriculture, and the wild ancestors of many plants that now provide staples for humankind still grow in Turkey. The diversity of Turkey's fauna is even greater than that of its flora. The number of animal species in the whole of Europe is around 60,000, while in Turkey there are over 80,000 (over 100,000 counting the subspecies).

11125639

Turkey

The Northern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests is an ecoregion which covers most of the Pontic Mountains in northern Turkey, while the Caucasus mixed forests extend across the eastern end of the range. The region is home to Eurasian wildlife such as the Eurasian sparrowhawk, golden eagle, eastern imperial eagle, lesser spotted eagle, Caucasian black grouse, red-fronted serin, and wallcreeper. The narrow coastal strip between the Pontic Mountains and the Black Sea is home to the Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests, which contain some of the world's few temperate rainforests. The Turkish pine is mostly found in Turkey and other east Mediterranean countries. Several wild species of tulip are native to Anatolia, and the flower was first introduced to Western Europe with species taken from the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century.

11125639

Turkey

There are 40 national parks, 189 nature parks, 31 nature preserve areas, 80 wildlife protection areas and 109 nature monuments in Turkey such as Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park, Mount Nemrut National Park, Ancient Troya National Park, Ölüdeniz Nature Park and Polonezköy Nature Park.

11125639

Turkey

The Anatolian leopard is still found in very small numbers in the northeastern and southeastern regions of Turkey. The Eurasian lynx and the European wildcat are other felid species which are currently found in the forests of Turkey.

11125639

Turkey

The Caspian tiger, now extinct, lived in the easternmost regions of Turkey until the latter half of the 20th century. In the 21st century threats to biodiversity include desertification due to climate change in Turkey.

11125639

Turkey

Renowned domestic animals from Ankara, the capital of Turkey, include the Angora cat, Angora rabbit and Angora goat; and from Van Province the Van cat. The national dog breeds are the Kangal, Malaklı, Akbaş and Anatolian Shepherd.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.39/10, ranking it 75th globally out of 172 countries.

11125639

Turkey

The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas have a temperate Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. The coastal areas bordering the Black Sea have a temperate oceanic climate with warm, wet summers and cool to cold, wet winters. The Turkish Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages annually which is the highest precipitation in the country.

11125639

Turkey

The coastal areas bordering the Sea of Marmara, which connects the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea, have a transitional climate between a temperate Mediterranean climate and a temperate oceanic climate with warm to hot, moderately dry summers and cool to cold, wet winters. Snow falls on the coastal areas of the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea almost every winter, but usually melts in no more than a few days. However snow is rare in the coastal areas of the Aegean Sea and very rare in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea.

11125639

Turkey

Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean influences from extending inland, giving the central Anatolian plateau of the interior of Turkey a continental climate with sharply contrasting seasons.

11125639

Turkey

Winters on the eastern part of the plateau are especially severe. Temperatures of can occur in eastern Anatolia. Snow may remain at least 120 days of the year. In the west, winter temperatures average below . Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures often above in the day. Annual precipitation averages about , with actual amounts determined by elevation. The driest regions are the Konya Plain and the Malatya Plain, where annual rainfall is often less than . May is generally the wettest month, whereas July and August are the driest.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey has signed but not ratified global agreements on reducing greenhouse gas emissions: the country has not yet ratified the Kigali Accord to regulate hydrofluorocarbons, and is one of the few countries that have not ratified the Paris agreement on climate change.

11125639

Turkey

With an estimated nominal gross domestic product of $744 billion ($8,958 per capita) and $2.4 trillion ($28,264 p.c.) in purchasing power parity, Turkey is the world's 19th largest economy and 13th largest by PPP. The country is among the founding members of the OECD and the G20.

11125639

Turkey

The EU – Turkey Customs Union in 1995 led to an extensive liberalisation of tariff rates, and forms one of the most important pillars of Turkey's foreign trade policy.

11125639

Turkey

The automotive industry in Turkey is sizeable, and produced over 1.3 million motor vehicles in 2015, ranking as the 14th largest producer in the world. Turkish shipyards are highly regarded both for the production of chemical and oil tankers up to 10,000 dwt and also for their mega yachts. Turkish brands like Beko and Vestel are among the largest producers of consumer electronics and home appliances in Europe, and invest a substantial amount of funds for research and development in new technologies related to these fields.

11125639

Turkey

Other key sectors of the Turkish economy are banking, construction, home appliances, electronics, textiles, oil refining, petrochemical products, food, mining, iron and steel, and machine industry. However, agriculture still accounted for a quarter of employment. In 2004, it was estimated that 46 percent of total disposable income was received by the top 20 percent of income earners, while the lowest 20 percent received only 6 percent. The rate of female employment in Turkey was 30 percent in 2012, the lowest among all OECD countries.

11125639

Turkey

Foreign direct investment (FDI) was $8.3 billion in 2012, a figure expected to rise to $15 billion in 2013. In the economic crisis of 2016 it emerged that the huge debts incurred for investment during the AKP government since 2002 had mostly been consumed in construction, rather than invested in sustainable economic growth. Turkey's gross external debt reached $453.2 billion at the end of December 2017. Turkey's annual current account deficit was $47.3 billion at the end of December 2017, compared to the previous year's figure of $33.1 billion. In 2020, according to Carbon Tracker, money was being wasted constructing more coal-fired power stations in Turkey. Fatih Birol the head of the International Energy Agency said that fossil fuel subsidies should be redirected, for example to the health system. Fossil fuel subsidies were around 0.2% of GDP for the first two decades of the 21st century, and are higher than clean energy subsidies. In 2020 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development offered to support a just transition away from coal.

11125639

Turkey

In the early decades of the Turkish Republic, the government (or banks established and owned by the government, such as Türkiye İş Bankası (1924), Sanayi ve Maadin Bankası (1925), Emlak ve Eytam Bankası (1926), Central Bank of Turkey (1930), Sümerbank (1933), İller Bankası (1933), Etibank (1935), Denizbank (1937), Halk Bankası (1938), etc.) had to subsidise most of the industrial projects, due to the lack of a strong private sector. However, in the period between the 1920s and 1950s, a new generation of Turkish entrepreneurs such as Nuri Demirağ, Vehbi Koç, Hacı Ömer Sabancı and Nejat Eczacıbaşı began to establish privately owned factories, some of which evolved into the largest industrial conglomerates that dominate the Turkish economy today, such as Koç Holding, Sabancı Holding and Eczacıbaşı Holding.

11125639

Turkey

During the first six decades of the republic, between 1923 and 1983, Turkey generally adhered to a quasi-statist approach with strict government planning of the budget and government-imposed limitations over foreign trade, flow of foreign currency, foreign direct investment and private sector participation in certain fields (such as broadcasting, telecommunications, energy, mining, etc.). However, in 1983, Prime Minister Turgut Özal initiated a series of reforms designed to shift the economy from a statist, insulated system to a more private-sector, market-based model.

11125639

Turkey

The reforms, combined with unprecedented amounts of funding from foreign loans, spurred rapid economic growth; but this growth was punctuated by sharp recessions and financial crises in 1994, 1999 (following the earthquake in Izmit that year), and 2001; resulting in an average of 4 percent GDP growth per annum between 1981 and 2003. Lack of additional fiscal reforms, combined with large and growing public sector deficits and widespread corruption, resulted in high inflation, a weak banking sector and increased macroeconomic volatility. After the economic crisis of 2001 and the reforms initiated by the then finance minister, Kemal Derviş, inflation dropped to single-digit figures for the first time in decades (8% in 2005), investor confidence and foreign investment soared, and unemployment fell to 10% in 2005. Turkey has gradually opened up its markets through economic reforms by reducing government controls on foreign trade and investment and the privatisation of publicly owned industries, and the liberalisation of many sectors to private and foreign participation has continued amid political debate.

11125639

Turkey

The real GDP growth rate from 2002 to 2007 averaged 6.8 percent annually, which made Turkey one of the fastest growing economies in the world during that period. However, growth slowed to 1 percent in 2008, and in 2009 the Turkish economy was affected by the global financial crisis, with a recession of 5 percent. The economy was estimated to have returned to 8 percent growth in 2010. According to Eurostat data, Turkish GDP per capita adjusted by purchasing power standards stood at 61 percent of the EU average in 2019. The public debt-to-GDP ratio peaked at 75.9 percent during the recession of 2001, falling to an estimated 26.9 percent by 2013.

11125639

Turkey

In the early years of the 21st century, the chronically high inflation was brought under control; this led to the launch of a new currency, the Turkish new lira ("Yeni Türk Lirası") in 2005, to cement the acquisition of the economic reforms and erase the vestiges of an unstable economy. In 2009, after only four years in circulation, the "Turkish new lira" was renamed back to the Turkish lira with the introduction of new banknotes and coins.

11125639

Turkey

Tourism in Turkey has increased almost every year in the 21st century, and is an important part of the economy. The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism currently promotes Turkish tourism under the Turkey Home name. Turkey is one of the world's top ten destination countries, with the highest percentage of foreign visitors arriving from Germany and Russia in recent years. In 2018 Turkey ranked 6th in the world in terms of the number of international tourist arrivals, with 45.8 million foreign tourists visiting the country.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey has 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as the "Historic Areas of Istanbul", the "Rock Sites of Cappadocia", the "Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük", "Hattusa: the Hittite Capital", the "Archaeological Site of Troy", "Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape", "Hierapolis – Pamukkale", and "Mount Nemrut"; and 51 World Heritage Sites in tentative list, such as the archaeological sites or historic urban centres of Göbekli Tepe, Gordion, Ephesus, Aphrodisias, Perga, Lycia, Sagalassos, Aizanoi, Zeugma, Ani, Harran, Mardin, Konya and Alanya. Turkey is home to two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the world's oldest religious site Göbekli Tepe, and numerous other World Heritage Sites.

11125639

Turkey

In 2013 there were 98 airports in Turkey, including 22 international airports. İstanbul Airport is planned to be the largest airport in the world, with a capacity to serve 150 million passengers a year. As well as Turkish Airlines, flag carrier of Turkey since 1933, several other airlines operate in the country.

11125639

Turkey

, the country has a roadway network of . Turkish State Railways started building high-speed rail lines in 2003. The Ankara-Konya line became operational in 2011, while the Ankara-Istanbul line entered service in 2014. Opened in 2013, the Marmaray tunnel under the Bosphorus connects the railway and metro lines of Istanbul's European and Asian sides; while the nearby Eurasia Tunnel (2016) provides an undersea road connection for motor vehicles. The Bosphorus Bridge (1973), Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (1988) and Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (2016) are the three suspension bridges connecting the European and Asian shores of the Bosphorus strait. The Osman Gazi Bridge (2016) connects the northern and southern shores of the Gulf of İzmit. The Çanakkale Bridge, currently under construction, will connect the European and Asian shores of the Dardanelles strait.

11125639

Turkey

Many natural gas pipelines span the country's territory. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the second longest oil pipeline in the world, was inaugurated in 2005. The Blue Stream, a major trans-Black Sea gas pipeline, delivers natural gas from Russia to Turkey. The undersea pipeline, Turkish Stream, with an annual capacity around , will allow Turkey to resell Russian gas to Europe.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey's internet, which has 42.3 million active users, holds a 'Not Free' ranking in Freedom House's index. Turkish government has constantly blocked websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Wikipedia. According to Twitter's transparency report, Turkey is the global leader in social media censorship.

11125639

Turkey

Water supply and sanitation in Turkey is characterised by achievements and challenges. Over the past decades access to drinking water has become almost universal and access to adequate sanitation has also increased substantially. Autonomous utilities have been created in the 16 metropolitan cities of Turkey and cost recovery has been increased, thus providing the basis for the sustainability of service provision. Intermittent supply, which was common in many cities, has become less frequent. Remaining challenges include the need to further increase wastewater treatment, to reduce the high level of non-revenue water hovering around 50% and to expand access to adequate sanitation in rural areas. The investment required to comply with EU standards in the sector, especially in wastewater treatment, is estimated to be in the order of €2 billion per year, more than double the current level of investment.

11125639

Turkey

TÜBİTAK is the leading agency for developing science, technology and innovation policies in Turkey. TÜBA is an autonomous scholarly society acting to promote scientific activities in Turkey. TAEK is the official nuclear energy institution of Turkey. Its objectives include academic research in nuclear energy, and the development and implementation of peaceful nuclear tools.

11125639

Turkey

Turkish government companies for research and development in military technologies include Turkish Aerospace Industries, ASELSAN, HAVELSAN, ROKETSAN, MKE, among others. Turkish Satellite Assembly, Integration and Test Center (UMET) is a spacecraft production and testing facility owned by the Ministry of National Defence and operated by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). The Turkish Space Launch System (UFS) is a project to develop the satellite launch capability of Turkey. It consists of the construction of a spaceport, the development of satellite launch vehicles as well as the establishment of remote earth stations. Türksat is the sole communications satellite operator in Turkey and has launched the Türksat series of satellites into orbit. Göktürk-1, Göktürk-2 and Göktürk-3 are Turkey's Earth observation satellites for reconnaissance, operated by the Turkish Ministry of National Defense. BILSAT-1 and RASAT are the scientific Earth observation satellites operated by the TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute.

11125639

Turkey

In 2015, Aziz Sancar, a Turkish professor at the University of North Carolina, won the Nobel Chemistry Prize along with Tomas Lindahl and Paul Modrich, for their work on how cells repair damaged DNA. Other Turkish scientists include physician Hulusi Behçet who discovered Behçet's disease and mathematician Cahit Arf who defined the Arf invariant.

11125639

Turkey

According to the "Address-Based Population Recording System" of Turkey, the country's population was 74.7 million people in 2011, nearly three-quarters of whom lived in towns and cities. According to the 2011 estimate, the population is increasing by 1.35 percent each year. Turkey has an average population density of 97 people per km². People within the 15–64 age group constitute 67.4 percent of the total population; the 0–14 age group corresponds to 25.3 percent; while senior citizens aged 65 years or older make up 7.3 percent. In 1927, when the first official census was recorded in the Republic of Turkey, the population was 13.6 million. The largest city in Turkey, Istanbul, is also the largest city in Europe by population, and the third-largest city in Europe in terms of size.

11125639

Turkey

Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a "Turk" as "anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship"; therefore, the legal use of the term "Turkish" as a citizen of Turkey is different from the ethnic definition. However, the majority of the Turkish population are of Turkish ethnicity and approximately 70–80 per cent of the country's citizens identify themselves as Turkish. It is estimated that there are at least 47 ethnic groups represented in Turkey. Reliable data on the ethnic mix of the population is not available, because Turkish census figures do not include statistics on ethnicity.

11125639

Turkey

Kurds are the largest non-Turkish ethnicity at anywhere from 12-25 per cent of the population. The exact figure remains a subject of dispute; according to Servet Mutlu, "more often than not, these estimates reflect pro-Kurdish or pro-Turkish sympathies and attitudes rather than scientific facts or erudition". Mutlu's 1990 study estimated Kurds made up around 12 per cent of the population, while Mehrdad Izady placed the figure around 25 per cent. The Kurds are making up a majority in the provinces of Ağrı, Batman, Bingöl, Bitlis, Diyarbakır, Elâzığ, Hakkari, Iğdır, Mardin, Muş, Siirt, Şırnak, Tunceli and Van; a near majority in Şanlıurfa Province (47%); and a large minority in Kars Province (20%). In addition, due to internal migration, Kurdish diaspora communities exist in all of the major cities in central and western Turkey. In Istanbul, there are an estimated three million Kurds, making it the city with the largest Kurdish population in the world. Non-Kurdish minorities are believed to make up an estimated 7–12 percent of the population.

11125639

Turkey

The three "Non-Muslim" minority groups recognised in the Treaty of Lausanne were Armenians, Greeks and Jews. Other ethnic groups include Albanians, Arabs, Assyrians, Bosniaks, Circassians, Georgians, Laz, Pomaks, and Roma. Turkey is also home to a Muslim community of Megleno-Romanians. Minority groups other than the three religious minorities recognised in the Treaty of Lausanne (Armenians, Greeks and Jews) do not have any official rights, and use of the minority languages of Turkey is restricted. The term "minority" itself remains a sensitive issue in Turkey, while the Turkish government is frequently criticised for its treatment of minorities. Although minorities are not recognised, state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) broadcasts television and radio programs in minority languages, and minority language classes are available in some elementary schools.

11125639

Turkey

Before the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the estimated number of Arabs in Turkey varied from 1 million to more than 2 million. As of April 2020, there are 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, who are mostly Arabs but also include Syrian Kurds, Syrian Turkmen, and other ethnic groups of Syria. The vast majority of these are living in Turkey with temporary residence permits. The Turkish government has granted Turkish citizenship to refugees who have joined the Syrian National Army.

11125639

Turkey

Immigration to Turkey is the process by which people migrate to Turkey to reside in the country. Turkey's migrant crisis created after an estimated 2.5 percent of the population are international migrants. Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, including 3.6 million Syrian refugees, as of April 2020. As part of Turkey's migrant crisis, according to UNHCR, in 2018 Turkey was hosting 63.4% of all the refugees in the world, that is 3,564,919 registered refugees from Africa and the Middle East in total.

11125639

Turkey

The official language is Turkish, which is the most widely spoken Turkic language in the world. It is spoken by 85.54 percent of the population as a first language. 11.97 percent of the population speaks the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish as their mother tongue. Arabic and Zaza are the mother tongues of 2.39 percent of the population, and several other languages are the mother tongues of smaller parts of the population. Endangered languages in Turkey include Abaza, Abkhaz, Adyghe, Cappadocian Greek, Gagauz, Hértevin, Homshetsma, Kabard-Cherkes, Ladino (Judesmo), Laz, Mlahso, Pontic Greek, Romani, Suret, Turoyo, Ubykh, and Western Armenian. Megleno-Romanian is also spoken.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey is a secular state with no official state religion; the Turkish Constitution provides for freedom of religion and conscience.

11125639

Turkey

A 2016 survey by market research group Ipsos, interviewing 17,180 adults across 22 countries, found that Islam was the dominant religion in Turkey, adhered to by 82% of the total population; religiously unaffiliated people comprised 13% of the population, while 2% were Christians. The "CIA World Factbook" reports that Islam is the religion of 99.8% of the population, with Sunni Muslims as the largest sect, while 0.2% are Christians and Jews. However, there are no official governmental statistics specifying the religious beliefs of the Turkish people, nor is religious data recorded in the country's census.

11125639

Turkey

The role of religion in public life has been the source of debate since the Republic was established on a secular basis, and in recent years with the coming to prominence of Islamist parties. For many decades, the wearing of the Hijab was banned in schools and government buildings because it was viewed as a symbol of political Islam. However, the ban was lifted from universities in 2011, from government buildings in 2013, from schools in 2014 and from the Armed Forces in 2017. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, in power since 2002, pursue an explicit policy of Islamization of education to "raise a devout generation" against secular resistance, in the process causing lost jobs and educational opportunities for non-religious citizens of Turkey. However, AKP policies have also caused an increase in interest and support for secularism in Turkey.

11125639

Turkey

After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the number of Muslims in the region that became Turkey increased relative to that of the Christians with the immigration of Ottoman Muslims, who were facing extermination or other forms of repression in the newly constituted Balkan states. Not all were ethnic Turks; some were Muslim Albanians, Bosniaks, Greek Muslims, Muslim Serbs, Macedonian Muslims, Bulgarian Muslims and Megleno-Romanian Muslims. Other Turks and Circassians fleeing Russian expansion in areas such as the Caucasus and the Crimea also arrived during this period. By the 1920s, Islam had become the majority religion.

11125639

Turkey

The largest denomination is Sunni Islam, in accordance with the Hanafi school. There are also some Sufi Muslims. Non-denominational Muslims have been estimated to range from 2% to 14% of the population.

11125639

Turkey

The highest Islamic religious authority is the Presidency of Religious Affairs (); it interprets the Hanafi school of law, and is responsible for regulating the operation of the country's 80,000 registered mosques and employing local and provincial imams. Some have also complained that under the Islamist government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Tayyip Erdoğan, the old role of the "Diyanet" – maintaining control over the religious sphere of Islam in Turkey – has "largely been turned on its head." Now greatly increased in size, the "Diyanet" promotes a certain type of conservative (Hanafi Sunni) Islam inside Turkey, issuing "fetva" that disapprove of activities such as "feeding dogs at home, celebrating the western New Year, lotteries, and tattoos"

11125639

Turkey

and projecting this "Turkish Islam" abroad.

11125639

Turkey

Academics suggest the Alevi population may be from 15 to 20 million, while the Alevi-Bektaşi Federation states that there are around 25 million. According to Aksiyon magazine, the number of Twelver Shias (excluding Alevis) is three million (4.2%). Under the government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), discrimination against, and persecution of, the Alevi minority has increased.

11125639

Turkey

Christianity has a long history in present-day Turkey, which is the birthplace of numerous Christian apostles and saints, such as Paul of Tarsus, Timothy, Nicholas of Myra, Polycarp of Smyrna and many others. Saint Peter founded one of the first churches in Antioch (Antakya), the location of which is regarded by tradition as the spot where he first preached the Gospel, and where the followers of Jesus were called Christians for the first time. The house where Virgin Mary lived the final days of her life until her Assumption (according to Catholic doctrine) or Dormition (according to Orthodox belief), and the tomb of John the Apostle, who accompanied her during the voyage to Anatolia after the crucifixion of Jesus, are in Ephesus. The cave churches in Cappadocia were among the hiding places of early Christians during the Roman persecutions against them. The Eastern Orthodox Church has been headquartered in Constantinople (Istanbul) since the First Council of Constantinople in 381 AD. Two of the five major episcopal sees of the Pentarchy (Constantinople and Antioch) instituted by Justinian the Great in 531 AD were located in present-day Turkey during the Byzantine period.

11125639

Turkey

The percentage of Christians in Turkey fell from 17.5% (three million followers) in a population of 16 million to 2.5% percent in the early 20th century. The drop was the result of events that had a significant impact on the country's demographic structure, such as the Armenian Genocide, the population exchange between Greece and Turkey and the emigration of Christians that began in the late 19th century and gained pace in the first quarter of the 20th century. The 1942-44 wealth tax for non-Muslims, the emigration of a portion of Turkish Jews to Israel after 1948, and the ongoing Cyprus dispute, which damaged relations between Turkish Muslims and Christians (culminating in the Istanbul pogrom of 6–7 September 1955), were other important events that contributed to the decline of Turkey's non-Muslim population.

11125639

Turkey

Today there are more than 120,000-320,000 people of various Christian denominations, representing less than 0.2% of Turkey's population, including an estimated 80,000 Oriental Orthodox, 35,000 Roman Catholics, 18,000 Antiochian Greeks, 5,000 Greek Orthodox and smaller numbers of Protestants. Currently there are 236 churches open for worship in Turkey.

11125639

Turkey

The history of Judaism in Turkey dates back to the Romaniote Jews of Anatolia, who have been present since at least the 5th century BC. They built ancient places of worship such as the Sardis Synagogue in Lydia and the Priene Synagogue in Ionia. The Sephardi Jews, who were expelled from the Iberian peninsula and southern Italy under the control of the Spanish Empire, were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire between the late-15th and mid-16th centuries. Despite emigration during the 20th century, modern-day Turkey continues to have a small Jewish population. At present, there are around 26,000 Jews in Turkey, the vast majority of whom are Sephardi.

11125639

Turkey

In a mid-2010s poll, 2.9% of Turkish respondents identified as atheists. The Association of Atheism ("Ateizm Derneği"), the first official atheist organisation in the Balkans or Middle East, was founded in 2014. Some religious and secular officials have claimed that atheism and deism are growing among Turkish people.

11125639

Turkey

The Ministry of National Education is responsible for pre-tertiary education. This is compulsory and lasts twelve years: four years each of primary school, middle school and high school. Less than half of 25- to 34-year-old Turks have completed at least high school, compared with an OECD average of over 80 percent. Basic education in Turkey is said to lag behind other OECD countries, with significant differences between high and low performers. Turkey is ranked 32nd out of 34 in the OECD's PISA study. Access to high-quality school heavily depends on the performance in the secondary school entrance exams, to the point that some students begin taking private tutoring classes when they are ten years old. The overall adult literacy rate in 2011 was 94.1 percent; 97.9 percent for males and 90.3 percent for females.

11125639

Turkey

As of 2017, there are 190 universities in Turkey. Except for the Open Education Faculties (AÖF) at Anadolu, Istanbul and Atatürk University; entrance is regulated by the national Student Selection and Placement System (ÖSYS) examination, after which high school graduates are assigned to universities according to their performance. According to the 2012–2013 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the top university in Turkey is Middle East Technical University, followed by Bilkent University and Koç University, Istanbul Technical University and Boğaziçi University. All state and private universities are under the control of the Higher Education Board (YÖK), whose head is appointed by the President of Turkey; and since 2016 the President directly appoints all rectors of all state and private universities. Turkey is a member of the European Higher Education Area and actively participates in the Bologna Process.

11125639

Turkey

In 2016 the Skills Matter survey conducted by OECD found the levels of numeracy and literacy in the adult population of Turkey at rank 30 of the 33 OECD countries surveyed.

11125639

Turkey

In 2017 the theory of evolution was removed from the national curriculum of high schools, while the concept of jihad was added as a new subject.

11125639

Turkey

The Ministry of Health has run a universal public healthcare system since 2003. Known as Universal Health Insurance , it is funded by a tax surcharge on employers, currently at 5%. Public-sector funding covers approximately 75.2% of health expenditures.

11125639

Turkey

Despite the universal health care, total expenditure on health as a share of GDP in 2018 was the lowest among OECD countries at 6.3% of GDP, compared to the OECD average of 9.3%.

11125639

Turkey

Average life expectancy is 78.6 years (75.9 for males and 81.3 for females), compared with the EU average of 81 years. Turkey has one of the highest rates of obesity in the world, with nearly one third (29.5%) of its adult population obese.

11125639

Turkey

Turkey has a very diverse culture that is a blend of various elements of the Turkic, Anatolian, Ottoman (which was itself a continuation of both Greco-Roman and Islamic cultures) and Western culture and traditions, which started with the Westernisation of the Ottoman Empire and still continues today. This mix originally began as a result of the encounter of Turks and their culture with those of the peoples who were in their path during their migration from Central Asia to the West. Turkish culture is a product of efforts to be a "modern" Western state, while maintaining traditional religious and historical values.