Turkish Cultural Overview

Turkish people are the major ethnic group of Turkey, a nation of the Anatolian Peninsula bridging Europe and Asia.

Geography

Turkey has long been a region of geopolitical importance. It controls the Bosporus Strait dividing the Mediterranean and Black Seas and extends into the European Balkan Peninsula. While its coasts mostly experience moderate, temperate climates, its interior is dominated by the Anatolian Plateau, which sees both hotter summers and colder winters. Turkey’s highest peak is Mount Ararat, the fabled landing place of Noah’s Ark, and is also home to the origins of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

• Climate: Temperate, more mild along the coasts

• Capital: Ankara

• Total Population: 81,257,239 (2018 est.)

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History

The history of Turkish people is a story of nomadic herdsmen and warriors, who carved out a place for themselves during a time of rising and falling empires. Originally steppe nomads hailing from what is now Mongolia, Turkic-speaking tribes began migrating east in search of safety and territory. They formed numerous powerful states, most notably the Seljuk Sultanate centered in Persia. The Seljuks conquered most of Anatolia, wresting it away from the declining Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire. They faced pressure from all sides, including from the expanding Mongol Empire. The Seljuks declined in the 12th century, giving rise to a series of smaller states or beyliks like the Sultanate of Rum.

In 1299, one tribe led by Osman I united the beyliks of Anatolia to form the Ottoman dynasty and Empire. The Ottomans rapidly claimed territory from the weakening Byzantine Empire, as well as other Turco-Mongol states. In 1453, Ottoman forces under Sultan Mehmed II broke through the famous walls of Constantinople, toppling the Byzantines forever. The Turks eventually renamed the city Istanbul and made it their capital. For nearly 500 more years, the Ottoman Empire expanded to include much of the Middle East, North Africa, and southern Europe. It collapsed in the aftermath of World War I.

After a brief occupation by European powers, the modern Turkish Republic formed through an independence war in 1919. Its founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, promoted a secular, modern government taking its cues from both Europe and Turkish nationalism. Since that time, the nation has experienced a number of military coups, but each has ended with a return to democracy.

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Daily Life

Lifestyles among Turkish peoples have varied significantly by time and place. They are the descendants of nomadic steppe herders and warriors, who traveled in felt tents moving livestock like sheep, goats, and cattle from horseback. From this common origin, their tribes diversified and grew into kingdoms and empires. While many remained close to their pastoral roots, others adopted lifestyles as farmers and urban professionals. Houses in cities like Istanbul tended to be multi-storied with a pleasant central courtyard, divided into male and female living quarters. Both men and women generally wore baggy trousers called. Women’s apparel included short jackets, sashes, and gowns. Upper-class men tended to wear vests and jackets covered by a long kaftan or jubba coat. Jewelry, embroidery, dyes, and materials all denoted a person’s wealth and status.

Turkish cuisine has developed from this same blend of older customs. Wheat and rice became the major grains of the Ottoman Empire. Other dietary staples included mutton, lamb, beef, fish, grapes, olives, eggplant, and dairy products like yogurt. Popular meals include dolmas, or stuffed vegetables and grape leaves, as well as hearty stews, pastas, and dumplings. Additionally, each region of Turkey is home to a much wider variety of regional favorites.

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Society

Turkish societies have ranged from nomadic communities to powerful, multicultural empires. As a consequence, each Turkish culture has adapted its politics to match the needs of its people. The Ottoman Empire, for example, followed a typical monarchical social structure, headed by a sultan and supported by classes of warriors, administrators, and nobles. The Ottomans practiced a relatively egalitarian society, where free men could rise through the ranks by achievement, either through the military or bureaucracy. Similarly, religious minorities such as Jews and Christians were free to practice their faith in exchange for a special tax.

Under the Ottoman system, the title of sultan passed to his most capable son. When ready, each male heir to the sultan was given a city or territory to oversee. Then, upon the sultan’s death, those sons mobilized to take power. This frequently involved fratricide, and the system remained in place until the 18th century.

Modern Turkey, on the other hand, is a secular republic founded upon the ideals of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. His philosophy, Kemalism, continues to guide the country on principals of republicanism, populism, nationalism, secularism, statism, and reformism.

• Major Languages: Turkish, Kurdish, other minority language

• Urban Population: 75.1%

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Economy

From agrarian roots, Turkish cultures have built a number of advanced civilizations, all of which participated in the extensive trade networks of Eurasia and North Africa. The Ottoman Empire, while still primarily agricultural, closely monitored trade and commerce within its borders. Through urban guilds, merchant expeditions, and industries such as textiles, people of all backgrounds could hope to improve their standing in Ottoman society. But while the empire remained generally prosperous, it failed to keep up with the rising tide of industrialization. This ultimately led to its defeat in World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Sultanate. The modern Republic of Turkey inherited an economy based mainly on crops and textiles. The country has since expanded its industrial base and is currently working toward membership in the European Union.

• Major Industries: textiles, food processing, automobiles, electronics, mining, steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper

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Beliefs

Turkey is now a majority Islamic nation, but its religious history is one of diversity and tolerance. Originally, the majority of Turkish peoples practiced Tengrism, a shamanic faith of the Eurasian steppes. Various Turkish states ruled over subjects following beliefs like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and more. As they expanded westward, Turkish groups came into contact with Persia and by extension Islam, which soon became the dominant faith of the Seljuks and Ottomans. The Seljuks, sitting at the border of the Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire, weathered the First Crusade and several more after it.

From 1517 on, the Ottoman state also functioned as the Ottoman Caliphate, with both religious and secular power resting with the sultan. Despite this, the Ottomans presided over large religious minorities, most notably Christians and Jews. While portrayed as the enemy of Christendom, its citizens of different faiths lived together in large cities within segregated religious quarters. Today, the modern Republic of Turkey is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, but its government was founded on secular ideals.

Religious Demographics:

• Muslim (mostly Sunni): 99.8%

• Other (mostly Christians and Jews): 0.2%

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Arts & Music

Turkish artists historically specialized in typical nomadic arts like textiles, metalworking, music, poetry, and storytelling. Over time, cosmopolitan societies like the Ottomans also picked up traditional Islamic schools of calligraphy, illumination, geometry, ceramics, and architecture. The Ottoman Empire is particularly well remembered for its mosque architecture, inspired by the domed Hagia Sophia left behind by the Byzantines. Thanks to its unique position, Anatolia has drawn artistic influences from Persia, China, the Arab World, and Europe in almost equal measure. The region is still famous for its textiles, which have dazzled medieval Europeans and modern tourists alike. By the 19th century, Turkish artists were traveling to Paris and Italy to study European painting techniques, which have since melded with older Turkish patterns and national identity. Today, the artists of Turkey work in a variety of media, though they have faced questions of censorship and free expression, particularly in relation to Islam.

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References

Faroqhi, Suraiya. Subjects of the Sultan: Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire. I.B. Tauris. 2005.

Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. Basic Books. 2005.

Howard, Douglas Arthur. The History of Turkey. Greenwood Press. 2001.

Kandiyoti, Deniz and Ayşe Saktanber, eds. Fragments of Culture: The Everyday of Modern Turkey. I.B. Tauris. 2002.

“The World Factbook: TURKEY.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 20 June 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html.

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Traditions of the Ancestors

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