Turkish Culture

Turkish culture has been shaped by three major components: Turkey's unique strategic location stretching between East and West, its six centuries as the seat of a multi-ethnic empire, and Islam.

Turkey's Bridge Location

Turkey is strategically located in an important trade corridor, culturally bridging East and West from Europe to the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East. Additionally, this land of cultural crossroads is a cradle of civilizations that dates back to 7,500 BC, and Turkish culture is enriched by the unique synthesis of all these regions and eras that color every aspect of daily life in Turkey today.

The Ottoman Heritage

For several centuries, the Ottoman Empire, expanding from Austria in Central Europe to Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula and from Algeria in Northern Africa to Southern Russia, created a safe haven for many cultures and religions to live and prosper together; unlike other great powers, Ottoman Turks never subjugated and exploited the resources of the lands they ruled. Instead they served these lands and collected taxes in return. The unique blend of all these cultures in turn shaped the Ottoman culture, which survived into the empire's successor state: Turkey. Indeed, modern Turkey is a microcosm of the Ottoman Empire. When the empire collapsed after WWI, many Muslim Ottoman citizens found refuge in present-day Turkey from persecution in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Ukraine, Southern Russia and the Caucasus, concentrating the multi-ethnic heritage of the vast former empire within Turkey's borders. Just to give you an idea, when the Turkish Republic was founded in 1923, 40% of its population was foreign born.

Islam

Islam, as the third important factor, has had a strong influence on the formation of Turkish culture. Many hallmarks of the culture, including the famous Turkish hospitality, strong family foundation, strong solidarity among society (putting "we" over "I"), helping the poor, and suppressing one's ego to think of others before one's self, have roots in the Islamic faith. Even though today's Republic of Turkey is a secular state and Islam does not constitute a dominant part in every Turkish citizen's daily life, the above mentioned Islamic values that are deeply engrained in the Turkish culture are present in every ordinary Turks' daily life in varying levels.

A paragraph in defining the Turkish practice and the tradition of Islam and differentiating it from its misconceptional image in today's world is necessary here. Turks have had a very tolerant understanding of Islam throughout history, adhering to two important pillars: "There is no pressure in religion" and "Treat others the way you would like to be treated". In addition, Turkish understanding of Islam is strongly tempered by the social integration of Mevlana Jalaleddin Rumi's philosophy of tolerance and Sufism.

To sum it up, thanks to the Ottoman Turks' tolerant policies for every ethnic group within the empire and the vast cultural spaces provided for each of them, all cultures of the empire prospered and interacted freely, which, as a consequence, reshaped the Turkish culture. As a result, today's Turkish culture reflects a rich synthesis of all these ethnic groups widespread in a large geographical area.

Who Are Turks?

Today's Turks are the descendents of The Turkic nomads from Central Asia, the refugees from Central Europe and the Balkans as well as the Crimea and the Caucasus, and the early peoples of Anatolia (Asia Minor). In other words, they are the microcosm of the Muslim subjects of the Ottoman Empire minus its Arab population and the Kurds living in today's southeastern Turkey.

Turkic tribes, who were nomads in Central Asian plains, continously settled in Anatolia in small groups during the last few thousand years. However, it wasn't until the Manzikert Battle in 1071 that these small Turkic nomadic groups united and formed an organized army. This Turkish victory against the Byzantian Empire in 1071 marked the history of the "offical" presence of Turks in Anatolia and paved the way for Turks' switch from informal nomadic life to settled life having their own state. During the centuries long reigns of the Seljuk and the Ottoman Empires, many former inhabitants of Anatolia converted to Islam (forced conversions were unknown) and adopted the Turkish language and the culture.

The Ottoman Empire, known for its religious tolerance, had no concept of race and didn't exclude anyone, who adopted the Turkish culture, during its 623 year reign. When the empire's territories started shrinking in 19th and 20th centuries, many of its citizens in Central Europe, the Balkans, Crimea and the Caucasus migrated to Anatolia and Eastern Thrace as refugees. Many of these Ottoman subjects were neither ethnically Turkish nor could they speak the Turkish language. The Turkish Republic, from 1923 on, became the melting pot for all these ethnically diverse adopted Turks, including but not limited to Albanians, Bosnians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Armenians, Romanians, Circassians, Georgians, Abhazians and Laz.

After all this, it is misleading to limit Turks' identity and culture to a single area or ethnicity. Turks wear many hats and this is one of the major factors that differentiates them from any other country in the region. You can see this richness in every aspect of the culture, including Turkish cuisine, which is considered to be one of the three most prominent cuisines of the world along with those of France and China.