turco

T U R C O R A M A

CHRONOLOGY OF TURKS

Huns

The tribe of the Huns is the first Turkish tribe mentioned in history. Clear records about the Huns date back to the 8th Century B.C. Chinese sources refer to the Huns as Hiung-nu, suggesting the tribe migrated west from Asia.

Gokturks

Founded in 552 AD by Bumin Khan, the Gokturks engaged in widespread diplomatic activity. The famed Orhun epitaphs from this period consist of the tombstone inscriptions of Tonyukuk (d. 720), Kultigin (d. 731) and Bilge Kagan (d. 734).

Uygurs

The rule of the Gokturks was brought to an end in the year 745 by the Uygurs, who were of the same ethnic stock. All the Turks who had converged under the banner of the Gokturks were dispersed to that of the Uygurs and other tribes. Turkistan became the name of the agricultural basin where they lived. In the year 1229, the Mongols put an end to Uygur sovereignty; the Uygurs however, became their cultural and political mentors.

Turks and Islam

Contacts between the Turks and Moslems commenced at the beginning of the 8th century and some of the Turks began to favor Islam. The pro-Arab policies of the Omayads (661-750 A.D.), however, restricted these relations. Later, many Moslem Turks took office in the Abbaside government and because of this great interest in the Islamic world spread among the Turks beyond the river Ceyhun. Commercial caravans also played a major role in the spread of Islam into the steppes of Central Asia. The Turks became fully Moslem by the 10th century and this resulted in the achievement of political unity. Following these developments, the first Moslem Turkish state was formed by the Karahans.

Karahans

The Karahans ruled between 990-1212 in Turkistan and Maveraunnehir. The reign of the Karahans is especially significant from the point of view of Turkish culture and art history. It is during this period that mosques, schools, bridges and caravansarays were constructed in the cities. Buhara and Samarkand became centers of learning, and the Turkish language found the means to develop. Among the most important works of the period is Kutadgu Bilik (translated as "The Knowledge That Gives Happiness") written by Yusuf Has Habib, between the years 1069-1070.

Ghaznavids

The Ghanavi state was formed in the year 963 by the Turkish ruler Sevuktekin and is one of the first Moslem Turkish states. The Ghaznavids worked relentlessly for the expansion of Islam in India. The state finally collapsed in 1186 and were assimilated by the Oguz.

The Turkish scholar Ebu Reyhan el-Beyruni contributed significantly to Islamic cultural history with his famed Kitabn'i-Hind (the Book of India). The poet Firdevsi, the Sehname, was also active during this period (A.D. 1009).

Seljuks

The Oguz, who destroyed the Ghaznavid state, succeeded in bringing Anatolia, Iraq, the southern part of the Caucasus, Azerbaijan and the north of Iran under Turkish rule. The Oguz had first formed the Gokturk Empire in the 6th century; after the expansion of Islam among the Turks, but among the Turks the Oguz came to be called the Turkmens.

Tugrul Bey and Cagri (Cakir) Bey were the grandsons of Seljuk whose name the Seljuk Dynasty adopted. In their time they subdued Horasan, defeated the Ghaznavid ruler Mesud in Dandanakan Battle and established the Great Seljuk Empire in 1040.

In 1071, Alp Arslan (1063-1072) fought the battle of Malazgirt to defeat the Byzantine Emperor's forces. He then opened the doors of Anatolia to the Moslem Turk.

The year 1071 is considered to be the beginning of the Turks and that of Islam in Anatolia. It is following this date that the Turks fully conquered the whole of Anatolia and established the Anatolian Seljuk state there as a part of the Great Seljuk Empire.

The first schooling institutions, the Moslem theological medreses, were formed in Anatolia during the time of Kilic Arsian (1153-1192), one in Konya and the other in Aksaray. Following the establishment of these two medreses, the medreses of Sircali in Konya (1242-1243), Karatay (1251); Ince Minareli (1252-1253), Atabekkiye (after 1251-1268), Gokmedrese in Sivas (1271), Buruciyye (1271-1272), Cifte Minareli (1271), and the Cacoglu in Kirsehir (1272) were established.

The Seljuks also attributed much importance to the medical sciences. In nearly all their cities hospitals and medical institutions, called Darush-Shifa, Darul-Afiye and Darus-Sihna, were established. The main medical treatment centers were the Gevher Nesibe in Kayseri (1205), the Izzettin I Keykavus in Sivas (1217), the Torumtay in Amasya (1266), the Muinuddin Pervane in Tokat (1275) and the Pervaneoglu Ali in Kastamonu (1272).

The Anatolian Seljuk state became increasingly affected by Iranian culture and language through the influence of Persian intellectuals coming to the region from Iran.

Period of Principalities

Political unity in Anatolia was disrupted from the time of the collapse of the Anatolian Seljuk State at the beginning of the 14th century (1308), when, until the beginning of the 16th century, each of the regions in the country fell under the domination of Beyliks Principalities. Eventually, the Ottoman Principality, which destroyed all other principalities and restored political unity in Anatolia, was established in the Eskisehir, Bilecik and Bursa areas.

The area in central Anatolia east of the Ankara-Aksaray line as far as the area of Erzurum remained under the administration of the Ilhani General Governor until 1336. The infighting in Ilhan gave the principalities in Anatolia their complete independence. In addition to this, new Turkish principalities were formed in the localities previously under Ilhan occupation.

During the 14th century, the Turkomans, who made up the western Turks, started to re-establish their previous political sovereignty in the Islamic world. Rapid developments in Turkish language and culture took place during the time of the Anatolian Principalities. In this period, the Turkish language entered the sciences and literature, and became the official language of the Principalities. New medreses were established and progress was made in the medical sciences.

Gulsehri, Nesimi (d. 1404) and Ahmedi (1325-1412) are the prominent Turkish language poets of the 15th century.

Ottomans

The Ottoman Principality was founded by a Turkoman tribe living on the Turkish-Byzantine border. The geographic location of the principality and the weak state of the Byzantines combined to make the Ottoman principality the strongest state within the Islamic world by the 14th century.

When Fatih Sultan Mehmet II conquered the Byzantine capital in 1453, the Ottoman state became the strongest of the time. The tolerant approach taken by Fatih Sultan Mehmet II toward other religions and to the adherents thereof became a tradition accepted by his successors. Following the capture of Istanbul, the Orthodox Church was freed from obedience to the Catholic Church and granted its independence.

The technical superiority of the Ottoman army began to be evident during the reign of Selim I. The Ottomans had added, in addition to the major part of east Anatolia, the lands of Syria, Egypt and those lands considered holy in the Islamic world -- Mecca and Medine and their territories.

The brightest period of the Ottoman State was during the reign of Sultan Suleyman (1520-1555) when the boundaries of the Empire spread from the outskirts of Vienna to the Persian Gulf and from the Crimea to an expanded north Africa as far as Ethiopia.

The Ottoman Empire continued to acquire territory until the middle of the 17th century. In 1683 it suffered its first major defeat in the siege of Vienna.

As the losses of land and defeats continued, the Ottoman Empire sought salvation in a series of reform movements. The Ottomans established educational institutions modeled after the western institutions which had shown great developments after the Renaissance.

The declaration of the "Tanzimat" Reform movement in 1839 is considered a major link in the chain of modernization events which had continued unabated since the beginning of the 17th century.

The Tanzimat Decree is considered to be a kind of constitution which gave Turkey the means to enter the road to contemporary civilization. The principles inherent in the Tanzimat Reform Decree thereby laid the basis for the constitutional regime of modern Turkey and the realization of secularism.

Despite many internal problems and disturbances during the reign of Abdulaziz (1861-1876) the effects of westernization in society became even more evident, Namik Kemal, Ziya Pasha, published the newspaper "Hurriyet" (Freedom) in London in the year 1864. The literary themes of the newspaper later gave way to political issues. Although it is because of these trends that the first constitution was promulgated under the leadership of Mithat Pasha in 1876, Sultan Abdulhamid (1876-1909) used the Ottoman-Russian war (1877-78) as an excuse to dissolve Parliament and effectively put an end to this constitutional period. The Ottoman Empire entered the First World War in 1914 on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

The Ottoman State emerged from the war defeated, together with its allies, and was compelled to sign the Mudrow Armistice on October 30, 1918. Among the terms of the armistice was a provision that the occupying powers might occupy areas deemed to be of strategic importance. The powers started therefore to occupy Anatolia on November 1, 1918, according to these terms.

On May 15, 1919, the Greeks occupied Izmir. A national resistance movement commenced. In many areas of the country the Society For Defense of Rights (Mudafaa-i Hukuk) started to spring up, and the military arm of the society, called the Kuvayi Milliye, started to take action.

The resistance movement was, until Mustafa Kemal Ataturk landed at Samsun on May 19, 1919, sporadic and disorganized. Under his leadership the resistance became cohesive, its forces progressively turned into an organized army. The movement became a full scale war of independence.

Turkish Culture

"We shall make the expansion and rise of Turkish culture in every era the mainstay of the Republic."

Among the prominent statesmen of the 20th century, few articulated the supreme importance of culture as did Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, who stated: "Culture is the foundation of the Turkish Republic." His view of culture encompassed the nation's creative legacy as well as the best values of world civilization. It stressed personal and universal humanism. "Culture," he said, " is a basic element in being a person worthy of humanity," and described Turkey's ideological thrust as "a creation of patriotism blended with a lofty humanist ideal."

To create the best synthesis, Ataturk underlined the need for the utilization of all viable elements in the national heritage, including the ancient indigenous cultures, and the arts and techniques of the entire world civilization, past and present. He gave impetus to the study of earlier civilizations of Anatolia -- including Hittite, Phrygian, Lydian and others. Pre-Islamic culture of theTurks became the subject of extensive research which proved that, long before the Seljuk and Ottoman Empires, the Turks had already created a civilization of their own. Ataturk also stressed the folk arts and folklore of the countryside as a wellspring of Turkish creativity.

The development of painting, sculpture and the decorative arts had been arrested by Ottoman officials, who claimed the depiction of the human form was idolatry, but these arts flourished during Ataturk's presidency. Many museums were opened and architecture gained new vigor. Classical Western music, opera and ballet, as well as theater took impressive strides.Several hundred "People's Houses" and "People's Rooms" all over Turkey gave local people and youngsters a wide variety of artistic activities, sports and cultural affairs. Book and magazine publication enjoyed a boom. The Film industry started to grow. In all walks of cultural life, Ataturk's inspiration created an upsurge.

Ataturk's Turkey is living proof of this ideal -- a country rich in its own national culture, open to the heritage of world civilization and at home in the endowments of the modern technological age.

Turkey, "The Cradle of Civilization"

Turkey is often called "the cradle of civilization," as it has been home to a rich variety of tribes and nations of people since 6500 B.C. Hattis, Hittites, Phrygians, Urartians, Lycians, Lydians, Ionians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans have all held important places in Turkey's history. Ancient sites and ruins throughout the country attest to each civilization's unique character.

Although the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the Turks have been settled in Anatolia since the 11th century:

Foundation of the Turkish Republic

October 29, 1923, is a fateful date in Turkish history. On that date, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the liberator of his country, proclaimed the Republic of Turkey. The new homogeneous nation-state stood in sharp contrast to the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire out of whose ashes it arose. The dynastic and theocratic Ottoman system, with its Sultanate and Caliphate, thus came to an end. Ataturk's Turkey dedicated itself to the sovereignty of the national will -- to the creation of, in the President's words, "the state of the people."

The Republic swiftly moved to put an end to the so-called "Capitulations," the special rights and privileges that the Ottomans had granted to some European powers.

Ataturk established basic principles for the young Turkish Republic stressing the republican form of government, secular administration, nationalism, populism, mixed economy with state participation in many vital sectors and modernization. "Ataturkism," as the sixth principle is widely called, introduced to Turkey the process of parliamentary and participatory democracy together with an evolving and dynamic societal structure.The first Moslem nation to become an independent Republic, Turkey has served since the early 1920s as a model of modernization developing nations.

Turkish Politics & Policy

The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social State governed by the rule of law; bearing in mind the concepts of public peace, national solidarity and justice; respecting human rights and loyal to the nationalism of Ataturk. The Turkish State, with its territory and nation, is an indivisible entity. The official language of the Turkish State is Turkish and its capital is Ankara.

Sovereignty is vested in the nation without reservation or condition and the nation exercises its sovereignty through the authorized organs as prescribed by the principles laid down in the Constitution. The right to exercise sovereignty cannot be delegated to any individual, group or class. Everyone possesses inherent fundamental rights and freedoms which are inviolable and inalienable.

The fundamental aims and duties of the State are to safeguard the independence and the integrity of the Turkish Nation, the Republic and democracy; to ensure the welfare, peace and happiness of the individual and society; to strive for the removal of political, social and economic obstacles which restrict the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual in a manner incompatible with the principles of justice and of the social State governed by the rule of law; and to provide the conditions required for the development of the individual's material and spiritual existence.

Ataturk's Life

"There are two Mustafa Kemals. One is the flesh-and-bone Mustafa Kemal who now stands before you and who will pass away. The other is you, all of you here who will go to the far corners of our land to spread the ideals which must be defended with your lives if necessary. I stand for the nation's dreams, and my life's work is to make them come true."

Ataturk stands as one of the world's few historic figures who dedicated their lives totally to their nations. He was born in 1881 (probably in the Spring) in Selanik, then an Ottoman city, now in Greece. His father, Ali Riza, a customs official turned timber merchant, died when Mustafa was still a boy. His mother, Zubeyde, a devout and strong-willed woman, raised him and his sister. First enrolled in a traditional religious school, he soon switched to a modern school. In 1893, he entered a military high school where his mathematics teacher gave him the second name Kemal (meaning "perfection") in recognition of young Mustafa's superior achievement. He was thereafter known as Mustafa Kemal.

In 1905, Mustafa Kemal graduated from the Military Academy in Istanbul with the rank of Staff Captain. Posted in Damascus, he started, with several colleagues, a clandestine society called "Homeland and Freedom" to fight against the Sultan's despotism. Mustafa Kemal's career flourished as he won fame and promotions because of his heroism in the far-flung corners of the Ottoman Empire, including Albania and Tripoli. He also briefly served as a staff officer in Selanik and Istanbul and as a military attaché in Sofia.

When the Dardanelles campaign was launched in 1915, Colonel Mustafa Kemal became a national hero by winning successive victories and finally repelling the invaders. Promoted to general in 1916, at age 35, he liberated two major provinces in eastern Anatolia that year. In the next two years, he served as commander of several Ottoman armies in Palestine and Aleppo, achieving another major victory by stopping the enemy advance at Aleppo.

On May 19, 1919, Mustafa Kemal landed in the Black Sea port of Samsun to start the War of Independence. In defiance of the Sultan's government, he rallied a liberation army in Anatolia and convened the Congresses of Erzurum and Sivas which established the basis for the new national effort under his leadership. On April 23, 1920, the Grand National Assembly was inaugurated. Mustafa Kemal was elected to its Presidency.

Fighting on many fronts, he led his forces to victory against rebels and invading armies. Following the Turkish triumph at the two major battles at Inonu in Western Turkey, the Grand National Assembly conferred on Mustafa Kemal the title of Commander-in-Chief with the rank of Marshal. At the end of August 1922, the Turkish armies won their ultimate victory. Within a few weeks, the Turkish mainland was completely liberated, the armistice signed, and the rule of the Ottoman dynasty abolished.

In July 1923, the national government signed the Lausanne Treaty with Great Britain, France, Greece, Italy and others. In mid-October, Ankara became the capital of the new Turkish State. On October 29, the Republic was proclaimed and Mustafa Kemal Pasha was unanimously elected President of the Republic.

The account of Ataturk's fifteen-year presidency is a saga of dramatic modernization. With indefatigable determination, he created a new political and legal system, abolished the Caliphate and made both government and education secular, gave equal rights to women, changed the alphabet and advanced the arts, sciences, agriculture and industry.

In 1934, when the surname law was adopted, the national parliament gave him the name "Ataturk" (Father of Turks).

On November 10, 1938, following an illness of a few months, the national liberator and the Father of modern Turkey died. His legacy to his people and to the world endures.

• National War of Independence

• Republic of Turkey

• Domestic Policy between 1923 - 1938

• Foreign Policy between 1923 - 1938

Ataturk's Words

• Speech Delivered by Ataturk on the Tenth Anniversary of the Foundation of the Republic

• Ataturk's Address to the Turkish Youth

Turkish Cuisine

It is said that three major three of cuisine exist in the world: French, Chinese and Turkish. Fully justifying its reputation, Turkish cuisine is always a pleasant surprise for the visitor. In addition to being the refined product of centuries of experience, Turkish cuisine has a very pure quality. The variety and simplicity of the recipes and the quality of the ingredients are guarantees of delicious meals.

Lamb is the basic meat of the Turkish kitchen. Pieces of lamb threaded on a skewer and grilled over charcoal form the famous Sis Kebab(Recipe). Doner Kebab(Recipe) is another famous Turkish dish, being a roll of lamb on a vertical skewer turning parallel to a hot grill.

The aubergine is used in a wide variety of dishes from karniyarik and hunkar begendi to patlican salatasi and patlican dolmasi. It can be cooked with onions, garlic and tomatoes and served cold.

A delicious Turkish specialty is pilav, a rice dish which can be difficult for the inexperienced cook to prepare. Borek are pies of flaky pastry stuffed with meat or cheese. The delicious Turkish natural yogurt is justifiably renowned. Dolma is a name applied to such vegetables as grape leaves, cabbage leaves and green peppers stuffed with spiced rice.

Turkish sweetmeats are famous throughout the world and many of these have milk as a basic ingredient. These include the baklava and kadayif pastries.

Turkish coffee, ayran, shira, boza and raki are the national beverages of Turkey. The drinking of raki is a rite accompanied by a variety of meze, or hors d'oeuvres, and Turkish music.

Company Profile - Turkey - St. Paul in Asia Minor - St. Paul's Footsteps & 7 Churches - InThe Footsteps of St. Paul - Seven Churches of Revelation -- Fam Trips - Hotels - Prices - Travel Agents -General Conditions - Bookings - Guest Book - Contacts - HOME

LAST UPDATE: 12.20.00