Türkiye, formerly known as the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Antolia in Western Asia, with a portion in the Balkans in Southeast Europe.
The country was proclaimed a Republic on 29th October 1923.
The nation boasts a rich and diverse culture that is a blend of various elements of Turkic, Anatolian, Ottoman, and Western culture and traditions, which started with the Westernization of the Ottoman Empire and still continues today.
Turkish literature is a mix of cultural influences.
Interaction between the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic world along with Europe contributed to a blend of Turkic, Islamic and European traditions in modern-day Turkish music and literary arts.
Turkish literature was heavily influenced by Persian and Arabic literature during most of the Ottoman era.
The music of Turkey includes mainly Turkic elements as well as partial influences ranging from Central Asian folk music, Arabic music, Greek music, Ottoman music, Persian music, and Balkan music, as well as references to more modern European and American popular music.
The roots of traditional music in Turkey span across centuries. Much of its modern popular music can trace its roots to the emergence in the early 1930s drive for Westernization.
With the integration of immigrants from various regions, the diversity of musical genres and musical instrumentation also expanded.
Turkey has also seen documented folk music and recorded popular music produced in the ethnic styles of Greek, Armenian, Albanian, Polish and Jewish communities, among others.
Its architecture dramatically influenced the later medieval architecture throughout Europe and the Near East and became the primary forerunner of the Renaissance and Ottoman architectural traditions that followed its collapse.
When the Roman Empire went Christian with its new capital at Constantinople, its architecture became more rich and more ambitious.
This new style would come to be known as Byzantine with increasingly exotic domes and ever-richer mosaics.
Turkey, which means “Land of the Turks” is the popular English name given to this nation.
However, the name ‘Türkiye’ pronounced “Tur-key-YAY” entered international documents for the first time with the Treaty of Alexandropol signed by the Government of the Grand National Assembly with Armenia.
In December 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoan issued a circular requesting exports to be labelled as “Made in Turkey”.
The reason for the Circular was that the word Türkiye represented and expressed the culture, civilization, and values of the Turkish nation in the best way.
The request for the change of name was also to avoid confusion and association with the turkey bird.
The letter appealing for change of name was sent to the United Nations and was granted immediate approval on 2nd June 2022.
