Essay on Culture, History and Location of Turkey

Ataturk and Reza Shah had a large influence on the governments of Turkey and Iran by secularizing and westernizing each. This secularization has had a distinct role in shaping the language, education, religion and government of both Turkey and Iran. Their end goals were to create a powerful and prevalent world powers that is distinct. Comparing the two countries, there were many similarities between each reformation, but each is distinct in certain aspects.

I can honestly say the only things I know about Turkey prior to this assignment is that it is in the middle east, the country's flag has a crecent moon and a star, and that they ride camels, which I am sure is a stereotype. After doing some research I could see that the cultural distance between the United States and Turkey varies depending on the topic. For example, the primary language in the United States is English, whereas Turkey’s primary language is Turkish. Another example is the dominant religion in Turkey is Islam, whereas the dominant religion in the United States is Christianity.

The Ottoman Turks emerged on the periphery of the Byzantine Empire and the Saljuk Turks. Under a Turkish Muslim warrior named Osman, raids were conducted in western Anatolia on Byzantine settlements and a vast number of Turks were united under his banner. Those Turks who flocked to Osman's banner and followed him into the history books came to be called the Ottomans. The word Ottoman, fits these Turks well as it roughly translates from Turkish as "those associated with Oman."

The Ottoman had several scenes of decline and each one had marked their history and are linked with it so I will explain each one. The armistice of 1918 ended the fighting between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies but didn´t bring stability or peace to the region. The British controlled Syria, Palestine and Mesopotamia.

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine geographic regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete, and the Ionian Islands. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea

The independence of Turkey and its early development as a country full of energetic youth required a combination of two almost contradictory ideals : In order to illustrate its disassociation with the past Ottoman authority the new government desired international style which expresses scientific modernization and political liberation; However, the Kemalists also wanted to preserve a certain degree of cultural root in order to boost, if not, maintain nationalistic devotion of its citizens. Consequently, a new hybridization of theses two ideals emerged

“Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.” ~(John F. Kennedy) Geography has impacted countries and regions dissimilarly throughout the duration of history. Geography influences the historical and social development of a country or region. These features can either cause an area to be hindered or prosperous in its development. Likewise, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers of Mesopotamia were essential because it provided fertile soil for crops, trade, transport and the necessities to food sources. Also, the mountainous terrain of Greece caused the country to have independent city- states. The mountains

Two countries, located side by side in the Mediterranean sea. They share a similar climate, the Mediterranean sun, and many of the same landscapes. With overlapping histories, they both have a shared but unique heritage, which is reflected in their cuisine.

The Balkan Peninsula is a region located in southern Europe. The northern dividing line of the Balkan Peninsula consists of the Kupa, Sava, and Danube rivers. This region is surrounded by the Black Sea to the east, the Mediterranean and Marmara Seas to the south, and the Adriatic Sea to the west. Examples of physical features in the Balkan Peninsula are the many forested mountain ranges that occupy the region, including the Balkan Mountains, the Dinaric Alps, and the Rhodope Mountains, the varied climate ranging from cold, snowy winters in the northern mountains, to a warm, humid climate characteristic of the Mediterranean, as well as fertile soil, especially in the plains, and diverse plants and wildlife throughout the region, such as the endangered Balkan lynx. Some examples of human characteristics that make this region unique

4). In 1913, “three of the Young Turks helped to gain control of Turkey’s government via a coup” (UHRC, par. 10). They wanted to create a “great and eternal land called Turan with one language and one religion” (UHRC, par. 10).

Geography is the study of the physical features on Earth, it includes landscapes, people, places and environments. Geographic features can positively affect the development of civilizations. The civilizations that are impacted by the geographic features are ancient Greece and Egypt. Greece existed from 750 BCE to 600 CE in Europe and Egypt existed from 2575 to 332 BCE in Africa. The geographic features of seas and rivers positively affected the development of ancient Greece and Egypt.

When you think of the military, the thought of children does not usually come to mind. But the Ottoman Empire had a military unit made entirely of young Christian boys. There are two types of elite forces that serve the Sultan: cavalry (The Cavalry of the servants of the Porete) and infantry (Janissary corps). The Janissary corps is also known as the yeniceri ocak, or “new soldiers corps.” and were the slaves of the sultan. They were trained and educated to be the most formidable force in Europe and had tremendous political power. The Janissary corps is organized into ortas (units) with four sub-groups: the camaat (the frontier troops with 101 ortas), beuluks (the bodyguards of the sultan with 61 ortas), sekban (mercenary peasants

Turkey's key internal conflict centers on the role of its large Kurdish minority, ethnically and linguistically distinct, in a state that constitutionally consists of Turks.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is known as a very important idealist in Turkey, which had become an idol for Turks. One of the most important reasons he was that crucial for Turkey was that him being a nationalist founder and leader, and the first president of the Turkish Republic. Ataturk was born in Salonika (then known as the Ottoman Empire), in 1881. The real truth is that, Ataturk, still being at his young ages, started to think about making reforms for his country and society, and eventually had reached his goals making Turkey a 'free' and 'civilized' country, by also being the first president of Turkey. There are several policies and revolutions of Ataturk, which make him a really known, loved, and respected person worldwide, such as Republicanism,

The history of turkey is a very long and detailed one. Turkey was originally settled by groups of farmers probably thousands of years ago. Today, historians call these people the Hittites. During their time, the Hittites were ruled by kings, and had their high officials buried in shaft tombs. Shortly after the Hittites moved in, Indo-Europeans moved into the area, and formed the kingdom of the Hittites, with the capital being Hattusa. The kingdom survived for hundreds of years. However