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For English-speakers who wish to understand Turkish Newspapers | ||
World regions, bodies of water, land masses, mountain ranges, countries, cities, nationalities and languages -- plus notable persons, places, and things from current events and modern history, politics, art, law, business, etc. If you don't find the names, terms, or phrases you need here... click to let us know and we'll add them. |
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|---|---|---|
Turkish | English | Examples, supplements, and explanations |
| A | ||
| AB | See Avrupa Biliği. | |
| ABD | See Amerikan Birleşik Devleti. | |
| abdest | See Ottoman Empire Encyclopedia. | |
| Abhazya (Abhaz, Abhazca)
| Abkhazia (an Abkhazian person/thing, the Abkhazian language) | A republic in northwestern Georgia, between the Black Sea (south) and the crest line of the Greater Caucasus range (north).66 In the News: |
| açlık grevi
| hunger strike | |
| ada
| island | |
| adalet
| justice | |
| Adriyatik Denizi
[or Adriya Denizi]
| [the] Adriatic Sea | |
| Adsız Alkolikler | Alcoholics Anonymous | |
| Afganistan (Afgan, Peştu/Peştuca, Farsça, Özbekçe, Türkmence)
| Afghanistan (an Afghan person/thing, the languages of Afghanistan [Pashtu/Pashto, Persian, Uzbek, Türkmen]) | |
| Ağlama Duvarı
| [the] Wailing Wall | |
| Ağrı Dağı
| Mount Ararat | ...of biblical fame, it is Turkey's highest mountain peak -- 16,945 feet (5,165 m). According to Genesis 8:4, Noah (Nuh) and his ark "came to rest upon the mountains of Ararat" -- after the great flood subsided. |
Ahlâk Masası  |
Example Usage: Brief History of Transsexual Turkish Film/Movie Actors | |
| AİHM | Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi -- the European Human Rights Court. | Also, see political cartoon at: Anayasa Mahkemesi -- Even bigger fish to fry! |
| ajan
| secret agent, spy | gizli ajan; undercover spy |
| AK Parti(si)
More about the AKP and its leadership... In Turkey - Türkiye'de
Ads by HepsiBurada
| [The] 'White Party' aka 'Justice and Development Party' [Turkish political party usually referred to by its AKP acronym]. The AKP became the ruling governmental party when it swept national elections in November 2002 -- and won an early re-election in 2005. In 2008, the Turkish Constitutional Court (Anayasa Mahkemesi) voted by simple majority to close the AKP for it continuing anti-secular activities, but a super-majority was required for closure to take full effect. Instead of closure, therefore, the Court reduced AKP access to Turkish State funds by half.  [Recep] Tayyip Erdoğan Undisputed AKP leader... Too cozy? Erdoğan holds hands on the way to prayers with Iranian First Vice President Riza Arif 31 May 2003 
Left click for photo-article enlargement.Only on CD. Examples of Erdoğan's rhetorical excesses... "You cannot be secular and a Muslim at the same time." "The Muslim world is waiting for the Turkish people to rise up. We will rise up! With Allah's permission, the rebellion will start." "The mosques are our barracks, / the domes our helmets, / the minarets our bayonets, / and the faithful our soldiers." The latter (which he took out of context from a poem by the secularist Ziya Gökalp) was recited by Erdoğan at a 'political' rally in 1997 to give a clear message to his conservative Muslim followers -- which resulted in him being charged and convicted of sedition. | [Prepared 13 October 2002...] The AK Partisi is a thinly disguised reincarnation of the Refah (Welfare) and Fazilet (Virtue) parties whose anti-secular pro-fundamental religious-agendas got them banned (successively) from Turkish politics during the 1990's. But, now it's 2002... and due to public disgust with Turkey's continuing economic problems (and with the DSP-MHP-ANAP ruling-coalition that has failed to ease them), the re-born AKP seems set to sweep to a plurality-victory in the November 2002 national-election (with a predicted 20-30% of vote-count). And that raises the specter of an intervention by the Turkish military, which is sworn to uphold the principle of a secular Turkish state... [Recep] Tayyip Erdoğan |
| AKP | See Ak Partesi. | |
| Akdeniz
| [the] Mediterranean Sea | |
| akıllı bombalar
| 'smart' bombs | |
| Akut Solunum Yetersizlği Sendromu | Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) | |
| alay | army/marine regiment | |
| Alevi | Alevilik
1. the Alaouite sect 2. adherence to Alaouite beliefs and practices | |
| Allah | God | Also see Tanrı. |
| Almanya (Alman, Almanca)
| Germany (a German person/thing, the German language) | Antalya -- German Tourist Haven! The government-level tension between Turkey and Germany (that percolated before and after the German parliament's unanimous vote supporting Armenian Genocide claims against Turkey) doesn't seem to have affected the uninterrupted flow of German tourists to Turkey's Mediterranean and Aegean vacation-spots so far this year. For example, according to the just-released stats of the Antalya Culture and Tourism Directorate, the number of German visitors to that fair city rose to a record-breaking 1,150,00 during the first 6 months of the year. The count of Russian and Dutch tourists to Antalya also rose -- and topped 450,000 and 220,000 respectively, during the same period. Only American, Greek, and Iranian visitor-counts declined from last year -- by about 50%. Hürriyet Gazetesi,
|
| Alpler
| [the] Alps | |
| Amerika Birleşik Devletleri or Amerika (Amerikalı, İngilizce/İspanyolca)
| [the] United States of America (a person/thing from the United States, the languages of the United States [English/Spanish]) | Often seen as the acronym ABD. |
| Amerikan aleyhtarlık | Anti-Americanism | |
| Amerikan Merkezi Haberalma Teşkilatı
| American Central Intelligence Agency | |
| American Uzay Arıştırmaları Merkez | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) | |
| Amerika'nın Sesi (Radyosu) | 'Voice of America' (Radio) | |
| Amiral
| Admiral | |
| Amudarya Irmağı
| [the] Amu Darya [or Amudarju] River | ...which separates Özbekistan and Afghanistan. Only one bridge spans the river along the 192 km border between the two countries -- the so-called |
| Anadolu | Anatolia | Left click following for Ottoman Empire Encyclopedia entry... |
| anahtar | key/legend [on a map} | |
| ANAP | See Anavatan Partisi... | |
Anavatan Partisi ANAP logo | Motherland Party [Turkish political party usually referred to by its ANAP acronym] 
Mesut Yılmaz ANAP leader (2002) | [Prepared 13 October 2001...] Mesut Yılmaz -- 'usually a bridesmaid, rarely a bride' Yılmaz has long been an influence in the Turkish political arena -- though he's only been Prime Minister once for a brief period in 1998/9. An Al Gore |
| Anayasa Mahkemesi | The Constitutional Court of Turkey -- authorized by the Turkish Constitution to review and invalidate laws, internal regulations of the Grand National Assembly (TBMM), and constitutional amendments enacted by the legislature. | Anayasa Mahkemesi Başkanı; The President of the Constitutional Court: Mustafa Bumin (2005) In the news: May 2005 -- Is the end nigh for the Constitutional Court? Mustafa Bümin and Bülent Arınç go 'toe-to-toe'... In the last national election (2002), the AKP religious-right political party won a plurality of only 35% of the total votes cast. But (because of a quirky Turkish electoral-rule loophole) that plurality entitled the party to 66% of the parliamentary seats -- making the AKP the first outright majority party in Turkey in living memory. With the power, theoretically, to change the Turkish Constitution at will... And, some news reporters worry publically that the situation has led to swelled AKP heads, including that of Parliamentary President, Bülent Arınç -- a self-confessed shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy. (See Hürriyet Gazetesi political cartoon at middle left.) The AKP Constituency -- The AKP's core constituency (about 10% of the whole Turkish population) is made up of devout Muslims -- who would like to see Turkey become a religious state a la Iran, or wouldn't mind if it did. The rest of the AKP's constituency consists of disaffected former supporters of the 'middle of the road' parties (like CHP, DYP, DSP, ANAP). Most of these AKP 'middle of the roaders' want to see Turkey remain a secular western-style state -- but they are ambivalent about certain religious encroachments into the secular arena. Thin edge of the wedge These 'ambivalents' don't see anything wrong, for example, with lifting the ban on the wearing of religiously symbolic turbans, by female students in state universities. They don't see it as threat to the secular nature of the educational setting and they don't believe that it is the 'thin edge of the wedge' leading relentlessly to ever more religious encroachments, until.... A turban-issue referendum? Considering the above-mentioned turban-issue 'sentiment', expert AKP watchers believe that 90% of the existing AKP constituency would probably vote to lift the turban ban -- given the chance to do so in a national referendum (which has been proposed by key AKP leaders, including the tough-talking, Arinç). If you do the math, you see that the AKP could count on about 30% of the country's total voters (garnered just from its own constituency) to support the ban-lift. That's a distinct minority, to be sure...but, wait. Minority rules? We need also to consider the remaining sixty-five percent of the Turkish population -- who are not among the AKP constituency. How would they vote in the case of a referendum on the issue? Well, a growing view among the 'experts' is that about 40% of the 'sixty-five percenters' would vote to lift the ban -- because 1) they too don't see it as a threat to secularism and 2) none of the 'middle of the road' opposition parties have the courage to fight to keep the ban (for fear of alienating their own religious constituencies). From which we can conclude that... a 'turban referendum' would break about even -- 50% in favor of the ban-lift and 50% against. Light and dark sides of the result Such an inconclusive result (as 'interesting' as it may be) only tells the lighter side of the story. The darker side is that a referendum on this volatile issue would likely arouse and invigorate angry militants on both sides, with diehard secularists pitted against fanatical religionists in an emotional public 'battle' for the mind of the electorate. Which wouldn't be a pretty sight any way you cut it.
Other considerations Besides that consideration though, a referendum wouldn't resolve the 'turban issue' anyway -- even if religionists were able to squeak out a narrow victory. That's because... as things stand now, the Turkish Constitutional Court (with Court President Mustafa Bümin at the helm) would surely invalidate any anti-secular turban-wearing laws, rulings, or actions arising from the referendum. Which would only arouse animosities between religionists and secularists -- to an even greater degree. Also (just in case anyone cares), even if the Turkish Constitutional Court didn't invalidate such anti-secular laws (rulings or actions), the European Union Human Rights Court (AİHM) would have to do so -- because that's what it did when it ruled on the same 'religious symbols' issue in 2004. (And, if there really is no one who cares about that, then we ought to say Playing Devil's Advocate What if the Turkish Constitutional Court could be 'packed' by the AKP to vote in favor of the ban-lift? Or, even more thought provoking... what if the court were gone -- abolished by the AKP-controlled parliament? Not possible, you say? The Constitutional Court is an inviolable institution, you say. Well, you must not have heard Parliament President Arınç's recent thunderous declaration (in response to Court President Mustafa Bumin's warning to the AKP about the 'turban issue' [see photo article at upper left]). 'Shooting from the hip' once again, Arınç angrily asserted that the AKP-controlled parliament has the right and the power to change the constitution, disband the Constitutional Court, and put Bumin out of a job. [To which a Bumin supporter hotly remarked, "The Constitutional Court is not [Arınç's] uncle's farm!"] And subsequent to these exchanges, the AKP (with Arınç's active participation) is known to be preparing 'revenge' legislation that would: 1) allow packing of the court in the AKP's favor, and 2) reduce the Turkish President's term from 7 to 5 years. (The latter is a swipe at Necdet Sezer, the current Turkish President -- who has been such a thorn in the AKP's side, with his numerous vetoes of AKP legislation, on constitutional grounds.] Not just the ideologues But, it's not just rough-talking ideologues like Arınç who support lifting the ban... Even moderate opinion makers and trackers like the secularist reporter Ertuğrul Özkök (Hurriyet Gazetesi) are beginning to lay ground work for acceptance of turban-wearing in state universities. While advising against a referendum to decide the turban-question, Özkök opines (see his column of 29 April 2005, at left) that a referendum would bring harm to the Turkish society by splitting the electorate in two, on a volatile issue. Instead, he proposes that a 'consensus' be calmly and quietly reached among 'the powers that be' -- which would be careful to maintain 'societal harmony and stability'. The resulting 'consensual protocol' would confirm the continued ban on turban-wearers in Parliament, and in governmental offices, and in state educational institutions through High School...But the protocol would also grant turban-wearing by female students in universities -- for the first time in modern-Turkish history. Does Ertuğrul Özkök's proposed turban-concession in return for 'societal harmony and stability' sound familiar? Does the name Neville Chamberlain ring a bell? Does the turban-concession provide the 'thin edge of the wedge' that the AKP has been seeking since it first came to office? Will the AKP's religionist constituancy be able to claim an historic victory over secular Turks? What would be the effect of such an historic victory, on 'societal harmony and stability'? Should the West be concerned about this internal Turkish struggle? You betcha! |
| And Dağları
| [the] Andes Mountain Range [in western South America] | |
| Angola [Cumhürriyet] (Angolalı, Portekizce) | [Republic of] Angola (an Angolan person/thing, the language of Angola [Portuguese]) | |
| anket
December 2003
National Confidence Polls -- that belie rosy AKP pronouncements  Left click for image enlargement, translation, and commentary. | [a] poll, [a] public survey Final Turkish National Pre-Election Polls 2002  Click directly on the image for more legibility and for commentary. | In the news: Unenthusiastic EU? In a poll of the 6 largest EU member countries, only 46% of poll-participants overall were in favor of the idea of Turkish entry into the exclusive club -- with 43% against, and a whopping 14% undecided! Even more striking was that those polled in Germany and France voted strongly against the idea (60-36% and 59-37% respectively) -- and, if the crunch ever comes, a veto by either of those countries would stop the Turkish entry... dead in its tracks. (Ed. Berate us if you must, but we continue to wonder if that would be such a bad thing for Turkey. And, we're not alone...) Hurriyet Gazetesi, |
| anlaşma
| [an] agreement | |
| antlaşma
| [a] treaty | |
| Antarktika
| Antarctica [the south polar region] | |
| Anvers | Antwerp [Belgium] | |
| Arabistan (Arap, Arapça)
| [the] region of Arabia (an Arab person/thing, the Arabian language) | |
| Arap Denizi
| [the] Arabian Sea | |
| Arjantin (Arjantinli, İspanyolca)
| Argentina (an Argentinian person/thing, the language of Argentina [Spanish]) |
|
| Arktik
| [the] Arctic [the north polar region] | |
| Arnavutluk (Arnavut, Arnavutça)
| Albania (an Albanian person/thing, the Albanian language) | |
| Arşimet | Archimedes | ...the most famous mathematician and inventor of ancient Greece was born c. 290--280 BC, in Syracuse, Sicily [now in Italy] and died 212/211 BC, also in Syracuse. He is perhaps most well-known for his discovery of a hydrostatic 'buoyancy' principle (known as Archimedes' principle)119 -- that caused him to exclaim Eureka! and run naked through the streets when the principle dawned upon him. |
| asgari ücret | minimum wage | |
| asker (askerlik)
| soldier (the military profession, military service) | asker üssü; [a] military base askeri darbe; |
| asparagus haberleri | false reports; news that is concocted or not based on facts | ( |
| Asya
| Asia | |
| aşı
| vaccination | çiçek aşısı; small pox vaccination |
| aşırı dinciler
| religious extremists | |
| Atatürk | ...means 'Father of the Turks' -- the honorary title (and surname) bestowed on Mustafa Kemal by the modern Turkish Republic which he founded (in 1923). He served as the Republic's first president between 1923 and 1938. On second thought...  Left click for photo article enlargement. | Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) first gained fame as the Turkish commander responsible for the successful Turkish defense of Gallipoli against the Allies in 1915 -- which Churchill called his most painful failure. Kemal was one of the great figures of the 20th century --- rescuing the weak Turkish remnant of the defeated Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. During the Turkish War of Independence (1918-1922), he commanded the Turkish Army and galvanized his people with famous victories against the allied forces of Greece, Britain, France, and Italy. Upon defeat of the Allied Forces, he proclaimed and established the modern Republic of Turkey. And then, in a first radical step, he abolished the Islamic Caliphate and entirely replaced Sharia Law with a modern legal system based on that of the Swiss. He then secularized all state institutions, promoted women's rights, modernized the educational system, and encouraged the adoption of a European way of life. By 1928, he had abolished Arabic script and adopted the Latin alphabet -- further cutting ties with the Ottoman past. He continued to 'europeanize' Turkey until his untimely death in 1938 due to liver failure. Still inspiring Turks today, Atatürk's fundamental principles form a modern political-philosophy known as Kemalism.119 Not admired by all...Although he wasn't selected in 2000 by the Editors of Time for that magazine's "100 Most Important People of the 20th Century" list, Ataturk was the leading write-in vote-getter (in two separate categories) on Time's website. But, that doesn't mean he's popular everywhere you go...as Antonio Banderas found out when he first happily accepted, then sadly declined the title role of Ataturk in a big-budget film biography -- after he received a ton of death threats. (See mini-article from August 2003, at left.) The starring role is still unfilled as of this writing in December 2003. |
| Atina
| Athens [modern Greece] | |
| Atlas Okyanusu
| [the] Atlantic Ocean | |
| Avam Kamarası
| [British] House of Commons | See also Lordlar Kamarası... |
| Avrupa (Avrupalı)
| Europe (a European person/thing) | |
| Avrupa Birliği
| [the] European Union (EU) | Often seen as the acronym AB. |
| Avustralya (Avustralyalı)
| Australia (an Australian person/thing) | |
| Avusturya (Avusturyalı, Almanca/Slovence)
| Austria (an Austrian person/thing, the languages of Austria [German/Slovenian]) | |
| Azak Denizi | [the] Sea of Azov (In Russian -- Azovskoye More) | ...is connected to the northeast corner of the Black Sea -- with shores bordering on Ukraine and Russia. It is quite shallow, only about 1 to 16 metres (3 to 52 feet) in depth. The water is almost fresh, although the salinity level has increased over the past few decades due to the diversion of water (for irrigation and other uses) from the rivers that flow into the sea. Because the sea once had an abundance of fish, the Turks used to call it Balık Deniz ("Fish Sea"), but increased salinity and chemical pollution have since caused a decline in the fish population. The three chief ports on the Azov Sea are Taganrog in Russia, and Mariupol and Berdyansk in Ukraine.92 |
| Azerbaycan (Azeri, Azerice/Türkçe)
| Azerbaijan (an Azeri person/thing, the languages of the Azerbaijan [Azeri/Turkish]) | |
| azınlık grubu | minority group | |
| azınlık hükümeti | minority government | |
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