Turkey has a very diverse culture that is a blend of various elements of the Oğuz Turkic and Anatolian, Ottoman (which was itself a continuation of both Greco-Roman and Islamic cultures), and Western culture and traditions which started with the Westernization of the Ottoman Empire and continues today. This mix is a result of the encounter of Turks and their culture with those of the peoples who were in their path during their migration from Central Asia to the West. As Turkey successfully transformed from the religion-based former Ottoman Empire into a modern nation-state with a very strong separation of state and religion, an increase in the methods of artistic expression followed. During the first years of the republic, the government invested a large amount of resources into fine arts, such as museums, theatres, and architecture. Because of different historical factors playing an important role in defining the modern Turkish identity, Turkish culture is a product of efforts to be modern and Western, combined with the necessity felt to maintain traditional religious and historical values.
The Republic was proclaimed on October 29, 1923. For the first time in centuries, the Turkish people enjoyed self-rule. Mustafa Kemal was elected as the first president of the Republic of Turkey. As president for 15 years, until his death in 1938, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk introduced a broad range of reforms in the political, social, legal, economic, and cultural spheres that were virtually unparalleled in any other country. Turkish women received equal rights under the law such as the right to vote and be elected to public office, which put Turkey ahead of many Western nations in terms of women's rights. It was a revolution, unparalleled at its time and even today, to bring a predominantly Muslim nation in line with Western civilization and universal values
The Blue Mosque
Hagia Sophia
Pamukkale
Topkapi Palace
Grand Bazzar
Baklava
Kebap
Doner
Pide
Kumpir
Coffe
Turkey used the Turkish Lira, until 1794 France had the French livre, up till 2002 Italy adapted the Italian lira, and The United Kingdom had the British pound which still abbreviated with LB. By 1844, The Ottoman Empire introduced the Ottoman Lira to be the official currency of the ottoman land, keeping the kuruş as a 1⁄100 subdivision. Nowadays, The Turkish Lira banknote got the portraits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic. In 2019, the Turkey currency rates reached 1 TRY = 0.17 USD and 1 TRY = 0.16 EUR.