Lycian way Holidays

So Why Türkiye And Not Turkey?

You will have noticed in recent weeks that Turkish companies, including Lycian Way Holidays, now refer to Turkey as Türkiye. So, why is that?

In December 2021, the President issued a statement saying “the word Türkiye represents and expresses the culture, civilisation, and values of the Turkish nation in the best way.”

In Türkiye, citizens already refer to the land as Türkiye, and have done since it declared independence in 1923. However, its anglicised version ‘Turkey’ was adopted internationally.

Some of the reasons for requesting the change at the United Nations include the fact that a Turkey is also known as a large bird that is often kept for its meat, eaten especially at Christmas in the UK and at Thanksgiving in the US. Plus it can also mean, unflatteringly, that someone is silly or something failed badly.

Of course, this isn’t the only country to have changed its name. The Netherlands changed from Holland; Macedonia changed its name to North Macedonia; Rhodesia changed its name to Zimbabwe to drop its colonial legacy; Sri Lanka dropped all references to Ceylon in 2011; Iran changed its name from Persia in 1935 and Siam changed its name to Thailand in 1939.

So there you have it. We look forward to welcoming you to Türkiye at some point in the near future.

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