Turkey changes its name in rebranding bid

Turkey will henceforth be referred to as “Türkiye”, United Nations (UN) agreed to a formal request from Ankara.

Several foreign organizations will be asked to change the name as part of a rebranding drive begun by Turkey’s president late last year.

“Türkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish people’s culture, civilization, and values,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in December 2021.

UN said it made the change as soon as it received the request this week, BBC reported. Most Turks already know their country as “Türkiye”. However, the anglicised Turkey is widely used, even within the country.

State broadcaster TRT was quick to make the change as soon as it was announced last year, explaining that among the reasons for the image rebrand was the association with the bird traditionally associated with Christmas or New Year or Thanksgiving.

It also pointed out to the Cambridge English Dictionary’s definition of one of the meanings of the word as “something that fails badly” or “a stupid or silly person”.

As part of the re-branding, “Made in Türkiye” will feature on all exported products, and in January a tourism campaign was launched with the catch-phrase “Hello Türkiye”.