ORIGINS

Before they settled for good in this part of occidental Asia to which they have given their name,Turkey, the Turks lived in the countries near the high plateaus from where they originate: Kırghızistan, Turkmenistan, Chinese Turkestan, Ouzbekistan and Kazakstan. The Mongols were their neighbours and sometimes their rivals (both languages belong to the same Ural-Altaic group). They lived tribal life, and were Shamanistic in religion. These men were tough, living in hard conditions under a severe climate. They were nomads and did not possess houses but "yurts", huge tents where the whole family lived. Everything had to be carried on horseback and so, should not be heavy nor bulky. For this purpose they used kilims which had many utilitarian fonctions.








Beeing in contact with other nations they learned to be civilized and became conscious of their potential power. They spread and conquered China (joining forces with the Mongols), Central Asia, Asia Minor, a part of Europe, strewing ethnic and linguistic traces that still subsists nowadays.

During their stay in Persia where they founded dynasties, they became converted to Islam. Finally, at the end of the 11C., defeating the Byzantines, the Turks overran and settled in Anatolia.