Flag of Turkey
The national flag of Turkey is a red field bearing a white crescent and five-pointed star. Its current design is specified by Turkish law.
Turkish national identity: A shared sense of belonging shaped by Turkey’s history, language, institutions, and cultural life. The flag is a prominent emblem through which Turkish national identity is expressed.
Ottoman naval flag: A flag used by Ottoman naval forces, including red versions bearing a white crescent and star. Ottoman naval flags provide a documented predecessor to Turkey’s present design.
Vexillology: The study of flags, their designs, histories, and uses. Vexillology supplies the vocabulary for describing Turkey’s flag precisely.
National flag: A flag that represents a sovereign state and its people. Turkey’s flag is the country’s national flag and appears in official and civic settings.
Flag of Pakistan: Pakistan’s national flag, with a white crescent and star on a dark green field and a white stripe at the hoist. Both flags use a white crescent and star, but their fields and compositions differ.
Crescent and star: A symbol pairing a crescent moon with a star, used in several national and religious contexts. These two white figures are the flag’s defining visual elements.
Tanzimat: A nineteenth-century Ottoman reform era that reorganized state institutions and law. State reforms accompanied the standardization of Ottoman flags in the nineteenth century.
Crescent: A curved shape resembling the visible portion of the Moon between new and full phases. The crescent’s orientation and proportions are specified in the flag design.
Flag of Turkey at the United Nations: Turkey’s national flag displayed among member-state flags at the United Nations headquarters. Its placement represents Turkey as a member state in international settings.
Flag of Algeria: Algeria’s national flag, divided vertically into green and white fields with a red crescent and star. Its crescent and star share the Turkish flag’s motif but use different colors and layout.