Why I share free Turkish lessons and learning materials, and the story behind Buy Seda a Tea, a voluntary way to support Learn Turkish with Seda.

Why do sirens sound at 9:05 AM on November 10 in Türkiye? Explore Atatürk's legacy, the history of this tradition, and how Türkiye remembers him.

A story about Ottoman calligraphers protesting the printing press with a coffin full of pens leads to an investigation of historical evidence, Turkish storytelling and our responses to new technology.

An unexpected AI interview turns into a personal conversation about childhood in Istanbul, curiosity, cultural identity, teaching Turkish, and the choices that shape a life.

Explore Turkish accents and regional dialects, from Istanbul and the Black Sea to Anatolia and the Balkans, with real examples of spoken Turkish.

For readers in a hurry: Olsun means "may it be." It is ol- (to be) plus the ending -sın / -sin / -sun / -sün, the third-person form of the Turkish imperative and the same ending sits inside kolay gelsin, geçmiş olsun, afiyet olsun and hayırlı olsun. Once you can see it, a list of phrases you memorized one by one becomes a single pattern and the same pattern will be waiting for you in a café, where the waiter uses it to bring your tea. Read on for how it works and where it sto

On 29 October 1923, Türkiye became a republic. Explore the story behind Atatürk's words, "Yarın Cumhuriyet ilân edeceğiz," the history of Cumhuriyet Bayramı, and the Turkish expressions still heard on Republic Day.

What does devlet mean in Turkish? Explore its meanings of state, fortune and happiness, from ancient Turkic kut to the Ottoman Circle of Justice.

Me on an ordinary day in Istanbul. My photo gallery is full of pictures like this, with cats I've met along the way. For a Reader in a Hurry: Istanbul's street cats are fed and cared for by whole neighborhoods and no single person owns them. They have lived here since Byzantine times. In the Ottoman city, residents paid liver sellers called mancacı to feed them, and Islamic tradition, which condemns cruelty to animals and regards cats as clean, gave that care a moral frame. T

Explore how Ottoman society cared for street cats, dogs, and birds, from animal-feeding traditions and charitable foundations to the 1910 Hayırsız Ada tragedy.

Explore Turkish verb tenses, aspect, mood and evidentiality. Understand endings like -iyor, -DI and -mIş through examples, history and everyday usage.

Tulips reached Europe from the Ottoman world in the 1550s, long before the Lale Devri. The history of Ottoman and Dutch tulips, and the myths around both.