Glorious past, stable environment spur Turkey to reach the top: President

ANKARA

At a time of sweeping changes in the global order, the stability and trust seen in Turkey make it well placed to rise to the top, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"We will have reached the top when we make use of this period, where we see the global political and economic order is being reshaped, by preserving the (country’s) climate of stability and trust," Erdogan said at commemorations of the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert – a victory that opened the doors of Anatolia to the Turkish people.

Turkey, the successor of a series of civilizations embracing elements of both East and West, has again been on the rise in recent decades, said Erdogan, speaking in Mus, eastern Turkey, where the battle took place.

He added that inspired by its "glorious past," Turkey has its eyes fixed on the future and is determined to realize its goals in the coming decades, or even a century, through the help of coming generations.

The president went on to say that the Turkish nation has left its trace in various regions with buildings, including monuments, memorials and mosques, and today’s government in Ankara did not leave them to their fate.

He further noted that Turkey's power, prestige and influence had been gradually increasing both in the region and across the globe, thanks to the seeds of love and sympathy sown in a wide region by its ancestors.

"We face the effects of terrorism and stability in our region at one hand, and natural disasters along with global turbulence on the other," the president said, but added there were also various opportunities and possibilities awaiting Turkey.

Battle of Malazgirt

Turkish control of Anatolia – the vast territory of modern Turkey – began with the Battle of Malazgirt, also known as Battle of Manzikert, on Aug. 26, 1071, which saw the Seljuk Turks led by Sultan Alparslan defeat a much larger Byzantine army.

The victory accelerated the decline of the Byzantine Empire, and led to more Turks settling in the region, paving the way for both the Ottoman Empire and the modern Republic of Turkey.

Centuries later, in 1919, foreign occupation prompted Turkey’s War of Independence in which Turkish forces – led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk –drove the invaders from Anatolia.

By the end of 1922, all foreign forces had left the territories, which became a part of the Republic of Turkey a year later.