The fundamentals of the Turkish Flag were laid down by Turkish Flag Law No. 2994 of May 29, 1936. Turkish Flag Regulation No.2/7175 dated July 28, 1937, and Supplementary Regulation No. 11604/2dated July 29, 1939, were enacted to describe how the flag law would be implemented. The Turkish Flag Law No. 2893 dated September 22, 1983, and Published in the Official Gazette on September 24,1983, was promulgated six months after its publication. Accordingto Article 9 of Law No. 2893, a statute including the fundamentals of the implementation was also published.

The measurements of the Turkish Flag are given below :

Meaning of flags is a difficult topic, especially when flags are very ancient. There is usually sparse historical evidence and a lot of legends. Moreover, individuals may have their own interpretation of their national flag.

"Red has been prominent in Turkish flags for 700 years. The star and crescent are Muslim symbols, but also have a long pre-Islamic past in Asia Minor. The basic form of the national flag was apparently established in 1793 under Sultan Selim III, when the green flags used by the navy were changed to red and a white crescent and multipointed star were added. The five-pointed star dates from approximately 1844. Except for the issuance of design specifications, no change was made when the Ottoman Empire became the Republic of Turkey and the caliphate (religious authority) was terminated. Many traditions explain the star and crescent symbol. It is known that Diana was the patron goddess of Byzantium and that her symbol was a moon. In 330, the Emperor Constantine rededicated the city - which he called Constantinople - to the Virgin Mary, whose star symbol was superimposed over the crescent. In 1453 Constantinople was captured by the Ottoman Turks and renamed Istanbul, but its new rulers may have adopted the existing emblem for their own use"

"A reflection of the moon occulting a star, appearing in pools of blood after the battle of Kossovo in 1448 [the battle during which the Ottomans defeated the Christian forces and established the Ottoman Empire in Eastern Europe until the end of the XIXth century], led to the adoption of the Turkish flag by Sultan Murad II according to one legend. Others refer to a dream of the first Ottoman Emperor in which a crescent and star appeared from his chest and expanded, presaging the dynasty's seizure of Constantinople. At least three other legends explain the flag."

Ivan Sache, 20 January 1999

Hymne National: istiklal Marsi

The "Istiklal Marsi" (The Independence March) was officially adopted as Turkey's National Anthem on March 12, 1921. 724 poems were submitted to a competition organized to find and select themost suitable original composition for this March, and a poem written by the poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy was adopted unanimously by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Twenty-four composers participated in another competition arranged for the selectionof a musical composition for the National Anthem. The Council, which was only able to convene in 1924, due to the War of Independence adopted the music composed by Ali Rifat Çagatay. The words of the National Anthem were sung to this music for eight years.Thereafter, the nusic of the National Anthem was changed to an arrangement written by Zeki Üngör, conductor of the Presidental Symphonic Orchestra, and the words of the National Anthem have been sung to this musical accompainment ever since.

National Anthem

Lyrics by : M.Akif Ersoy

Music composed by : Zeki Üngör