Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

does not have an official coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 or national emblem

National emblem

A national emblem symbolically represents a nation. Most national emblems originate in the natural world, such as animals or birds, but another object may serve. National emblems may appear on many things such as the national flag, coat of arms, or other patriotic materials...

. The symbol on the cover page of Turkish passport

Turkish passport

Turkish Passports are issued in accordance with the Passport Act from July 15, 1950 to Turkish citizens to travel outside of the country....

s is simply the star and crescent

Star and crescent

A star and crescent featuring in some combination form the basis of symbols widely found across the ancient world, with examples attested from the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia....

 as found in the flag of Turkey

Flag of Turkey

The flag of Turkey is a red flag with a white crescent moon and a star in its centre. The flag is called Ayyıldız or Albayrak . The Turkish flag is referred to as Alsancak in the Turkish National Anthem....

. Various official institutions of Turkey use instead their own several emblems, most of which have no legal basis.

Red circle with white star and crescent

A circular section of the red Flag of Turkey

Flag of Turkey

The flag of Turkey is a red flag with a white crescent moon and a star in its centre. The flag is called Ayyıldız or Albayrak . The Turkish flag is referred to as Alsancak in the Turkish National Anthem....

 containing the white star and crescent is used in the current emblems of a number of Turkish ministries and government organizations, in the emblem of the Turkish Parliament, and as the flag badge on the uniforms of Turkish national sports teams and athletes. It was also used on the old (non-digital) Turkish identity cards.

Escutcheon of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Turkey)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a government ministry office of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for foreign affairs in Turkey. Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu is current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, appointed on May 1, 2009....

 uses a red oval

Oval (geometry)

In technical drawing, an oval is a figure constructed from two pairs of arcs, with two different radii . The arcs are joined at a point, in which lines tangential to both joining arcs lie on the same line, thus making the joint smooth...

-shaped escutcheon, whose colour is that of the Turkish flag and whose shape echoes the oval shield

Shield

A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....

 at the center of the late 19th-century Ottoman coat of arms

Ottoman coat of arms

Every sultan of the Ottoman Empire had his own monogram, called the tughra, which served as a coat of arms. A modern coat of arms, was created in the late 19th century. The final design was adopted by Sultan Abdul Hamid II on April 17, 1882...

. The escutcheon contains a gold-tone

Gold (color)

Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....

 star and crescent which are vertically oriented (with the star on top) and surrounded by the gold-tone text T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı. A variant of this oval escutcheon (containing the gold-tone text Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Büyükelçiliği) is used by the Turkish embassies.

Presidential seal

The seal of the President of Turkey

Presidential Seal of Turkey

The Presidential Seal of Turkey is the official seal of the President of Turkey.It has a large 16-pointed star in the center, which is surrounded by 16 five-pointed stars, symbolizing "16 "historic Turkish states" claimed by the Republic of Turkey.The roots of the Presidential Seal and...

 has a large 16-pointed star in the center, which is surrounded by 16 five-pointed stars, symbolizing "the 16 great Turkic states in history". Its appearance is regulated by law.

Tourism

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Turkey)

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is a government ministry office of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for culture and tourism affairs in Turkey. As of 2008, it is headed by Ertuğrul Günay.- External links :***...

 uses a stylized version of the Gordian knot

Gordian Knot

The Gordian Knot is a legend of Phrygian Gordium associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem solved by a bold stroke :"Turn him to any cause of policy,...

 as its emblem, modeled so as to resemble a tree. There is also a logo (or wordmark) used for the promotion of tourism that uses a stylized version of a tulip

Tulip

The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of...

.