Why Learn Turkish?
Turkey is a newly emerging regional power and its global importance is very likely to rise within the next decade. Its sphere of influence covers many areas of growing importance on the world stage, from the Balkans and Central Asia to the Middle East and North Africa. Turkey has close cultural and linguistic ties with Azerbaijan in the Caucasus as well as with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia. Therefore, in addition to 72 million Turkish speakers in Turkey, tens of millions of Turkic speakers in Azerbaijan and the Central Asian republics speak similar dialects to Turkey’s version of Turkish. Turkey is the 8th most popular tourist destination in the world and last year alone 26 million foreign travelers visited the country. The best way to explore the rich and diverse culture of the country and to interact with locals is speaking Turkish. You can get by using English in major tourist areas, however, speaking Turkish will be very helpful, if you want t
