Flag of Türkiye

Ay Yildiz ("moon star") or Al Bayrak ("red flag")

A red flag with a white crescent moon and a white five-pointed star, set a little toward the pole.

At a glance

Adopted: May 29, 1936the Ottoman design of 1844, made the flag of the Republic by the Turkish Flag Law of 1936
Shape (height : width): 2:3
Capital: Ankara
Continent: Europe and Asia
Colours: red
white

What it means

Red: no official meaning is set in law; it is the traditional colour of Ottoman and Turkish flags
Crescent and star: old symbols used in Asia Minor even before Islam, later seen as symbols of Islam
Legend: a famous folk story says a sultan saw the moon and a star reflected in pools of blood after a battle in Kosovo in 1448; it is a legend, not history

Where it came from

The flag comes from the flags of the Ottoman Empire. In 1793, under Sultan Selim III, navy flags became red with a white crescent and star. The five-pointed star used today dates from about 1844, when the design became the Ottoman national flag.

History

After the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, it kept the Ottoman flag. The Turkish Flag Law of 29 May 1936 fixed its exact geometry, and a 1983 law kept the same design.

The law measures everything from the flag's height: for example, the crescent's outer circle is half the height across, and the white band at the pole edge is 1/30 of the height.

Fun facts

The Turkish national anthem calls the flag "the red banner".
The law gives exact measurements for every part, down to the size of the star.
The crescent and star design is older than the Republic of Turkey by about 80 years.
Another legend says the first Ottoman ruler dreamed of a crescent and star rising from his chest.

Easy to mix up with

Tunisia: Tunisia puts its red crescent and star inside a white circle in the middle
Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan has a white crescent and an eight-pointed star on a red stripe between blue and green stripes

Questions

What does the flag of Türkiye look like?

A red flag with a white crescent moon and a white five-pointed star, set a little toward the pole.

What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Türkiye mean?

Red: no official meaning is set in law; it is the traditional colour of Ottoman and Turkish flags; Crescent and star: old symbols used in Asia Minor even before Islam, later seen as symbols of Islam; Legend: a famous folk story says a sultan saw the moon and a star reflected in pools of blood after a battle in Kosovo in 1448; it is a legend, not history.