
That’s what Dimitri Kantemir tought in 1711, a vassal of Ottoman Empire as Moldovian prince. He was a distinguished intellectual who saw Russian expanse as an opportunity, only to be disappointed by an Ottoman Victory at Prut Battle. Turks seem to be collapsing since the beginning of their Anatolian journey. One instance is Murad the first, who was betrayed by the devshirme- converted Chirstian- lords of Rumelia during the Battle of Kosovo. The lords tough that Ottoman venture is over, in the face of a crusade against them. Nevertheless, the wind favoured the Ottomans.
Ottoman Turks were many times ruined only to be saved by English and even their arch enemy Russians at the Egyptian Revolt at 1830’s. It seemed that Turkey met her demise at the World War One, but again they have revived as Republic of Turkey. Nowadays, Turkey seems to be collapsing in reference to the highest inflation rates among the large economies. On the other hand, history tells us another story. Is Turkey accustomed to such crises?

Neither collapse nor inflation is new to Turkey. Turkish lands were always a center of attention historically. There was significant population in Anatolia. 10 million people lived in Ottoman centre and 1 million was living in Istanbul alone, making it the most crowded city in 17th century. Contrastingly, you don’t see old buildings in Istanbul. They simply collapsed and rebuilt. In fact Turkey may have the shortest life expectancy for buildings. The usual lifespan is 60-70 years for Turkish constructs, yet we can easily assert that rapid changes in demography and economy make buildings less permanent.
Turkey collapses seismically as well. This is one of the most active areas in terms of earthquakes. A recent double earthquake caused at least 100 billion dollars damage to Turkish economy in February 2023. The earthquakes are often, the collapse of the buildings more often. The earthquakes happen socially as well. The country changed its society completely every thousand years. The city states, Roman, Greek, Ottoman, Turkish outlook is forecasted to change with migrants in the future. The culture shifts are a thrill to watch in this country.

The question is Turkey collapsing? remains answered in the same fashion, always. It’s like the individuals, they have their own style. Some of them collapse often, to renew the stance. In regard to inflation; it was always the case in Turkey. There were even revolts among the Janissaries due to the inflated currency. Inflation rate of Turkish lira from 1956 to 2023 is 2,228,890,341.45% it’s 1,000% in US Dollar in comparison.
Being used to collapse doesn’t legitimize the frequent crises, though as they say in Turkey, “every gentleman has a different style of eating yoghurt(it’s different strokes for different folks)” This is the burden of the country, the burden of the root structures and the past of the society. Will it eventually get destroyed though? That was what Ottoman, Roman, Greek, Lydian, Hittite ancestors have thought.