In Istanbul, every day is the Fourth of July, so to speak. Even though Turkey actually declared its independence on May 19th, 1919, the amount of flags you can see waving on any given day is comparable to what you see in the US on our barbecues-and-fireworks holiday.

The crescent design of the Turkish flag is inspired by the old Ottoman flag, which also featured the color green. The new Turkish flag, however, incorporated the color red to symbolize the new secularism brought on by the beloved national hero Mustafa Kemal, who is often simply referred to as “Ataturk.” Images of Ataturk are often juxtaposed with the Turkish Flag. As the honored “Father of Turkey,” he is compared to Presidents Washington, Lincoln and Kennedy.

The Turkish flag is called Ay Yildiz, or Moon Star in the Turkish national anthem, much like how we refer to the American flag as a Star Spangled Banner. The vertical crescent and star are symbols of Islam, the dominant faith of Turkey. Flag etiquette in Turkey is also similar to the United States. The national flag flies above all other flags, it should not fly tattered or torn, and should not touch the ground.

I find it interesting to contrast the patriotism of my country, the USA, with that of Turkey in regards to flying a flag. While we proudly display our flags all over our communities for one day over the summer, the Turkish flag can be seen on almost every building, federal or not, every day of the year.