Turkey or Turkiye?

The bird we know as a turkey ( huexoloti) or (Meleagris gallopavo) originated in North America.   One theory is that during the 1500s,  traders from the Orient had already brought the bird from the Americas to the Near East.  These merchants subsequently shipped the birds to Great Britan, mostly from Constantinople.  An in depth article ishere.

Since the bird wholesaled out of what is now modern day Turkey, the British referred to it as a “Turkey coq.” In fact, the British weren’t particularly precise about products arriving from the East. Persian carpets were called “Turkey rugs;” Indian flour was called “Turkey flour;” Hungarian carpet bags were called “Turkey bags.”

Why is the country Turkey called Turkey?  This comes from the English adaptation of ‘Tur-ki-ye’ which is what Turks call Turkey.

And what do the Turks call our turkey?

Well, they call it “Hindi,” which means ‘India’ in Turkish.  Go figure!

Turkey bird, Turkey country name Hide