why are turks offended if you call them mideastern

[Mortimer]

genetically they are mostly westasian and a bit east asian (but very few) + some european maybe, but westasian is predominant. also their culture is mostly mideastern, now a bit westernised since ataturk but was totally mideastern in the ottoman empire, they used even arabic letters etc. and their dress and all that.

they also mostly look mideastern at least the ones in austria with exceptions

they claim to be euroasians, but euroasians are people like uzbekhs to me etc. just because of their language?

thanks for answer

[Chichic]

Turks are basically Southern Europeans and Middle Easterners, if they like it or not.

[Musso]

They are West Asians. 'Middle East' is connected to the Semitic dominated part of West Asia.

[StonyArabia]

It has do with the fact the Middle East is Semitic/Arab dominated region. I personally see the Middle East and will include them as Middle Easterners because they are part of the Oriental civilization, which had an Arabian root but a Persianate cultural influences, and the Ottomans were a Persianate and patrons of Persian culture. They might be offended because it brings about negative prejudices and want to distance themselves from it and are to extent Westernized. Though I would agree that countries like Armenia and the Caucasus are not the Middle East, apart from Azerbaijan which has a lot of Persian cultural influence which connects ultimately to the Oriental/Islamic Middle Eastern civilization. Turkey is geographically in the Middle East and Europe, it's transition, some embrace it others don't it depends on the person.

[morski]

Aren't they Near Eastern?

[portusaus]

They want to seem more 'European' than they are (i.e. not at all, except for some Greek blood).

[Kiyant]

Because almost all Turkish regions are not in the Middle east.
Anatolia is not the middle east only the Southeastern Part of Turkey is in the middle east (Diyarbakir/Antakya)

[Mortimer]

Because almost all Turkish regions are not in the Middle east.
Anatolia is not the middle east only the Southeastern Part of Turkey is in the middle east (Diyarbakir/Antakya)

i thought anatolia is mideast, what is it?

[Sikeliot]

It's West Asia, but I personally think culturally they are closer to the Balkans than to Semitic Arabs.

[Mortimer]

It's West Asia, but I personally think culturally they are closer to the Balkans than to Semitic Arabs.

i dont think so, they are culturally closer to arabs, they might have only similarities with the cultural elements they themselfes brought to balkans or adopted from balkans but they are mideastern cultural influence in balkan, they are persian and arabic culturally mostly, it is like a self fulfilling prophecy they brought islam and mideast to balkan and now they are close to those etc. i see turks much more closer to arabs then to serbs