Newsroom
Turkish school textbooks now include explicit references to the "Blue Homeland" doctrine, though the maps traditionally used to define its geographic boundaries have been removed. Previously, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had posed for photographs in front of such maps, which outlined Turkey’s maritime claims.
The term "Blue Homeland" is mentioned alongside Turkey's four surrounding seas—Black Sea, Sea of Marmara, Aegean Sea, and Mediterranean Sea—without showing specific borders. However, the doctrine's controversial elements remain in the textbook’s language. While the Ministry of Education has scaled back the visual depiction, the ideological essence persists.
Currently, new textbooks are being distributed to students, including updates to the ninth-grade geography curriculum. Page 62 introduces students to the concept of the "Blue Homeland," which claims maritime areas Turkey deems part of its legal rights under international law. It covers territorial waters, lakes, rivers, and other water sources.
The book also refers to Turkey’s land area of 780,000 square kilometers—its present-day territory—while alluding to the 1920 "National Oath," which claims broader regions such as Western Thrace, the Dodecanese, and northern Iraq as part of Turkey's borders. The accompanying text encourages teachers to highlight Turkey’s struggle against what it calls unjust claims in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
The "Blue Homeland" strategy is framed as essential for national security, maritime defense, and resource exploitation, including oil and natural gas. It also includes historical references, like a speech by Ottoman admiral Barbarossa, emphasizing control over the seas as key to global power.
Additionally, the textbooks mention the concept of "Sky Homeland," referring to Turkey’s airspace over its land and maritime boundaries. Domestic military technology, such as drones and training aircraft, is also showcased. Notably absent from the list are the Bayraktar TB-2 and TB-3 drones, developed by the company controlled by Selçuk Bayraktar, Erdoğan’s son-in-law.
This new curriculum, part of Turkey’s "Century of Türkiye" initiative, was approved in July 2024. The Ministry of Education states that the updated materials will gradually replace older versions in schools, with most new textbooks already approved by the previous education council.
