Peter Kenyon: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government hopes the rebranding will give a boost to the economy as visitors start to return in large numbers after two pandemic-depressed tourist seasons. Some also wish to dissociate the country's name from the bird that traditionally appears on American dining tables at Thanksgiving and from the slang definition of a turkey as something that doesn't work or is foolish. It's not that much of a change for locals. The new name for Turkey is simply the way it's always been spelled and pronounced in Turkish. One observer noted it would be similar to calling Germany Deutschland. Turkish foreign policy analyst Yoruk Isik says this looks to him like a move to distract people from the long list of problems facing the country.
Yoruk Isik: Turkey is crumbling under possibly the biggest financial crisis since the Second World War. Our two neighbors are at war with each other. There is world food security crisis. And this is the moment we decide to change the country's name?