Spain and Türkiye: a five-century relationship evolves
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
For five centuries, Spain and Türkiye have interacted, beginning with imagining each other from afar and developing into a modern partnership.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire featured prominently in Spanish art and literature, often as a military rival, though Spain held less focus in Ottoman concerns. Despite periods of conflict, such as the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, both empires engaged in diplomatic exchanges and negotiations, seeking to manage a costly rivalry.
This pattern of “negotiating without normalisation” continued until 1782, when Spain and Türkiye signed a Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Commerce, marking a shift from occasional diplomacy to a more stable relationship. The treaty coincided with changing priorities for both powers, as Spain looked toward the Atlantic and the Americas, and the Ottoman Empire faced challenges from Russia. In the 20th century, following the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye in 1923, Spain signed a new Treaty of Friendship.
Cultural exchange grew, exemplified by Turkish diplomat and poet Yahya Kemal Beyatli's posting to Madrid in 1929. This deepened further in the 1980s and 90s, with Spain joining NATO and the European Economic Community and Türkiye strengthening ties with Europe. A key initiative was the Alliance of Civilizations, proposed by Spain and co-sponsored by Türkiye, to foster dialogue between Western and Muslim societies.
Today, trade between the two countries exceeds $20.5 billion, and over 452,000 Spanish tourists visited Türkiye in 2025, alongside increasing cultural and academic exchanges.
