Turkish

Masonic activity in Turkish territory began in the eighteenth century under foreign jurisdictions, with notices of lodges in Smyrna and Aleppo appearing in London newspapers as early as 1738 1. Early lodges were largely attended by non-Muslims, though Muslim participation increased toward the middle of the nineteenth century, as a paper read before Quatuor Coronati Lodge records. An irregular meeting occurred in Constantinople in 1844, where several Turks were initiated before the government prohibited further gatherings 1.

An attempt to erect a national body through Ionic, Anatolia, and Benzenzia Lodges was declared illegal by the Grand Lodge of England in 1859 1. That same year, the United Grand Lodge of England issued a notice regarding a British officer during the Crimean War who held an Irish warrant and irregularly established three lodges in Smyrna under the title of the Grand Lodge of Turkey, a paper read before Quatuor Coronati Lodge records.

Foreign constitutions maintained a firm presence throughout the nineteenth century. In Craft Masonry, Oriental Lodge was chartered under the Grand Lodge of England at Constantinople in 1856, leading to the formation of an English District Grand Lodge in 1861 under British Ambassador Sir Henry Bulwer 1. Italian, French, and German lodges also operated in Constantinople, Smyrna, Adana, and Angora 1. Lodges under the Grand Orient of France initiated prominent Ottoman figures and members of the dynasty, including Sultan Murad V at Lodge I Proodos in Istanbul, a paper read before Quatuor Coronati Lodge notes. In the Scottish Rite and higher degrees, a Supreme Council was established in 1869 1.

Indigenous Turkish secret societies led some early writers to wrongly conclude that Freemasonry predated its actual arrival in the empire 1. The Begtaschi, a religious dervish order founded in 1328, maintained strict secrecy and modes of recognition reserved for Muslim adherents 1.

The Ottoman Grand East was established in 1909 as the first national independent Grand Lodge in Turkish territory 1. Its 1909 constitution directed the consecration of lodges across Ottoman lands, including Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon, and it operated through the transition to the Turkish Republic in 1923, as a paper read before Quatuor Coronati Lodge notes. Today, the Grand Lodge of Turkey is officially recognised as a regular jurisdiction in fraternal relation with the United Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge of Ireland, and the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and publishes a research journal titled Mimar Sinan.