Turkey
Turkey, perhaps better than anywhere else, illustrates the broad role gold can play in modern society.
Gold is embedded in Turkish life: merchants pioneered the use of gold coins in ancient Lydia, and today gold plays an important and innovative role in Turkey’s economy.
Turkey’s demand for gold is underpinned by a deep cultural heritage and it plays an important role in weddings and other aspects of religious life. In the jewellery industry it is both a medium of exchange and a unit of account: in the Grand Bazaar – the heart of Turkey’s gold market – rents are often priced in gold. There is a strong economic incentive to own gold too. Generations of Turkish savers have turned to gold as an effective hedge against the ravages of inflation and currency weakness.
