White Turks (Turkish: Beyaz Türkler) is a term used in Turkey for the urban population that embraces progressive, secular, Western, Republican values. White Turks are in contrast to the so-called Black Turks (Turkish: Kara Türkler or Siyah Türkler), a name for the conservative, Islamic, and typically less educated among the originally rural Anatolian population.[1] The two terms are related to the emergence of a middle class since the end of the 20th century, and is an expression of elite consciousness and also a contempt for a section of the population which is seen as backwards.[citation needed] Civilizing efforts had been part of the imagination of all Turkish elites since the Tanzimat reforms.[1]