Western travellers and researchers are important figures who introduced Turks to Europe for the first time. These people, who have visited the lands where Turks have lived since the Middle Ages, have been influential in the formation of the image of Turks in the Western world by interpreting what they have seen and experienced together with their own cultures and prejudices. The image of Turks in Western travellers and researchers was generally shaped by the fear and enmity of Turks that was widespread in Europe in the Middle Ages. In this period, Turks were portrayed as a barbaric, brutal and ruthless nation. In the 16th century, with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, this fear and hostility increased even more. The negative image of the Turks in the West increased even more after the Turks made Anatolia their homeland and advanced into the Balkans and Europe. In the works of travellers, Turks were described as "barbarians". As a result of this characterisation, they were referred to with adjectives such as savage, cruel, cruel, and sometimes referred to as mindless Orientals.

In the Iberian Peninsula, the name Turk was used as a synonym for danger. The expression Mo. fos en la costa (Attention! The Moorish have landed!) is important in terms of understanding the psychological impact of the Turk on the Spanish society, which did not distinguish between Turks and Moorish at that time.