In 2002 a group of Turkish-Americans in San Francisco realized that 9/11 took a toll on the reputation and welfare of the Turkish-American community at large, due to widespread misinformation about Turkey in the US. They decided to promote Turkey in the US by publishing socio-cultural information on Turkey to lessen the impact of the disinformation.

Their efforts paid off in the form of a magazine. Turkuaz in its first issue received an overwhelming amount of interest and support from the Turkish-American community nationwide, quadrupling its initial distribution within its first year.