Where is squat toilet from?

I know it may sound weird to ask this question. Why would I want to write an entry on my blog dedicated to squat toilet? It’s simple: everywhere you go in China you can find them (when it’s not a hole in the ground like in Inner Mongolia :)) and very often we’ve been debating their origin. Americans call it squat toilet, French call it “Turkish toilet”, Belgian call it “French toilet”… and we’re in China. So did the Turk come all the way through Asia to bring those squat toilets? I’m wondering.
Therefore I googled it. If someone should know it should be google. First stop Wikipedia where you will learn the following: “A squat toilet (also known as an Eastern, Turkish or Natural-Position toilet) is a toilet used by squatting, rather than sitting. There are several types of squat toilets, but they all consist essentially of a hole in the ground.” So much for the definition.
Now where do we find them? Almost everywhere in the end… “The squat toilets (known as alaturka (from Italian alla turca) in Turkey or Iranian Toilet in Iran or paati in malayalam. In contrast to alafranga (alla franca) flush toilets) where the user puts his feet on foot rests; the user faces the entrance to the cubicle; it is prevalent in Turkey where flush toilets are now getting more in use for households and can still be found in some public buildings and at motorway services in France, Italy, Uruguay, Balkans and, more often, in the former USSR. In Argentina, squat toilets can be found in older, lower class pubs, cafés and restaurants. It is also used in the Middle East and can be found in rural areas of Greece and Italy. It is also very common in Iran and prevalent throughout most of China and South East Asia”

If you want to know more, just read the Wikipedia page where you can even find some tips on how to use squat toilet….

While I was browsing further as not so satisfied yet by the information I found I ended up on the website of the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets! Located in New Delhi. I’m speechless when I see all the research that I’ve been done on the topic. Who would imagine so much info on toilets...
I leave it to you to explore further. Now coming back to my initial question: it seems that squat toilets are called Turkish toilets simply because you can find them extensively in Turkey (not too sure if that is the case still but that must have been at some point).