Is the turkish language similar to persian?

I could be way off here, but it’s my understanding that Turkish was derived from Arabic and Persian languages, but in order to simplify the language, words that were still used in Persian and Arabic were substituted.

Correct me at will!

Yep. Uzbek is a Turkic language in Central Asia. Its roots are derived from Persian and Arabic. The differences in the languages are that Arabic was heavily influenced by Islamic principles, and Persian was not. But as with any language, Persian, Uzbek, and Turkish all borrowed from Arabic and other religious ideas. This is to my understanding, why Uzbek people say Salaam, instead of the old Chagatai way. Over the centuries, Islamic leaders influenced the languages so that’s why they appear so similar. Tajik is similar to Farsi, but only difference is Tajik is influenced by Russian, leaving out the Islamic words.