TURKEY

= = WELCOME TO TURKEY __​__



**Physical Features**

A.South of Anatolia:Mediterranean Sea, Syria, and Iraq B.North of Anatolia:Black Sea C.East of Anatolia:Iran, Goergia and Armenia D.West of Anatolia:Mediterranean Sea
 * Continent:** Asia and Europe. Asian part of Turkey is called Anatolia and the European part is called Thrace.
 * Capital:** Ankara.
 * Some Major Cities:** Istanbul,Demre,Konya,Adana,Rize,Aksehir,Izmir,Eregli,Edrine and Karabuk.
 * Borders:** Rugged
 * Borders:**

E.West of Thrace:Greece F. East of Thrace:Borporus River G.North of Thrace:Bulgaria and Black Sea H.South of Thrace:Mediterranean Sea


 * Population:** 71,325,000


 * LandForms:** Turkey is a mountanious and rugged land. Ankara the capital is on a high broad area called the Anatolian plateau. Turkeys biggest mountain is Mount.Ararat 5,185 meters (17,011 ft) high. Eastern Anatolia is a rocky barren land scape.


 * Goverment:** Republic.

Eastern Anatolia: Sheep,bears and wolves.
 * Fauna:** Mediterreanen Sea: Deers and wild goat.

Black Sea:Grapes,cherries,hazelnuts,tobacco,and tea. Thrace:Watermelons,fig trees,vineyards,and olives. Their national drink is tea.
 * Flora:**Mediterranean Sea:Cotton,grains,oranges,lemons,olives.





Their breakfest usualy is bread, goat cheese, olives and yogurt. Their lunch is usually dolmas-vine or cabbage leaves stuffed with rice. It can also have pumpkin soup or lental soup. Turks eat a variety of vegetable soups. Their dinner is cut into to parts. Appetizers and main meals. Appetizers: Chopped eggplant with onion and garlic; bean salad or yogurt mixed with grated cucumbers and garlic. Main Meals: Lamb and rice or seafood. Fish and Shell fish: sea bass, sword fish, turbot, mussels, crabs, and shrimp are found in the coastal waters. That's why the eat a lot of them.Seafood grilled with lemon and parsley is a specialty in Istanbul. Desert: Baklava is made with honey and nuts. Rice pudding, cold stewed fruit, and baked pumpkin and walnuts.
 * Food:**The most popular food in Turkey is shish kabab.

1.** Two cabbages. The recipe serves around 14 people.
 * Recipe**
 * Stuffed Cabbage Turkish Style
 * 2.** A kilo of meat.
 * 3.** Two and a half cups rice.
 * 4.** A dash of salt and pepper.
 * 5.** Half cup of oil.
 * 6.** Two cans of tomato sauce.

To finish the year Turks can go to the Rites of the Whirling Devershes in Konya.
 * Holidays and festivals:** Turkey uses the Western calender for goverment holidays. Religious holiday are celebrated according to the Lunar calander,which is the calander Islams use. It's eleven days shorter than the Western calander, so Islamic religious days are not celebrated in the same day each year.
 * Independence day:** The day on which The Grand National Assembly was founded on April 23,1923. It's also Children's Day because Ataturk wanted to honor children.
 * Ataturks Birthday:** On May 19 is Ataturks birthday as well as National Youth and Sports Day.
 * Ataturks Death:** On November 10, Ataturk died. The Turks observe a moment of silence at 9:05 A.M., the exact time Ataturk died.
 * Ramadan:** Ramadan is a month of which Turks fast as directed be the Koran. From sunrise to sunset, they allow nothing to past their lips-no food, no drink, not even a cigarette or a postage stamp. At sunsight, Muslim families enjoy a big meal to mark the end to a days fast.
 * Eid Al-Fitr:** A festival that breaks the fast and comes after Ramadan. The holiday last for three days. People visit family and friends. Children go from door to door asking for sweets. It's a happy time.
 * Eid Al-Adha:** The feast of sacrifice. It refers to the story of Abraham and Isaac. During the Feast of Sacrifice Turkish families kill a sheep. Rich families donate meat to those who can not afford a sheep of their own.
 * Camel Wrestling Competition:** In January there is a camel wrestling competition in Selcuk. The camels don't actually wrestle but they shove and push each other around. People celebrate with folk dancing, parties and concerts, even a beauty pageant for the camels!
 * International Arts Festival:** In June Istanbul host the International Arts Festival. A mounth long celebration of dance, art, and music from all over the world.
 * Drama festival:** This festival is hosted in Troy in August. Visitors can see a hude model of te wooden horse.
 * Chrismas:** Is held every December at the church of St.Nicholas in Demre. It's the only Christian festival celebrated in Turkey.


 * Currency:** In 2005 Turkey started to use Turkish Lira. 1 dollar equals to 1.18 Turkish Lira.

Good Afternoon........Iyi gunler (Ee-yee-goon-lair) Good Evening........Iyi aksamlar (Ee-yee-awk-shom-lahr) Good Night........Iyi geceler (Ee-yee-geh-jeh-lehr) Good Bye..............Gule gule (Goo-leh goo-leh) How are you......Nasilsiniz (Nahs-sull-suh-nuz) Please....................Lutfen (Loot-fehn) Yes.............Evet (Eh-vet) NO............Hayir (Hi-yir) I'm Fine...............Iyiyim (Ee-yee-yeem) Thank You.............Tesekkur ederim (Teh-shek-kewr eh- deh-reem) Islamic cultures. Pottery is a century old tradition in Anatolia. Kutahya is know for plates and bowls decorated in soft blues, greens, and reds. Potters in Iznic make the blue tiles that are in the blue Mosque. In Iznic, Istanbul, and Kutahya, students can take courses that keep the tradition of pottery alive.
 * Language:** Of course Turkish. Other languages are also spoken which are Kurdish, Armenian, Arabic, or Greek. Turks often use body languages when they speak. If they don't understand something they shake their head from side to side. Turkish alphabet has 29 letters.
 * Some Turkish Words:** Hello.......Merhaba ( Mehr-hah-bah) Good Morning.......Gunaydin (Goon-eye-den)
 * Sports:** Turks like basketball,volley ball, swimming, and wrestling. One unussual wrestling tornament is held every Summer. It's called Greased Wrestling. The wrestlers cover themselves with olive oil. Their skin become slippery. It's difficult to hold on to the other wrestler. The most popular sport is soccer, which is called football. One ancient game is called Cirit (Ji-rit.) Riders on horseback catch Javelins- slender spears-that are thrown at them as they gallop past eachother. Cirit is a winter sport played mainly in he eastern mountains. Turkish games are very old and usually involve just - stones, coins, rings, scarves, sticks, chalk, or a jump rope. Losers often have to perform stunts or make funny animal noices. In Cappadocia, in central Anatolia, peole ride horses through ancient cave dwelings. Further east they can try their luck at hiking or skiing down mountains.
 * Daily Life:** In the country it's quieter and more traditional than the cities of Anatolia. Here farmers live according to the accient rythems of the land: planting, growing, and harvesting. Family outings are a favorite past time for young and old alike. Sundays are the best time to go to a town park for a picnic and a swim. In cities and villages all over Turkey, man gather at the local coffeehouse to meet friends and talk over a cup of steaming hot tea or coffee. Walking is for the whole family. On warm Summer evenings, townspeople come out to stroll through the streets greet friends and neighbors. Sometimes they might watch a dancing bear, moving to the music of a tamborine. Or they might listen to a musician play Turkish music on the saz, a stringed instrument like the banjo.
 * Greeting:** Turks kiss eachother on both checks and sometimes they say selamunaleykum and in repley the other group or person says Aleykumselam.
 * Music:** Turkish music has many roots. Some folk music can even be traced back to the days of the Persian and Byzantine Empires. These are songs of wine, loss, and love, accompanied by flutes, zithers, and drums. The old strains of folk music can still be heard in the Turkish rock music today. During the Ottoman Empire, many European musical influences were also felt. The soldiers marched into battle to the beat of the kettledrums and bagpipes.
 * Dances:** Traditional Turkish folk dances are still in enjoyed throughout Turkey. Each region has its own dance and its own costume. In the Black Sea area the men dress all in black and preform a dance called the Horon. In Bursa, a region in Northwestern Anatolia, men preform a wild dramatic dance called the Kilic Kalkan, The Sword and Sheild. Pretending to be warriors, they stage a mock fight. Both men and woman, outfitted in colorful costumes and holding two wooden spoons in each hand, preform the popular Spoon Dance.
 * Clothing:** Ataturk's clothing laws of 1920's transformed the dress of the Turkish people practically overnight. Men who had worn traditional red fezes and white bloomers suddenly wore suits and brimmed hats. Woman especially changed. They started to wear Western-style dresses and coats. Today Turks wear the same things but they have added blue jeans and sneakers. Woman in the country side often cover their heads and the lower parts of their faces with colorful veils or scarves. Wearing a head covering is a traditional sign of modesty in the
 * Architecture:** Turkey is home to two of the most famous religious buildings of the world. One of them is Christian, it is The Hagia Sofia, The Church of The Holy Wisdom. It was turn into a mosqeu when the Ottomans counqured Constantinople. Today it is a Museum. The other one is Muslim, which is the Blue Mosque. It gets it's name from the 20,000 or so glazed blue tiles on the walls of the interior.
 * Art:** Turkey has been known for it's beautiful carpets. The best carpets are woven by hand. The weavers are usually girls or woman. A handmade carpet may take several years to finish. Girls are usually tought how to weave at the age of seven. "Little hands tie tighter knots" The Turks say. Carpet making is also taken at school. A girl may work on a carpet for two years and then sell it. The money goes to the school. When she graduates, she recieves a loom and most teach another person how to weave a carpet. That way the tradition continues. The best known carpet is the Kilim, a flat woven rug.