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ABOUT TURKEY |
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POPULATION & THE PEOPLE:
Turkey has 72 millions of
inhabitants. 99% of the population
are Muslim.
Istanbul is the greatest city
having over 10 millions of
inhabitants. Turkish
people are known to be very
friendly and hospitable. After the
reforms of
Ataturk, the founder of Turkey,
the country became much more
modern although
still the people are tied to the
traditions.
EDUCATION:
The structure of the Turkish
national education system is
outlined on National
Education. The Ministry of
National Education is responsible
for all educational
services in the country except the
higher education. The Council of
Higher
Education is responsible of higher
education. Formal education
includes
pre-school education, basic
education, secondary education,
and higher
education. 8 years of primary
school is compulsory for children.
After the
primary school, high schools,
private colleges and universities
are available.
There are one or two universities
nearly in every city in Turkey but
the best
ones are in Istanbul, Izmir and
Ankara. Basic education consists
of 8 years
which was changed in 1997 with a
new law. The secondary education
is 3 years
unless it is Anatolian high school
which offers a four-year program,
a language
preparatory program prior to the
three-year high school education,
using a
modern European language.
MONEY:
The national monetary unit is
Turkish Lira (TL). But foreign
exchange like USD or EURO
can be used in Turkey. Exchange
rates for foreign currencies are
published
on our currency page.
ELECTRICITY:
Electricity is supplied at 220
volts. Plugs have two round
prongs.
SPORTS:
Wrestling is Turkey's traditional
sport. But the most popular sport
is soccer.
Then basketball. Other different
kinds of sports are done all
around the country
such as diving, wind-surfing,
golfing, air sports, caving,
hunting, winter
sports, mountaineering, trekking.
CARPETS:
Turkish carpets are the
reflections of environment,
sociology, economy, and
religion of the Turkish people
from Central Asia to Turkey. The
popularity of
Turkish carpets is due to the
geographical reasons. In the lands
Turks have
lived the temperature show
differences between day and night
or summer and
winter. Turks have tried to
protect themselves from the cold
weather in their
houses by covering the floors and
sometimes even their walls with
carpets. The
carpets are mostly made of wool
but sometimes of cotton and
although rare, silk
as well. These carpets are able to
protect the houses and the people
from the
cold. As a tradition weaving
carpet and kilim is a hobby as
well as a means of
earning money for the women and
the girls. Although factories were
built for
weaving carpets still hand-made
carpets are more valuable than the
industrial
carpeting.
TURKISH
COFFEE:
Turkish coffee has played an
important role in Turkish
lifestyle and culture.
The serving and consumption of
coffee has had a big effect on
customs, political
and social interaction and
hospitality throughout the
centuries. It was brought
to Turkey in 1555 by two Syrian.
Turkish coffee houses have always
been a
meeting place for both the
cultured citizen and the
inquisitive traveler. There
are delightful cafe-restaurants in
Turkey where friends and family
meet to
discuss topics of the day over a
cup of traditional Turkish coffee.
It is
derived from the Arabic bean and
it is powder-like grind. Turkish
coffee has six
levels of sweetness ranging from
very sweet to black. Since sugar
is added to
the coffee while making it, spoons
are not needed. Turkish coffee is
made in a
special pot called cezve. After
drinking it from the small special
Turkish
coffee cups, the cup is turned
over on the saucer and let to be
cooled. Then the
coffee-grounds create some shapes
and it is how Turkis!
h coffee shows your fortune!
TURKISH
CUISINE:
It is said to be three major types
of cuisine exist in the world
which are
French, Chinese and Turkish.
Turkish cuisine is various and
very simple to cook.
Lamb has an important role in
Turkish cuisine. Sis Kebab and
Doner Kebab are the
famous Turkish dishes made of
lamb. Also with the egg-plant many
various dishes
are made which are karniyarik,
hunkar begendi, egg-plant salad,
patlican
dolmasi. What is preferred with
meat and vegetables is made of
rice called
pilav. For starters there is borek
which is a pie of flaky pastry
stuffed with
meat, cheese or some vegetables.
Dolma is the name given to
vegetables such as
grape leaves, cabbage leaves,
green peppers and egg-plant
stuffed with spiced
rice and meat. Turkish cuisine is
also rich in desserts such as
baklava, kadayif
and kazandibi. Turkish coffee,
ayran, sira, boza are the national
beverages of
Turks.
TURKISH
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE:
The Turkish language belongs to
the Altay branch of the Ural-Altay
linguistic
family. Since the Turks have
spread over a wide geographical
area, the influence
of Turkish language is seen in a
wide area stretching from today's
Mongolia to
the north coast of the Black Sea,
the Balkans, East Europe,
Anatolia, Iraq and a
wide area of northern Africa. The
history of the Turkish language is
divided
into three main groups, old
Turkish (from the 7th to the 13th
centuries),
mid-Turkish (from the 13th to the
20th), and new Turkish from the
20th century
onwards. During the Ottoman Empire
period, Arabic and Persian words
were
assimilated into the Turkish
language. Five years after the
proclamation of the
republic in 1928 the Latin
alphabet began to be used. The
Turkish Language
Institute was established in 1932
and started to deal with the
linguistic
research and the development of
the language. As a result, modern
Turkish is a
literary and cultural language
developing free of foreign in!
fluences. |
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