How is the TURKISH FOOD ?The Turks are very proud that their cuisine is considered to be the most refined in the Mediterranean region and the third of three major cuisines of the world, after French.
The picture shown is the famous Turkish dish of ZEYTINYAGLI YAPRAK DOLMASI ( Stuffed grape leaves cooked with olive oil ).
In big cities like Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, there are restaurants which serve Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, French, Swiss, German, Italian and Mexican cuisine...
Elsewhere in the country, there are large numbers of small, family-owned restaurants which offer simple but tasty dishes at moderate prices. The atmosphere in most restaurants is fairly relaxed and if visitors have difficulty in understanding the names of the dishes, they can always go to the kitchen and choose from the dishes displayed.
A typical Turkish breakfast consists of Çay(tea), fresh bread, cheese 'Beyaz peynir' (white cheese similar to Greek 'Feta'), black olives, butter, jam or honey and a boiled egg. Alternatively you can try su böregi (soft pastry filled with white cheese sprinkled with parsley and some herbs), AYRAN, (plain yoghurt mixed with water and tiny bit of salt), or a bowl of traditional TARHANA soup (dried wheat sour dough made chiefly of curds and spices). (Read more on Turkish Cuisine)
Almost everything you wanted to know about Turkey (Türkiye)
- - - - Your Turkish travel dream starts here !( PAGE 1 of 4 )
and Welcome (Hosgeldiniz) ! It is a great pleasure to have you here. We created this website to serve YOU, the individual tourist(s) and/or travel professional(s). Our goal here is to provide you with information about Turkey and more importantly to encourage you to visit Turkey (Türkiye).
A trip to Turkey is an enchanting experience and an unforgettable adventure... We look forward to your arrival.
Turkey has everything to make your visit most enjoyable. In fact the country is very rich in history and natural beauty, it's people are wonderful. More people are discovering Turkey, why not you? Turkey has everything that a vacation should have.
Turks are extremely friendly with foreign visitors, the cuisine is excellent, and the cities are dotted with majestic old buildings that blend in a modern era. Turkey has always been the meeting point for European and Middle Eastern neighbors and travelers; thereby, becoming an important bridge between East and West
In recent years Turkey has become a major tourist destination too. There are an enormous variety of things to see and do; ranging from water sports to mountain trekking, archaeology and history, sight seeing and dining, to night-clubbing and unforgettable shopping. Whether you leave Turkey with magnificent carpets, amulets to ward off evil-eye, an appreciation of its history, or just a tan, you're likely to want to go back for more.
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DiscoverTURKEY(Türkiye)
OFFICIAL NAME: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Turkey) CAPITAL CITY: Ankara FOUNDER OF COUNTRY: Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK (1881-1938 DECLARATION OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC: October 29, 1923 POPULATION: 67 million 844 thousand (2000 census) 33.6 million of the population are female and 34.2 million are male. From 1960s, and 1970s, more than 3 million people have been emigrated to Germany and to other countries. FUNDAMENTAL FACTS: The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law; bearing in mind the concepts of public peace, national solidarity and justice; respecting human rights; loyal to the nationalism of Atatürk, and based on the fundamental tenets set forth in the Preamble. Everyone has the right to freedom of conscience, religious belief and conviction. The Constitution guaranties the equal rights for men and women. POLITICAL SYSTEM: Republican parliamentary democracy. All Turkish citizens of 18 and over have the right to register to any Political Party and vote. (Read more) FORM OF GOVERMENT: Goverment of "Justice and Development Party" (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi) CHIEF OF STATE: President Abdullah Gul (since August 28, 2007) HEAD OF GOVERMENT: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (since March 14, 2003) JUDICIAL POWER: The highest judicial authority in Turkey is "The Constitutional Court" (Anayasa Mahkemesi) THE MONETARY UNIT: 'Yeni Lira' (YTL), 'New Turkish Lira' (NTR) See exchange rate provided by International Currency Converter NATIONAL FLAG: A white crescent and a star in the middle of it on blood red background NATIONAL ANTHEM: "Independence March" (Istiklal Marsi) TURKEY'S GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES: 39 00 N, 35 00 E.
TURKEY(Türkiye) ) is slightly larger than the State of Texas, USA or approximately two times larger than England... total of 780,580 sq km.(483, 260 sq mi) of land plus total of 9,820 sq km of lakes). The country lies both in EUROPE and in ASIA. Turkey is a democratic republic and is also a unique secular Moslem(Muslim) country in the world.
The total population is 67 million and is divided by 7 geographical and administrative regions:
Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Central Anatolia, East Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia.
There is no other country in world like Turkey...
_ _ _ _ _ ONE NATION IN TWO CONTINENTS:
Europe & Asia
The European and Asian sides are divided by the BOSPHORUS(Istanbul Bogazi), the SEA OF MARMARA(Marmara Denizi) and the DARDANELLES(Çanakkale Bogazi).
Only about 3 percent of the country occupies the easternmost tip of southern Europe, a region called Thrace(Trakya) while the majority of the country lies in Asia.
The coastline of Turkey's four seas are the Aegean Sea (Ege denizi), the Black Sea(Karadeniz), the Marmara Sea(Marmara Denizi) and the Mediterranean Sea(Ege Denizi). The Country has a total of 7,200 km(4,369 mi) of coastline.
Turkey has 80 provinces. The country is surrounded on its 3 sides by the sea and borders with 7 foreign countries.
Turkey's neighbors are Greece (206km border) and Bulgaria (240km border) on the northwest; Georgia (252km border) and Armenia (268km border) in the northeast, Azerbaijan (9km border) in the north east and Iran (499km border), Iraq (331km border) and Syria (822km border) in the southeast. Cyprus(Kibris) is Turkey's south neighbor on the Mediterranean Sea(Akdeniz).
ISTANBUL is Turkey's largest city and seaport with a population of more than 14 million. The capital is ANKARA, which has a population of 3.7 million; meanwhile IZMIR is the third largest city and the second largest port for trading.
Although the large majority of it's people are Turks, ethnically and linguistically, there is also a small population of Kurds, Greeks, Armenians, Lazes (people in Black Sea region ), Assyrians and Jews.
The mix of these cultural influences and traditions in Turkey is one of the reasons that draws tourists to this beautiful country.
To see a map of particular part of the country, click on map.
Turkey is a new country in an old land and holds a strategic position on the world map. The modern Turkish state began with the creation of the Republic of Turkey in the years immediately following World War I. The creation of the new republic in the heartland of the old Ottoman empire was achieved in the face of opposition from internal traditionalist and intervention by foreign governments.
When Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey at the end of November 2006 he told Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who greeted him at the Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, " I really wanted to come to Turkey because Turkey has become a bridge between the religions."
During his 3 day visit in Turkey, Pope visited to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal ATATURK in Ankara. In Istanbul he visited the famous Blue Mosque, which is officially known as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, which was constructed by the 14th Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I, who ruled between the years of 1603-1617. But it's widely called the BLUE MOSQUE after its elaborate blue tiles.
He also visited the old Byzantine Church of St. Sophia, now is museum in Istanbul. His tour also took him to a place very close to Ephesus, near Izmir, where the Virgin Mary is believed to have died.
Pope Benedict XVI is became the second pontiff to take such as step, and prayed silently in another gesture of reconciliation to the Muslim(Moslem) world. The late John Paul II had visited a Mosque in Damascus a trip to Syria.
" I AM LEAVING HALF OF MY HEART IN ISTANBUL " Benedict said after releasing white doves into air in the garden of the church, on his last day in Turkey.
When you'll visit Turkey you will find that comforting orientation point in the easy balance of Eastern and Western cultures
The modern Republic of Turkey was instituted on the 29th of October in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (1881-1938, also called ATATÜRK or "Turk Father". Atatürk's goal was to build on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire and start a new country with a society that was similar to Western Europe. He equated westernization with the introduction of technology, the modernization of administration, and the evolution of democratic institutions. (Read brief history of ATATURK)
Turkey has always been the country where commerce between East and West has flourished for hundreds of years. Today, Turkey is one of the few countries in the world which is self-sufficient in basic food supply, including flour, sugar, wheat, and barley.
DID YOU KNOW ?
Agriculture plays an important role in the Turkish economy. Turkey's most productive farmlands are in the coastal regions, which are known for their fertile soil and a mild climate. Wheat, rice, tea, hazelnut, cotton, tobacco, fruit, vegetables, barley, corn, potatoes, sugar beets are grown for both domestic consumption and export. Sheep are the country's most important livestock, and Turkey is one of the major wool producers in the world. Turkey produces about 65 percent of the world's hazelnut demand.
In regards to natural resources, Turkey is rich in coal, iron, bauxite, copper, uranium, manganese, antimony, chromium, mercury, borate, sulfur(sulphur), zinc, borax, meerschaum, marble, and oil.
Turkey's economy is developing at a fast pace with its tourism and manufacturing leading the way. Turkey has over 200,000 factories and most of them are in advanced textile industry. Other leading manufactured products include fertilizer, iron and steel, machinery and metal products, clothing, motor vehicles, and paper products.
TURKEY... gateway to paradise !
Turkey is geographically a bridge between the East and West, as well as a cultural bridge between the West and the newly freed lands of Central Asia. Turkey is NATO's sole Moslem (Muslim) member since 1952 and an ally of Europe and the USA during the Gulf War in Iraq.
Turkey is eager to join the European Union (EU), hoping the federation will boost its sagging economy. It was made a candidate for membership in December 1999. Putting Turkey on track for full EU membership has been the goal of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party since it came to power in November 2002. The European Union opened historic membership talks with Turkey on October 4th, 2005. There are nearly 3.5 million Turkish workers in EU countries, two million of them in Germany alone.
Turkey is at odds with some it's neighboring countries over newly admitted EU-member Cyprus.
Cyprus is divided into a Greek Cypriot portion in the south and a Turkish Cypriot area in the north. In the summer of 2004 with a referendum, Turkish Cypriots positively accepted a U.N. reunification plan for the island, but unfortunately, the Greek Cypriots rejected the referendum. Subsequently, only the Greek part of Cyprus was admitted into the EU. On December 17th, 2004 Turkey got the European Union Commission approval date of October 3, 2005 to begin negotiations for its membership into the EU, with Turkish Cyprus included.
Turkey provided homes for some 313,000 Bulgarian refugees of Turkish origin expelled from their homelands in Bulgaria in 1989. Also, during the Gulf War in 1991, Turkey welcomed nearly half a million Kurds from Northern Iraq, who were fleeing the torment of S. Hussein's regime.
Since the 1960's, Turkey has been considered to be among the countries which registered the greatest progress in urbanization. Today, 70% of this population live in cities and 30% in rural areas. Especially after the 1950s, the modernization of agriculture and industrial development resulted in mass internal migration from rural areas to cities. This internal migration still continues at a tremendous speed, causing a series of problems such the issue of slums and shanty towns.
At midnight on January 1, 2005 Turkey dropped six zeros from its currency when it introduced the YTL (Yeni Türk Lirasi: new Turkish Lira). To ease the burden on the citizens, both the old and new Lira were used until January 1, 2006 when the old currency was removed from circulation. Although the old Lira can no longer be used, people who have them have until 2016 to convert them to the new currency.
Although exchange rates fluctuate, one YTL is worth approximately USD 0.79. Conversely, USD 1.00 is approximately YTL 1.26 (as of May 10, 2008). (See Currency converter)
We shall make the expansion and rise of Turkish culture in every era the
mainstay of the Republic. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
M.K.ATATÜRK
Turkey is a secular state and the consumption of alcohol is permitted, although during the holy month of Ramadan (Turks say RAMAZAN), it is considered polite for the visitor to avoid drinking alcohol.
Although about 98% of Turkey's population is Moslem (Muslim), the constitution guarantees religious freedom. Thus, There are also small enclaves of Jews, Roman Catholics, Eastern Roman Catholics, and members of various other Eastern Orthodox groups. For more details please see 'The Religion' section.
The Turkish flag is a combination of a vertical white crescent and five-pointed star on a red background. Military service is mandatory for males in Turkey and the military age is 20 years old. Turkey always has had a disciplined and strong military force. TURKIYE is militarily the largest NATO member, besides the United States Of America.
WHY VISIT TURKEY (Türkiye) ? The reasons for visiting Turkey are numerous !
To begin with, this wonderful land is blessed with great natural beauty and the history of the land of Turkey...called ANATOLIA (Anadolu). This incredibly rich history goes back to ancient times. On this land - many great civilizations emerged and prospered.
Mrs. Clinton told an invited audience at the 1800-year-old Roman amphitheater of ASPENDOS(near Antalya) during her visit in 1999.
WWW.HELLOTURKEY.NET IS AN AUTHORIZED TRAVELOCITY AFFILIATE.
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Turkish (Türkçe) is completely phonetic language. Every word pronounces exactly as spelled.
Turkish is a Ural-Altaic language and is from the same origin as Finnish, Hungarian, Japanese and Korean.
ATATURK's great language reform took place in 1928, when the Turks changed over from Arabic to Latin characters and many Persian and Arabic words were replaced by new Turkish one.
Today the Turkish language impartially spoken in the following countries and regions: Turkey, Northern Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Turkistan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Macedonia and eastern Bulgaria. Read more on Turkish
_ _ Who is Nasreddin Hodja? (Nasrettin Hoca)
Nasreddin Hodja is Turkey's (and perhaps all of Islam's) best-known trickster.
Storys of his legendary wit and droll trickery are possibly based on the exploits and words of a historical imam.
Nasreddin reputedly was born in 1208 in the village near Sivrihisar. In 1237 he moved to Aksehir, in south-central Turkey, where he died in the Islamic year 683 (1284 or 1285 AD).
( Click here to read more on NASREDDIN, plus, some of his tales... )
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The European and Asian sides are divided by the BOSPHORUS(Istanbul Bogazi), the SEA OF MARMARA(Marmara Denizi) and the DARDANELLES(Çanakkale Bogazi).
The Country has a total of 7,200 km(4,369 mi) of coastline.
The mix of these cultural influences and traditions in Turkey is one of the reasons that draws tourists to this beautiful country.
When Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey at the end of November 2006 he told Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who greeted him at the Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, " I really wanted to come to Turkey because Turkey has become a bridge between the religions."
During his 3 day visit in Turkey, Pope visited to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal ATATURK in Ankara. In Istanbul he visited the famous Blue Mosque, which is officially known as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, which was constructed by the 14th Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I, who ruled between the years of 1603-1617. But it's widely called the BLUE MOSQUE after its elaborate blue tiles.
The Turkish flag is a combination of a vertical white crescent and five-pointed star on a red background. Military service is mandatory for males in Turkey and the military age is 20 years old. Turkey always has had a disciplined and strong military force. TURKIYE is militarily the largest NATO member, besides the United States Of America.
Mrs. Clinton told an invited audience at the 1800-year-old Roman amphitheater of ASPENDOS(near Antalya) during her visit in 1999.
