Turkey Information Guide & Facts

 Turkey

Official Name: The Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti)
Founder:  Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK ( 1881-1938 )
Capital: ANKARA
Population: 65.3 million (as of 2000)
Literacy rate: 1935  % 19.25 - 1990  % 80.46
Language: Turkish (uses Latin Alphabet)
Currency: Turkish Lira ( TL )
Flag: Red background with a white crescent and star in the middle
Location: Eastern Mediterranean. Located on two contitents Europe and Asia. The European part of Turkey is called Thrace, while the Asian part is called Anatolia or ( Asia Minor )
Area: 814 578 Km2 (314 500 square miles); % 3 on the European continent; % 97 on the Asian continent 

Major Cities: Istanbul 9.2 million; Ankara 3.7 million; Izmir 3.1 million; Konya 1.9 million; Adana 1.7 million; Bursa 1.2 million   
Religion: % 99 of the population is Muslim. Turkey is a secular state that quarantees complete freedom of worship to non-Muslims.
National Anthem: “Istiklal Marsi” ( Independence March ); Lyrics by Mehmet Akif Ersoy; Adopted as Turkey’s National Anthem on March 12,1921
Coastline: 8333 Km. (5000 miles). Turkey is surrounded by sea on three sides, by the Black Sea in the North, the Mediterranean in the south and the Aegean Sea in the West. In the north-west there is also an important internal sea, the Sea of Marmara, between the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus 
Time: Local time is equal to GMT + 2 hours. Same time zone all over the country ( seven hours ahead of U.S. -eastern standard time- ) 
Electricity: 220 volts a.c. all over Turkey

History

The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923. Its first President, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, made it his aim to transform Turkey into a modern, secular state, which could compare with Western nations in terms of military and economic strength. The Turkish military has since tended to regard itself as the guardian of Ataturk's legacy, even to the point of intervening directly to restore political stability in 1960, 1971 and most recently in 1980.

In September 1980 the Turkish military took power following a breakdown of law and order under a succession of weak and divided coalition governments during the 1970s. Under martial law tens of thousands were detained, many convicted of terrorist offences, some executed and thousands imprisoned. General Evren, Chief of the General Staff, became Head of State and President of the National Security Council (NSC - an advisory body, consisting of the President, Prime Minister, other key ministers, and senior members of the military). He set, and adhered rigidly to, a timetable for the restoration of an elected government. In 1982 a new Constitution was adopted. Turgut Özal replaced Evren as President in 1989. He modernised the Turkish economy and raised Turkey's international standing until his death in 1993. In May 1993 Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel was elected President. Mrs Tansu Çiller, previously Economics Minister, was elected to replace Demirel as Chairman of the True Path Party (DYP) in early June 1993 and thus became Turkey's first female Prime Minister.

In June 1996 Necmettin Erbakan became Prime Minister when his Refah party formed a coalition with the DYP. However, Refah's Islamist ideology led to friction with the NSC, which feared that the new government might take steps to undermine Turkey's secular state and western orientation. Largely as a result of sustained pressure from the NSC, Erbakan resigned in June 1997. The Democratic Left Party (DSP), led by Bulent Ecevit, benefited most from the political upheaval that followed, forming coalitions first with the ANAP alone, then with both the ANAP and DYP.

The general and local elections in Turkey of 18 April 1999 brought to power a coalition of the DSP, ANAP and Devlet Bahceli’s Nationalist Action Party (MHP), with Bulent Ecevit remaining as Prime Minister. Ahmet Necdet Sezer, former Head of Turkey’s Constitutional Court, was elected President of Turkey on 5 May 2000; he was inaugurated on 16 May.

Geography

Because of its location, Turkey was a region through which ancient Asian Turkish culture moved into Europe, and also a window of Western culture opening to meet the east.

Turkey is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Aegean Sea, which connects the country to the whole world. Because of these long coastal borders and the bridge between Asia and Europe, Turkey has been the centre of major commercial and migration routes.

Turkey is located between Europe and Asia and is roughly a rectangular shape. The largest section is the Anatolian Peninsula at 790,200 km2, known as Asia Minor. Thrace (Trakya) is the smaller area, at 24,378 km2, and is located at the east of Balkan peninsula, bringing the total area of the country to 814,578 km2. With a coastline measuring 8272km, Turkey is a naval country in a central position to the world’s prominent continents.

Regions The First Geographical Summit gathered in Ankara in 1941, and separated Turkey into seven major geographic regions after a carefuk study. The first four pre-determined regions are named after their neighbouring seas (Black Sea, Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean Region). The remaining three are named in accordance with their geographic locations within Anatolia (Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia Region).

Climate

Turkey is located at the south of the medium climate zone, and is effected by the Mediterranean climate, which is subtropical with dry summers.

Mediterranean
The coastline along this region has a Mediterranean climate, in which the summers are hot and dry, and winters warm and wet. Burdur and Isparta provinces, behind the Taurus Mountains to the west, are the transitional regions between the Mediterranean and terrestrial climate. The waters here are warm for most of the year, and it is possible to swim between May to October.

Aegean
The coastal region has a Mediterranean climate, which grows more extreme when moving further inland, to a terrestrial climate. The Aegean Sea is warm enough to swim between June and October.

Marmara
The winter season is extremely cold, with frequent frost and snow, with less threat of drought in the summer than the Mediterranean. With colder water, it is only possible to swim between June and August, and possibly September.

Black Sea
The Black Sea climate, which is wet all year round, is separated into three types. The Eastern Black Sea Region (Trabzon and Rize) it is the wettest with warm summers and warm winters; the Central area (Ordu) is relatively dry, and is more similar to a Mediterranean climate; and the western region (Zonguldak and Sinop) is dryer still. Swimming in the Black Sea is comfortable between late June to mid August.

Central Anatolia
The winters are cold, and summers are slightly hotter than the Mediterranean. The wettest seasons are spring and autumn.

Eastern Anatolia
A severe terrestrial climate is encountered here, with long and harsh winters with heavy snowfall. The summers are not as hot as in the south-east.

Southeastern Anatolia
The steppe climate dominates, with extreme seasons: Summers are hot and extremely dry, with droughts often suffered. In winter, the temperature plummets to well below freezing, with heavy snowfall.

Culture

After the invasion of Anatolia by Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic Period (BC 333-30) began in Anatolia. During this period, the cities of Aegean Region was ornamented by architectural art works. After BC 30 and following years, there was a major cultural improvement under the reign of Roman Empire. As the Roman Empire was divided into two in the year 395, Byzantium period began in Anatolia and the art works were adapted to this culture. Parallel to the spreading of the Christianity, there was a significant increase in the religious structures and works. The Byzantium period ended in year 1453, after the conquering of Istanbul by Turks. During this period, the cities of Aegean Region were ornamented with the architectural art works.

Turks begin to settle in Anatolia starting from the beginning of the XI. Century during the period of Great Seljuk Empire. During the period of the Turkey Seljuks (1075-1318) who could be counted as the continuation of Great Seljuk Empire, the older cities were repaired and ornamented with new structures and also new settlement places were founded. The priority was set to the religious architecture required by Islam, education institutions and hospitals.

The Ottomans, which founded a state in 1299 and become an empire later had obtained the unification in Anatolia in the period of Fatih Sultan Mehmet. During the ascension period which begins with Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the borders of the empire reached to the inner parts of Iran to Central Europe and from Crimea to Northern Africa. The Ottoman Empire carried its own culture to these new conquered lands while absorbing the admired elements into its own from these lands. Therefore, a rich culture mosaic is founded.
Starting from the XVIII. Century, The effects of European culture on the Ottoman culture is seen.

After the Turkish Independence War under the command of great leader Atatürk, Republic of Turkey was founded in 29 October 1923. The Republic of Turkey took over a rich cultural heritage from the Ottoman Government. Atatürk initiated important studies concerning about enlightening, preserving and presentation of this rich heritage. He founded Turkish Language and History Institutions. He founded and helped education in Faculty of Language, History and Geography. He showed great importance to Museums. He reverted Topkapı Palace and Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) into museums. By archeological excavations he hold, numerous art works and ancient remains have come into light and entered into museums.

Being a geographic location for numerous civilizations and a mosaic of various cultures, Turkey is one of the leading countries of having rich cultural background and varieties. Turkey has united his natural beauties with its cultural riches and therefore made great improvements in the tourism field. The remains and works of ancient cultures other than Turkish background are preserved and great importance is paid to these art works. Today, although most of the Turkish oriented remains and art works are totally destroyed in Balkans and Central Europe, in Turkey all of the foreign oriented art works are preserved even if they do not have artistic value. There are thousands of art works and ancient remains that could be called as a Wonder in Turkey. The Ephesus Arthemis Temple and Halikarnas Bodrum Mausoleum, which are counted among the seven wonders of the world, were once inside the borders of Turkey. The still remaining parts of these two unique wonders and some of the Turkey's cultural riches are demonstrated at the major museums all around the world.

Cuisine

General Features of the Turkish Cuisine

• The staple item in the Turkish kitchen is bread.
• There are many types of dishes in the Turkish kitchen, and pastries are the first of these.
• There are well-known varieties of kebabs and sauce dishes, and meat stew with onions is one of the most common dishes.
• There are many types of vegetables, and they are usually cooked with meat, onions and tomato or tomato paste.
• Most dishes use onion, chopped meat, tomato paste and vegetables fried in oil before water is added.
• Vegetables are rarely cooked in water.
• Onions are a prominent ingredient of most dishes. As well fried in oil and added to dishes, they are also used raw in salads.
• Wild herbs, mushrooms and roots are widely used in rural areas.
• Oils are of great importance in the Turkish kitchen.
• Olive oil is nearly always a part of the Western Anatolian kitchen.
• Bulgur is an important ingredient, used with meatballs, vegetable dishes and soups.
• When meals are sweetened with fruit or dried fruits, they are mainly used with dishes fried in oil.
• Generally lots of spices are used in dishes, although the variety of spices is low. The most common is red pepper, and long green peppers are added to dishes to make them hotter.
• Herbs like parsley and dill are also used in many dishes, and fresh or dried mint is common in salads and soups.
• Yoghurt is an extremely important part of the meal, and many dishes are served with yoghurt with garlic, or just plain.
• With most Turkish dishes, appearance is far less important than taste.
• The most common sauce is using tomatoes fried in oil, used during cooking and also often served as a garnish as well as enhancing the taste.
• Most dishes use a lot of salt whilst cooking.
• Grape molasses is also used as a sweetening agent.

Historical Development
Perfected through the development of the Ottoman Empire, the custom of Turkish cuisine and dining was performed under rules, especially after Istanbul became the capital city. In the course of the time, laying a huge table for dinner in palaces, mansions and waterside residences, turned out to be vibrant social activities for the sultans, residents and nobles of the palace. During the feasts in major cities, the kitchen became a venue for novelty, and cooks were able to show off their skills and creativity. During religious festivals and feasts to honour foreign emperors, kings and ambassadors, the magnificence of Turkish cuisine came to the foreground.

Cuisine of the Imperial Palace
Perfected through the development of the Ottoman Empire, the custom of Turkish cuisine and dining was performed under rules, especially after Istanbul became the capital city. In the course of the time, laying a huge table for dinner in palaces, mansions and waterside residences, turned out to be vibrant social activities for the sultans, residents and nobles of the palace. During the feasts in major cities, the kitchen became a venue for novelty, and cooks were able to show off their skills and creativity. During religious festivals and feasts to honour foreign emperors, kings and ambassadors, the magnificence of Turkish cuisine came to the foreground.

Cuisine of the Common
A new Turkish cuisine of the common people gradually came into existence, shaped through the traditions and customs of Anatolian natives after seeing healthy nutrition as a factor for being strong, and increasing the energy of everyone in the family. In addition to better eating, families also prepared unique dishes on special occasions like religious festivals, feasts and harvest festivals.
The typical Turkish kitchen varied according to the region and therefore its architectural characteristics. But common to most homes were the oven, underground furnace, shelves for pots and pans, ground table, table cloth lied on the ground and wooden or copper tray.

Dining Table
Tray had put on the table cloth lied on the ground after putting wooden table support, which can be opened or closed or circular hoop. Service spoons are put on the tray with adding them to tray or tabla as a ring, and napkin and table cloth is ordered to the sides of the tray (Today we also use forks.) Regional winter preparations, performed as a collective work (dried vegetable, tarhana, sucuk, vermicelli etc.) is one of the most widespread characteristics, which riches the kitchen.
Today there are numerous cooking descriptions reached today via oral traditions or entered to written references, reflecting regional Turkish public kitchen. Lentil or boiled and pounded wheat (bulgur) grained meals, From death meal ceremony in Çatalhöyük and Kök Turk Inscriptions, meals like kebab, meat stew with onions (yahni) vb., from Divan-ı Lügat it Türk, halvah, pilaf, zerde, baklava, pastry like meals are holding the signs of Seljukian cooking culture.