TURKEYCULTURE, RELIGION, TRADITIONS AND FOOD

TRADITIONS

The dance traditional Each region of Turkey has its own dance and traditional costume and the most well

known are: • Horon: This dance of the Black Sea is normally done by men, dressed in black

with silver trims. The dancers joined dance hits of weapons and fast rhythms with their feet to vibrations the kemence (a kind of archaic violin).

• Kaşık Oyunu: Of the spoon dance is performed from Konya to Silifke and consists of ornately decorated dancers accompanying the rhythm of dance with a couple of wooden spoons in each hand.

• Kılıç Kankan: It is executed only by men, dressed in military costumes of campaign Ottoman, who dance without music, the rhythm of the sound of swords and shields sounding wrecked each other.

• Zeybek: In this dance of the Turkish Aegean, dancers wearing colorful attire, symbolize courage and heroism.

RELIGION

• Turkey is officially a secular State. However, the vast majority of the Turkish population (95%) profess the Muslim religion. Of these, about 75% are Sunni and 20% are Shi'a.

CULTURE• Culture in Turkey began a marked transition from Islamic culture,

during the period of the Ottoman Empire, towards the Western culture from the transformations driven by Kemal Ataturk. The Westernization of the customs of the population becomes evident especially in big cities like Istanbul and Ankara. While the majority of the population professes the faith of Islam, this is considered "moderate", in reference to other Muslim-majority towns. Most of the population considers itself as a European.

CULTURE

• The diaspora of Turkish citizens in Europe, has contributed to spread the culture of Turkey through the continent. This trend is mainly marked in Germany, home to nearly 3 million Turks, some of which have opened up a space in the culture of that country. Such is the case of the filmmaker Fatih Akin. Pop music, Tarkan is also famous on the continent and in various parts of the world.

FOOD

• The kitchen of Turkey corresponds to the set of culinary customs of the inhabitants of the regions of Turkey. The cuisine of Turkey is well known today and seems to have influenced other cuisines in the use of spices, roast meats, etc. It is known for its features bridge between the kitchens of the Middle East and Balkan cuisine, and it can be said that it is in a prominent position among the kitchens of Mediterranean origin, isn´t only because of the geographic position of the country, but it does have in common with the other cuisines a predominance of the use and employment of vegetables and olive oil as ingredients in most of their dishes.

FOOD PICTURES

DöNER KEBAB