Turkey briefly

By SAMET TASCI

IN BRIEF TURKEYCOUNTRY’S FULL NAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Republic of Turkey

CAPITAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ankara

LANGUAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Turkish

POPULATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76,805,524 (July 2009 est.)

CURRENCY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Turkish Lira (TL)

AREA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . total 780.580 sq km

POLITICAL SISTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Republican Parliamentary democracy

FOUNDER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 provinces

TIME ZONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EET = Eastern European Time = UTC (GMT) +2 hours

CLIMATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior

ETHNIC GROUPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated)

NATIONAL FLAG NATIONAL EMBLEM

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LANDSCAPE FROM TURKEY

is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace (Rumelia) in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe.Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhichevan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. Due to its strategic location astride two continents, Turkey's culture has a unique blend of Eastern and Western tradition. A powerful regional presence in the Eurasian landmass with strong historic, cultural and economic influence in the area between Europe in the west and Central Asia in the east, Russia in the north and the Middle East in the south, Turkey has come to acquire increasing strategic significance. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic whose political system was established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I. Since then, Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organizations such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G-20 major economies. Turkey began full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005, having been an associate member of the EEC since 1963, and having reached a customs union agreement in 1995.

NATIONAL FLAG /NATIONAL EMBLEM

NATIONAL EMBLEM Turkey does not have an official national emblem. The symbol on the cover page of Turkish passports is simply the star and crescent as found in the flag of Turkey. In 1925, the Ministry of Education initiated a competition to select a national coat of arms. The winner was the design by painter Namık İsmail Bey. However, the choice was not approved as an official coat of arms. This coat of arms contained a vertically-oriented star and crescent and a wolf.The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs uses a red oval-shaped logo, whose colour is that of the Turkish flag and whose shape echoes the oval shield at the center of the late 19th-century Ottoman coat of arms. The logo contains a star and crescent, vertically oriented with the star on top, surrounded by a text. A similar shield can be found on several Turkish embassies.The seal of the President of Turkey has a large 16-pointed star in the center, which is surrounded by 16 five-pointed stars, symbolizing the 16 Turkish states in history.

Used only in embassies and Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Designed in 1925, but was never approved

NATIONAL FLAG red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening

Seal of the President of Turkey. The 16 stars symbolize the 16 Turkish states in history.

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Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria. The land in asia is called as Anatolia and in europe as thrace.

Anatolia (Turkish: Anadolu) is a large, roughly rectangular peninsula situated bridgelike between Europe and Asia. The Anatolian part of Turkey accounts for 97% of the country's area. It is also known as Asia Minor, Asiatic Turkey or the Anatolian Plateau. The term Anatolia is most frequently used in specific reference to the large, semiarid central plateau, which is rimmed by hills and mountains that in many places limit access to the fertile, densely settled coastal regions.The European portion of Turkey, known as Thrace (Turkish: Trakya), encompasses 3% of the total area but is home to more than 10% of the total population. Istanbul, the largest city of Europe and Turkey, has a population of 11,372,613. Thrace is separated from the Asian portion of Turkey by the Bosporus (Turkish: İstanbul Boğazı), the Sea of Marmara (Turkish: Marmara Denizi), and the Dardanelles (Turkish: Çanakkale Boğazı).

Land boundaries: 2,627 km (1,632 mi) border countries: Greece 206 km (128 mi), Bulgaria ,240 km (149 mi), Georgia 252 km (157 mi), Armenia 268 km (167 mi), Nakhchivan (Azerbaijan) 9 km (6 mi), Iran 499 km (310 mi), Iraq 331 km (206 mi), Syria 822 km (511 mi).

The 1st Geography Congress, held in Ankara between 6-21 June 1941, divided Turkey into seven regions after long discussions and work. These geographical regions were separated according to their climate, location, flora and fauna, human habitat, agricultural diversities, transportation, topography and so on. At the end, 4 side regions and 3 inner regions were named according to their neighborhood to the four seas surrounding Turkey and positions in Anatolia.

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MOUNTAINS RIVERS AND LAKES IN TURKEY

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Turkish is spoken as a first language by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe. Turkish is also spoken by several million.

immigrants in Western Europe, particularly in Germany.

Turkish is a member of the Turkish, or Western, subgroup of the Oghuz languages, which includes Gagauz and Azeri. The Oghuz languages form the Southwestern subgroup of the Turkic languages, a language family comprising some 30 living languages spoken across Eastern Europe, Central Asia. and Siberia. Some linguists believe the Turkic languages to be a part of a larger Altaic language family. About 40% of all speakers of Turkic languages are native Turkish speakers. The characteristic features of Turkish, such as vowel harmony, agglutination, and lack of grammatical gender, are universal within the Turkic family and the Altaic languages. There is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between Turkish and the other Oghuz languages, including Azeri, Turkmen, Qashqai, Gagauz, and Balkan Gagauz Turkish.

Turkish is the official language of Turkey and is one of the official languages of Cyprus. It also has official (but not primary) status in the Prizren District of Kosovo and several municipalities of the Republic of Macedonia, depending on the concentration of Turkish-speaking local population. Istanbul Turkish is established as the official standard language of Turkey. Dialectal variation persists, in spite of the leveling influence of the standard used in mass media and the Turkish education system since the 1930s.

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Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including that of western European. The Ottomans fused various culinary traditions of their realm with influences from Middle Eastern cuisines, along with traditional Turkic elements from Central Asia (such as yogurt), creating a vast array of technical specialities- many with strong regional associations. Taken as a whole, Turkish cuisine is not homogeneous. Aside from common Turkish specialities that can be found throughout the country, there are also many region-specific specialities. The Black Sea region's cuisine (northern Turkey) is based on corn and anchovies. The southeast—Urfa, Gaziantep and Adana—is famous for its kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, kadayıf and künefe. Especially in the western parts of Turkey, where olive trees are grown abundantly, olive oil is the major type of oil used for cooking. The cuisines of the Aegean, Marmara and Mediterranean regions display basic characteristics of Mediterranean cuisine as they are rich in vegetables, herbs, and fish. Central Anatolia is famous for its pasta specialties, such as keşkek (kashkak), mantı and gözleme.A specialty's name sometimes includes that of a city or region, either in or outside of Turkey, and may refer to the specific technique or ingredients used in that area. For example, the difference between Urfa kebab and Adana kebab is the use of garlic instead of onion and the larger amount of hot pepper that kebab contains.

TURKISH CUISINEIt is said that three major kinds of cuisine exist in the world; Turkish, Chinese, and French. Fully justifying its reputation, Turkish Cuisine is always a pleasant surprise for the visitor. In addition to being the refined product of centuries of experience, Turkish Cuisine has a very pure quality. The variety and simplicity of the recipes and the quality of the ingredients are guarantees of delicious meals. For those who travel in culinary pursuits, Turkish Cuisine is a very curious one. The variety of dishes that make up the Cuisine, the ways they all come together in feast-like meals, and the evident intricacy of each craft offer enough material for life-long study and enjoyment. It is not easy to discern a basic element or a single dominant feature, like the Italian "pasta" or the French "sauce". Whether in a humble home, at a famous restaurant, or at a dinner in a Bey's mansion, familiar patterns of this rich and diverse Cuisine are always present. It is a rare art which satisfies your senses while reconfirming the higher order of society, community and culture.


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Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born on 7 June 1952 in Istanbul) generally known simply as Orhan Pamuk, is a Turkish novelist. He is also the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing.One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over seven million books in more than fifty languages, making him the country's best-selling writer. Pamuk is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature 2006—the first Nobel Prize to be awarded to a Turkish citizen.

Sertab Erener (born December 4, 1964 in Istanbul) is a Turkish pop star and also a cross-over soprano with a vocal range that extends to high F. She is one of the most successful female Turkish pop singers in her homeland, and is considered one of the divas of Turkish pop music. In Europe, she is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with her hit song "Everyway That I Can", although she has had many other achievements outside Turkey.

Mehmet Okur (born May 26, 1979 in Yalova, Turkey) is a Turkish professional basketball player who currently plays for the Utah Jazz of the NBA. He is a 211 cm (6' 11") power forward/center. He was named to the Western Conference All-Star team for 2007 NBA All-Star Game. He and Ray Allen were selected as replacements for injured original members Allen Iverson and Steve Nash. He is the first Turkish player to participate in this event.


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Semih Saygıner nicknamed Mr. Magic and the Turkish Prince, is a Turkish professional carom billiards player. Saygıner started playing billiards. He had a good performance in high school but left for depression over the loss of his mother and father. He then focused on billiards. A year later, he won his first Turkish title.He won the 1999 CEB European Three-cushion Championship by defeating Dion Nelin of Denmark. He was the first from his country to win that tournament. In 2003, Saygıner won the UMB World Three-cushion Championship by disposing Filipos Kasidokostas of Greece. He's the only Turk ever to win it. That same year, he won the last World Three-cushion Championship organized by the BWA by besting Dick JaspersSaygıner shares the world record for the highest run in three-cushion billiards, of 31, with Colombian American Hugo PatiñoHis highest average in a match is 3.571 (50 points in 14 innings).

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Fazıl Say (born January 14, 1970) is a Turkish pianist and composer. Born in Ankara, Turkey, to Turkish musicologist and writer Ahmet Say, Fazıl Say studied piano and composition at the Ankara State Conservatory. At the age of seventeen, he was awarded a German Academic Exchange Service scholarship that enabled him to study for five years with David Levine at the Robert Schumann Institute in Düsseldorf, Germany. From 1992 to 1995, he continued his studies at the Berlin Conservatory. In 1995, he was the winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, which gave a rapid start to his international career.

Tarkan is a World Music award winning pop singer who has been nicknamed the "Prince Of Pop" by the media. He has released several platinum-selling albums during his career, with an estimated 15 million albums sold. Tarkan is one of the very few European artists who has managed to be successful in Russia, Latin America and across the European continent singing in his native language - as well as being a cultural icon in his homeland.

Suna Korad is a very gifted Turkish soprano. She touched millions of souls with her powerful voice. Suna Korad was a source of inspiration for the Bilkent community, especially to the members of the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2003. She held the title of “State Artist” in Turkey. Piri Reis Is primarily known as a famous Turkish sailor and the first Turkish marine cartographer. Piri Reis was both a great sea commander who was heroic and one of the most important cartographers and sailor writers of his time. The world map he charted was printed by the Turkish Historical Institution in 1935. This map was presented by Piri Reis to Yavuz Sultan Selim in Egypt in 1517. Mimar Sinan was the chief Ottoman architect and civil engineer for sultans Suleiman I, Selim II and Murad III. He is considered one of the greatest of the Ottoman architects. His many buildings include some of the most famous landmarks of the Turkish Empire. His masterpiece is the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, although his most famous work is the Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul. Sinan was the architect of around 360 structures which included 84 mosques, 51 small mosques ("mescit"), 57 schools of theology ("medrese") 7 schools for Koran reciters ("darülkurra"), 22 mausoleums ("türbe"), 17 Alm Houses ("imaret"), 3 hospitals ("darüşşifa"), 7 aquaducts and arches, 48 inns ("Caravansary"), 35 palaces and mansions, 8 vaults and 46 baths. Ayhan Sureyya is regarded as one of the finest Turkish woman athletes of all time. National middle-distance athlete and world championships runner Süreyya Ayhan Kop won her first gold medal for Turkey at the European championship in Munich in 2002. At age twenty-three, she set a new world record for 1,500-meter distance running and beat the Romanian world and Olympics champion Gabriela Szabo with 3 minutes, 58.79 seconds. Fikret Mualla is considered one of the representatives of Turkish arts in the 20th century. He is a painter who has gained world-wide recognition. Fikret Mualla painted the cafes, the people at the cafes, the taverns, streets, circuses, places of entertainment and the life in Paris. Men Sitting, Still Life in Blue, Bistro, Cafe, French Workers at a Cafe in Marseille, Golden Horn and Süleymaniye, A Street in Paris are some of his most famous paintings.

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Turkey briefly