1.
Culture of Turkey
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Many of these traditions were initially brought together by the Ottoman Empire, a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state. The present-day Republic of Turkey, which was declared in 1923 after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, is still a country that spans Europe. During the early years of the republic, the government invested an amount of resources into fine arts such as paintings. This was done as both a process of modernization and of creating a cultural identity, Turkish culture has undergone profound changes over the last century. Today, Turkey may be the country that contains every extreme of Eastern and Western culture. The Ottoman system was a state that enabled people within it not to mix with each other and thereby retain separate ethnic. Political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic changes were designed to convert the new Republic of Turkey into a secular. These changes were implemented under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as a result, Turkey is one of the most westernized Islamic nations. The Book of Dede Korkut and the Epic of Köroğlu have been the main elements of the Turkish epic tradition in Anatolia for several centuries, the two primary streams of Ottoman literature were poetry and prose. Of the two, the Ottoman Divan poetry, a highly ritualized and symbolic art form, was the dominant stream, the vast majority of Divan poetry was lyric in nature, either ghazals or qasidas. There were, however, other genres, most particularly the mathnawi. The tradition of Ottoman prose was exclusively non-fictional in nature, as the tradition was limited to narrative poetry. The Tanzimat reforms of 1839–1876 brought changes to the language of Ottoman written literature, and introduced previously unknown Western genres, primarily the novel, Most of the roots of modern Turkish literature were formed between the years 1896 and 1923. Broadly, there were three primary literary movements during this period, the Edebiyyât-ı Cedîde movement, the Fecr-i Âtî movement, the Edebiyyât-ı Cedîde movement began with the founding in 1891 of the magazine Servet-i Fünûn, which was largely devoted to progress along the Western model. Accordingly, the magazines literary ventures, under the direction of the poet Tevfik Fikret, were geared towards creating a Western-style high art in Turkey, poetry is the most dominant form of literature in modern Turkey. The folk poetry as indicated above, was influenced by the Islamic Sunni. Furthermore, as evidenced by the prevalence of the still existent ashik tradition. Much of the poetry and song of the tradition, being almost exclusively oral until the 19th century
2.
History of Turkey
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See History of the Republic of Turkey for the history of the modern state. The history of Turkey, understood as the history of the region now forming the territory of the Republic of Turkey, the earliest representations of culture in Anatolia were Stone Age artifacts. The remnants of Bronze Age civilizations such as the Hattian, Akkadian, Assyrian, after the fall of the Hittites, the new states of Phrygia and Lydia stood strong on the western coast as Greek civilization began to flourish. They, and all the rest of Anatolia were relatively soon after incorporated into the Achaemenid Persian Empire, as Persia grew in strength, their system of local government in Anatolia allowed many port cities to grow and to become wealthy. All of Anatolia got divided into satrapies, ruled by satraps appointed by the central Persian rulers. Some of the satraps revolted periodically but did not pose a serious threat, in the 5th century BC, Darius I built the Royal Road, which linked the principal city of Susa with the west Anatolian city of Sardis. Anatolia played a role in Achaemenid history. In the earliest 5th century BC, some of the Ionian cities under Persian rule revolted, which culminated into the Ionian Revolt. This revolt, after being suppressed by the Persian authority, laid the direct uplead for the Greco-Persian Wars. After Achaemenid Persian rule, the Greek Alexander the Great finally wrested control of the region from Persia in successive battles. The Seleucid Empire, the largest of Alexanders territories, and which included Anatolia, became involved in a war with Rome culminating in the battles of Thermopylae. The resulting Treaty of Apamea in saw the Seleucids retreat from Anatolia, the Kingdom of Pergamum and the Republic of Rhodes, Romes allies in the war, were granted the former Seleucid lands in Anatolia. Roman control of Anatolia was strengthened by a hands off approach by Rome, allowing control to govern effectively. The Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting an area in Central. They were bordered by the Scythians to the north, the Celts and the Illyrians to the west, the Ancient Greeks to the south and they spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family. The study of Thracians and Thracian culture is known as Thracology, starting around 1200 BC, the western coast of Anatolia was heavily settled by Aeolian and Ionian Greeks. Numerous important cities were founded by colonists, such as Miletus, Ephesus, Smyrna and Byzantium. The territory of Thrace later became unified by the Odrysian kingdom, founded by Teres I, a type of soldier of this period called the Peltast probably originated in Thrace
3.
Minorities in Turkey
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Minorities in Turkey form a substantial part of the countrys population, with at least an estimated 30% of the populace belonging to an ethnic minority. The amount of minorities is suspected to be underestimated by the Turkish government. Ethnic Albanians, Pontic Greeks, Kurds, Arabs, Bosniaks, Circassians, although many minorities have no official recognition, state-run TRT television and radio broadcasts minority language programs and elementary schools offer minority language classes. Groups of nomadic and semi-nomadic itinerants found mainly in central and western Anatolia and they speak an argot of their own and follow the Alevi faith. Afghans are one of the largest irregular migrant groups in Turkey, from the period 2003-2007, the number of Afghans apprehended were significant, with statistics almost doubling during the last year. Most had fled the War in Afghanistan, in 2005, refugees from Afghanistan numbered 300 and made a sizeable proportion of Turkeys registered migrants. Most of them were spread out over satellite cities with Van, in the following years, the number of Afghans entering Turkey greatly increased, second only to migrants from Iraq, in 2009, there were 16,000 people designated under the Iraq-Afghanistan category. Despite a dramatic 50 percent reduction by 2010, reports confirmed hundreds living and working in Turkey, as of January 2010, Afghans consisted one-sixth of the 26,000 remaining refugees and asylum seekers. By the end 2011, their numbers are expected to surge up to 10,000, making them the largest population, african quarters of 19th-century İzmir, including Sabırtaşı, Dolapkuyu, Tamaşalık, İkiçeşmelik, and Ballıkuyu, are mentioned in contemporary records. There are an estimated 500, 000–6,000,000 people of Albanian descent in Turkey, According to the Turkish government there are only 1.3 million Albanians, with 500,000 considering themselves to have an Albanian national consciousness and the remainder being assimilated. However, these assumptions of the Turkish government are rejected by scholars who explain they are without any basis. Arabs in Turkey number between 800,000 and 1 million, and they live in provinces near the Syrian border, particularly the Hatay region. However, including recent Syrian refugees, they make up to 5. 3% of the population, most of them are Sunni Muslims. However, there is a group of Alawis, and another one of Arab Christians in communion with the Antiochian Orthodox Church. Armenians are indigenous to the Armenian Highlands which corresponds to the half of modern-day Turkey, the Republic of Armenia, southern Georgia, western Azerbaijan. Prior to the Genocide in 1914, the Armenian population of Turkey numbered at about 1,914,620, the Armenian community of the Ottoman Empire before the Armenian genocide had an estimated 2,300 churches and 700 schools. After the Armenian genocide however, it is estimated that 200,000 Armenians remained in Turkey, today there are an estimated 40,000 to 70,000 Armenians in Turkey, not including the Hamshenis. Armenians today are concentrated around Istanbul
4.
Languages of Turkey
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Article 3 of the Constitution of Turkey defines Turkish as the only official language of Turkey. Article 42 of the Constitution explicitly prohibits educational institutions to teach any language other than Turkish as a tongue to Turkish citizens. No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a tongue to Turkish citizens at any institutions of training or education. Foreign languages to be taught in institutions of training and education, the provisions of international treaties are reserved. Due to Article 42 and its restrictive interpretation, ethnic minorities have been facing severe restrictions in the use of their mother languages. This particular constitutional provision has been contested both internationally and within Turkey, the provision has been criticized by minority groups, notably the Kurdish community. But the government claims that these are Turkeys only minorities, in 2013, the Ministry of Education included Kurdish, Abkhaz, Adyghe and Laz languages to the academic programme of the basic schools as optional classes from the fifth year on. Ethnologue lists many minority languages in Turkey some of which are spoken by large numbers of people, -Abaza Central, Eskisehir, Samsun, Yozgat, Adana, and Kayseri provinces. Alternate Names, Abazin, Abazintsy, Ahuwa, Tapanta Dialects, Ashkaraua, Bezshagh, Classification, North Caucasian, West Caucasian, Abkhaz-Abazin Comments, Muslim. Abkhaz Northeast, Artvin Province, also Coruh, Bolu, alternate Names, Abxazo Dialects, Abzhui, Bzyb, Samurzakan. Classification, North Caucasian, West Caucasian, Abkhaz-Abazin Comments, Muslim, Adyghe Central and western Anatolia, Kayseri, Tokat, Karaman Maras, and many other provinces. Alternate Names, Adygey, Cherkes, Circassian Classification, North Caucasian, West Caucasian, Circassian Comments, Albanian, Tosk Edirne, Istanbul, Kirklareli, and Tekirdag provinces, center is Arnavut, otherwise scattered throughout western Turkey. Alternate Names, Shqip Classification, Indo-European, Albanian, Tosk Comments, Arabic, Mesopotamian Spoken Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Mardin, and Siirt provinces, very small area in Gaziantep Province. Classification, Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic Comments, Christian, Arabic, North Mesopotamian Spoken Mardin, Sirnak, Batman, Siirt, and Sanliurfa provinces. Alternate Names, Syro-Mesopotamian Vernacular Arabic Classification, Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic Comments, Armenian Many in Istanbul, and in east Turkey, Kars Province, scattered elsewhere. Alternate Names, Armjanski, Ermenice, Haieren, Somkhuri Dialects, Classification, Indo-European, Armenian Comments, Hemshin are Armenian Muslims, living near the Laz language area. More Information Azerbaijani, South Kars and Igdir provinces, Classification, Turkic, Southern, Azerbaijani Comments, Muslim. Balkan Gagauz Turkish Surguch dialect in Edirne Province, alternate Names, Balkan Turkic Dialects, Gajol, Gerlovo Turks, Karamanli, Kyzylbash, Surguch, Tozluk Turks, Yuruk
5.
Turkic mythology
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Turkic mythology embraces Tengriist and Shamanist traditions as well as all cultural and social subjects being a nomad folk. Later, especially after Turkic migration some of the myths were decorated with Islamic symbols and it has many common points with Mongol mythology. Turkic mythology was influenced by other local mythologies, for example, in Tatar mythology elements of Finnic and Indo-European myth co-exist. Subjects from Tatar mythology include Äbädä, Alara, Şüräle, Şekä, Pitsen, Tulpar, and Zilant. Besides Buddhism, Turkic mythology was influenced by Manichaeism, irk Bitig, a 10th-century manuscript found in Dunhuang is one of the most important sources for Turkic mythology and religion. This book is written in Old Turkic alphabet like the Orkhon inscriptions, Kök Tengri is the first of primordial deities in the religion of the early Turkic people. He was known as yüce or yaratıcı tengri after the Turks started to migrate and leave middle Asia, the words Tengri and Sky were synonyms. It is unknown how Tengri looks and he rules the fates of entire people and acts freely. But he is fair as he awards and punishes, the well-being of people depends on his will. Tengri worship is first attested in the Old Turkic Orkhon inscriptions of the early 8th century, Umay is the goddess of fertility and virginity. Umay resembles earth-mother goddesses found in other world religions and is the daughter of Tengri. Öd Tengri Is the god of time being not well-known, as it states in the stones, Öd tengri is the ruler of time. Boz Tengri Like Öd Tengri, he is not known much and he is seen as the god of the grounds and steppes and is a son of Kök Tengri. Kayra is the Spirit of God, primordial god of highest sky, upper air, space, atmosphere, light, life and son of Kök Tengri. Ülgen is the son of Kayra and Umay is the god of goodness, the Aruğ denotes to good spirits in Turkic and Altaic mythology. They are under the order of Ülgen and doing things on earth. Erlik is the god of death and the underworld, also a god of the manly seem, since his name Erklik is also used for male. Later Erlik was used depriving him of this rather anti-hero status, the titel khan in his name is because of his ruler position
6.
Turkish folklore
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The tradition of folklore—folktales, jokes, legends, and the like—in the Turkish language is very rich, and is incorporated into everyday life and events. Perhaps the most popular figure in the tradition is Nasreddin, who is the character of thousands of jokes. —Yes, I do, answered Nasreddin. —Can I have some, I need some to make an ointment with. —No, you cant have any, answered Nasreddin. If I gave my forty-year-old vinegar to whoever wanted some, I wouldnt have had it for forty years, would I. The two workers supposedly spent much of their time entertaining the workers, and were so funny and popular that they interfered with work on the palace. If they sprout, this means the marriage will be successful, in the Eastern Black Sea region, it is believed that there is an invisible lace between the feet of those children who have trouble walking when theyre young. A lace is tied between the feet of child and the lace is cut by the child of family or the first to leave the mosque after Friday prayer. It is believed that once the invisible lace has been cut, in Turkish folklore, childless women, cows that dont get pregnant, and children wetting their beds are supposedly cured by passing under a blackberry bush known as Avat. “Avat is believed to be a herb of paradise. ”In Trabzon. Desperate patients with diseases are said to have been shown to the moon on a wooden shovel “If that continues I will put you on a shovel. This event can only be explained with the “paganist” beliefs comes from “Caucasia”, at first the police understood that the hunter killed a man called Evliya but later they saw that the “saint” was a tree so they let the hunter go. It was an example of Colchis culture that can be seen today which was mixed with Islam in Trabzon under the name of saint and common before one God religions that people used to believe in nature. It is possible to see things in Hemsheen region of Rize “the branches are praying three days before and during bairam, so we do not cut live branches during bairam. Cemre are three fireballs that come from the heavens to warm earth at the end of each winter, each cemre warms one aspect of the nature. The first cemre falls to air between February 19–20, the second cemre falls to water between February 26–27. The third cemre falls to ground between 5–6 March, taram Baba, the night demon or nightmare which is believed to kidnap children, in some Balkanic Turks tradition. Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignácz Kúnos http, //aton. ttu. edu/ the Uysal-Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative at Texas Tech University
7.
Turkish cuisine
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Turkish cuisine is largely the continuation of Ottoman cuisine, which in turn borrowed many elements from Circassian, Central Asian, Caucasian, Middle Eastern, Balkan and Greek cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including those of Southeast Europe, Central Europe, Turkish cuisine varies across the country. The cuisine of the Black Sea Region uses fish extensively, especially the Black Sea anchovy, the cuisine of the southeast is famous for its variety of kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, şöbiyet, kadayıf, and künefe. Especially in the parts of Turkey, where olive trees grow abundantly. The cuisines of the Aegean, Marmara and Mediterranean regions are rich in vegetables, herbs, Central Anatolia has many famous specialties, such as keşkek, mantı and gözleme. Dishes directly cognate with mantı are found also in Chinese and Korean cuisine, a specialtys 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 kebap and Adana kebap is the thickness of the skewer and the amount of hot pepper that the kebab contains, Urfa kebap is less spicy and thicker than Adana kebap. Although meat-based foods such as kebabs are the mainstay in Turkish cuisine as presented in countries, native Turkish meals largely center around rice, vegetables. Turks usually prefer a rich breakfast, a speciality for breakfast is called menemen, which is prepared with tomatoes, green peppers, onion, olive oil and eggs. Invariably, Turkish tea is served at breakfast, the Turkish word for breakfast, kahvaltı, means before coffee. Homemade food is preferred by Turkish people. Although the newly introduced way of life pushes the new generation to eat out, a typical meal starts with soup, followed by a dish made of vegetables or legumes boiled in a pot, often with or before rice or bulgur pilav accompanied by a salad or cacık. In summertime many people prefer to eat a dish of vegetables cooked with olive oil instead of the soup, either before or after the main course. Although fast food is gaining popularity and many major foreign fast food chains have opened all over Turkey, Turkish people still rely primarily on the rich and extensive dishes of Turkish cuisine. In addition, some traditional Turkish foods, especially köfte, döner, kokoreç, kumpir midye tava börek, eating out has always been common in large commercial cities. Esnaf lokantası are widespread, serving traditional Turkish home cooking at affordable prices, in the hot Turkish summer, a meal often consists of fried vegetables such as eggplant and peppers or potatoes served with yogurt or tomato sauce. Menemen and çılbır are typical dishes, based on eggs. Sheep cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons and melons also make a summer meal
8.
Religion in Turkey
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Islam is the largest religion in Turkey according to the state, with 99. 4%. Recent independent polls show dramatically lower percentages, with 9. 4% being not religious at all, the same studies show that roughly 90% of irreligious people are younger than the age of 35. Most Muslims in Turkey are Sunnis forming about 72%, and Alevis belonging to Shia denomination form about 25% of the Muslim population, there is also a Twelver Shia community which forms about 3% of the Muslim population. Among Shia Muslim presence in Turkey there is a small but considerable minority of Muslims with Ismaili heritage, Christians and Jews, who comprise the non-Muslim religious population, make up 0. 2% of the total. However, currently all public schools from elementary to high school hold mandatory religion classes which only focus on the Sunni sect of Islam, in these classes, children are required to learn prayers and other religious practices which belong specifically to Sunnism. Thus, although Turkey is officially a state, the teaching of religious practices in public grade schools has been controversial. Its application to join the European Union divided existing members, some of which questioned whether a Muslim country could fit in, Turkish politicians have accused the countrys EU opponents of favouring a Christian club. In the early 2000s, Islamic groups challenged the concept of a state with increasing vigor after Recep Tayyip Erdoğans Islamist-rooted Justice. In a poll conducted by Sabancı University,98. 3% of Turks revealed they were Muslim, a poll conducted by Eurobarometer, KONDA and some other research institutes in 2013 showed that around 4.5 million of the 15+ population had no religion. Another poll conducted by the institutions in 2015 showed that the number has reached 5.5 million. Over 20% of the population belongs to the Alevi faith, thought by most of its adherents to be a form of Shia Islam, a minority consider it to have different origins. Closely related to Alevism is the small Bektashi community belonging to a Sufi order of Islam that is indigenous to Turkey, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has a presence in eight districts of the country. Islam arrived in the region that comprises present-day Turkey, particularly the provinces of the country. As of today, there are thousands of mosques throughout the country which are still active. Large mosques built in the Republic of Turkey period include the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara, however, the Turkish government does not recognize the ecumenical status of Patriarch Bartholomew I. Other Eastern Orthodox denomination is the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate with strong influences from Turkish nationalist ideology, Istanbul, since 1461, is the seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. There have been 84 individual Patriarchs since establishment of the Patriarchate, the first Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople was Hovakim I who ruled from 1461 to 1478. Sultan Mehmed II allowed the establishment of the Patriarchate in 1461, the Patriarch was recognized as the religious and secular leader of all Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, and carried the title of milletbaşı or ethnarch as well as patriarch
9.
Turkish art
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Turkish art refers to all works of visual art originating from the geographical area of what is present day Turkey since the arrival of the Turks in the Middle Ages. Turkey also was the home of much significant art produced by earlier cultures, including the Hittites, Ancient Greeks, Ottoman art is therefore to the dominant element of Turkish art before the 20th century, although the Seljuks and other earlier Turks also contributed. The 16th and 17th centuries are generally recognized as the finest period for art in the Ottoman Empire, in particular the long reign of Suleiman the Magnificent from 1520–1566 brought a combination, rare in any ruling dynasty, of political and military success with strong encouragement of the arts. They were not necessarily located in the palace, and may have been able to undertake work for other clients as well as the sultan. Many specialities were passed from father to son, other forms of art represented developments of earlier Islamic art, especially those of Persia, but with a distinct Turkish character. As in Persia, Chinese porcelain was collected by the Ottoman court. The reign of the Ottomans in the 16th and early 17th centuries introduced the Turkish form of Islamic calligraphy and this art form reached the height of its popularity during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. As decorative as it was communicative, Diwani was distinguished by the complexity of the line within the letter, the hilya is an illuminated sheet with Islamic calligraphy of a description of the Prophet Muhammad. The tughra is an elaborately stylized formal signature of the sultan, other important media were in the applied or decorative arts rather than figurative work. Other Turkish art ranges from metalwork, carved woodwork and furniture with elaborate inlays to traditional Ebru or paper marbling, in the 18th and 19th centuries Turkish art and architecture became more heavily influenced by contemporary European styles, leading to over-elaborated and fussy detail in decoration. European-style painting was slow to be adopted, with Osman Hamdi Bey for long a somewhat solitary figure and he was a member of the Ottoman administrative elite who trained in Paris, and painted throughout his long career as a senior administrator and curator in Turkey. Many of his works represent Orientalism from the inside, as it were, a transition from Islamic artistic traditions under the Ottoman Empire to a more secular, Western orientation has taken place in Turkey. Modern Turkish painters are striving to find their own art forms, sculpture is less developed, and public monuments are usually heroic representations of Atatürk and events from the war of independence. Literature is considered the most advanced of contemporary Turkish arts. M. süleyman the Magnificent,1988, British Museum Publications ISBN0714114405 Binney, Edwin. Turkish Miniature Paintings and Manuscripts, from the Collection of Edwin Binney, new York City, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles, Calif. Los Angeles County Museum of Art,1973, catalogue of an exhibition held at the named museums. Echoes of Anatolia, Works of Contemporary Turkish-American Artists, exhibition Has Been Realized through the Generosity of the Contributing Artists and the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D. C.24 p. amply ill. Without ISBN Culture of the Ottoman Empire
10.
Turkish literature
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The Ottoman and Azeri forms of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, are highly influenced by Persian and Arabic literature, and used the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. The history of the broader Turkic literature spans a period of nearly 1,300 years, the oldest extant records of written Turkic are the Orhon inscriptions, found in the Orhon River valley in central Mongolia and dating to the 7th century. For the next 900 years, until shortly before the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, with the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the two traditions came together for the first time. Throughout most of its history, Turkish literature has been sharply divided into two different traditions, neither of which exercised much influence upon the other until the 19th century. The first of two traditions is Turkish folk literature, and the second is Turkish written literature. For most of the history of Turkish literature, the salient difference between the folk and the written traditions has been the variety of language employed. The folk tradition, by and large, was oral and remained free of the influence of Persian and Arabic literature, when the Ottoman Empire arose early in the 14th century, in northwestern Anatolia, it continued this tradition. Out of this confluence of choices, the Ottoman Turkish language—which was always distinct from standard Turkish—was effectively born. This style of writing under Persian and Arabic influence came to be known as Divan literature, Turkish folk literature is an oral tradition deeply rooted, in its form, in Central Asian nomadic traditions. However, in its themes, Turkish folk literature reflects the problems peculiar to a people who have abandoned the nomadic lifestyle. Another example is the mysterious figure of Nasreddin, a trickster who often plays jokes, of a sort. The religion henceforth came to exercise an influence on Turkish society and literature, particularly the heavily mystically oriented Sufi. The word aşık is in fact the term used for members of the Bektashi order. There are three basic genres in the tradition, epic, folk poetry, and folklore, the Book of Dede Korkut endured in the oral tradition of the Oghuz Turks after settling in Anatolia. Alpamysh is an epic, still preserved in the literature of various Turkic peoples of Central Asia in addition to its important place in the Anatolian tradition. The Book of Dede Korkut was the element of the Azerbaijani–Turkish epic tradition in the Caucasus. Concurrent to the Book of Dede Korkut was the so-called Epic of Köroğlu, complicating matters somewhat is the fact that Köroğlu is also the name of a poet of the aşık/ozan tradition. The epic tradition in modern Turkish literature may be seen in the Epic of Shaykh Bedreddin, many of the works of the 20th-century novelist Yaşar Kemal, such as the 1955 novel Memed, My Hawk, can be considered modern prose epics continuing this long tradition
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Music of Turkey
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Much of its modern popular music can trace its roots to the emergence in the early 1930s drive for Westernization. With the assimilation of immigrants from various regions the diversity of musical genres, Turkey has also seen documented folk music and recorded popular music produced in the ethnic styles of Greek, Armenian, Albanian, Polish, Azeri and Jewish communities, among others. Many Turkish cities and towns have vibrant local music scenes which, in turn, despite this however, western-style pop music lost popularity to arabesque in the late 70s and 80s, with even its greatest proponents Ajda Pekkan and Sezen Aksu falling in status. It became popular again by the beginning of the 1990s, as a result of an opening economy, with the support of Aksu, the resurging popularity of pop music gave rise to several international Turkish pop stars such as Tarkan and Sertab Erener. Ottoman court music has a large and varied system of modes or scales known as makams, a number of notation systems were used for transcribing classical music, the most dominant being the Hamparsum notation in use until the gradual introduction of western notation. Turkish classical music is taught in conservatories and social clubs, the most respected of which is Istanbuls Üsküdar Musiki Cemiyeti, a full fasıl concert would include four different instrumental forms and three vocal forms, including a light classical song, şarkı. A strictly classical fasıl remains is the same throughout, from the introductory taksim. Composers and Performers Other famous proponents of this genre include Sufi Dede Efendi, Prince Cantemir, Baba Hamparsum, Kemani Tatyos Efendi, Sultan Selim III, the most popular modern Turkish classical singer is Münir Nurettin Selçuk, who was the first to establish a lead singer position. Other performers include Bülent Ersoy, Zeki Müren, Müzeyyen Senar, from the makams of the royal courts to the melodies of the royal harems, a type of dance music emerged that was different from the oyun havası of fasıl music. In the Ottoman Empire, the harem was that part of a house set apart for the women of the family and it was a place in which non-family males were not allowed. Eunuchs guarded the sultans harems, which were large, including several hundred women who were wives and concubines. There, female dancers and musicians entertained the women living in the harem, belly dance was performed by women for women. This female dancer, known as a rakkase, hardly ever appeared in public and this type of harem music was taken out of the sultans private living quarters and to the public by male street entertainers and hired dancers of the Ottoman Empire, the male rakkas. These dancers performed publicly for wedding celebrations, feasts, festivals, modern oriental dance in Turkey is derived from this tradition of the Ottoman rakkas. However, Çiftetelli is now a form of music, with names of songs that describe their local origins. Dancers are also known for their use of finger cymbals as instruments. Romani are known throughout Turkey for their musicianship and their urban music brought echoes of classical Turkish music to the public via the meyhane or taverna. This type of music with food and alcoholic beverages is often associated with the underclass of Turkish society
12.
Media of Turkey
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The media of Turkey includes a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing disparate views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive. In addition, the companies are willing to use their influence to support their owners wider business interests, the media exert a strong influence on public opinion. Censorship in Turkey is also an issue, and in the 2000s Turkey has seen many journalists arrested, on Reporters without Borders Press Freedom Index it has fallen from being ranked around 100 in 2005 to around 150 in 2013. By circulation, the most popular newspapers are Hürriyet, Sabah, Posta, Sözcü. Newspapers with oppositional editorial line against the government corresponds to 65% of daily newspapers in circulation while pro-government newspaperss share is 25%, the broadcast media have a very high penetration as satellite dishes and cable systems are widely available. The Radio and Television Supreme Council is the government body overseeing the broadcast media, the largest operator is the Doğan Media Group, which in 2003 received 40 percent of the advertising revenue from newspapers and broadcast media in Turkey. In 2003 a total of 257 television stations and 1,100 radio stations were licensed to operate, of those licensed,16 television and 36 radio stations reached national audiences. In 2003 some 22.9 million televisions and 11.3 million radios were in service, aside from Turkish, the state television network offers some programs in Arabic, Circassian, Kurdish, and Zaza. The Constitution of Turkey, at art,28, states that the press is free and shall not be censored. Between 2007 and 2010 around 3,700 websites and platforms including YouTube, MySpace, some themes have long remained quasi-taboo in the Turkish media, including the role of the Army, the Cyprus issue and the rights of the Kurdish and Armenian minorities. The interests of media owners in the media conglomerates inevitably cast a shadow over the objectivity. In 2006 RTÜK introduced a voluntary ombudsman mechanism that media outlets can introduce in order to evaluate their audiences reactions, yet, ombudsmen lack independence, as they are high-ranking employees of the same media groups. Turkey hosts around 3,100 newspapers, including 180 national ones, only 15% of these are daily newspapers. Turkish print outlets privilege columns and opinions over pure news, and are often politically polarised, broadcast media include hundreds of TV stations and thousands of radio stationsm including some in minority languages. The introduction of Kurdish-language media has been hailed as a big progress, more than two thirds of the media are owned by few cross-media groups, whose activities expand in other economic sectors. These media conglomerates thus rely on alliances with parts of the political, as a result, the media landscape of Turkey is highly diverse but also very biased and nationalistic, and media coverage and critical positions reflects media owners preferences and interests. Independent journalism is a rare and dangerous endeavour, at risk of job insecurity. In November 2013 the Savings Deposit and Insurance Fund was used to transfer assets to supportive businessmen
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Television in Turkey
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Television in Turkey was introduced in 1968 by the government media provider TRT. The first Turkish television channel, ITU TV, was launched in 1952, first national television in TRT1. Color television was introduced in 1981, back then it was the only channel with the name of TRT1, and it broadcast in several times of the dateline. Turkeys first private television channel Star started it broadcast on 26 May 1989, until the 1990s there was only one television channel controlled by the state, but with the wave of liberalization, privately owned broadcasting began. Turkeys television market is defined by a handful of big channels, led by Kanal D, ATV and Show, with 14%, 10% and 9. 6% market share, respectively. The most important reception platforms are terrestrial and satellite, with almost 50% of homes using satellite at the end of 2009, three services dominate the multi-channel market, the satellite platforms Digitürk and D-Smart and the cable TV service Türksat. As of 2013, pay television services in Turkey include Digiturk, D-Smart, TeleDünya, Türksat KabloTV, the Uzan Group made the first digital television transmissions in Turkey with Turkeys first television channel Star TV. As they were on the lead with their channels Star, TeleOn and Kral, in 2003, the platforms name was changed as DigiFun Club, but it was short lived before became defunct. Turkeys first pay television provider, CINE5 from MultiCanal launched in late 1994 and it held the rights to the latest movie premieres, series and especially sports such as the Turkish Football League. In 2000, CINE5 launched CINE+Digital on Turksat with some specialty channels, Turkeys first and leading digital platform, Digiturk, owned by the Çukurova Group, launched in 1999. Digiturk was a lot more professional and had a lot of advantages over the platforms such as Star Digital and CINE+Digital. Digiturk has the rights of airing the main sports live coverage in Turkey with its channel Lig TV, Digiturk is transmitted to the air via Eutelsat 7 East satellite with the usage of Turksat 42 East satellite. There are options with its own receiver or the subscription with module, Digiturk recently launched HD channels of itself such as Lig TV HD, MovieMax HD, EuroSport HD, National Geographic HD, SporMax HD and İZ HD. Turkeys second digital platform is D-Smart owned by the Dogan Holding, actually, the first HD television broadcasts were carried out by the Dogan Holding with the two channels Kanal D HD and Discovery Channel HD on their D-Smart platform. Currently, there are some HD channels via D-Smart which are Discovery HD, EuroSport HD, HD Smart, Kanal D HD and Star TV HD. Recently, D-Smart has had deals with Turkeys MTV Group, MCD. D-Smart uses Turksat 42 East for the transmissions, cable network is renamed as Teledünya which has some HD channels at the moment also called as National Geographic HD and EuroSport HD. Lately the cable network has had deals with Turkeys MTV Network Group, MCD
14.
Cinema of Turkey
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Yeşilçam is the sobriquet that refers to the Turkish film art and industry. The first movie exhibited in the Ottoman Empire was the Lumiere Brothers 1895 film, LArrivée dun train en gare de La Ciotat, the first Turkish-made film was a documentary entitled Ayastefanostaki Rus Abidesinin Yıkılışı, directed by Fuat Uzkınay and completed in 1914. The first narrative film, Sedat Simavis The Spy, was released in 1917, Turkeys first sound film was shown in 1931. In terms of production, Turkey shared the same fate with many of the national cinemas of the 20th century. Between the years 1896–1945, the number of locally produced films did not even reach 50 films in total, equal to less than a single years annual film production in the 1950s and 1960s. Domestically produced films constituted only a fraction of the total number of films screened in Turkey prior to the 1950s. Film production in Turkey increased drastically after World War II, with a total of 49 films produced in 1952, this single year equaled a greater output produced in Turkey than all previous years combined. During the 1960s, Turkey became the fifth biggest film producer worldwide as annual film production reached the 300 film benchmark just at the beginning of the 1970s, compared to other national cinemas, the achievements of the Turkish film industry after 1950 are still remarkable. The number of ticket sales decreased from a peak of 90 million tickets in 1966 to 56 million tickets in 1984. Accordingly, the number of film theatres declined from approximately 2,000 in 1966 to 854 in 1984 and 290 in 1990, during the 1990s the average number of films produced per year remained between 10-15, usually half of them not even making it into the theatres. Since 1995 the situation has improved, after the year 2000, annual ticket sales rose to 20 million and since 1995, the number of theatres has steadily increased to approximately 500 nationwide. Currently, Turkish films attract audiences of millions of viewers and routinely top the blockbuster lists, the distribution of these films are mainly handled by multinational corporations such as Warner Bros. and United International Pictures. However, the developments of these companies must be seen as necessary adaptations to the technological progress of the western film industries whose films they were importing. The Regional System became much more important after the 1950s, when film production dramatically increased. This system became the foundation of Yeşilçam, which was the heart of Turkish film production between the years 1955–1975. After 1965, a so-called Combined System led by a trust of regional leaders is said to have control of almost everything regarding production. A leading figure of the trust was producer Türker İnanoğlu, who is active in the media business today, now running Ulusal Film. The first film showing in Turkey was held in the Yıldız Palace, public shows by Sigmund Weinberg in the Beyoğlu and Şehzadebaşı districts followed in 1897
15.
Sport in Turkey
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Among all sports in Turkey, the most popular one is football. Turkeys top teams include Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş, in 2000, Galatasaray won the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup. The Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul hosted the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, other popular mainstream sports include basketball and volleyball. Turkey hosted the Finals of EuroBasket 2001 and the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the national team also reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Championship. At club level, Anadolu Efes won the Korać Cup in 1996, finished second in the Saporta Cup of 1993, also, Beşiktaş have come out as the winners of Eurochallenge in 2012-2013 season with only a single defeat, all stages of the tournament included. Turkish basketball players such as Mehmet Okur, Hidayet Türkoğlu and Ersan İlyasova have also successful in the NBA. Womens volleyball teams, namely Fenerbahçe, Eczacıbaşı and Vakıfbank, have won numerous European championship titles, Fenerbahçe also won the CEV Womens Volleyball World Club Championship in 2010. In 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships Kemal Koyuncu won silver in Mens 1500 metres, the traditional Turkish national sport has been the Yağlı güreş since Ottoman times. Edirne hosts the annual Kırkpınar oiled wrestling tournament since 1361, another major sport in which the Turks have been internationally successful is weightlifting. Turkey has risen to prominence in a number of sporting areas in recent decades, football has seen a rapid transformation earning it third place in the coveted 2002 FIFA World Cup. Its domestic teams are dominated by Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, of these, Fenerbahçes European triumph came in the now defunct 1967 Balkans Cup. Galatasaray has seen the most success, winning the 2000 UEFA Cup and European Super Cup, in recent years, Turkey has exported many of its players into top foreign teams, including Internazionale, FC Barcelona, Parma, Milan, and Bayern Munich, among others. As well as sending players abroad, the Turkish league has attracted players into Turkey. Turkey is currently bidding to host UEFA Euro 2020, Basketball is also gaining popularity in Turkey. Turkey came second in European Basketball Championship in 2001 in Istanbul, Turkey also came ninth in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. Turkeys greatest success in basketball came when it hosted the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Türkoğlu captained the side and made the all-tournament team, Turkey also advanced to the quarter-finals in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, achieving a non-expected sixth place. Turkey womens national team won silver medal in EuroBasket Women in 2011
16.
Flag of Turkey
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The flag of Turkey is a red flag featuring a white star and crescent. The flag is called al bayrak, and is referred to as al sancak in the Turkish national anthem. The current design of the Turkish flag is derived from the late Ottoman flag. The measures, geometric proportions, and exact tone of red of the flag of Turkey were legally standardized with the Turkish Flag Law on May 29,1936, the star and crescent design appears on Ottoman flags beginning in the late 18th or early 19th century. The introduction of the star and crescent on red as the flag of the Ottoman Empire dates to the Tanzimat reforms of 1844. When full, it descended into his own breast, then from his loins there sprang a tree, which as it grew came to cover the whole world with the shadow of its green and beautiful branches. Beneath it Osman saw the spread out before him, surmounted by the crescent. The real legend, Turks fought a bloody battle. It was so bloody that a lake of blood was formed. Survivors of the saw that moon and stars shined over the blood. Red on the flag is the blood of matryrs, fundamentals of the Turkish flag during the Republic period of Turkey were laid down by Turkish Flag Law No.2994 on May 29,1936. 2/7175 dated July 28,1937, and Supplementary Regulation No, 11604/2 dated July 29,1939, were enacted to describe how the flag law would be implemented. The Turkish Flag Law No.2893 dated September 22,1983, according to Article 9 of Law No. 2893, a statute including the fundamentals of the implementation was also published, in a RGB colour space, the red colour of the Turkish flag is composed of 89% red,3. 9% green, and 9% blue. In a CMYK colour space, it is composed of 0% cyan,95. 6% magenta,89. 9% yellow and it has a hue angle of 356.4 degrees, a saturation of 91. 6%, and a lightness of 46. 5%. The red colour on the Turkish flag is red and this colour can be obtained by blending #FF142E with #C70000. The closest websafe colour is, #d11919.34875 G, thus, a common mistake in rendering the flag is to omit the white hem at the hoist. 2893 dated September 22,1983, establishing the proportions, production, and rules of usage of the flag of Turkey Turkey at Flags of the World
17.
National emblem of Turkey
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The star and crescent is retained from the 19th-century Ottoman flag, and has acquired its status as de facto national emblem following the abolition of the Ottoman coat of arms in 1922. It was used on national identity cards by the 1930s and it was also used on the old Turkish identity cards. The escutcheon contains a star and crescent which are vertically oriented and surrounded by the gold-tone text T. C. A variant of this oval escutcheon is used by the 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 Great Turkic Empires. Its appearance is regulated by law, in 1925, the Ministry of National Education held a contest for a national emblem. Namık İsmail, a painter, won the contest with his coat of arms depicting Asena, however, this coat of arms was never used. In 2014, MPs of AKP in TBMM attempted to pass a motion in order to create a new coat of arms for the country. Coat of arms of the Ottoman Empire Flag of Turkey Turkey Coats of arms of Europe
18.
Turkish language
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Outside of Turkey, significant smaller groups of speakers exist in Germany, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Northern Cyprus, Greece, the Caucasus, and other parts of Europe and Central Asia. Cyprus has requested that the European Union add Turkish as an official EU language, in 1928, as one of Atatürks Reforms in the early years of the Republic of Turkey, the Ottoman Turkish alphabet was replaced with a Latin alphabet. The distinctive characteristics of Turkish are vowel harmony and extensive agglutination, the basic word order of Turkish is subject–object–verb. Turkish has no classes or grammatical gender. Turkish has a strong T–V distinction and usage of honorifics, Turkish uses second-person pronouns that distinguish varying levels of politeness, social distance, age, courtesy or familiarity toward the addressee. The plural second-person pronoun and verb forms are used referring to a person out of respect. Turkic languages belong to the Altaic language group, the Turkic family comprises some 30 living languages spoken across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Siberia. Turkish is a member of the Oghuz group of languages, a subgroup of the Turkic language family, there is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between Turkish and the other Oghuz Turkic languages, including Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Qashqai, Gagauz, and Balkan Gagauz Turkish. The earliest known Old Turkic inscriptions are the three monumental Orkhon inscriptions found in modern Mongolia, erected in honour of the prince Kul Tigin and his brother Emperor Bilge Khagan, these date back to the second Turk Kaghanate. The Seljuqs of the Oghuz Turks, in particular, brought their language, following the adoption of Islam c. Turkish literature during the Ottoman period, particularly Divan poetry, was influenced by Persian, including the adoption of poetic meters. One of the tasks of the newly established association was to initiate a reform to replace loanwords of Arabic. By banning the usage of imported words in the press, the association succeeded in removing several hundred words from the language. While most of the words introduced to the language by the TDK were newly derived from Turkic roots, owing to this sudden change in the language, older and younger people in Turkey started to differ in their vocabularies. While the generations born before the 1940s tend to use the terms of Arabic or Persian origin. The past few decades have seen the work of the TDK to coin new Turkish words to express new concepts and technologies as they enter the language. Many of these new words, particularly information technology terms, have received widespread acceptance, however, the TDK is occasionally criticized for coining words which sound contrived and artificial. Some earlier changes—such as bölem to replace fırka, political party—also failed to meet with popular approval, some words restored from Old Turkic have taken on specialized meanings, for example betik is now used to mean script in computer science
19.
Ottoman cuisine
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Ottoman cuisine is the cuisine of the Ottoman Empire and its continuation in the cuisines of Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, and parts of the Caucasus, and the Middle East. It is clear that Ottoman cuisine was unified and refined in imperial Istanbul, the Balkans, Greece, Anatolia and the Fertile Crescent. are common heirs to what was once the Ottoman life-style, and their cuisines offer treacherous circumstantial evidence of this fact. Of course, they represent at the time a good deal of local or regional culinary traditions. This diverse cuisine was amalgamated and honed in the Imperial Palaces kitchens by chefs brought from certain parts of the empire to create and these chefs were tested and hired by their method of cooking rice, a simple dish. They were brought over from various places for the purpose of experimenting with exotic textures and ingredients. Each cook specialized in specific tasks, all dishes intended for the sultan were first passed by the palate of the Chesnidjibashi, or imperial food taster, who tested the food for both poison and taste. Culinary cultures of the Ottoman Empire
20.
Middle Eastern cuisine
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Middle Eastern cuisine is the cuisine of the various countries and peoples of the Middle East. The cuisine of the region is diverse while having a degree of homogeneity, some popular dishes include Kebabs, Dolma, and Doner Kebab. The Middle East includes the formerly known as the Fertile Crescent. Fermentation was also discovered here to leaven bread and make beer in Mesopotamia, as a crossroads between Europe, Asia, the Caucasus and North Africa, this area has long been a hub of food and recipe exchange. During the Persian Empire, the foundation was laid for modern Middle-Eastern food when rice, poultry, figs, dates and nuts were brought by merchants to conquered lands, and spices were brought back from the Orient. Religion has also influenced the cuisine, neither Jews nor Muslims eat pork, chateau Ksara is also very popular for its arak, an alcoholic drink produced in the Levant and Iraq. Al-Maza is Lebanons primary brewery, which was also, at one time, Lebanon has always been well known in the region for its wines and arak, making it an exception when it comes to lack of alcohol in the region. Under the Ottoman Empire, sweet pastries of paper thin phyllo dough, cereals constitute the basis of the Middle Eastern diet, both historically and today. Wheat and rice are the major and preferred sources of staple foods, barley is also widely used in the region and maize has become common in some areas as well. Bread is a universal staple – eaten in one form or another by all classes, aside from bread, wheat is also used in the forms of bulghur and couscous. Burghul is cracked wheat, made by cooking the wheat grains in water, drying it in an oven or in the sun, then breaking it into pieces. Typically, it is cooked in water, with flavorings, much like rice, burghul is also used in making meat pies and as an ingredient in salads, notably in tabbouleh, with chopped parsley, tomato, lemon, and oil. Freekeh is another common grain, made from green wheat. There are many types of produced and consumed in the region. Plain rice is served under grilled meats or with meat/vegetable stews, in more complex rice dishes, there are layers of meat, vegetables, sauces, nuts, or dried fruits. Butter and clarified butter are, traditionally, the medium of cooking. Olive oil is prevalent in the Mediterranean coastal areas, christians use it during Lent, when meat and dairy products are excluded, and Jews use it in place of animal fats such as butter to avoid mixing meat and dairy products. Most regions in the Middle East use spices, typically, a stew will include a small amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cumin, and coriander
21.
Eastern European cuisine
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The cuisine of the region is strongly influenced by its climate and still varies, depending on a country. For example, Belarusian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine show many similarities and these are substantial cuisines, meaty, rooty, smoky – part comfort food, part extravagance. The nutritional index of traditional dishes is generally high cholesterol, high sodium, english edition, Elena Molokhovets, Classic Russian Cooking, A Gift to Young Housewives. ISBN 978-0253212108 Institute of Nutrition of the Academy of Medical Scientists of the USSR, Москва, Пищевая промышленность, 1939-1999, in Russian. English edition, The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food, Iconic Cookbook of the Soviet Union, skyPeak Publishing LLC,2012, ISBN 978-0615691350 Кулинария. Москва, Пищевая промышленность,1980, ISBN 978-5952427839, in Russian, Russian Delight, A Cookbook of the Soviet People, London, Pan Books,1978 В. Похлёбкин, Кулинарный словарь от А до Я, Москва, Центрполиграф,2000, ISBN 5-227-00460-9 J. Gronow, S. Zhuravlev, The Establishment of Soviet Haute Cuisine. In Educated Tastes, Food, Drink, and Connoisseur Culture, university of California Press,2013, ISBN 978-0520275911 Anya Von Bremzen, John Welchman. Please to the Table, The Russian Cookbook, ISBN9780894807534 Metzger, Christine, Culinaria Germany. Irina Petrosian, David Underwood, Armenian Food, Fact, Fiction & Folklore, from the Caucasus to the Roof of the World, a culinary adventure. In Sami Zubaida & Richard Tapper, a Taste of Thyme, Culinary Cultures of the Middle East. London & New York, Tauris Parke Paperbacks, cS1 maint, Uses editors parameter Robert Strybel, Maria Strybel, Polish Heritage Cookery. ISBN9780781811248 Massimo Montanari, Il mondo in cucina, Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom, Excursions into Eating, Power, and the Past. Beacon Press,1997, ISBN0807046299 Mintalová - Zubercová, Zora, vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej,2009, ISBN 978-80-89208-94-4 Л. Київ, Вища школа,1992, ISBN 5-11-002319-0 Українські страви, Київ, Державне видавництво технiчної лiтератури УРСР,1960 Л. The cuisine of the region is influenced by its climate and still varies. For example, Belarusian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine show many similarities and these are substantial cuisines, meaty, rooty, smoky – part comfort food, part extravagance. The nutritional index of traditional dishes is generally high cholesterol, high sodium, english edition, Elena Molokhovets, Classic Russian Cooking, A Gift to Young Housewives
22.
Southeast Europe
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Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical region of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkan peninsula. These boundaries can vary due to political, economic, historical, cultural. The first known use of the term Southeast Europe was by Austrian researcher Johann Georg von Hahn as a broader term than the traditional Balkans and this concept is based on the boundaries of the Balkan peninsula. The countries that have described as being entirely within the region are, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia. Countries that are, at least partially, described to be within the region are, Croatia, Greece, east Thrace comprises Edirne Province, Kırklareli Province, Tekirdağ Province, and part of Istanbul Province. The Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe was an institution aimed at strengthening peace, democracy, human rights and it was replaced by the Regional Cooperation Council in February 2008. It had 235.6 million euro of funding available from 2007–2013
23.
Balkans
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The Balkan Peninsula, or the Balkans, is a peninsula and a cultural area in Eastern and Southeastern Europe with various and disputed borders. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch from the Serbia-Bulgaria border to the Black Sea, the highest point of the Balkans is Mount Musala 2,925 metres in the Rila mountain range. In Turkish, Balkan means a chain of wooded mountains, the name is still preserved in Central Asia with the Balkan Daglary and the Balkan Province of Turkmenistan. A less popular hypothesis regarding its etymology is that it derived from the Persian Balā-Khāna, from Antiquity through the Middle Ages, the Balkan Mountains had been called by the local Thracian name Haemus. According to Greek mythology, the Thracian king Haemus was turned into a mountain by Zeus as a punishment, a reverse name scheme has also been suggested. D. Dechev considers that Haemus is derived from a Thracian word *saimon, a third possibility is that Haemus derives from the Greek word haema meaning blood. The myth relates to a fight between Zeus and the monster/titan Typhon, Zeus injured Typhon with a thunder bolt and Typhons blood fell on the mountains, from which they got their name. The earliest mention of the name appears in an early 14th-century Arab map, the Ottomans first mention it in a document dated from 1565. There has been no other documented usage of the word to refer to the region before that, there is also a claim about an earlier Bulgar Turkic origin of the word popular in Bulgaria, however it is only an unscholarly assertion. The word was used by the Ottomans in Rumelia in its meaning of mountain, as in Kod̲j̲a-Balkan, Čatal-Balkan, and Ungurus-Balkani̊. The concept of the Balkans was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, during the 1820s, Balkan became the preferred although not yet exclusive term alongside Haemus among British travelers. Among Russian travelers not so burdened by classical toponymy, Balkan was the preferred term, zeunes goal was to have a geographical parallel term to the Italic and Iberian Peninsula, and seemingly nothing more. The gradually acquired political connotations are newer and, to a large extent, after the dissolution of Yugoslavia beginning in June 1991, the term Balkans again received a negative meaning, especially in Croatia and Slovenia, even in casual usage. A European Union initiative of 1999 is called the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, and its northern boundary is often given as the Danube, Sava and Kupa Rivers. The Balkan Peninsula has an area of about 470,000 km2. It is more or less identical to the known as Southeastern Europe. As of 1920 until World War II, Italy included Istria, the current territory of Italy includes only the small area around Trieste inside the Balkan Peninsula. However, the regions of Trieste and Istria are not usually considered part of the Balkans by Italian geographers, the Western Balkans is a neologism coined to describe the countries of ex-Yugoslavia and Albania
24.
Central European cuisine
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The Central European cuisine is the cuisine of Central Europe. The cuisine within each country in the region is influenced by the local climate. For example, German cuisine, Polish cuisine, Austrian and Czech cuisine show many similarities, montanari, Massimo, Il mondo in cucina. Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom, Excursions into Eating, Power, vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej,2009, ISBN 978-80-89208-94-4 Visit Europe on Central European cuisine Foodspring. Central European cuisine Whats4eats - Europe
25.
Western Europe
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Western Europe, or West Europe, is the region comprising the western part of Europe. Below, some different geographic and geopolitical definitions of the term are outlined, prior to the Roman conquest, a large part of Western Europe had adopted the newly developed La Tène culture. This cultural and linguistic division was reinforced by the later political east-west division of the Roman Empire. The division between these two was enhanced during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages by a number of events, the Western Roman Empire collapsed, starting the Early Middle Ages. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, mostly known as the Greek or Byzantine Empire, survived, in East Asia, Western Europe was historically known as taixi in China and taisei in Japan, which literally translates as the Far West. The term Far West became synonymous with Western Europe in China during the Ming dynasty, the Italian Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci was one of the first writers in China to use the Far West as an Asian counterpart to the European concept of the Far East. In his writings, Ricci referred to himself as Matteo of the Far West, the term was still in use in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Post-war Europe would be divided into two spheres, the West, influenced by the United States, and the Eastern Bloc. With the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain, behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Although some countries were neutral, they were classified according to the nature of their political. This division largely defined the popular perception and understanding of Western Europe, the world changed dramatically with the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The Federal Republic of Germany peacefully absorbed the German Democratic Republic, COMECON and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved, and in 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Several countries which had part of the Soviet Union regained full independence. Although the term Western Europe was more prominent during the Cold War, it remains much in use, in 1948 the Treaty of Brussels was signed between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It was further revisited in 1954 at the Paris Conference, when the Western European Union was established and it was declared defunct in 2011, after the Treaty of Lisbon, and the Treaty of Brussels was terminated. When the Western European Union was dissolved, it had 10 member countries, six member countries, five observer countries. The CIA divides Western Europe into two smaller subregions, regional voting blocs were formed in 1961 to encourage voting to various UN bodies from different regional groups. The European Union is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe, some Western and Northern European countries of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are members of EFTA, though cooperating to varying degree with the European Union
26.
Ottoman dynasty
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The Ottoman dynasty was made up of the members of the imperial House of Osman. According to Ottoman tradition, the family originated from the Kayı tribe branch of the Oghuz Turks, the Ottoman dynasty, named after Osman I, ruled the Ottoman Empire from c.1299 to 1922. During much of the Empires history, the sultan was the regent, head of state. The imperial family was deposed from power and the sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922 after the Turkish War of Independence, the Republic of Turkey was declared the following year. The living members of the dynasty were sent into exile as persona non gratae, though some have been allowed to return. In its current form, the family is known as the Osmanoğlu family, before Orhans proclamation of the dynasty, the tribe was known as the Bilecik Söğüt Beylik or Beys but was renamed Osmanlı in honor of Osman. The Ottoman dynasty is known in modern Turkish as Osmanlı Hanedanı, meaning House of Osman, in Ottoman Turkish it was known as Hanedan-ı Âl-i Osman, thus they still formally acknowledged the sovereignty of the Seljuk Empire and its successor, the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm. The first Ottoman ruler to claim the title of Sultan was Murad I. The holder of the title Sultan was in Arabic-Islamic dynasties originally the power behind the throne of the Caliph in Bagdad, the Ottoman sultans also claimed the title of Caliph starting with Murad I, who transformed the Ottoman state into a transcontinental empire. With the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II Fatih claimed the title Kaysar-i-Rûm Emperor of Rome and he appointed the Patriarch of Constantinople Gennadius Scholarius, whom he protected and whose status he elevated into leader of all the Eastern Orthodox Christians. As Emperor of Rome he laid claim to all Roman territories, Sultan Mehmed II also took the title of Padishah, a Persian title meaning Master of Kings and ranking as Emperor, claiming superiority among the other kings. He was the first Ottoman ruler to adopt the title of Padishah. The Ottoman claim to caliphate was strengthened when they defeated the Mamluks in 1517, as the empire grew, sultans adopted secondary titles expressing the empires claim to be the legitimate successor of the absorbed states. Furthermore, they tended to enumerate even regular provinces, not unlike the long lists of -mainly inherited- feudal titles in the style of many Christian European monarchs. Some early Ottoman Sultans even had to accept the status in the eyes of a foreign overlord. However, the Ottoman Caliphate too was abolished soon afterwards, and Abdulmecid II was utterly deposed and expelled from Turkey with the rest of the Ottoman dynasty on 3 March 1924
27.
Levantine cuisine
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Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant, known in Arabic as the Bilad ash-Sham and Mashriq. It is found in the states of Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and parts of southern Turkey near Adana, Gaziantep. In the broader family of Mediterranean cuisine, Cypriot cuisine also has strong Levantine influences, perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Levantine cuisine is meze including tabbouleh, hummus and baba ghanoush. Jean Bottéro, The Oldest Cuisine in the World, Cooking in Mesopotamia, University of Chicago Press,2004, ISBN0226067343
28.
Turkic peoples
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The Turkic peoples are a collection of ethnic groups that live in central, eastern, northern, and western Asia as well as parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family and they share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. The first known mention of the term Turk applied to a Turkic group was in reference to the Göktürks in the 6th century, a letter by Ishbara Qaghan to Emperor Wen of Sui in 585 described him as the Great Turk Khan. The Orhun inscriptions use the terms Turk and Turuk and this includes Chinese records Spring and Autumn Annals referring to a neighbouring people as Beidi. During the first century CE, Pomponius Mela refers to the Turcae in the north of the Sea of Azov. There are references to certain groups in antiquity whose names could be the form of Türk/Türük such as Togarma, Turukha/Turuška, Turukku. But the information gap is so substantial that we cannot firmly connect these ancient people to the modern Turks, turkologist András Róna-Tas posits that the term Turk could be rooted in the East Iranian Saka language or in Turkic. This etymological concept is related to Old Turkic word stems tür, türi-, törü. The earliest Turkic-speaking peoples identifiable in Chinese sources are the Dingling, Gekun, the Chinese Book of Zhou presents an etymology of the name Turk as derived from helmet, explaining that taken this name refers to the shape of the Altai Mountains. During the Middle Ages, various Turkic peoples of the Eurasian steppe were subsumed under the identity of the Scythians, between 400 CE and the 16th century, Byzantine sources use the name Σκύθαι in reference to twelve different Turkic peoples. However, the usage of the term is based on the linguistic classification in order to avoid any political sense. In short, the term Türki can be used for Türk or vice versa and it is generally agreed that the first Turkic people lived in a region extending from Central Asia to Siberia, with the majority of them living in China historically. Historically they were established after the 6th century BCE, the earliest separate Turkic peoples appeared on the peripheries of the late Xiongnu confederation about 200 BCE. Turkic people may be related to the Xiongnu, Dingling and Tiele people, according to the Book of Wei, the Tiele people were the remnants of the Chidi, the red Di people competing with the Jin in the Spring and Autumn period. Turkic tribes such as the Khazars and Pechenegs probably lived as nomads for many years before establishing the Turkic Khaganate or Göktürk Empire in the 6th century and these were herdsmen and nobles who were searching for new pastures and wealth. The first mention of Turks was in a Chinese text that mentioned trade between Turk tribes and the Sogdians along the Silk Road, the first recorded use of Turk as a political name appears as a 6th-century reference to the word pronounced in Modern Chinese as Tujue. The Ashina clan migrated from Li-jien to the Juan Juan seeking inclusion in their confederacy, the tribe were famed metalsmiths and were granted land near a mountain quarry which looked like a helmet, from which they were said to have gotten their name 突厥. A century later their power had increased such that they conquered the Juan Juan, Turkic peoples originally used their own alphabets, like Orkhon and Yenisey runiforms, and later the Uyghur alphabet
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Central Asia
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Central Asia stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east and from Afghanistan in the south to Russia in the north. It is also referred to as the -stans as the five countries generally considered to be within the region all have names ending with the Persian suffix -stan. Central Asias five former Soviet republics are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Central Asia has historically been closely tied to its nomadic peoples and the Silk Road. It has acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, the Silk Road connected Muslim lands with the people of Europe, India, and China. This crossroads position has intensified the conflict between tribalism and traditionalism and modernization, in pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Central Asia was predominantly Iranian, peopled by Eastern Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians and Chorasmians and the semi-nomadic Scythians and Parthians. Central Asia is sometimes referred to as Turkestan, the idea of Central Asia as a distinct region of the world was introduced in 1843 by the geographer Alexander von Humboldt. The borders of Central Asia are subject to multiple definitions, historically built political geography and geoculture are two significant parameters widely used in the scholarly literature about the definitions of the Central Asia. The most limited definition was the one of the Soviet Union. This definition was also used outside the USSR during this period. However, the Russian culture has two terms, Средняя Азия and Центральная Азия. Since then, this has become the most common definition of Central Asia, the UNESCO general history of Central Asia, written just before the collapse of the USSR, defines the region based on climate and uses far larger borders. An alternative method is to define the region based on ethnicity and these areas include Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Turkic regions of southern Siberia, the five republics, and Afghan Turkestan. Afghanistan as a whole, the northern and western areas of Pakistan, the Tibetans and Ladakhi are also included. Insofar, most of the peoples are considered the indigenous peoples of the vast region. Central Asia is a large region of varied geography, including high passes and mountains, vast deserts. The vast steppe areas of Central Asia are considered together with the steppes of Eastern Europe as a geographical zone known as the Eurasian Steppe. Much of the land of Central Asia is too dry or too rugged for farming, the Gobi desert extends from the foot of the Pamirs, 77° E, to the Great Khingan Mountains, 116°–118° E. Central Asia has the following geographic extremes, The worlds northernmost desert, at Buurug Deliin Els, Mongolia, the Northern Hemispheres southernmost permafrost, at Erdenetsogt sum, Mongolia, 46°17′ N
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Yogurt
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Yogurt, yoghurt, or yoghourt is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as yogurt cultures, fermentation of lactose by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and characteristic tart flavor. Cows milk is available worldwide, and, as such, is the milk most commonly used to make yogurt. Milk from water buffalo, goats, ewes, mares, camels, milk used may be homogenized or not, both types may be used, with substantially different results. In North America, yogurt is plain, sweetened, or sweetened and flavoured with fruit, vanilla, coffee. Yogurt is produced using a culture of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp, in addition, other lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are also sometimes added during or after culturing yogurt. To produce yogurt, milk is first heated, usually to about 85 °C, after heating, the milk is allowed to cool to about 45 °C. The bacterial culture is mixed in, and a temperature of 45 °C is maintained for four to twelve hours to allow fermentation. The word is derived from Turkish, yoğurt, and is related to the verb yoğurmak, to knead, or to be curdled or coagulated. It may be related to yoğun, meaning thick or dense, the sound ğ was traditionally rendered as gh in transliterations of Turkish from around 1615-1625. In English, there are variations of the spelling of the word, including yogurt. Yogurt is common only in the United States, and Yoghurt mostly used elsewhere, yogourt is often used in Canada, as the spelling is the same in English and French. Analysis of the L. delbrueckii subsp, bulgaricus genome indicates that the bacterium may have originated on the surface of a plant. Milk may have become spontaneously and unintentionally exposed to it through contact with plants, the origins of yogurt are unknown, but it is thought to have been invented in Mesopotamia around 5000 BC. In ancient Indian records, the combination of yogurt and honey is called the food of the gods, Persian traditions hold that Abraham owed his fecundity and longevity to the regular ingestion of yogurt. The cuisine of ancient Greece included a product known as oxygala which is believed to have been a form of yogurt. Galen mentioned that oxygala was consumed with honey, similar to the way thickened Greek yogurt is eaten today, the oldest writings mentioning yogurt are attributed to Pliny the Elder, who remarked that certain barbarous nations knew how to thicken the milk into a substance with an agreeable acidity. The use of yogurt by medieval Turks is recorded in the books Diwan Lughat al-Turk by Mahmud Kashgari, both texts mention the word yogurt in different sections and describe its use by nomadic Turks
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Manti (food)
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Manti or Mantu are dumplings popular in most Turkic cuisines, as well as in the Caucasian, Central Asian, Chinese Islamic, and Hejazi cuisines where it was brought by Central Asians settlers. Nowadays, manti are also consumed throughout Russia and other post-Soviet countries, the dumplings typically consist of a spiced meat mixture, usually lamb or ground beef in a dough wrapper, and either boiled or steamed. Size and shape vary significantly depending on the geographical location, manti resemble the Chinese jiaozi, Korean mandu, Mongolian buuz, and the Tibetan momo. Originally, mantou was meat filled, but nowadays mantou refers to steamed bun in China, the former territories of the Mongol Empire is where the various manti dishes are geographically located. The recipe was carried across Central Asia along the Silk Road to Anatolia by migrating Turkic, according to Holly Chase, Turkic and Mongol horsemen on the move are supposed to have carried frozen or dried manti, which could be quickly boiled over a camp-fire. In Turkey, it is also called Tatar böreği, which indicates its relation to nomadic peoples, Korean mandu is also said to have arrived in Korea through the Mongols in the 14th century. However, some researchers do not discount the possibility that manti may have originated in the Middle East and spread eastward to China, manti in Central Asian cuisines are usually larger in size. They are steamed in a metal steamer called mantovarka, mantyshnitsa. It consists of layered pots with holes, that are placed over a boiling stock, in Kazakh cuisine, the manti filling is normally ground lamb, spiced with black pepper, sometimes with the addition of chopped pumpkin or squash. This is considered to be a traditional Uyghur recipe, manti are served topped with butter, sour cream or onion sauce. When sold as food in Kazakhstan, manti are typically presented sprinkled with hot red pepper powder. In Uzbek, Tajik and Kyrgyz cuisines, manti are usually made of one of the ingredients, lamb, beef, potato or pumpkin. Steaming, frying and boiling are all common, manti are usually topped with butter and served with sour cream, tomato sauce or fresh onion rings. A sauce made by mixing vinegar and chilli powder is also common, in Uzbekistan, manti are also called kaskoni. The same style of cooking manti is traditional for Tatar, Bashkir and it is nowadays widespread throughout Russia and other post-Soviet countries. The mantu are also topped with a very small amount of tomato-based sauce which can include split peas. The amount of yoghurt sauce is much greater than the tomato sauce. Chutney, a green or red pepper condiment sauce, may be sprinkled on top
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Istanbul
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Istanbul, historically known as Constantinople and Byzantium, is the most populous city in Turkey and the countrys economic, cultural, and historic center. Istanbul is a city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosphorus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives on the Asian side, the city is the administrative center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, both hosting a population of around 14.7 million residents. Istanbul is one of the worlds most populous cities and ranks as the worlds 7th-largest city proper, founded under the name of Byzantion on the Sarayburnu promontory around 660 BCE, the city developed to become one of the most significant in history. After its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 CE, it served as a capital for almost 16 centuries, during the Roman and Byzantine, the Latin. Overlooked for the new capital Ankara during the period, the city has since regained much of its prominence. The population of the city has increased tenfold since the 1950s, as migrants from across Anatolia have moved in, arts, music, film, and cultural festivals were established at the end of the 20th century and continue to be hosted by the city today. Infrastructure improvements have produced a complex transportation network, considered a global city, Istanbul has one of the fastest-growing metropolitan economies in the world. It hosts the headquarters of many Turkish companies and media outlets and accounts for more than a quarter of the gross domestic product. Hoping to capitalize on its revitalization and rapid expansion, Istanbul has bid for the Summer Olympics five times in twenty years, the first known name of the city is Byzantium, the name given to it at its foundation by Megarean colonists around 660 BCE. The name is thought to be derived from a personal name, ancient Greek tradition refers to a legendary king of that name as the leader of the Greek colonists. Modern scholars have hypothesized that the name of Byzas was of local Thracian or Illyrian origin. He also attempted to promote the name Nova Roma and its Greek version Νέα Ῥώμη Nea Romē, the use of Constantinople to refer to the city during the Ottoman period is now considered politically incorrect, even if not historically inaccurate, by Turks. By the 19th century, the city had acquired other names used by foreigners or Turks. Europeans used Constantinople to refer to the whole of the city, pera was used to describe the area between the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, but Turks also used the name Beyoğlu. The name İstanbul is commonly held to derive from the Medieval Greek phrase εἰς τὴν Πόλιν and this reflected its status as the only major city in the vicinity. The importance of Constantinople in the Ottoman world was reflected by its Ottoman name Der Saadet meaning the gate to Prosperity in Ottoman. An alternative view is that the name evolved directly from the name Constantinople, with the first, a Turkish folk etymology traces the name to Islam bol plenty of Islam because the city was called Islambol or Islambul as the capital of the Islamic Ottoman Empire
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Bursa
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Bursa is a large city in Turkey, located in northwestern Anatolia, within the Marmara Region. It is the fourth most populous city in Turkey and one of the most industrialized metropolitan centres in the country, the city is also the administrative centre of Bursa Province. Bursa was the first major and second overall capital of the Ottoman State between 1335 and 1363, the ski resort of Mount Uludağ towers over it. The mountain was called the Mysian Olympus by the Romans who lived there before, Bursa has rather orderly urban growth and borders a fertile plain. The mausoleums of the early Ottoman sultans are located in Bursa, Bursa also has thermal baths and several museums, including a museum of archaeology. The shadow play characters Karagöz and Hacivat are based on historic personalities who lived and died in Bursa, Bursa is also home to some of the most famous Turkish dishes such as İskender kebap, specially candied marron glacés, peaches and Turkish Delight. Bursa houses the Uludağ University, and its population can claim one of the highest overall levels of education in Turkey, the historic towns of İznik, Mudanya and Zeytinbağı are all situated in Bursa Province. In 2015, Bursa had a population of 2,340,000, the earliest known human settlement near Bursas current location was at Ilıpınar Höyüğü around 5200 BC. It was followed by the ancient Greek city of Cius, which Philip V of Macedon granted to Prusias I, Prusias rebuilt the city and renamed it Prusa. After 128 years of Bithynian rule, Nicomedes IV, the last King of Bithynia, an early Roman Treasure was found in the vicinity of Bursa in the early 20th century. Composed of a womans silver toilet articles, it is now in the British Museum, Bursa became the first major capital city of the early Ottoman Empire following its capture from the Byzantines in 1326. As a result, the city witnessed a considerable amount of growth throughout the 14th century. After conquering Edirne in East Thrace, the Ottomans turned it into the new city in 1363. The Ottoman sultan Bayezid I built the Bayezid Külliyesi in Bursa between 1390 and 1395 and the Ulu Cami between 1396 and 1400, Bursa remained to be the most important administrative and commercial centre in the empire until Mehmed II conquered Constantinople in 1453. The population of Bursa was 45,000 in 1487, during the Ottoman period, Bursa continued to be the source of most royal silk products. Following the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, Bursa became one of the centres of the country. The economic development of the city was followed by population growth, the most recent arrival of Balkan Turks took place in the 1940s until the 1990s, when the communist regime in Bulgaria expelled approximately 150,000 Bulgarian Turks to Turkey. About one-third of these 150,000 Bulgarian Turkish refugees eventually settled in Bursa, Bursa is settled on the northwestern slopes of Mount Uludağ in the southern Marmara Region
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Anatolia
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Anatolia, in geography known as Asia Minor, Asian Turkey, Anatolian peninsula, or Anatolian plateau, is the westernmost protrusion of Asia, which makes up the majority of modern-day Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Sea of Marmara forms a connection between the Black and Aegean Seas through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and separates Anatolia from Thrace on the European mainland. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Black Sea to the Armenian Highlands, thus, traditionally Anatolia is the territory that comprises approximately the western two-thirds of the Asian part of Turkey. The Turkification of Anatolia began under the Seljuk Empire in the late 11th century, however, various non-Turkic languages continue to be spoken by minorities in Anatolia today, including Kurdish, Assyrian, Armenian, Arabic, Laz, Georgian, and Greek. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line running from the Gulf of Alexandretta to the Black Sea. This traditional geographical definition is used, for example, in the latest edition of Merriam-Websters Geographical Dictionary, under this definition, Anatolia is bounded to the east by the Armenian Highlands, and the Euphrates before that river bends to the southeast to enter Mesopotamia. To the southeast, it is bounded by the ranges that separate it from the Orontes valley in Syria, the first name the Greeks used for the Anatolian peninsula was Ἀσία, presumably after the name of the Assuwa league in western Anatolia. As the name of Asia came to be extended to areas east of the Mediterranean. The name Anatolia derives from the Greek ἀνατολή meaning “the East” or more literally “sunrise”, the precise reference of this term has varied over time, perhaps originally referring to the Aeolian, Ionian and Dorian colonies on the west coast of Asia Minor. In the Byzantine Empire, the Anatolic Theme was a theme covering the western, the modern Turkish form of Anatolia is Anadolu, which again derives from the Greek name Aνατολή. The Russian male name Anatoly and the French Anatole share the same linguistic origin, in English the name of Turkey for ancient Anatolia first appeared c. It is derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia, which was used by the Europeans to define the Seljuk controlled parts of Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert. Human habitation in Anatolia dates back to the Paleolithic, neolithic Anatolia has been proposed as the homeland of the Indo-European language family, although linguists tend to favour a later origin in the steppes north of the Black Sea. However, it is clear that the Anatolian languages, the oldest branch of Indo-European, have spoken in Anatolia since at least the 19th century BC. The earliest historical records of Anatolia stem from the southeast of the region and are from the Mesopotamian-based Akkadian Empire during the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 24th century BC, scholars generally believe the earliest indigenous populations of Anatolia were the Hattians and Hurrians. The region was famous for exporting raw materials, and areas of Hattian-, one of the numerous cuneiform records dated circa 20th century BC, found in Anatolia at the Assyrian colony of Kanesh, uses an advanced system of trading computations and credit lines. They were speakers of an Indo-European language, the Hittite language, originating from Nesa, they conquered Hattusa in the 18th century BC, imposing themselves over Hattian- and Hurrian-speaking populations. According to the most widely accepted Kurgan theory on the Proto-Indo-European homeland, however, the Hittites adopted the cuneiform script, invented in Mesopotamia
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Cuisine
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A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. A cuisine is influenced by the ingredients that are available locally or through trade. Religious food laws, such as Hindu, Islamic and Jewish dietary laws, regional food preparation traditions, customs and ingredients often combine to create dishes unique to a particular region. Some factors that have an influence on a regions cuisine include the areas climate, for example a Tropical diet may be based more on fruits and vegetables, while a polar diet might rely more on meat and fish. The areas climate in large measure determines the native foods that are available, in addition, climate influences food preservation. For example, foods preserved for winter consumption by smoking, curing, the trade among different countries also largely affects a regions cuisine. Dating back to the ancient spice trade, seasonings such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and cassia found their way to the Middle East at least 4,000 years ago. Certain foods and food preparations are required or proscribed by the religiousness or sumptuary laws, such as Islamic dietary laws, Cuisine dates back to the Antiquity. Rome was known for its cuisine, wealthy families would dine in the Triclinium on a variety of dishes, their diet consisted of eggs, cheese, bread, meat, cuisines evolve continually, and new cuisines are created by innovation and cultural interaction. Molecular gastronomy, is a style of cooking which takes advantage of many technical innovations from the scientific disciplines. The term was coined in 1988 by late Oxford physicist Nicholas Kurti and it is also named as multi sensory cooking, modernist cuisine, culinary physics, and experimental cuisine by some chefs. Besides, international trade brings new foodstuffs including ingredients to existing cuisines, a global cuisine is a cuisine that is practiced around the world, and can be categorized according to the common use of major foodstuffs, including grains, produce and cooking fats. Regional cuisines may vary based upon food availability and trade, cooking traditions and practices, for example, in Central and South America, corn, both fresh and dried, is a staple food. In northern Europe, wheat, rye, and fats of animal origin predominate, while in southern Europe olive oil is ubiquitous and rice is more prevalent. In Italy the cuisine of the north, featuring butter and rice, stands in contrast to that of the south, with its wheat pasta, china likewise can be divided into rice regions and noodle & bread regions. Throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean there is a common thread marking the use of lamb, olive oil, lemons, peppers, the vegetarianism practiced in much of India has made pulses such as chickpeas and lentils as significant as wheat or rice. From India to Indonesia the use of spices is characteristic, coconuts, african cuisines use a combination of locally available fruits, cereal grains and vegetables, as well as milk and meat products. In some parts of the continent, the traditional diet features a preponderance of milk, curd, in much of tropical Africa, however, cows milk is rare and cannot be produced locally
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Bulgur
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Bulgur is a cereal food made from the groats of several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. Bulgur is a kind of dried cracked wheat and it is most common in European, Middle Eastern, and Indian cuisine. Bulgur for Armenian consumption is usually sold parboiled and dried, with only a small amount of the bran partially removed. Bulgur is recognized as a whole grain by the U. S. D. A. Bulgur is sometimes confused with cracked wheat, which is crushed wheat grain that has not been parboiled. Whole-grain, high-fiber bulgur and cracked wheat can be found in food stores, Middle Eastern specialty grocers. Bulgur is an ingredient in Armenian, Iraqi, Assyrian, Kurdish, Syrian, Israeli, Jordanian, Palestinian, Lebanese, Turkish, Middle Eastern. It has a light, nutty flavor, in Turkey, a distinction is made between fine-ground bulgur, called köftelik bulgur, and a coarser grind, called pilavlık bulgur. In the United States, bulgur is produced from wheat in four distinct grinds or sizes. The highest quality bulgur has particle sizes that are uniform thus allowing a more consistent cooking time and it is also known as Dalia in North India. Dalia is popular all over the regions of North India. It can be consumed as sweet dalia or regular dalia, Bulgur can be used in pilafs, soups, bakery goods, or as stuffing. In breads, it adds a whole grain component and it is a main ingredient in tabbouleh salad and kibbeh. Its high nutritional value makes it a substitute for rice or couscous. In Indian cuisine, bulgur or daliya is used as a cereal with milk, in the United States is often used as a side dish, much like pasta or rice. In meals, bulgur is often mistaken for rice because it can be prepared in a similar manner, a popular South American carnival food, bulgur is often prepared with flower pollen and tapioca syrup and fried in patties. In Turkey, bulgur is prepared as pilaf in chicken stock, with or without sauteed noodles, or cooked with tomatoes, onions and red pepper. The fine grind is used for making kısır, a bulgur salad similar to tabbouleh, prepared with tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, olive oil, and other salad ingredients to personal taste. Pomegranate molasses, which is more sour than sweet, is used in favor of lemon juice to add tartness
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Kofta
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Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in South Asian, Middle Eastern, Balkan, and Central Asian cuisine. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground beef, chicken, lamb. In South Asia and the Middle East, koftas are made from lamb, beef, mutton or chicken, whereas Greek, Cypriot. In India, vegetarian varieties include koftas made from potato, calabash, paneer, in Europe, kofta is served as fast food as a type of kebab. Koftas in India are usually served cooked in a spicy curry/gravy and are eaten with boiled rice or a variety of Indian breads, in Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan, koftas are served with a spiced gravy, as dry variations are considered to be kebabs. Shrimp and fish koftas are found in South India, West Bengal, some parts of the Persian Gulf, the meat is often mixed with other ingredients, such as rice, bulgur, vegetables, or eggs to form a smooth paste. They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked or marinated, koftas are sometimes made from fish or vegetables rather than red meat, especially in India, deep-fried kofta made from shrimp is known in Egypt. Variations occur in North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Balkans, according to a 2005 study done by a private food company, there were 291 different kinds of kofta in Turkey. In the Arab world, kufta is usually shaped into cigar-shaped cylinders, early recipes generally concern seasoned lamb rolled into orange-sized balls, and glazed with egg yolk and sometimes saffron. This method was taken to the West and is referred to as gilding or endoring, many regional variations exist, notable among them include the unusually large Azerbaijani Tabriz kuftesi, having an average diameter of 20 cm. Koftas in South Asian cuisine are normally cooked in a gravy, or curry. Vegetarian koftas are eaten by a population in India. The British dish Scotch egg may have inspired by the Indian dish Nargisi kofta. In Bengal, a region of eastern India, koftas are made from prawns, fish, green bananas, cabbage or meat, in Albania, there are specialized shops called Qofteri, which offer qofte and beer. In Central Asia, kofta is cooked with liberal amounts of tail fat, in the Balkans, kofta is usually made from pork, beef or veal, or a mixture of the three. They are usually served as a meze with tarator, in Greece and Cyprus, kofta is usually fried and eaten with tzatziki or yogurt. A fish version is prepared with minced fish, coriander, dried peppers, onion, black pepper and salt, and is usually cooked in a tomato stew with chickpeas or white beans. The word kufta in Modern Hebrew, however, is used to describe a variety of dough dumplings
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Eggplant
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Eggplant, or aubergine, is a species of nightshade grown for its edible fruit. Eggplant is the name in North America and Australia. It is known in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Africa as brinjal, the fruit is widely used in cooking. As a member of the genus Solanum, it is related to the tomato and it was originally domesticated from the wild nightshade species, the thorn or bitter apple, S. incanum, probably with two independent domestications, one in South Asia and one in East Asia. The eggplant is a delicate, tropical perennial often cultivated as a tender or half-hardy annual in temperate climates, the flower is white to purple, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens. The egg-shaped, glossy, purple fruit has white flesh with a meaty texture, the cut surface of the flesh rapidly turns brown when the fruit is cut open. It grows 40 to 150 cm tall, with large, coarsely lobed leaves that are 10 to 20 cm long and 5 to 10 cm broad, semiwild types can grow much larger, to 225 cm with large leaves over 30 cm long and 15 cm broad. On wild plants, the fruit is less than 3 cm in diameter, botanically classified as a berry, the fruit contains numerous small, soft seeds that, though edible, taste bitter because they contain nicotinoid alkaloids like the related tobacco. The plant species originated in cultivation and it has been cultivated in southern and eastern Asia since prehistory. The first known record of the plant is found in Qimin Yaoshu. A book on agriculture by Ibn Al-Awwam in 12th-century Arabic Spain described how to grow aubergines, records exist from later medieval Catalan and Spanish. The aubergine is unrecorded in England until the 16th century, an English botany book in 1597 stated, This plant groweth in Egypt almost everywhere. Bringing forth fruit of the bigness of a great cucumber, but never to the full ripeness. Because of the relationship with other nightshades, the fruit was at one time believed to be extremely poisonous. The flowers and leaves can be poisonous if consumed in large due to the presence of solanine. The eggplant has a place in folklore. In 13th-century Italian traditional folklore, the eggplant can cause insanity, in 19th-century Egypt, insanity was said to be more common and more violent when the eggplant is in season in the summer. The plant and fruit have a profusion of English names, eggplant, aubergine, brinjal, melongene, and formerly melongena and mad-apple
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Dolma
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Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes common in the Middle East and surrounding regions including the Balkans, the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia. Common vegetables to stuff include tomato, pepper, onion, zucchini, eggplant, the stuffing may or may not include meat. Meat dolmas are generally served warm, often with tahini, egg-lemon, meatless ones are served cold with yogurt or satziki. Stuffed vegetables are common in Greek cuisine, called gemista, as well as in the Italian cuisine. Dolma is a noun in Turkish for the word dolmak. Dolma without meat is sometimes called yalancı dolma fake dolma in Turkish, versions have been known in Persia since at least as early as the 17th century. In Aleppo, the word يبرق yabraq refers to stuffed vine leaves, while محشي maḥshī refers to stuffed cabbage leaves, an alternative etymology comes from Armenian տոլմա or դոլմա, coming from the words toli, grape leave, and ma, wrapped. Toli as a leave was recorded in the inscriptions of the Kingdom of Van. Initially, in Classical Armenian, the dish was called Tolimis, over time, as often it happens with the endings of Indo-European languages such as Armenian, Tolimis turned into Tolim, followed by Tolima, and finally Tolma. Internationally, the food is called dolma and it is a stuffed vegetable that is hollowed out and filled with stuffing. This applies to zucchini, tomato, pepper, eggplant, and the like, stuffed mackerel, squid, dishes involving wrapping leaves such as vine leaves or cabbage leaves around a filling are called sarma, though in many languages the distinction is usually not made. The filling generally consists of rice, minced meat or grains, in either case, the filling includes onion, herbs like dill, mint or parsley and spices. Meatless fillings are cooked with oil and include raisins or currants, onion. In addition to the traditional dolmas, Armenia has a giant vegan variant called Lenten Dolma and it is wrapped with cabbage leaves, and stuffed with red beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, cracked wheat, tomato paste, onion and many spices and flavorings. Keeping with the Armenian lenten rules, it is vegan, but despite its name of Lenten dolma, pasuts tolma is made of seven different grains – chickpea, bean, lentil, cracked wheat, pea, rice and maize. This dolma is called pasuts because the Christian New Year features the fast days, the seven grains symbolize God’s divine number 7, which is associated with divine perfection and completion. Dolma could be made by using seafood and it is sometimes made with different types of fish or mussels. Midye dolma, is popular in Turkey
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Black Sea Region
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The Black Sea Region is a geographical region of Turkey. 4,137,166 people live in cities and 4,301,747 people in villages and this makes it the only one of the seven regions of Turkey in which more people live in rural rather than urban areas. The Black Sea region has a steep, rocky coast with rivers that cascade through the gorges of the coastal ranges, a few larger rivers, those cutting back through the Pontic Mountains, have tributaries that flow in broad, elevated basins. The higher slopes facing northwest tend to be densely forested, because of these natural conditions, the Black Sea coast historically has been isolated from Anatolia. The mild, damp climate of the Black Sea coast makes commercial farming profitable. Running from Zonguldak in the west to Rize in the east, the Samsun area, close to the midpoint, is a major tobacco-growing region, east of it are numerous citrus groves. East of Samsun, the area around Trabzon is world-renowned for the production of hazelnuts, all cultivable areas, including mountain slopes wherever they are not too steep, are sown or used as pasture. The western part of the Black Sea region, especially the Zonguldak area, is a center of coal mining, the North Anatolian Mountains in the north are an interrupted chain of folded highlands that generally parallel the Black Sea coast. In the west, the mountains tend to be low, with elevations rarely exceeding 1,500 meters, lengthy, trough-like valleys and basins characterize the mountains. Rivers flow from the mountains toward the Black Sea, the southern slopes—facing the Anatolian Plateau—are mostly unwooded, but the northern slopes contain dense growths of both deciduous and evergreen trees. Black Sea region has a climate, with high and evenly distributed rainfall the year round. At the coast, summers are warm and humid, and winters are cool, the Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages 2,500 millimeters annually which is the highest precipitation in the country, snowfall is quite common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two, and it can be heavy once it snows. The water temperature in the whole Turkish Black Sea coast is always cool and fluctuates between 8° and 20 °C throughout the year
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European anchovy
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The European anchovy is a forage fish somewhat related to the herring. Anchovies are placed in the family Engraulidae and it is easily distinguished by its deeply cleft mouth, the angle of the gape being behind the eyes. The pointed snout extends beyond the lower jaw, the fish resembles a sprat in having a forked tail and a single dorsal fin, but the body is round and slender. The maximum length is 21 cm, European anchovies are abundant in the Mediterranean and formerly also the Black and Azov seas. They are regularly caught on the coasts of Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Albania, Romania, Russia, Spain, Turkey, the range of the species also extends along the Atlantic coast of Europe to the south of Norway. In winter it is common off Devon and Cornwall, but has not hitherto been caught in such numbers as to be of commercial importance, formerly they were caught in large numbers off the coast of the Netherlands in summer when they entered the Wadden Sea and Zuiderzee. After the closing of the Zuiderzee they were found in the Wadden Sea until the 1960s. They were also caught in the estuary of the Scheldt and they were believed to be an isolated population, for none come from the south in summer to occupy the English Channel, though the species does exist off the coast of Portugal. Dutch naturalists on the shores of the Zuiderzee first described their reproduction, spawning takes place in June and July. The eggs are buoyant and transparent like most fish eggs, but are unusual in being sausage-shaped and they resemble sprat and pilchard eggs in having a segmented yolk and no oil globule. Larvæ hatch two or three days after fertilization, and are minute and transparent, in August young specimens, c.38 to 89 mm in length, are found in the Zuiderzee, and these must derive from the previous summers spawning. Eggs have also found in the Bay of Naples, near Marseilles, off the coast of the Netherlands. The occurrence of anchovies in the English Channel has been studied at the Marine Biological Association Laboratory in Plymouth. They were most abundant in 1889 and 1890, in the former year considerable numbers were taken off Dover in drift nets of small mesh used for the capture of sprats. In the following December large numbers were taken together with sprats at Torquay, in November 1890 a thousand of the fish were obtained in two days from the pilchard boats fishing near Plymouth, these were caught near the Eddystone. Its Ancient Greek name was ἀφύη, aphýē, later Latinized into apiuva, modern Greek also uses αντζούγια antsúya, a variant of the Genoese form, for processed – as opposed to the fresh gávros – anchovy products. Black Sea adult anchovies can reach around 12–15 cm, in the summer, hamsi migrates north to warm shallow waters of the Azov Sea to feed and breed, returning to the deep for the winter by migrating through the Strait of Kerch. During migration the fish moves in schools, and are actively hunted by gulls
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Maize
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Maize, also known as corn, is a large grain plant first domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The six major types of corn are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, the leafy stalk of the plant produces separate pollen and ovuliferous inflorescences or ears, which are fruits, yielding kernels or seeds. Maize kernels are used in cooking as a starch. Most historians believe maize was domesticated in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico, recent research modified this view somewhat, scholars now indicate the adjacent Balsas River Valley of south-central Mexico as the center of domestication. The Olmec and Mayans cultivated maize in numerous varieties throughout Mesoamerica, cooked and its believed that beginning about 2500 BC, the crop spread through much of the Americas. The region developed a network based on surplus and varieties of maize crops. Nevertheless, recent data indicates that the spread of maize took place even earlier, according to Piperno, A large corpus of data indicates that it was dispersed into lower Central America by 7600 BP and had moved into the inter-Andean valleys of Colombia between 7000 and 6000 BP. Since then, even earlier dates have been published, the study also demonstrated that the oldest surviving maize types are those of the Mexican highlands. Later, maize spread from this region over the Americas along two major paths and this is consistent with a model based on the archaeological record suggesting that maize diversified in the highlands of Mexico before spreading to the lowlands. Before they were domesticated, maize plants only grew small,25 millimetres long corn cobs, Maize is the most widely grown grain crop throughout the Americas, with 361 million metric tons grown in the United States in 2014. Approximately 40% of the crop—130 million tons—is used for corn ethanol, genetically modified maize made up 85% of the maize planted in the United States in 2009. After the arrival of Europeans in 1492, Spanish settlers consumed maize and explorers and traders carried it back to Europe, Spanish settlers far preferred wheat bread to maize, cassava, or potatoes. Maize flour could not be substituted for wheat for bread, since in Christian belief only wheat could undergo transubstantiation. At another level, Spaniards worried that by eating indigenous foods, which they did not consider nutritious, that not only would they weaken, despite these worries, Spaniards did consume maize and archeological evidence from Florida sites indicate they cultivated it as well. Maize spread to the rest of the world because of its ability to grow in diverse climates and it was cultivated in Spain just a few decades after Columbuss voyages and then spread to Italy, West Africa and elsewhere. The word maize derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Taíno word for the plant and it is known by other names around the world. The word corn outside North America, Australia, and New Zealand refers to any cereal crop, in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, corn primarily means maize, this usage started as a shortening of Indian corn. Indian corn primarily means maize, but can more specifically to multicolored flint corn used for decoration
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Urfa
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Şanlıurfa, pronounced, often simply known as Urfa or Al-Ruha, in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 561,465 inhabitants in south-eastern Turkey, and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. It is a city with a primarily Arabic, Kurdish and Turkmen population, Urfa is situated on a plain about eighty kilometres east of the Euphrates River. Urfas climate features hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The city has been known by names in history, Ուռհա Uṙha in Armenian, ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhai in Syriac, الرها Ar-Ruhā in Arabic and Ορρα. For a while during the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes it was named Callirrhoe or Antiochia on the Callirhoe, during Byzantine rule it was named Justinopolis. Prior to Turkish rule, it was often best known by the name given it by the Seleucids, Ἔδεσσα, the title was achieved following repeated requests by the citys members of parliament, desirous to earn a title similar to those of neighbouring cities Gazi Antep and Kahraman Maraş. The history of Şanlıurfa is recorded from the 4th century BC, but may date back at least to 9000 BC, the city was one of several in the upper Euphrates-Tigris basin, the fertile crescent where agriculture began. According to Jewish and Muslim tradition, Urfa is Ur Kasdim and this identification was disputed by Leonard Woolley, the excavator of the Sumerian city of Ur in 1927 and scholars remain divided on the issue. Urfa is also one of cities that have traditions associated with Job. For the Armenians, Urfa is considered a place since it is believed that the Armenian alphabet was invented there. Although the site of Urfa has been inhabited since prehistoric times, islam had first arrived in Urfa around 638 AD, when the region surrendered to the Rashidun army without resisting, and had become a significant presence under the Ayyubids, Seljuks. Subsequently, Urfa was ruled by Zengids, Ayyubids, Sultanate of Rum, Ilkhanids, Memluks, Akkoyunlu, under the Ottomans Urfa was part of the Aleppo Vilayet. The area became a centre of trade in cotton, leather, there was a small but ancient Jewish community in Urfa, with a population of about 1,000 by the 19th century. Most of the Jews emigrated in 1896, fleeing the Hamidian massacres, there were three Christian communities, Syriac, Armenian, and Latin. According to Lord Kinross,8,000 Armenians were massacred in Urfa in 1895, the last Neo-Aramaic Christians left in 1924 and went to Aleppo. In 1914 Urfa was estimated to have 75,000 inhabitants,45,000 Muslims,25,000 Armenians and 5,000 Syriac/Assyrian Christians, there was also a Jewish presence in the town. During the First World War, Urfa was a site of the Armenian and Assyrian Genocides, by the end of the war, the entire Christian population had been killed, had fled, or was in hiding. The British occupation of the city of Urfa started de facto on 7 March 1919 and officially de jure as of 24 March 1919, and lasted until 30 October 1919
