Turkey is a transcontinental country located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It has a population of over 68 million people and Istanbul is its largest city. Turkey has a predominantly mountainous landscape and is divided into seven geographical regions - the Black Sea, Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia regions. Turkey has a long history and was the site of many ancient civilizations. The Turkish language is the most widely spoken language in Turkey, followed by Kurdish and other regional languages. Turkish literature has evolved over the centuries, from an oral tradition to Divan poetry influenced by Persian and Arabic, to a modern national literature following the founding of the Turkish

3. Turkey (Turkiye in
Turkish) is a
country located at
a point where the
3 continents of the
old world (Asia,
Africa and Europe)
are closest to each
other and where
Asia and Europe
meet.

4. o Because of its geographical location, Anatolia has always
been important throughout history and is the birthplace
of many great civilizations.
o The surface area of Turkey including the lakes is
814,578 km² / 314,503 sq miles. It is much larger
than many European countries or even Texas (18%) in
the US. Out of the total land, 97% is in Asia and this
part is called Anatolia or Asia Minor; 3% is in Europe
which is called Thrace.

5. o Although 97% of Turkey is located in Asia, in many
respects it is accepted as a European country and as a
result, Turkey takes its place in nearly all European
contests and associations.
o Turkey is rectangular in shape with a length of 1,660
km / 1,031 miles and a width of 550 km / 341 miles.

7. The Black Sea Region

8. The Black Sea Region
o a mountainous area in the north
o It has a steep and rocky coast and rivers cascade
through the gorges of the coastal ranges.
o As the Northern Anatolian Mountains run parallel to the
coastline access inland from the coast is limited to a few
narrow valleys, so the coast therefore has always been
isolated from inland areas. It is densely wooded;
comprising more than one-fourth of Turkey’s forested
areas.

9. The Marmara Region

10. The Marmara Region
o covers the European part as well as the northwest of
the Anatolian plain.
o Although it is the smallest region after Southeastern
Anatolia, it has the highest population density.
o The Marmara region is economically the most developed
area of Turkey.

11. The Aegean Region

12. The Aegean Region
o extends from the Aegean coast to the inner parts of Western
Anatolia.
o Forest lands and fertile plains carrying the same names as its
rivers are dominant.
o Its wealth rests on the production of several export crops,
including tobacco (more than 50% of Turkey’s total
production), cotton (30% of the total), high-quality grapes
suitable for drying, olives (more than 50% of the Turkish
output) and figs.

13. The Mediterranean Region

14. The Mediterranean Region
o located in the south of Anatolia.
o The region has several subregions:
the sparsely populated limestone plateaus of Taseli
in the middle;
 the lake district in the west with its continental
climate, where grain is grown; and
the intensively cultivated, densely populated coastal
plains.

15. The Central Anatolia Region

16. The Central Anatolia Region
o exactly in the middle of Turkey and is less mountainous
when compared to the other regions.
o This region varies in altitude from 600-1,200 m (1,970-
3,940 ft) west to east.
o Steppes are common.
o For the most part, the region is bare and monotonous
and is used for grazing.

17. The Eastern Anatolia Region

18. The Eastern Anatolia Region
o largest and highest region
o Nearly all of the area has an average altitude of 1,500-
2,000 m / 4,920-6,560 ft.
o Anatolia’s highest peak Mount Ararat is located in this
region.
o This is the most thinly populated region of the country.

19. Mount Ararat

20. The Southeastern Anatolia
Region

21. The Southeastern Anatolia
Region
o notable for the uniformity of its landscape.
o Vast stretches of this region consist only of wild or
barren wasteland.
o Agriculture is confined mainly to irrigated valleys and
basins (wheat, rice, vegetables, grapes).
o Much of the population is nomadic or seminomadic

22. Facts and Statistics
• Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian
remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national
hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the
title Ataturk or "Father of the Turks.“
conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey
local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form: Turkiye

23. Facts and Statistics
Government type: republican parliamentary democracy
Capital: Ankara
Independence: 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman
Empire)
Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters;
harsher in interior
Population: 68,893,918 (July 2004 est.)
Ethnic Make-up: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated)
Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly
Christians and Jews)

24. Etiquette & Customs in
Turkey
Meeting and Greeting Etiquette
– When meeting shake hands firmly.
– When departing it is not always customary to shake hands
although it is practised occasionally.
– Friends and relations would greet each other with either one
or two kisses on the cheek.
– Elders are always respected by kissing their right hand then
placing the forehead onto the hand.

25. Etiquette & Customs in
Turkey
Meeting and Greeting Etiquette
– When entering a room, if you are not automatically met by
someone greet the most elderly or most senior first.
– At social occasions greet the person closest to you then work
your way around the room or table anti-clockwise.
– Greet people with either the Islamic greeting of 'Asalamu
alaykum' (peace be upon you) or 'Nasilsiniz' (How are you?
pronounced na-sul-su-nuz). Other useful phrases are
'Gunaydin' (Good Morning, pronounced goon-ay-dun), 'iyi
gunler' (Good Day, pronounced ee-yee gun-ler) or 'Memnun
Oldum' (pleased to meet you).

26. Etiquette & Customs in
Turkey
Gift Giving Etiquette
– if a gift is given it will be accepted well. It is always a good idea to
bring gifts from your own country such as food stuffs or craft items.
– Be aware that Turkey is a Muslim country. Before giving alcohol to
anyone be 100% sure that they drink.
– The only time you would need to give any great thought to gifts would
be if you were invited to a Turk's home for dinner.
– The most usual gifts to take are pastries, (especially 'baklava') and
decorative items for the home such as ornaments or vases.
– Flowers are not usually taken to a host but can be if felt appropriate. It
is best to ask a florist for advice on what is best to take.
– If the host has children take some expensive sweets or candy.

27. Etiquette & Customs in
Turkey
Dining Etiquette
– The protocol of Turkish hospitality dictates that the host always pays
for the meal.
– The concept of sharing a bill is completely alien. You may try and
offer to pay, which may be seen as polite, but you would never be
allowed to do so.
– The best policy is to graciously thank the host then a few days later
invite them to do dinner at a restaurant of your choice.
– Evening meals may be accompanied by some alcohol, usually the local
tipple called Raký (pronounced rak-uh). It will comprise of a few
courses with the main course always meat or fish based, accompanied
by bread and a salad.

28. Etiquette & Customs in
Turkey
Dining Etiquette
– Turks smoke during meals and will often take breaks between
courses to have a cigarette and a few drinks before moving onto
the next.
– Tea or Turkish coffee is served at the end of a meal sometimes
with pastries.
– Turkish coffee is a national drink and should at least be sampled.
It comes either without sugar, a little sugar or sweet. Turkish
coffee is sipped and allowed to melt into the taste buds so do not
gulp it down as you would instant coffee. Never drink to the
bottom of the cup as it will be full of ground coffee and taste
awful.

29. The Turkish Language and
Literature
Turkish - The official language. The first language spoken by 90%
of the 63m population.
Minority languages include:
– Kurdish, spoken by 6% of the population.
– Arabic is spoken by 1.2% of the Turkish population; most of
those speakers are bilingual Arabic and Turkish speakers.
– Circassian, spoken by more than 0.09% throughout the country
– Greek, Armenian and Judezmo, a Romance language spoken by
Jews.

30. The Turkish Language and
Literature
• history of Turkish Literature may be divided into three
periods:
– the period up to the adoption of Islam,
– the Islamic period
–the period under western influence.

31. The Turkish Language and
Literature
the period up to the adoption of Islam
o Turkish literature was the joint product of the Turkish clans
and was mostly oral.
o The oldest known examples of Turkish writings are on obelisks
dating from the late 7th and early 8th centuries.
o The Orhun monumental inscriptions written in 720 for
Tonyukuk, in 732 for Kültigin and in 735 for Bilge Kagan are
masterpieces of Turkish literature with their subject matter and
perfect style.

32. The Turkish Language and
Literature
o Turkish epics dating from those times include the
Yaratilis, Saka, Oguz-Kagan, Göktürk, Uygur and Manas.
o The "Book of Dede Korkut", put down in writing in the
14th century, is an extremely valuable work that
preserves the memory of that epic era in beautiful
language.

33. The Turkish Language and
Literature
the Islamic period
o Following Turkish migrations into Anatolia in the wake of the
Malazgirt victory in 1071, the establishment of various Beyliks in
Anatolia and the eventual founding of the Seljuk and Ottoman
Empires set the scene for Turkish literature to develop along two
distinct lines, with "divan" or classical literature drawing its
inspiration from the Arabic and Persian languages and Turkish folk
literature still remaining deeply rooted in Central Asian traditions.
o Divan poets did not have independent philosophies, they were
content to express the same ideas in different ways. The
magnificence of the poet came from his artistry in finding original
and beautiful forms of expression. The most famous of the Divan
poets were Baki, Fuzuli, Nedim and Nef'i.

34. The Turkish Language and
Literature
o Initially based on two foreign literary traditions, Arab and Persian,
literature gradually stopped being merely imitative and took on
Ottoman national characteristics.
o To a certain extent, the Turkish folk literature which has survived till
the day, reflects the influence of Islam and the new life style and
form of the traditional literature of Central Asia after the adoption of
Islam. Turkish folk literature comprised anonymous works of bard
poems and Tekke (mystical religious retreats) literature. Yunus Emre
who lived in the second half of the 13th and early 14th centuries
was an epoch making poet and sufi (mystical philosopher) expert in
all three areas of folk literature as well as divan poetry. Important
figures of poetic literature were Karacaoglan, Atik Ömer, Erzurumlu
Emrah and Kayserili Seyrani.

35. The Turkish Language and
Literature
the period under western influence
o Changes in social, economic and political life were reflected
in the literature of the time and the quest for change
continued till the proclamation of the Republic.
o The distinguishing characteristic of the era in literature was
the concern with intellectual content rather than esthetic
values or perfection of style.

36. The Turkish Language and
Literature
o The latest period in literature, which is known as the
Turkish Literature of the Republican period, came to be
influenced by the following literary schools after Divan
literary styles had been abandoned:
 Tanzimat (reforms),
 Servet-i Fünun (scientific wealth),
 Fecr-i Ati (dawn of the new age)
 Ulusal Edebiyat (national literature).

37. The Turkish Language and
Literature
o National Literature was created between the years 1911 and
1923. The leading literary figures of the period were Ziya
Gokalp, Ömer Seyfettin, Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Yusuf Ziya
Ortaç, Faruk Nafiz Camlibel, Enis Behiç Koryürek, Kemalletin
Kamu, Aka Gündüz, Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoglu, Halide Edip
Adivar, Halit Karay, Resat Nuri Güntekin, Ahmet Hikmet
Müftüoglu, Necip Fazil Kisakürek, Halide Nusret Zorlutuna,
Sükufe Nihal, Peyami Safa, and Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar.

38. The Turkish Language and
Literature
o The topics, written in simple language, were taken from
real life and mirrored the conditions of the country.
o Ömer Seyfettin, the founder and most successful
representative of the short story tradition in Turkish
literature

39. The Turkish Language and
Literature
o The most well-known and widely-read writers of the 1950-1990
period can be listed as follows: Tarik Dursun K., Atilla lhan,
Yasar Kemal, Orhan Kemal, Kemal Tahir, Tarik Bugra, Aziz
Nesin, Mustafa Necati Sepetçioglu, Firuzan, Adalet Agaoglu, Sevgi
Soysal, Tomris Uyar, Selim Ileri, Cevat Sakir (Halikarnas
Balikçisi), Necati Cumali, Haldun Taner. Prominent poets in this
period are: Behçet Kemal Çaglar, Necati Cumali , Oktay Rifat,
Melih Cevdet Anday, Cemal Süreya, Edip Cansever, Özdemir Ince,
Ataol Behramoglu, Ismet Özel, Ece Ayhan, Turgut Uyar, Sezai
Karakoç, Bahaettin Karakoç, Ümit Yasar Oguzcan, Orhan
Pamuk .

40.  Mehmet Nusret(December 20, 1915 -
July 6, 1995) was a popular Turkish
humorist and author of more than
100 books.
 He was born from very poor and
deeply muslim parents and struggled
through life.
 he became the editor of a series of
satirical periodicals with a socialist
slant.

41. • He was jailed, arrested, detained,
deported, tortured, beaten several times
and under all governments for his
political views.
• Nesin provided a strong indictment of
the oppression and brutalization of the
common man.
• He satirized bureaucracy and exposed
economic inequities in stories that
effectively combine local color and
universal truths.

42. • He is most famous for his humoristic short
stories. But he excelled in all forms of
literature: poetry, plays, novels, essays.
• Apart from his talent to catch the
contradictions of a developing country, he is
known as a honest man who stood behind
his ideas.
• In the last years of his life, he devoted
himself to fight against ignorance and
religious fundamentalism.
• After his death, his body was buried into an
unknown location in the land of Nesin
Foundation without any ceremony, as
suggested by his will.

43. SELECTED HONORS and PRIZES
• 1956. Golden Palm (Italy). • 1990. Vienna Theater Prize
• 1957. Golden Palm (Italy). • 1991. Received the title of Chevalier by the
French government
• 1958. Third place at a humoristic story contest in
• 1991. Democracy Prize by the School of Political
İtaly
Sciences (Ankara University)
• 1959. Best article prize by the Association of • 1992. Honorary Prize and Golden Medal from
Journalists. the Association of Authors
• 1966. Golden Hedgehog Prize, (Bulgaria). • 1992. Abdi İpekçi Prize of Peace and Friendship
• 1968. First Prize at the Karacan Play Contest. (Turkey-Greece)
• 1969. Golden Crocodile, (Soviet Union). • 1992. Medal of Gratitude from the Association of
Journalists
• 1970. Best Play Prize of the Academy of Turkish • 1993. Carl Von Ossietzky Prize
• 1975. Lotus Prize (The Union of African-Asian • 1994. CPJ International Press Freedom
Writers) Award (USA).
• 1986. Selected the “Writer of the Year” by the • 1994. Human Rights Prize.
Turkish people (Tüyap) • 1995. Orhan Apaydın Democracy and Peace Prize
• 1990. Golden Tolstoi Prize • 1995. Prize of the Hiroshima Foundation

44. Teşekkür
Ederim!