The document provides information about Turkey, including: 1) Turkish culture has been influenced by interactions with neighboring civilizations over thousands of years as Turks migrated from Central Asia. 2) Mustafa Kemal Ataturk modernized Turkey and is considered the founding father of modern Turkey. 3) Istanbul is a unique city located on two continents with a rich cultural history under the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. 4) Popular Turkish foods include bread, kebabs, dolma, baklava, and Turkish tea. Fish and rice pilaf are also common foods.

1. WARM GREETINGS FROM
TED ISTANBUL COLLEGE,
ISTANBUL, TURKIYE
Prepared by:
Burcu Akyol
English Teacher
Resources:
http://www.turkeyforyou.com/
http://www.allaboutturkey.com/

3. About Turkey
Turkish culture is an immense mixture partly produced by the rich history. The
original lands of Turks is Central Asia, bordering China. From this location, they
were forced to move west for various reasons more than a thousand years ago.
On the way to Anatolia they have interacted with Chinese, Indian, Middle
Eastern, European and Anatolian civilizations, and today's Turkish culture carries
motives from each one of these diverse cultures.

4. Mustafa Kemal ATATURK
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is universally
acknowledged as the founding father of the
modern state of Turkey. He was also
Turkey's first President. He was a visionary
statesman and a military leader par
excellence. His surname, Ataturk, means the
ancestor of Turks. This name was given to
him by the first Turkish parliament for his
accomplishments and for his invaluable
contributions to the birth and modernization
of the Turkish Republic.

5. Istanbul
• The splendid city of Istanbul has many unique and
fascinating features.
• It is the only city in the world reaching across two
continents, with its old city in Europe and modern
Istanbul situated in Asia, separated by the Bosphorus
Strait.
• It is also unique in having had capital status during
two successive empires, Christian Byzantine and
Islamic Ottoman, and the legacy from both is visible
in the modern city today.

7. Bosphorus

8. Maiden’s Tower

9. Istiklal Street,
a very famous street in Istanbul

10. Topkapi Palace

11. Hagia Sophia

12. The Basilica Cistern

13. Turkish Food
Bread is the main item in a Turkish meal. The basic wheat dough is baked into fresh
loaves usually in the neighborhood bakery. There are varieties of breads like the elmek,
pide or manti, which is a dumpling with meat filling. Borek is a special bread where thin
sheets of dough are layered with cheese or meat mixes, folded or rolled and then
baked or fried. Pilaf, another main dish in Turkey is fine-grained rice cooked in butter
with onions, meat and vegetables.
The typical Turkish meat item is Kebab. The popular varieties of kebabs are the
'sis' kebabs and the 'doner' kebabs. Sis kebabs are grilled pieces of skewered meat.
Doner kebabs are made by stacking alternate layers of ground meat and sliced leg
of lamb and grilling them over slow fire. The fine taste of kebabs really depends on
the breed of cattle or sheep rather than the chef or the recipe.

14. Turkish Food
Among vegetables, eggplants are a special favorite. Olive oil is generally used
for cooking vegetables A special Turkish food item is 'Dolma'. Vegetables are
stuffed with rice or spiced meat fillings and cooked in olive oil. 'Dolma' is
eaten with yogurt sauce.
Fish is an important item of Turkish food especially in winter when the
summer vegetables are scarce. The best fish in Turkey is the 'Hamsi'. The
Turks have fifty ways of cooking Hamsi.
Here is a good link for you to learn about Turkish deserts:
http://www.turkishcooking.com/turkish_delights/
Are you ready for the pictures?

15. Dolma
Borek
Iskender Kebab (Doner)

16. Pilaf (Rice)
Baklava
Manti
Lahmacun

18. Turkish tea in these special cups has a very important place in
daily life in Turkey.

19. Turkish Delight is a flavored sweetmeat or a candy, prepared from starch
and sugar, filled with dry fruits, honey or nuts. The Turkish Delights come in
cubes with powdered sugar sprinkled on them.
The Turkish Delight or Lokum is one such delicacy, which is not just popular
in Turkey, but has found favor with tourists from all over the world.

20. The Turkish Evil Eye Pendants or the quot;nazar boncuguquot; is the Turkish means of
keeping at bay the ills brought on by envious and greedy eyes.

21. Almost anywhere you go in Turkey, you will find at least one Turkish
Bath. The historical Baths built by the Sultans were made of marble.
They were fine pieces of rich and ornamental architecture.

22. Climate in Turkey
Turkey has Mediterranean temperate climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters.
As you go away from the coast towards the interiors, the climatic conditions are harsher.
Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean influences from extending inland,
giving the interior of Turkey a continental climate with distinct seasons. The central
Anatolian Plateau is much more subject to extremes than coastal areas. Winters on the
plateau are especially severe.

23. Holidays we celebrate
Official holidays
Jan 1: New Year's Day
National holidays
Apr 23: National Sovereignty and Children's Day (anniversary of the establishment of Turkish
Grand National Assembly)
May 19: Ataturk Commemoration and Youth & Sports Day ( the arrival of Ataturk in Samsun,
and the beginning of the War of Independence)
Aug 30: Victory Day (victory over invading forces in 1922).
Oct 29: Republic Day (anniversary of the declaration of the Turkish Republic)
Religious holidays
Seker Bayrami:Three-day festival when sweets are eaten to celebrate the end of the fast of
Ramadan. Also known as Ramazan Bayrami.
Kurban Bayrami: Four-day festival when sacrificial sheep are slaughtered and their meat
distributed to the poor

24. http://www.tedistanbul.k12.tr
Our school’s official web site. (English version is available.)
http://www.goldenhorn-rotary.com/ercu/ERCU_FLASH_eng.html
A nice presentation about Turkey..