Culture of Turkey

Theculture of Turkey(Turkish:Türkiye kültürü) or theTurkish culture(Türk kültürü) includes both the national culture and local cultures. Currently, Turkey has various local cultures. Things such as music,folk dance,orkebapvariety may be used to identify a local area. Turkey also has a national culture, such as national sports leagues, music bands, film stars, and trends in fashion.

During theearly years of the Republic of Turkey,established after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the government invested large sums of resources intofine artssuch as architecture and sculpture, and other artistic fields around the country in-line with the newly implemented reformist andWest-leaningpolicies.This was done as part of a process of modernization, westernization, and of creating and outlining a new Turkish cultural identity, rather than the previously established and depictedOttoman identity.

Literature

Main article:Turkish literature

Namık Kemalwas a prominent Turkish poet, novelist, playwright and journalist of the late-19th-centuryOttoman Empire.

Karagöz and Hacivatare the lead characters of the traditionalTurkishshadow play,popularized during theOttoman period.

Turkish literatureis the collection of written and oral texts composed in the Turkish language, either in itsOttoman formor in less exclusively literary forms, such as that spoken in the Republic of Turkey today. Traditional examples forTurkish folk literatureinclude stories ofKaragöz and Hacivat,Keloğlan,İncili ÇavuşandNasreddin Hoca,as well as the works of folk poets such asYunus EmreandAşık Veysel.TheBook ofDede Korkutand theEpic of Köroğluhave been the main elements of the Turkish epic tradition in Anatolia for several centuries.

The two primary streams ofOttoman literaturewere poetry and prose. Of the two, theOttoman Divan poetry,a highly ritualized and symbolic art form, was the dominant stream. The vast majority of Divan poetry waslyricin nature: eitherghazalsorqasidas.There were, however, other common genres, most particularly themathnawi(also known asmesnevî), a kind ofverse romanceand thus a variety ofnarrative poetry.The tradition ofOttoman prosewas exclusivelynon-fictionalin nature; as the fiction tradition was limited to narrative poetry.

Sami Frashëri(1850–1904) and his wife Emine, May 1884.

TheTanzimatreforms of 1839–1876 brought changes to the language of Ottoman written literature and introduced previously unknown Western genres, primarily the novel and the short story. Many of the writers in the Tanzimat period wrote in several different genres simultaneously: for instance, the poetNamık Kemalalso wrote the important 1876 novelİntibâh(Awakening), while the journalistİbrahim Şinasiis noted for writing, in 1860, the first modern Turkish play, theone-actcomedy "Şair Evlenmesi"(The Poet's Marriage). 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: theEdebiyyât-ı Cedîde(New Literature) movement; theFecr-i Âtî(Dawn of the Future) movement; and theMillî Edebiyyât(National Literature) movement. TheEdebiyyât-ı Cedîde(New Literature) movement began with the founding in 1891 of the magazineServet-i Fünûn(Scientific Wealth), which was largely devoted to progress (both intellectual and scientific) along the Western model. Accordingly, the magazine's literary ventures, under the direction of the poetTevfik Fikret,were geared towards creating a Western-style "high art"in Turkey.

Poetry

Main article:Turkish poetry

Tevfik Fikret(1867–1915) was a prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era.

Poetry is the most dominant form of literature in modern Turkey.

The 'folk poetry' as indicated above, was strongly influenced by the IslamicSunniand Shi'a traditions. Furthermore, as partly evidenced by the prevalence of the still-existentashik( "aşık" or "ozan" ) tradition, the dominant element in Turkish folk poetry has always been song. The development of folk poetry in Turkish—which began to emerge in the 13th century with such important writers as Yunus Emre, Sultan Veled, andŞeyyâd Hamza—was given a great boost when, on 13 May 1277, Karamanoğlu Mehmed Bey declared Turkish the official state language ofAnatolia's powerful Karamanid state; subsequently, many of the tradition's greatest poets would continue to emerge from this region.

Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem(1847–1914) was another prominent Turkish poet of the late Ottoman era.

There are, broadly speaking, two traditions of Turkish folk poetries;

• the aşık/ozan tradition,which—although much influenced by religion, as mentioned above—was, for the most part, a secular tradition;
• the explicitly religious tradition,which emerged from the gathering places (tekkes) of the Sufi religious orders and Shi'a groups.

Much of the poetry and song of the aşık/ozan tradition, being almost exclusively oral until the 19th century, remains anonymous. There are, however, a few well-known aşıks from before that time whose names have survived together with their works: the aforementioned Köroğlu (16th century); Karacaoğlan (1606?–1689?), who may be the best-known of the pre-19th century aşıks; Dadaloğlu (1785?–1868?), who was one of the last of the great aşıks before the tradition began to dwindle somewhat in the late 19th century; and several others. The aşıks were essentially minstrels who traveled through Anatolia performing their songs on the bağlama, a mandolin-like instrument whose paired strings are considered to have a symbolic religious significance in Alevi/Bektashi culture. Despite the decline of the aşık/ozan tradition in the 19th century, it experienced a significant revival in the 20th century thanks to such outstanding figures as Aşık Veysel Şatıroğlu (1894–1973), Aşık Mahzuni Şerif (1938–2002),Neşet Ertaş(1938–2012), and many others.

Ottoman Divan poetrywas a highly ritualized and symbolic art form. From the Persian poetry that largely inspired it, it inherited a wealth of symbols whose meanings and interrelationships—both of similitude (مراعات نظير mura'ât-i nazîr / تناسب tenâsüb) and opposition (تضاد tezâd)—were more or less prescribed. Examples of prevalent symbols that, to some extent, oppose one another include, among others:

the nightingale (بلبل bülbül) — the rose (ﮔل gül) the world (جهان cihan; عالم 'âlem) — the rosegarden (ﮔﻠﺴﺘﺎن gülistan; ﮔﻠﺸﻦ gülşen) the ascetic (زاهد zâhid) — the dervish (درويش derviş)

In the early years of the Republic of Turkey, there were a number of poetic trends. Authors such as Ahmed Hâşim and Yahyâ Kemâl Beyatlı (1884–1958) continued to write important formal verse whose language was, to a great extent, a continuation of the lateOttomantradition. By far the majority of the poetry of the time, however, was in the tradition of the folk-inspired "syllabist" movement (Five Syllabists orBeş Hececiler), which had emerged from the National Literature movement and which tended to express patriotic themes couched in the syllabic meter associated with Turkish folk poetry.

The first radical step away from this trend was taken byNâzım Hikmet,who—during his time as a student in the Soviet Union from 1921 to 1924—was exposed to the modernist poetry of Vladimir Mayakovsky and others, which inspired him to start writing verse in a less formal style.

Orhan Veli Kanıkwas the founder of theGarip Movementin Turkish poetry.

Another revolution in Turkish poetry came about in 1941 with the publication of a small volume of verse preceded by an essay and entitledGarip(meaning both "miserable" and "strange" ). The authors were Orhan Veli Kanık (1914–1950), Melih Cevdet Anday (1915–2002), and Oktay Rifat (1914–1988). Explicitly opposing themselves to everything that had gone in poetry before, they sought instead to create a popular art, "to explore the people's tastes, to determine them, and to make them reign supreme over art".[21] To this end, and inspired in part by contemporary French poets like Jacques Prévert, they employed not only a variant of the free verse introduced by Nâzım Hikmet, but also highly colloquial language, and wrote primarily about mundane daily subjects and the ordinary man on the street. The reaction was immediate and polarized: most of the academic establishment and older poets vilified them, while much of the Turkish population embraced them wholeheartedly.

Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarcawas one of the most prolificTurkishpoets of the Turkish Republic with more than 60 collections of his poems published, laureate of theStruga Poetry EveningsGolden Wreath Award.

Just as the Garip movement was a reaction against earlier poetry, so—in the 1950s and afterwards—was there a reaction against the Garip movement. The poets of this movement, soon known as İkinci Yeni ( "Second New" [22]), opposed themselves to the social aspects prevalent in the poetry of Nâzım Hikmet and the Garip poets, and instead—partly inspired by the disruption of language in such Western movements as Dada and Surrealism—sought to create a more abstract poetry through the use of jarring and unexpected language, complex images, and the association of ideas. To some extent, the movement can be seen as bearing some of the characteristics ofpostmodern literature.The best-known poets writing in the "Second New" vein were Turgut Uyar (1927–1985), Edip Cansever (1928–1986), Cemal Süreya (1931–1990), Ece Ayhan (1931–2002), and İlhan Berk (1918–2008).

Outside of the Garip and "Second New" movements also, a number of significant poets have flourished, such as Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca (1914–2008), who wrote poems dealing with fundamental concepts like life, death, God, time, and the cosmos; Behçet Necatigil (1916–1979), whose somewhat allegorical poems explore the significance of middle-class daily life; Can Yücel (1926–1999), who—in addition to his own highly colloquial and varied poetry—was also a translator into Turkish of a variety of world literature; and İsmet Özel (1944– ), whose early poetry was highly leftist but whose poetry since the 1970s has shown a strong mystical and even Islamist influence.

Prose

Main article:Prose of the Republic of Turkey

The style of the current novelists can be traced back to theGenç Kalemlerjournal in the Ottoman period. Young Pens was published inSelanikunderÖmer Seyfettin,Ziya Gökalpand Ali Canip Yöntem. They covered the social and political concepts of their time with the nationalistic perspective. They were the core of a movement which became known as the "national literature."

With the declaration of the Turkish Republic in 1923, Turkish literature became interested in folkloric styles. This was also the first time since the 19th century that Turkish literature was escaping from Western influence and began to mix Western forms with other forms. During the 1930s,Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğluand Vedat Nedim Tor publishedKadro,which was revolutionary in its view of life.

Orhan Pamuk,winner of the 2006Nobel Prize in Literature.

Stylistically, the earlyprose of the Republic of Turkeywas essentially a continuation of the National Literature movement, with Realism and Naturalism predominating. This trend culminated in the 1932 novelYaban(The Wilds) byYakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu.This novel can be seen as the precursor to two trends that would soon develop:social realism,and the "village novel" (köy romanı). The social realist movement was led by the short-story writerSait Faik Abasıyanık.The major writers of the "village novel" tradition wereKemal Tahir,Orhan Kemal,andYaşar Kemal.In a very different tradition, but evincing a similar strong political viewpoint, was the satirical short-story writerAziz Nesin.Other important novelists of this period wereAhmet Hamdi TanpınarandOğuz Atay.Orhan Pamuk,winner of the 2006Nobel Prize in Literature,is among the innovative novelists, whose works show the influence ofpostmodernismandmagic realism.Importantpoets of the Republic of Turkey periodincludeAhmet Haşim,Yahya Kemal BeyatlıandNâzım Hikmet(who introduced thefree versestyle).Orhan Veli Kanık,Melih Cevdet AndayandOktay Rifatled theGaripmovement; while Turgut Uyar,Edip CanseverandCemal Süreyaled theİkinci Yenimovement. Outside of theGaripandİkinci Yenimovements, a number of other significant poets such asFazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca,Behçet NecatigilandCan Yücelalso flourished.

The mix of cultural influences in Turkey is dramatized, for example, in the form of the "new symbols of the clash and interlacing of cultures" enacted in the novels ofOrhan Pamuk,recipient of the 2006Nobel Prize in Literature.

Architecture

Main article:Architecture of Turkey

Seljuk era

Main article:Anatolian Seljuk architecture

Entrance portal of theKaratay MadrasainKonya(c. 1251)

Architecture under the Anatolian Seljuks incorporated an eclectic mix of influences,adopting localByzantine,Armenian,andGeorgianelements and combining them with designs from Islamic Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Central Asia.Their monuments were largely built in dressed stone, with brick used for minarets.Decoration was concentrated around certain elements like entrance portals and took the form of elaboratestone carving(e.g. theInce Minareli Medreseand theDivriği complex), occasionalablaqstonework (e.g.Alâeddin Mosquein Konya), and large surfaces covered intilework(e.g.Karatay Medrese).As Anatolia fragmented intoBeyliksduring the later 13th and 14th centuries, architecture became even more diverse, particularly in western Anatolia, where proximity to the Byzantine and Mediterranean worlds encouraged further experimentation and syncretism.

Ottoman era

Main article:Ottoman architecture

Selimiye MosqueinEdirne(1568–1574)

Thearchitecture of the early Ottomansexperimented with different building types, including single-domed mosques, multi-domed buildings, and religious buildings with T-shaped floor plans.This eventually evolved into theClassical Ottoman stylethat was consolidated during the 16th and 17th centuries.This style, drawing strong influence from the Hagia Sophia, produced grand imperial mosques designed around a central dome and a varying number of semi-domes.This period is also associated with the most famous Ottoman architect,Mimar Sinan(d. 1588). Among his over 300 designs across the empire, his most important works include theŞehzade Mosquein Istanbul, theSüleymaniye Mosquein Istanbul, and theSelimiye Mosquein Edirne.In decorative arts,Iznik tilesreached their artistic peak and were used in many buildings.

After the 17th century, Ottoman architecture was increasingly open to outside influences.Shifts during the Tulip Periodwere followed by the appearance of theOttoman Baroque stylein the 1740s.In the 19th century, Western European influences increased and architects such as theBalyansproducedeclecticworks like the luxuriousDolmabaçe Palace.In the early 20th-century, a kind of Ottoman revivalism known as theFirst National Architectural Movementwas led by architects likeMimar KemaleddinandVedat Tek.

Republican era

View fromLeventdistrict inIstanbul.Istanbul's skyline has changed especially since the early 2000s.

In the first years of the Turkish Republic, founded in 1923, Turkish architecture was influenced byOttoman architecture,in particular during the First National Architectural Movement. However, from the 1930s, architectural styles started to differ from traditional architecture, also as a result of an increasing number of foreign architects being invited to work in the country, mostly fromGermanyandAustria.The Second World War was a period of isolation, during which the Second National Architectural Movement emerged. Similar toFascist architecture,the movement aimed to create modern but nationalistic architecture.

Starting from the 1950s, isolation from the rest of the world started to diminish, leading to Turkish architects being increasingly inspired by their counterparts in the rest of the world. However they were constrained by the lack of technological infrastructure or insufficient financial resources till the 1980s.Thereafter, the liberalization of the economy and the shift towardsexport-led growth,paved the way for the private sector to become the leading influence on architecture.

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  FirstZiraat BankHeadquarters (1925–29) inAnkaradesigned by Giulio Mongeri is an important symbol of the First National Architectural Movement.
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  Designed by Şekip Akalın,Ankara Central Station(1937) is a notableart decodesign of its era.
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  Ankara Opera House,designed byŞevki Balmumcu(1933–34) and renovation byPaul Bonatz(1946–47).
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  Anıtkabirdesigned byEmin Halid Onatand Ahmet Orhan Arda (1944–53)
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  Istanbul UniversityFaculty of Science and Faculty of Literature Buildings (1944–52) designed bySedad Hakkı Eldemand Emin Onat
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  Istanbul Sapphire(2006–11) is the tallest building inTurkeyand 4th inEurope.
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  The Nation's Library of the Presidency,Ankara
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  Night view of theTaksim Mosque
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  Yalikavak Palmarina inBodrum(2014) designed byEmre Arolat

Visual arts

Main article:Turkish art

Further information:History of Modern Turkish painting,İznik pottery,andTurkish illumination

Map of Istanbul by the miniature artistMatrakçı Nasuh

Ottoman miniatureis linked to thePersian miniaturetradition and is likewise influenced byChinese paintingstyles and techniques. The wordstasvirornakışwere used to define the art of miniature painting in Ottoman Turkish. The studios the artists worked in were callednakkaşhane.The understanding ofperspectivewas different from that of the nearby European Renaissance painting tradition, and the scene depicted often included different time periods and spaces in one picture. They followed closely the context of the book they were included in, more illustrations than standalone works of art. Sixteenth-century artistsNakkaş OsmanandMatrakçı Nasuhare among the most prominent artists of this era.

Turkish painting,in the Western sense, developed actively starting from the mid 19th century. The first painting lessons were scheduled at what is now theIstanbul Technical University(then theImperial Military Engineering School) in 1793, mostly for technical purposes.In the late 19th century, human figure in the Western sense was being established in Turkish painting, especially withOsman Hamdi Bey.Impressionism,among the contemporary trends, appeared later on withHalil Pasha.Other important Turkish painters in the 19th century wereFerik İbrahim Paşa,Osman Nuri Paşa,Şeker Ahmet Paşa,andHoca Ali Riza.

Carpet (halı)and tapestry (kilim) weaving is a traditional Turkish art form with roots in pre-Islamic times. During its long history, the art and craft of weaving carpets and tapestries in Turkey has integrated numerous cultural traditions. Apart from the Turkic design patterns that are prevalent, traces ofPersianandByzantinepatterns can also be detected. There are also similarities with the patterns used in Armenian, Caucasian and Kurdish carpet designs. The arrival of Islam in Central Asia and the development ofIslamic artalso influenced Turkic patterns in the medieval period. The history of the designs, motifs and ornaments used in Turkish carpets and tapestries thus reflects the political and ethnic history of the Turks and the cultural diversity of Anatolia. However, scientific attempts were unsuccessful, as yet, to attribute a particular design to a specific ethnic, regional, or even nomadic versus village tradition.

Cinema

Main article:Cinema of Turkey

Turkish film directors have won numerous prestigious awards in the recent years.Nuri Bilge Ceylanwon theBest Director Awardat the2008 Cannes Film Festivalwith the filmÜç Maymun.This was the fourth time that Ceylan received an award atCannes,following the awards for the filmUzak(which was also nominated for theGolden Palm) at thefestival of 2003and 2004,and the filmİklimler(also nominated for the Golden Palm) at the2006 Cannes Film Festival.These three films, along with the other important works of Ceylan such asKasaba(1997) andMayıs sıkıntısı(1999) have also won awards at the other major international film festivals; including the Angers European First Film Festival (1997 and 1999), Ankara Film Festival (2000), Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (1999, 2002 and 2006),Bergamo Film Meeting(2001), Berlin Film Festival (1998), Brothers Manaki Film Festival (2003), Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (2001), Cannes Film Festival (2003, 2004 and 2006), Chicago Film Festival (2003), Cinemanila Film Festival (2003), European Film Awards (2000), Istanbul Film Festival (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2007), Mexico City Film Festival (2004), Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival (2003), San Sebastián Film Festival (2003), Singapore Film Festival (2001), Sofia Film Festival (2004), Tokyo Film Festival (1998) and the Trieste Film Festival (2004).

More recently,Semih Kaplanoğluwon the Golden Bear at the60th Berlin International Film Festivalwith hisHoney (2010 film);the third and final installment of the "Yusuf Trilogy", which includes Egg and Milk.This was the second time a Turkish film wins the award; first one beingSusuz YazbyMetin Erksanin 1964.

Turkish film directorFatih Akın,who lives in Germany and has dual Turkish-German citizenship, won theGolden Bear Awardat the 2004Berlin Film Festivalwith the filmHead-On.The film won numerous other awards in many international film festivals.Fatih Akın was nominated for the Golden Palm and won theBest Screenplay Awardat the2007 Cannes Film Festival;as well as the Golden Orange at the 2007 Antalya Film Festival; the Lino Brocka Award at the 2007 Cinemanila Film Festival; the Best Screenwriter award at the 2007 European Film Awards; the Best Direction, Best Screenplay and Outstanding Feature Film awards at the 2008 German Film Awards; the Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay awards at the 2008 RiverRun Film Festival; the 2008 Bavarian Film Award; and theLux Prizeby theEuropean Parliament,with the filmThe Edge of Heaven.Other important films of Akın, such asKurz und schmerzlos(1998),In July(2000),Solino(2002), andCrossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul(2005) won numerous awards.

Another famous Turkish film director isFerzan Özpetek,whose films likeHamam(1997),Harem suaré(1999),Le Fate Ignoranti(2001),La finestra di fronte(2003),Cuore Sacro(2005) andSaturno contro(2007) won him international fame and awards.The filmLa finestra di fronte(2003) was particularly successful, winning the Best Film and Scholars Jury awards at the 2003David di Donatello Awards,theCrystal Globeand Best Director awards at the 2003Karlovy Vary International Film Festival,the 2003Silver Ribbonfor Best Original Story from theItalian National Syndicate of Film Journalists,the Festival Prize at the 2004 Foyle Film Festival, the Audience Award at the 2004 Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, and the Canvas Audience Award at the 2004 Flanders International Film Festival.

Sports

Main article:Sport in Turkey

AnOil wrestlingtournament inIstanbul.This has been the national sport of Turkey sinceOttomantimes.

The traditional Turkish national sport has been theYağlı güreş(Oiled Wrestling) since Ottoman times.The annual international yağlı güreş (oiled wrestling) tournament that's held inKırkpınarnearEdirneis the oldest continuously running, sanctioned sporting competition in the world, having taken place every year since 1362.

The most popular sport in Turkey isfootball.Turkey's top teams includeFenerbahçe,GalatasarayandBeşiktaş.In 2000, Galatasaray cemented its role as a major European club by winning theUEFA CupandUEFA Super Cup.Two years later the Turkey national team finished third in the2002 FIFA World Cupheld in Japan and South Korea, while in 2008 the national team reached the semi-finals of theUEFA Euro 2008competition.

Turkish national basketball teamwon the silver medal in the2010 FIBA World Championship.

Other mainstream sports such asbasketballandvolleyballare also popular. Turkey hosted the2010 FIBA World Championshipinternational basketball tournament and reached the final. The men's national basketball team finished second inEurobasket 2001;whileEfes Pilsen S.K.won theKorać Cupin 1996, finished second in theSaporta Cupof 1993, and made it to the Final Four ofEuroleagueandSuproleaguein 2000 and 2001.Turkish basketball players have also been successful in theNBA.In June 2004,Mehmet Okurwon the2004 NBA Championshipwith theDetroit Pistons,becoming the first Turkish player to win an NBA title. Okur was selected to theWestern Conference All-Star Teamfor the2007 NBA All-Star Game,also becoming the first Turkish player to participate in this event. Another successful Turkish player in the NBA isHidayet Türkoğlu,who was given theNBA's Most Improved Player Awardfor the 2007–2008 season, on April 28, 2008.Basketball has received further attention and media coverage in 2010s withFenerbahce BasketballandAnadolu Efes S.K.making 6 straightEuroleague Final Fourappearances combined, along with winning the Euroleague title in 2017 and 2021 respectively. Women's volleyball teams such asEczacıbaşı,Vakıfbank,andFenerbahçehave been the most successful by far in any team sport, winning numerous European championship titles and medals.

Motorsportshave become popular recently, especially following the inclusion of theRally of Turkeyto theFIAWorld Rally Championshipcalendar in 2003,and the inclusion of theTurkish Grand Prixto theFormula Oneracing calendar in 2005.Other important annual motorsports events which are held at theIstanbul Parkracing circuit include theMotoGP Grand Prix of Turkey,theFIAWorld Touring Car Championship,theGP2 Seriesand theLe Mans Series.From time to timeIstanbulandAntalyaalso host the Turkish leg of theF1 Powerboat Racingchampionship; while the Turkish leg of theRed Bull Air Race World Series,anair racingcompetition, takes place above theGolden Hornin Istanbul. Surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, paragliding, and other extreme sports are becoming more popular every year.

International wrestling styles governed byFILAsuch asFreestyle wrestlingandGreco-Roman wrestlingare also popular, with many European, World and Olympic championship titles won by Turkish wrestlers both individually and as a national team.Another major sport in which the Turks have been internationally successful isweightlifting;as Turkish weightlifters, both male and female, have broken numerous world records and won several European,World and Olympicchampionship titles.Naim SüleymanoğluandHalil Mutluhave achieved legendary status as one of the few weightlifters to have won three gold medals in three Olympics.

Turkey hosted the2005 Summer Universiadeinİzmirand the2011 Winter UniversiadeinErzurum.

Cuisine

Main article:Turkish cuisine

Further information:Middle Eastern cuisineandMediterranean cuisine

Turkish coffee

Turkish delight

Turkish cuisineinherited itsOttoman heritagewhich could be described as a fusion and refinement ofTurkicandPersiancuisines.Turkish cuisinealso influencedGreek,Armenian,Arabic,Persian,BalkanandMiddle Eastcuisines and other neighbouring cuisines, as well as western European cuisines. Ottomans fused various culinary traditions of their realm with influences fromMiddle Easterncuisines, along with traditional Turkic elements from Central Asia such asyogurt.The Ottoman Empire indeed created a vast array of technical specialities. It can be observed that various regions of the Ottoman Empire contain bits and pieces of the vast Ottoman dishes. Taken as a whole, Turkish cuisine is not homogenous. Aside from common Turkish specialities which can be found throughout the country, there are also region-specific specialities. TheBlack Searegion's cuisine (northern Turkey) is based on corn and anchovies. The southeast—Urfa,GaziantepandAdana—is famous for itskebabs,mezesand dough-based desserts such asbaklava,kadayıfandkünefe.Especially in the western parts of Turkey, where olive trees are grown abundantly,olive oilis the major type of oil used for cooking.The cuisines of theAegean,MarmaraandMediterraneanregions display basic characteristics ofMediterranean cuisineas they are rich in vegetables, herbs and fish. Central Anatolia is famous for its pastry specialities such askeşkek(kashkak),mantı(especially ofKayseri) andgözleme.

The name of specialities sometimes includes the name of a city or a region (either in Turkey or outside). This suggests that a dish is a speciality of that area, or may refer to the specific technique or ingredients used in that area. For example, the difference between Urfa kebab andAdana kebabis the use of garlic instead of onion and the larger amount of hot pepper that kebab contains.

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  Döner kebap
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  İskender kebap
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  Şiş kebap
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  Adana kebap
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  Beyti kebap
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  Lahmacun
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  Dolma
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  İmam bayıldı
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  Mantı
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  Pastırma
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  Sucuk
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  Börek
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  Bulgur
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  Meze
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  Piyaz
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  Cacık
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  Ayran
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  Boza
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  Rakı
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  Turkish tea
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  Simit
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  Baklava
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  Ekmek kadayıfı
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  Tulumba
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  Helva
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  Tavukgöğsü
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  Acıbadem kurabiyesi
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  Sütlaç
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  Kuymak
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  Lentil soup
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  Turkish vegetarian food
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  Karnıyarık

Festivals

Christmasis known inTurkishas Noel, although the majority of theTurksdo not celebrate it as such, the idea is not thoroughly an alien one. The festivity traces its roots whereSanta Clauswas born in Turkey and is known as Noel Baba. It has for a long time been a tradition that Noel Baba would bring gifts to children onNew Year's Eve.

One of the other common celebrations in Turkey isNowruz.This celebration is done on the pretext of the beginning of spring and the beginning of thenew year.The establishment of Nowruz has a long history, so much so that it has been celebrated in different parts ofAsiafor the past three thousand years, especially in theMiddle East.In different parts of Turkey, especially theKurdish regionsof this country, Nowruz is considered one of the most important cultural and historical traditions of these regions. Lighting a fire, wearing new clothes, holding a dance ceremony, and giving gifts to each other are some of the activities that are done in this celebration.

Religion

Main article:Religion in Turkey

See also

• Turkish folklore
• Public holidays in Turkey
• Bayram (Turkey)
• Education in Turkey
• Tourism in Turkey
• Museums in Turkey
• Minorities in Turkey
• List of museums in Turkey
• Cornucopia (magazine)
• History of Turkey
• Reforms in the Ottoman Empire
• Meyhane
• Hammam
• Victorian Turkish baths
• Kilim
• Kilim motifs
• Ottoman culture
• Turquerie
• Orientalism
• Video games in Turkey
• Turkish draughts
• Turkish archery
• Books published per country per yearTurkey, 12th & 13th
• Another Look at East and Southeast Turkey

References

Sources

• Carswell, John (2006).Iznik Pottery(Second ed.). British Museum Press.ISBN9780714124414.
• Ettinghausen, Richard; Grabar, Oleg; Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn (2001).Islamic Art and Architecture: 650–1250.Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-300-08869-4.Retrieved2013-03-17.
• Freely, John (2011).A History of Ottoman Architecture.WIT Press.ISBN978-1-84564-506-9.
• Hattstein, Markus; Delius, Peter, eds. (2011).Islam: Art and Architecture.h.f.ullmann.ISBN9783848003808.
• Howard, Douglas A. (2016).The History of Turkey(2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood.ISBN978-1-4408-3466-0.
• Kuban, Doğan (2010).Ottoman Architecture.Translated by Mill, Adair. Antique Collectors' Club.ISBN9781851496044.
• Rüstem, Ünver (2019).Ottoman Baroque: The Architectural Refashioning of Eighteenth-Century Istanbul.Princeton University Press.ISBN9780691181875.

External links

• Turkish Culture Portal
• Turkey CultureArchived2020-08-17 at theWayback Machine
• Turkey Live Culture
• Traditions in Turkey
• Online Turkish Culture TVArchived2008-12-17 at theWayback Machine
• Art and Culture of Turkey
• ATON,theUysal-Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrativeat Texas Tech University
• Turkish Live Tv
• Turkey Tourism
• Gezi RehberiArchived2021-09-22 at theWayback Machine
• "Life and Culture in Turkey" (Study in Turkey)