Turkey Beaches

Turkey Beaches are best May-October, though the water is still a little chilly up to June. Beware crowds July-August.
They are often pebbly or hot sand so swimming shoes are useful.
None of them are worth travelling for specifically, except the first two and last one.
Turkish beaches [in fact Mediterranean beaches in general] are not truly comparable with those of the Caribbean or Pacific - the water is cooler and the sand generally coarser, or frequently pebbles. Pretty, shady, palm tree fringes are also rare, though hot sunshine, friendly locals and low prices are almost guarenteed.
Going topless is not a problem.
Patara Beach [picture top right] - Pictures
Rated as the best beach in the world by some. However, Patara may be the best in the Mediterranean but it can't compare with tropical beaches. However it is 14.2 kms/9miles long [the longest beach in the Mediterranean] of child-friendly shore - medium grain brown sand - backed only by ancient ruins and swooping dunes - with no buildings visible save a small café at one end.
Loungers and umbrellas available for rent but no watersports or camping. The area is inexpensive and there's a limited selection of low-key accommodation in nearby Patara town, with beach commuter transport or a longish walk. Alternatively day trip in from Kalkan/Kas. 50 miles from Fethiye.

Olu Deniz Beach, near Fethiye [picture top left] - PicturesOlu Deniz is a picturesque resort area, especially the main hillside town of Belcekiz, which has crystal clear water, and a long shingle beach curving away from the town promenade along to a calm blue lagoon. In addition to good value hotels - usually with pools - in Olu Deniz town, there are some popular resort villages nearby, such as Ovacik and Hisaronu [10 mins], which means that the beach can get overcrowded. The promenade by the town has plenty of bars, restaurants and cafés and there are loads of umbrellas and loungers for hire, and a wide range of water sports available. Paragliding and Hangliding, solo or tandem, off adjacent Babadag mountain and landing on the beach are extremely popular, as is scuba diving. Locals claim the season is all year round. Summer temperature averages 32C, winter 20C. 1hr 45 mins from Dalaman Airport.

Turtle [Iztuzu] Beach, Dalyan - Pictures
Reached by boat, Turtle Beach [also known as Iztuzu Beach], a sandbar of the Dalyan Delta, is a national conservation area and one of the last breeding places in Europe for the protected loggerhead 'Cretta' sea turtle. It's several kilometres long, with very scenic surroundings, hot brown sand, and shallow water. A small café, sun loungers and umbrellas available. Accessible mainly by an enjoyable 20min public boat ride from pleasant, relaxed Dalyan town. Dalyan has a gorgeous river frontage looking across to Lycian tombs carved into the rock face. Twitcher alert! Swamp bugs can be irritating to humans but delicious to avians, so lots of bird life here, especially swallows. Other excursions from Dalyan are mud bathing in the local hot mineral springs or swimming in nearby Lake Koycegiz. 30 mins from Dalaman Airport.

Kaputas Beach, near Kalkan & Kas - Pictures
Kaputas is a mountain gorge with a small shingle cove beach under a bridge crossing the gorge, with a steep set of steps up/down to the beach,and a steep drop off into the clear blue sea. It's a 10 minute dolmus [bus] ride from the hill village of Kalkan, a harbour town with colourful restaurants and terraced bars overlooking the not particularly attractive marina. Kalkan has it's own small shingle beach too - Pictures. More sophisticated than most Turkish resorts. 2.5 hrs from Dalaman Airport.

Kas
There are no beaches in Kas, but it's a really lovely, relaxed hill/harbour town with no package tourists in evidence and easy access to little beaches a few minutes away by public bus on the gorgeous winding coast road. Plenty of little hotels and interesting Turkish restaurants. An hour from Kalkan.
Ladies Beach and Kustur Beach, Kusadasi - Pictures
Kusadasi's most famous beach is Ladies Beach, just south of the town centre, backed by a promenade with plenty of eating and drinking establishments. It's a narrow, brown sand beach with loungers and umbrellas available for rent.
Kustur Beach, 4 miles north of the town, is less crowded and more tranquil. 1hr 15 mins from Adnan Menderes Airport, 1.5 hrs from Izmir.

 

Reference:http://www.bugbog.com/beaches/turkey_beaches.html

Ankara

Ankara (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈan.ka.ɾa]) is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of 938 metres (3,077 ft),^[2] and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million.^[1]
As with many ancient cities, Ankara has gone by several names over the ages. It has been identified with the Hittite cult center Ankuwaš,^[3][4] although this remains a matter of debate.^[5] In classical antiquity and during the medieval period, the city was known as Ánkyra (Ἄγκυρα, "anchor") in Greek and Ancyra in Latin; the Galatian Celtic name was probably a similar variant. Following its annexation by the Seljuq Turks in 1073, the city became known in many European languages as Angora, a usage which continued until its official renaming to "Ankara" under the Turkish Postal Service Law of 1930.^[6] Another proposed theory show that the original name of the city might be taken over from the Angara River of Asia by the invading Seljuk Turks.
Centrally located in Anatolia, Ankara is an important commercial and industrial city. It is the center of the Turkish Government, and houses all foreign embassies. It is an important crossroads of trade, strategically located at the centre of Turkey's highway and railway networks, and serves as the marketing centre for the surrounding agricultural area. The city was famous for its long-haired Angora goat and its prized wool (mohair), a unique breed of cat (Angora cat), white rabbits and their prized wool (Angora wool), pears, honey, and the region's muscat grapes.
The historical center of Ankara is situated upon a rocky hill, which rises 150 m (492 ft) above the plain on the left bank of the Ankara Çayı, a tributary of the Sakarya (Sangarius) river. The city is located at 39°52'30" North, 32°52' East (39°52′30″N 32°50′00″E / 39.875°N 32.8333°E / 39.875; 32.8333Coordinates: 39°52′30″N 32°50′00″E / 39.875°N 32.8333°E / 39.875; 32.8333), about 450 km (280 mi) to the southeast of Istanbul, the country's largest city. Although situated in one of the driest places of Turkey and surrounded mostly by steppe vegetation except for the forested areas on the southern periphery, Ankara can be considered a green city in terms of green areas per inhabitant, which is 72 m² per head.^[7]
Ankara is a very old city with various Hittite, Phrygian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman archaeological sites. The hill which overlooks the city is crowned by the ruins of the old castle, which adds to the picturesqueness of the view, but only a few historic structures surrounding the old citadel have survived to the present day. There are, however, many finely preserved remains of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine architecture, the most remarkable being the Temple of Augustus and Rome (20 BC) which is also known as the Monumentum Ancyranum.^[8]

Ancient history
The oldest settlements in and around the city centre of Ankara belong to the Hatti civilization which existed during the Bronze Age. The city grew significantly in size and importance under the Phrygians starting around 1000 BC, and experienced a large expansion following the mass migration from Gordion, (the capital of Phrygia), after an earthquake which severely damaged that city around that time. In Phrygian tradition, King Midas was venerated as the founder of Ancyra, but Pausanias mentions that the city was actually far older, which accords with present archaeological knowledge.^[9]
Phrygian rule was succeeded first by Lydian and later by Persian rule, though the strongly Phrygian character of the peasantry remained, as evidenced by the gravestones of the much later Roman period. Persian sovereignty lasted until the Persians' defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great who conquered the city in 333 BC. Alexander came from Gordion to Ankara and stayed in the city for a short period. After his death at Babylon in 323 BC and the subsequent division of his empire amongst his generals, Ankara and its environs fell into the share of Antigonus.
Another important expansion took place under the Greeks of Pontos who came there around 300 BC and developed the city as a trading centre for the commerce of goods between the Black Sea ports and Crimea to the north; Assyria, Cyprus, and Lebanon to the south; and Georgia, Armenia and Persia to the east. By that time the city also took its name Áγκυρα (Ànkyra, meaning Anchor in Greek) which in slightly modified form provides the modern name of Ankara.

Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankara

Turkish traditional dance

Bar (dance)
With their structure and formation, they are the dances performed by groups in the open. They are spread, in general, over the eastern part of Anatolia (Erzurum, Bayburt, Agri, Kars, Artvin and Erzincan provinces). The characteristic of their formation is that they are performed side-by-side, hand, shoulder and arm-in-arm. Woman and man bars are different from one another. The principal instruments of our bar dances are davul and zurna (shrill pipe). Later, clarinet has been added to the woman bars. The dominant measures in bars are 5/8 and 9/8. Occasionally measures of 6/8 and 12/8 are used. Aksak 9/8 measures which are also the most characteristic measures, in particular, of the Turkish folk music are applied with extremely different and interesting structures in this dance.

 Halay

This folk-dance, is a part of Kurdish dance and is performed to a large extent in the Eastern, South- Eastern and Central Anatolia and it is one of the most striking dance. It has a rich figure structure of simplicity is the symbol of creation and originality of the folk. The rhythmic elements of halay dances are very rich and are mostly performed with drum-zurna combination as well as with kaval (shepherd's pipe), sipsi (reed), cigirtma (fife) or baglama (an instrument with three double strings played whit a plectrum) or performed when folk songs are sung. You may experience all the measures of the Turkish folk music in the halay melodies.

 Horon

HORON or the round dance is a typical folk dance of the Black Sea coastal area and its interior parts. Horons appear very different from the folk dances in other parts of the country with their formation of tempo, rhythm and measure. Horons are performed, in general, by groups and their characteristic measure is 7/16 For their melodies are rendered very fast, it is very difficult to render them with every instrument. For this reason, rendering with a drum and zurna becomes practical. Melodies of horon are performed with the small type of zurna which is called 'cura'. In addition, in the interior parts blowing instruments such as bagpipe mey (again, a small zurna) etc. The other measures used are 2/4, 5/8 and 9/16.

 Zeybek

Zeybeks are, in general, the widespread folk dances of the Western Anatolia. It is rendered by one person or two or by a group of people and its name changes for example as 'seymen' in the central parts of Anatolia. Zeybek dances are formed, in general, of 9/8 measures and have a variety of tempos such as very slow, slow, fast and very fast. Very slow zeybek dances have the measure of 9/2, slow ones 9/4 and some others 9/8. Very fast dances, for instance, teke (goat) dance seen in Burdur - Fethiye region can be regarded as dances of zeybek character, they have the traditional measure of 9/16 There is another folk dance named as BENGI in the zeybek region. It is performed more differently than zeybek and has got a different musical feature and the most characteristic measure of bengi dance is 9/8. Particularly in slow zeybeks, the traditional instruments is drum- zurna combination. The use of 2 drums and 2 zurnas in combination is a tradition, function of one of the zurnas is accompaniment, in other words, it accompanies the melody with a second constant tune. Apart from drum-zurna, a three-double string instrument baglama, reed, marrow bow etc. are used for fast zeybek dances. In particular, the traditional instrument of the teke (goat) dance region is reed.

Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_dance

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

ParliamentTurkey is a parliamentary democracy. The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), elected by all citizens over 19 years of age, is the direct descendant of the congress assembled by Ataturk during the War of Independence to act as the legitimate voice of the Turkish people in place of the sultan.
President & Prime Minister
The president, elected by the TGNA from among its members, serves for one seven year term and is supposed to be `above politics', and symbolise the nation. He or she is the head of state, with important executive powers and responsibilities. The true head of government, who decides its policies and directions, is the prime minister. However, recent presidents (Ozal and Demirel) have informally expanded the powers of the presidential office and have been accused at times of having used the office with partisan effect. The prime minister is appointed by the president to form a government, and thus is almost always the head of the majority party, or of a likely coalition. The judiciary, though theoretically independent, has in many instances been influenced by current
government policies.
Political Parties
Though the Turks are firm believers in democracy, the tradition of popular rule and responsibility is relatively short. Real multiparty democracy came into being only after WWII (compared to England's tradition of almost 800 years). Turkish democracy has had its ups and downs.
Mid-Century Atatek's Republican People's Party (CHP) enjoyed one-party rule until after WWII, when multi-party democracy became a reality. In the first elections the CHP lost out to the right-wing Democratic Party (DP), which attempted to control the government as closely as the CHP had before the war by grabbing extra-constitutional power. The Turkish armed forces, entrusted by Atatek's legacy as guarantors of the Turkish constitution, intervened. After the military intervention of 1960, the Democratic Party was banned, but its party faithful simply formed a successor, the similarly centre-right Justice Party (AP), and did as well in the elections against the centreleft CHP.

Abdullah Gül – President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – Prime Minister

Reference:http://www.turizm.net/turkey/info/government.html

Famous Landmarks of Turkey 3

HAGIA SOPHIA The Basilica of Hagia Sophia was constructed by Roman Emperor Justinian in 537 AD. This was the largest church in the Christian world for a thousand years. Its immense dome rises nearly 200 feet above the ground and its diameter spans more than 100 feet. The mosaics covering the walls are among the most important works of art that have survived to this day of the Byzantine era.
Large round buildings had been successfully covered by domes before, but Hagia Sophia had a rectangular floor plan, and covering a large rectangular structure by a huge central dome was being tried for the first time in history. The dome collapsed and repaired many times. The Ottomans converted the basilica to a mosque in the 15th century after the conquest of Istanbul. Recognizing its historic and universal importance, the Turkish Government turned it into a museum in 1935.

		SULTANAHMET MOSQUE Sultanahmet Mosque is the most famous monument in both the Turkish and the Islamic worlds. It was built in the classic Turkish architectural style between 1609-1616 by the architect Mehmet. The building is more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque because of its magnificent interior paneling of more than 20,000 blue and white Iznik
tiles. The inside is a single immense space into which the light pours from 260 windows. The dome 141 feet high, is supported by four enormous circular pillars 16 feet in diameter and are known as elephant feet. As it is located across Hagia Sophia, the mosque was designed to be as large and as magnificent as this Byzantine structure.

TOPKAPI PALACE Topkapi Palace is certainly the most important historical site to be visited in Istanbul. It is one of the most frequently visited museums of Europe and is the most visited one in Turkey. The Palace served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years between the 15th and 19th centuries. Its principal parts were finished in 1478, then altered and
enlarged by new additions in the reign of each succeeding sultan. The Palace was abandoned in 1855 when Sultan Abdulmecit I, 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, moved to the new Palace of Dolmabahce. In 1924, it was turned into a museum upon the orders of Atat�rk. Palace is a complex of buildings spread out over one of the seven hills of Istanbul. It consists of courtyards serving different purposes which are separated from each other by monumental gates. Pavilions, each used for different purpose, surround these courtyards. The total area of the Palace is twice the area of Vatican and half of Monaco in size.

SAFRANBOLU Safranbolu is a small town in the Western Black Sea Region. Some of the most beautiful traditional old homes, unique in Turkey for their outstanding design and construction are found here. Some of them have been restored and are now used as hotels.

		MT. NEMRUT Antiochos I, ruler of the Commagene Kingdom in the first century BC, built himself this funeral monument on top of Mount Nemrut in eastern Turkey. It consists of a tumulus and a dozen gigantic statues representing Antiochus I, eagles, lions and ancient gods. Lion and eagle statues were used as the guardians. The tumulus is 50 m high
and 150 m. in diameter. Although the inscriptions at the back of the thrones on east and west terraces record that Antiochos I had chosen the hierothesion as his sacred last resting place or a place where his body will sleep for endless eternity, seismic research did not show any grave chamber or large cavity in the tumulus. The average height of the statues is 26-33 feet. These are made of stone, too heavy and large to be carried to the museum and remain where they were originally erected. Time has inflicted heavy damage on the sculptures- their bodies sit with their beautifully carved heads at their feet.

SANLI URFA- HALIL RAHMAN MOSQUE This province in southeast Turkey is known as the �city of Prophets�, because the Prophets Job, Abraham and Suayb, whose names are mentioned in the holy books and who lived before the emergence of the three monotheistic religions- Judaism, Christianity and Islam � resided here. According to Muslim tradition, Prophet Abraham was born in a cave on the northern side of Sanli
Urfa castle. Today the cave is a pilgrimage site. There is a fish lake in the center of Sanli Urfa filled with sacred fish and surrounded by Halil Rahman Mosque. According to legends, Abraham believed in a single god and tried to spread this belief. For his refusal to follow the worship of idols, Abraham was condemned to be burned. The cruel King Nimrod had Abraham launched from a catapult from the city�s citadel to fall into a pile of burning wood. God intervened and turned the fire into water and the wood into fish, which make up water and fish in the pool. ISTANBUL, SAFRANBOLU, MT. NEMRUT, TROY, PAMUKKALE AND CAPPADOCIA ARE REGISTERED ON THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST TO HELP PRESERVE THEM FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

Reference:http://www.meandertravel.com/turkey/turkey.php?details=famouslandmarks&m=4&md=sc4

Famous Landmarks of Turkey 2

APHRODISIAS The impressive remains of this once-splendid city are situated on a high plateau, within Aydin Province. As its name suggests, Aphrodisias was named after Aphrodite, a goddess of nature, love and fertility and was the site of one of her most famous sanctuaries. Although the history of Aphrodisias stretches farther back in time, it rose to prominence in the first century BC and enjoyed a long
period of prosperity. Besides being a significant religious site, it was also a cultural and intellectual center to which students and scholars flocked from all over the ancient Hellenistic world. With an excellent marble supply, perhaps the finest available anywhere, the city became the center of a school of sculpture that flourished for a period of six hundred years. Many of its marvelous works of art are now housed in the local museum.

		The Temple of Aphrodite was the focal point of the city in antiquity, as it still is today with its fourteen standing columns. The stadium, located in the northern end of the city, is probably the best preserved structure of this type in the Mediterranean. It could accommodate as many as 30,000 people. The theater, odeon (concert-hall), Bishop�s Palace, Baths of Hadrian are among other ruins. East of the temple, one of the most attractive landmarks of Aphrodisias is a decorative gateway (in the picture)
datable to the middle of the second century. It consisted of four rows of four columns and its main access was from the east, with a front row of spirally-fluted Corinthian columns facing a main north-south street. Its sixteen columns have been repaired and re-erected and upper portions partly replaced.

PERGAMUM Pergamon (or Pergamum), once a great center of culture, survives as one of Turkey�s finest archeological sites. It is located 100 km north of Izmir. The city experienced its golden age until the end of the 3rd century AD during Hellenistic and Roman times. In the Acropolis, above the modern town, are the remains of the library, a steep and impressive theatre, the temples of Trajan and Dionysos,
the monumental Altar of Zeus, the sanctuary of Demeter, a gymnasium and the Agora. The Asclepion, located to the southwest of the lower city, was a medical center dedicated to the god of health, Asclepion. Patients were treated with water and mud baths, with massages and with medicinal herbs. The center also had a small theater, a library, a sacred fountain, temples as well as two meeting rooms and lavatories for women and for men. The site of Pergamon was first excavated by the German archaeologists between 1878 and 1886. It was during this time that the magnificent reliefs of the Altar of Zeus were discovered and carried to Berlin and now displayed in Berlin Museum.

		Ancient authors tell us that the Pergamon library at one time contained 200 000 volumes. Mark Anthony carted them off to Egypt as a gift for Cleopatra, to replace the ones that had been lost when the Alexandrian library was burned during Caesar�s campaign. In the middle of the library�s main reading room is the podium on which there stood at one time the 3.5 meter high statue of Athena that is now in the Berlin Museum.

CAPPADOCIA The ancient region of Cappadocia lies in Central Anatolia between the cities of Nevsehir, Kayseri and Nigde. Three million years ago, violent eruptions of the nearby volcanoes covered the surrounding plateau with a deep layer of solidified mud, ash and lava. The winds, rivers and rains have eroded this soft volcanic rock into hundreds of strangely shaped pillars, cones and fairy chimneys,
creating a vast outdoor museum of stone sculptures in an incredible variety of shapes, layering, textures and colors. Since the most ancient of times, men have been carving dwellings in this soft rock; the early Christians made countless cave churches, chapels and monasteries. There are more than 200 churches in Cappadocia scattered through the valleys, with their impressive frescoes and art works. The most amazing specialty of Cappadocia is the underground cities which are still being discovered. The ones in Kaymakli and in Derinkuyu are the most famous ones. These cities with 8-9 floors underground have been completely carved in volcanic tuff and were used by Christians as places to retreat to and live in until danger from their enemies had passed. The narrow tunnels which could be blocked by millstones at times of escape, the ventilation

		systems, and the hidden rooms of these cities show a perfect planning and construction. But the absence of inscriptions and decorations of any kind makes it difficult for the art historians to determine the dates of construction. The horses and the stud farms of Cappadocia have been famous throughout history. The word Cappadocia comes from the word �Catpaducia� meaning �the land of beautiful horses�.

MEVLEVI CONVENT AND MUSEUM Founder of the Mevlevi Order known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes, Muhammed Celaleddin lived in Konya from 1228 until his death in 1273. He was given the name Mevlana (Our High Master) by his followers. The nearly 6500 m2 land, on which the convent lies, used to be a rose garden belonging to Seljuk Sultan Alaaddin Keykubat.
He gave the area to Mevlana�s father, Bahaddin Veled. as a gift. Bahaddin Veled was buried here in accordance with his will. From that day on, this place became a popular visiting spot. The building of the tomb began in 1274, only after the burial of Mevlana beside his father. In 1396, the tomb was covered by a cone shaped dome decorated by exquisite turquoise tiles. The building has gone through many modifications during different periods in history and it has turned into a collection of buildings, an institution. In 1926, the Mevlana Convent opened as a museum. The artifacts presented to the convent throughout the centuries are on display. The most interesting section of the museum is under the green dome where the sarcophagi of Mevlana and his son, Sultan Veled, stand. The museum contains 65 sarcophagi of the members of Mevlana�s family and his followers. On display are hand-written copies of the sayings and books about Mevlana and Mevlevi order, musical instruments, metal glass and wooden objects, carpets and kilims. In the former dervish cells, the garments of the order are exhibited.

		PAMUKKALE This sight of spectacular beauty is located in the inner Aegean region. The terraces over 300 feet in height composed of layers of the accumulated limestone sediment have been gradually formed in the course of the ages. For thousands of years a deep underground spring on the hills above has been pouring out streams of hot, mineral-saturated water.
As the water has flowed down the mountainside, the water�s rich mineral content has coated them in a smooth layer of white calcareous rock. Since these white slopes resemble castles when observed from the plain, the area is called Pamukkale which means cotton castle in Turkish. Several Roman emperors came to bathe in these thermal pools. The area is still one of the leading hot springs in Turkey.
Reference:http://www.meandertravel.com/turkey/turkey.php?details=famouslandmarks&m=4&md=sc4

Turkey Customs and Traditions

Hamam

Another feature symbolizing the Turkish way of life is the Turkish Baths ("Hamam"). They have a very important place in Turkish daily and historical life as a result of the emphasis placed upon cleanliness by Islam. Since Medieval times public bath houses have been built everywhere and they retain an architectural and historical importance. The Turkish way of bathing in a "hamam" is very healthy and refreshing, so do not forget to visit a "hamam;" you will not regret it!

Turks had reached Anatolia. When the Turks arrived in Anatolia, they brought with them one bathing tradition, and were confronted with another, that of Romans and Byzantines, with certain local variants. The traditions merged, and with the addition of the Moslem concern for cleanliness and its concomitant respect for the uses of water, there arose an entirely new concept, that of the Turkish Bath. In time it became an institution, with its system of ineradicable customs.
For the Turkish bath was much more than just a place to cleanse the skin. It was intimately bound up with everyday life, a place where people of every rank and station, young and old, rich and poor, townsman or villager, could come freely. Women as well as men made use of the "hamam", as the bath is known in Turkish, although of course at separate hours.

From the individual's point of view, the hamam was a familiar place from the earliest weeks of life right up to its very end. Important occasions during a lifespan were, and in some townships still are, celebrated with rejoicing at the bath. The newborn's fortieth day, the brides bathing complete with food and live music, and the Avowal are instances. The latter requires some explanation, for it involved the custom common in Anatolia of making a promise or vow, contingent on the fulfillment of some important wish. The celebration of this in the hamam was arranged and paid for by the person fulfilling his vow, and was open to one and all.

The hamam ceremony of mourning, on the other hand, was far different, but also widespread. The Hospitality bathing was simply the taking of one's house-guest to the hamam for a wash. Then there were the Circumcision, Groom's, and Off-to-the-Army bathings, and others besides. As we see, the whole culture of a people had the Turkish bath as one of its important nexuses.

The fame of The Turkish bath, then, resides in its bringing together many dimensions of the society's culture to create a new phenomenon. The hamam has long been an institution in Turkey, with a deep-seated social character that is capable of shedding light on many aspects of Turkish life.

 

Coffee House

Coffee-houses ("kahve") are very specific to Turkish people. Even the smallest village has at least one "kahve." In old times men used to smoke hubble-bubble pipes ("nargile") while talking about the matters of the day. You can still smoke "nargile," but only in some of the coffee-houses. If you ever had a chance to see a "kahve," especially in Istanbul, do not hesitate to spend some time in that lovely, authentic place.

 

Evil Eye

This is a typical item, a specialty of this region you should take home as a souvenir. It's called the Boncuk, the Little Magic Stone that protects one from the *Evil Eye* (pronounced "bon-dschuk"). You will see this blue glass piece everywhere here in this area. But what is behind this superstition?

n a shortened version we will try to explain. Once upon a time (yes, it starts like in a fairy tale) there was a rock by the sea that, even with the force of a hundred men and a lot of dynamite, couldn't be moved or cracked. There was also a man in this town by the sea, who was known to carry the evil eye (Nazar). After much effort and endeavor, the town people brought the man to the rock, and the man, upon looking at the rock said, "My! What a big rock this is." The instant he said this, there was a rip and roar and crack and instantly the immense and impossible rock was found to be cracked in two.

The force of the evil eye (or Nazar) is a widely accepted and feared random element in Turkish daily life. The word *Nazar* denotes seeing or looking and is often used in literally translated phrases such as "Nazar touched her," in reference to a young woman, for example, who mysteriously goes blind.

Another typical scenario. A woman gives birth to a healthy child with pink cheeks, all the neighbors come and see the baby. They shower the baby with compliments, commentating especially on how healthy and chubby the baby is. After getting so much attention weeks later the baby is found dead in his crib. No explanation can be found for the death. It is ascribed to Nazar. Compliments made to a specific body part can result in Nazar. That's why nearly every Turkish mother fixes with a safety pin a small Boncuk on the child's clothes. Once a Boncuk is found cracked, it means it has done his job and immediately a new one has to replace it.

Reference:http://www.enjoyturkey.com/info/culture/Customs.htm