Türkiye – broad history and mass tourism today

Since the founding of the republic in 1923 as the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, Turkey has been secular and Kemalist in orientation. The country's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, initiated a modernization of Turkey through social and legal reforms modelled on various European nation states.

The current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been at the helm of the country since 2003. Since around 2012, he has led the country in an increasingly authoritarian manner. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press in particular are considered to be severely restricted. The currency and debt crisis triggered by its economic policies as well as high inflation have continued since 2018, which makes Turkey quite attractive from a tourist perspective.

The culture of today's Turkey is a fusion of the ancient Turkish nomadic culture of Central Asia and Siberia, the Greco-Roman era, the culture in the Ottoman Empire with its Byzantine, Persian, Arabic, Caucasian, Armenian and Kurdish influences, as well as the strong European direction since the founding of the Republic Ataturk. The cultural centre of the country is the metropolis of Istanbul.

With the political changes, the content of Turkish literature also changed. Early representatives include Fakir Baykurt, Sabahattin Ali, Sait Faik Abasıyanık and Yaşar Kemal, who put ordinary people at the centre of their work. With the turn to describing living conditions, social and political criticism of the state is inevitable. The state reacts with censorship and political violence. Authors like Nâzım Hikmet, Yaşar Kemal and Aziz Nesin spend many years in Turkish prisons because of the persecution of their publications. Kemal therefore referred to the prison as a “school of Turkish literature”.

Turkish cuisine has also influenced Greek and the rest of the Balkan cuisine - including etymology. For example, tzaziki comes from the Turkish cacık, and Ćevapčići comes from kabapcik. Yogurt also comes from Turkish Yoğurt. Doner kebab is made from beef, veal or poultry. In Turkey, but also in other countries, the kebab is also served on a plate.

Çatalca - Population Exchange Museum

The establishment of a new museum in an old warehouse with the permanent exhibition on the history of the resettlement of Turks and Greeks from 1922-24 prompted us to visit the city of Çatalca in Thrace, about 50 minutes by car from Istanbul on the European side.

Ardahan Province, Çildir Gölü and Aktas Gölü

In the very north-east of Turkey is the province of Ardahan with the provincial capital of the same name, which lies on the border with Georgia, has always played a special role in the border traffic between Transcaucasia and Eastern Anatolia.

Trabzon's recent past - just some centuries ago

Founded in 756 BC, Trabzon is considered a very old city in the ancient high culture of Asia Minor, making Trabzon even older than Rome. As important as Trabzon was at the time, the city was insignificant many centuries later and played little significant role in history.