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.

İzmir Airport - Adnan Menderes

Adnan Menderes Airport (Turkish Adnan Menderes Havalimanı) is the airport at İzmir. It is located about 18 kilometres to the South of the third largest Turkish city, Izmir.

Kyzikos - Greeks from Miletus founded this colony!

To expand their trading activities, Greek settlers from Miletus moved to many new regions, including the ancient Mysian landscape, which corresponds to the modern Balız near Erdek in the province of Balıkesir.

The Clock Tower • Izmir's Landmark at Konak

The Clock Tower (Saat Kulesi), today İzmir’s landmark number one, was built by a Levantine French Architect Raymond Charles Pere in 1901 to commemorate 25th anniversary of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II's accession to the throne.

Laodicea: mentioned in the New Testament

Many of the ancient sites we visited in Turkey are closely related to the history of Christian development and are explicitly mentioned in the Bible in this respect, as it is the case with Laodicea.

The Agora of Izmir - recent excavations now possible

Located in the Namazgah district of İzmir, the Agora is built in Roman times (2nd century AD) and was built three floors high near the center of the city called Smyrna according to the Roman city plan of Hippodamos.

Metro Izmir - ancient artifacts in Çankaya

Whoever has been driving through Izmir in certain years has certainly noticed the worsening traffic conditions in the growing Aegean metropolis. Since the beginning of the 1980s individual traffic on İzmir's roads has increased steadily.

The Lion- and the Snake stone in Phrygian Valley

Our tour into the valley of the Phrygians (Frig) in Afyon, the valley extending from Döğer (in İhsaniye district) over Alanyurt until after Seydiler, should also lead us to the famous monuments of the Phrygians, the Lion- and the Serpent stone.

Didim - Altınkum - sandy beaches and yacht harbor

Altınkum is a district of Didim and is a small popular resort situated on the Aegean Coast of Turkey. The name of the resort "Altınkum" which means golden sand in Turkish is a beautiful place with three long smooth golden beaches, with a shallow sea for quite a long way out which is ideal for families with children.