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.
Bolu is one of Turkey’s provinces. The Bolu city is one of the best starting points to do an environment excursion. Bolu was constructed as Bithynion in the 2nd century.
Because of the earthquake nothing from the past can be remembered there today.
Trabzon Airport (IATA: TZX, ICAO: LTCG) is an airport next to Trabzon, a city in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. In 2007, it totally served 1,482,760 passengers, 1,397,175 of them were domestic passengers.
Coming from Bolu, we approached at the Safranbolu World Heritage Site, which was formerly titled Dadybra or Zalifra.
In recent years, more and more nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts have found their way to Turkey.
One of the historically oldest cities in the Black Sea region is without any doubt Kastamonu, a place that is said to have existed around 1800 BC, well before the Roman occupation.
Ordu is located in northern Turkey, about 900 km from Istanbul and 600 km from Ankara, on the eastern Black Sea coast and at the same time on the edge of the Pontic Mountains.
The centre of the town Ordu stretches along a stony beach on the shores of the Black Sea,running parallel to the highway. Ordu has a small harbour but this can be used by the larger ships too.
Pompeiopolis, sometimes also written Pompeioupolis, was an ancient city in the Paphlagonia region of Asia Minor in the north of today's Turkey.
Shortly after the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk), there was a rapid development in industrial terms, which among other things led to the establishment of the first steel mill in Turkey.
On the way to Trabzon we stopped for a short tea break in Gümüshane, a small town of about 26,000 inhabitants.
The Turkish city of Corum is located about 100 kilometers west of Amasya, a provincial capital with about 210,000 inhabitants, which belongs to the Black Sea region, although the coast is about 300 kilometers away.
One of the most interesting Anatolian places is the provincial capital Tokat, which today has about 114,000 inhabitants. The old town on Castle Hill and the district around Hatuniye Camii reflect the decayed splendor of a long history.
Cesmealti, which is about 35 kilometres from Izmir, has become a lively, natural centre of tourism.
Pergamon was famous in ancient times primarily for its extraordinarily extensive library. Today in Pergamon (today's name: Bergama) you can still visit the Acropolis (the castle hill), the former city and the Asklepieion.
Ortakent is located at the crossing of all the village roads. That's why it is one of the most important centres of the Bodrum Peninsular.
About 16 km southwest of the centre of Bodrum and somewhat hidden by two mountains, lies the small town of Karaincir with its approximately 500-meter-wide fine sandy beach, which is one of the best in the region,
The former metropolis Ephesus was located in a valley between two mountain ridges, whose slopes today are still without firming forests because of the once densely constructions, so the ridges are still in motion.
Every year there is a well known event near Selcuk / Izmir when the camel fighting championships take place. There is a two-day carnival in the town during which many male camels fight for trophies, money and the honour of being the best in the competition.
The cute Aegean town of Urla is located about 38 km west of the city center of Izmir and stretches about 11 km parallel to the main road towards Izmir.
It was a quick decision during our stay in Izmir to take a day off for visiting to the new opened İzmir Wildlife Park.