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.
Our visit to Izmir this time was also to take us to Karşıyaka, one of the two largest districts of Izmir, because we accepted our friend Mehmet's invitation for tea, after our last meeting was almost 6 months ago.
Akyarlar, the village of fishermen and formerly of the notorious sponge divers with its traditional whitewashed houses, is located just 22 kilometres from Bodrum.
Turkey is the most important producer of bathing sponges. In May, the men of the villages around Bodrum set sail on their narrow boats along the western coast for five months to look for sponges.
The centre of Muğla is situated on a plain surrounded by mountains stretching from the foot of the Asar Mountain (Castle). Some of the most famous and impressive tourist centres are within the boundaries of the region of Muğla.
This sleepy and outstanding hamlet nestles in a very beautiful bay and is one of the oldest settlements on the peninsula od Bodrum. The original Lelegian city of Myndos once stood southeast of here. There are also some ruins around the village. The ancient city of Myndos partly lies under the water and if you know how to dive, you can visit the remains.
Ancient Mylasa, today Milas, was one of the most important cities in the interior of Caria. Early, insufficiently published finds date from the late Bronze Age, including some fragments of Mycenaean clay vessels, probably from the 15th to 13th/12th centuries BC.
The tip of a real admirer of Greek cultural buildings, whom we met in Euromos, led us to take a detour over the mountains to the coast: Iasos was the next destination.
The Mausoleum is the oldest of the ancient sites in Bodrum (originally called Halicarnassus) and was built by Artemisia II in honour of her husband, the Persian King Mausolos.