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.
Güzelcamli of Kusadasi
- Category: Aegean Region
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Güzelcamli, with its unspoiled natural beauty, numerous sandy beaches and warm waters, stretches 23 kilometres southwest of Kusadasi. The town has been inhabited by many different civilizations and was a particularly important site during the Ionian period.
Pergamon
- Category: Aegean Region
- Hits: 8599
In ancient times Pergamon was a famous city centre because of it’s well known and huge library. Today you can just visit the ruins of Pergamon (the name today is Bergama), most visible place in the town is the former Acropolis (mountain with castle), the former city centre and the Asklepieion. These sights belong to the ancient Pergamon.
Why the Roman spa town of Allianoi must be saved
- Category: Aegean Region
- Hits: 6467
The most recent reports from Turkey about the Roman spa complex of Allianoi, sent by the local Allianoi Initiative led by the archaeologist professor Ahmet Yaras, says that now only the tops of excavated walls and columns poke through sand that workers employed by the Turkish State Waterworks are laying.
Izmir Historico-Cultural
- Category: Aegean Region
- Hits: 4718
Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey, is described as the pearl of the Aegean. It is a major port and commercial centre set dramatically around a huge bay and backed by mountains to the south.
Birdwatching in Sasali
- Category: Aegean Region
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Turkey is one of the richest countries in wetlands among the countries in Europe and the Middle East. These wetlands have great importance especially for wildlife as well as local economy.
Izmir - huge City but Pearl of Aegean
- Category: Aegean Region
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A very big town with the welcoming atmosphere of a village. We stayed out of town in a suburb called Buca in the apartment of our Turkish friend's mother. Everybody was very friendly and we experienced the genuine Turkish way of life, with mealtimes especially being a real family occasion.
Gaziemir - developing suburb of Izmir
- Category: Aegean Region
- Hits: 13073
Gaziemir is a district of İzmir Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is one of the metropolitan districts of Greater İzmir and is situated to the south of central İzmir (Konak) on the road to the İzmir harbour, İzmir Adnan Menderes International Airport and the export processing industrial park of Aegean Free Zone; which is also home to the fourth space camp in the world, Space Camp Turkey.
Karine Lagoon (Dil Lake)
- Category: Aegean Region
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The marsh area created where piedmonts of Samsun Mountain and Büyük Menderes, which is the longest river of Western Anatolia, extend to meet the sea is one of the most important wetlands of the world today.
Miletus at the Bay of Milet
- Category: Aegean Region
- Hits: 10003
Miletus is located (an hour away from Didim) in the city of Soke's Balat village. In ancient times it was on the western coast of Anatolia (currently the province of Aydın), near the Maeander River in ancient Caria.
Nysa of Caria
- Category: Aegean Region
- Hits: 11048
- The Ancient City of Romantic Breeze
The ancient city of Nysa was a famous settlement in Western Anatolia in Roman-Byzantine times. The well known traveller Strabon of Amaseia described Nysa as a kind of double city as it was situated on either sides of a tributary stream.
Bafa Lake
- Category: Aegean Region
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Bafa Lake is situated in southwest Turkey, part of it within the boundaries of Milas district of Muğla Province and the northern part within Aydın Province's Soke district, approx. 30 km from Didim.
Saint Nicholas of Myra - a Christian Character in Demre
- Written by Portal Editor
- Category: Turkish Riviera
- Hits: 389965
Each year between 4th and 6th December, the village of Demre (whose historic name is Myra), well known usually for the quality and the taste of their delicious tomatoes and oranges, faces an invasion of scientists and amateur historians.
St. Nicholas in the church of Myra
- Written by Portal Editor
- Category: Turkish Riviera
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Myra, located in the south-west of Turkey, in the magical landscape of Lycia, was the city where St. Nicholas had worked as a bishop in the fourth century.
Kaputas Beach next to Kalkan and Kaş
- Written by Portal Editor
- Category: Turkish Riviera
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Kaputas beach is a truly wonderful spot on earth, almost untouched by tourist influences, and when we discovered it, we weren't aware that it was already an insider tip among some "permanent Turkiye holidaymakers" who live in Kaş or Kalkan.
On the way to Izmir Asansör Elevator Tower
- Written by Portal Editor
- Category: Turkish Riviera
- Hits: 1076
Traveling through Izmir again, today we will go to the so-called Asansör, a historic passenger and goods elevator in the Konak district, correctly in the Karataş district.
Italy contacts - camper visit from Pinneberg in Germany
- Written by Portal Editor
- Category: Turkish Riviera
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We met Silvia and Anselm at a campsite near Venice as part of our project "Comprehension and Cultural Trip along Roman Roads" and were able to experience their experience and knowledge of the city of Venice on a shared city tour. For the first time with the two of them, the idea of wintering for campers on the Turkish Riviera was pushed so strongly that we subsequently looked more and more into this possibility.
Dağ Pazarı - Lebanon Cedars and basilica from Roman times
- Written by Portal Editor
- Category: Turkish Riviera
- Hits: 1005
We drove through the foothills of the Taurus over wonderful pass roads near Ermenek to the apricot town of Mut and then continued our way towards Karaman. Patrick, our paragliding friend from Strasbourg, had reported courageously about the ruins of a basilica and a wonderfully shimmering lake during a sightseeing flight in the region, which he had seen from the air near the town of Dağ Pazarı.
Cistern "Illos" in Akkale, the "White Castle" near Kizkalesi
- Written by Portal Editor
- Category: Turkish Riviera
- Hits: 1199
Kumkuyu, the modern Turkish name of the ancient settlement area of the semi-nomadic Tirtar ethnic group, is located in the south of Erdemli County on the D-400 highway, about 15 kilometres southwest of the district town of the same name and about 50 kilometres southwest of the provincial capital Mersin.
Hamaxia - lost city near Alanya
- Written by Portal Editor
- Category: Turkish Riviera
- Hits: 1481
A few years have passed since we were last on the 400-meter-high mountain right next to the new road tunnels near Alanya to visit the Helenistic ruined city of Hamaxia, which is just over half an hour's walk and within sight of Cleopatra's beach.
Yilan Kalesi at Ceyhan close to Adana
- Written by Portal Editor
- Category: Turkish Riviera
- Hits: 3158
On the way to Sanliurfa we first passed Adana on the toll road E90 towards Ceyhan.