Türkiye – broad history and mass tourism today

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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 and Yedigöller Natural Park

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Bolu am Yedi Göller Nationalpark

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.Read MoreBecause of the earthquake nothing from the past can be remembered there today.

International Trabzon Airport - Black Sea

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Flughafen Trabzon

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.

Rize and Kaçkar Mountain National Park

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Rize - Stadt und Kaçkar-Gebirge

Rize is a town in the north-east of Turkey on the Black Sea at the foot of the Kackar Mountains, the most eastern and highest part of the Pontian Mountains. The border with Georgia is just 100 kilometres from here.Read More

Trabzon - Town of Churches and Cloisters

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Trabzon - Stadt der Kirchen und Klöster

The Hagia Sophia Church of Trabzon belongs to the Group of Cloister Churches and had been built at the time of Manuel, one of the most important kings of the Trabzon Empire of Kommenos (from 1238 - 1263).Read MoreThe clock tower, built in 1427, is at the west side of the church.

Samsun - once Greek settlement Amisos

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Samsun - once Greek settlement Amisos

Samsun is the largest city of the Black Sea region of Turkey, it is a city with an industry and commerce centre at the same time it possesses a saddening story. For hundreds of years this city has gone throughRead Moreso much damage that when it is seen today it’s site is very plain and functional.

Amasra - Beautiful Black Sea town!

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Amasra - Beautiful Black Sea town!

Amasra is one of the most beautiful towns along the Black Sea coast. Poised on a peninsula split by two inlets, the site was first settled in the 12th century B.C. and named after the Persian Princess Amastris.Read More 

Sinop - young city with a very old heritage

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Sinop - Hafen und Badeort mit Tradition am Schwarzen Meer

Sinop is a young city with a very old heritage that is losing its charm day by day. It is a city surrounded by beautiful beaches that are located on a long promontory. A suburb of Istanbul, gets into our mind.Read More

Ereğli - Kerberos and the Cehennemağrazı cave

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Ereğli - Kerberos and the Cehennemağrazı cave

Worth mentioning and worth visiting is the area around the city port of Ereğli, west of Zonguldag, even there mainly is heavy industry with iron and steel factories which have settled there.

Izmir Cultural History - Excavations at Tepekule Hill

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Izmir Cultural History - Excavations at Tepekule Hill

Recent excavations at Tepekule Hill near Bayraklı have shown that the Izmir region has been inhabited since around 3000 BC. The city's original name was "Smyrna," meaning "place of the holy mother."

Akköy - Ornithologists boost tourism

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Akköy - Ornithologists boost tourism

The small town of Akköy is located in the heart of the Meander Delta nature reserve on the Dilek Yarimadasi peninsula in the Izmir area, about 5 km from the ancient city of Miletus.

Hellenistic - Roman city of Ephesus / Efes

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Hellenistic - Roman city of Ephesus / Efes

Visiting the excavations of the Hellenistic - Roman city of Ephesus between Izmir and Kusadasi, which we visited several times during our travels, is always a special experience.

Izmir - huge City but Pearl of Aegean Sea

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Izmir - the Pearl of Aegean

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.

Museums in Izmir - The Archaeological Museum

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Museums in Izmir - The Archaeological Museum

The archaeological museum is located in the cultural park of the city of Izmir, where finds from the western Anatolian, Ionian cities and the surrounding area can be seen, even if you prefer to visit the original sites, a worthwhile alternative.

Seferihisar - on the coast of the Cesme peninsula

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Seferihisar - on the coast of the Cesme peninsula

Seferihisar is a small town on the coast of the Aegean region. The town is located on the southeastern coast of the Cesme peninsula, which is the largest peninsula in the Aegean with a coastline of around 1695 km.

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