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.
Adana, situated in the middle of the Cukurova Plain, is the fourth largest city of Turkey and the centre of a thriving agricultural area. The city is also known for its textile industry.
You have made the right decision. A wonderful country and real hospitality awaits the visitor. The versatility and huge variety of leisure activities will make your stay in the Mediterranean an adventure.
Alanya is a fast growing town about 135 km east of Antalya. Quite often called the pearl of the Turkish Riviera, Alanya has become well known world wide because of its sandy, clean beaches, the crystal clear, deep blue waters and the excellent climate of the Mediterranean area.
To the East and to the West of the castle mountain of Alanya you will see the huge beaches up to 5 kilometers wide. Because of its excellent quality of the water all parts of the beaches have got blue flag.
About 20 miles away from Alanya centre, Avsallar is the quickest growing small town in the area with, about 9.000 inhabitants at the moment.
Iotape is one of the easiest reachable ancient towns in the surrounding of Alanya. About 33 kilometers away from the town, Iotape today is being split into two parts because of the main road leading from Alanya to Gazipaşa.
Incekum is a pretty holiday resort on the southern coast of Turkey, about 120 km north of Antalya International Airport and 30 km west of Alanya. Most of the big hotels situated in the town offer free pick-up services from the airport.
Follow the highway in the direction of Mersin and, after about 10 miles, you will reach Mahmutlar, an independent but quickly growing small town belonging to the council of Alanya.
From once being a small village near Alanya, this fertile green area of 12.5 square kilometres has developed into an outstanding town offering a huge variety of possibilities.
More interesting is the antique town Naula in the middle of Mahmutlar. On the coast road from Alanya turn north (sign) by a cemetery in the eastern part of Mahmutlar.
This caravanserai is on the main road 15 km west of Alanya and it is the first overnight accommodation before Alara Han on the route to Antalya. Today it is used as a restaurant and for Turkish evenings, and normally the interior is closed except on special occasions.
About 13 kilometres from the small town of Sivrihisar lies the village of Ballıhisar near the main road between the Turkish capital Ankara and the city of Eskisehir on the Anatolian plateau at an altitude of about 950 meters above sea level.
This time our journey was to take us to Ankara, because while looking for a used vehicle we followed two advertisements that seemed so interesting that the trip could be worthwhile.
In the southeast of Turkey, as part of our project, we followed the traces of the Roman road from Samosata towards Militene and came across the ancient Roman arched bridge over the Chabinas River near the town of Eski Kahta.
After a few years, acquaintances that arose during the Travel Turkey trade fair in Izmir led us to travel again to Cappadocia, this incredibly fascinating landscape that has been shaped over thousands of years by volcanoes, soil erosion and erosion in the interaction of the natural forces of water and wind were created.
In the history of human settlements, there have been a wide variety of structures in the creation of village communities, all of which have by no means been explored and thus known.
Once again, the cloudless sky on the Turkish Riviera near Alanya promises good weather conditions for a trip across the Taurus Mountains towards Konya. Since winter is over in the high mountains too, we decide again to take the Mahmutlar route in the direction of Taskent.
Especially in the last 5 years, the provincial capital of Konya (the province of Konya is as big as Switzerland) has developed at breakneck speed.
In the immediate vicinity of the city of Kırşehir, which now also has around 110,000 inhabitants, there is an important local recreation destination for the city, which is now also attracting a lot of attention among friends of bird watching and nature conservation, the Seyfe Lake.
Coming from Güzelyurt (Province of Aksaray) we stop at the parking lot of the Ihlara Valley (Ihlara Vadisi), which is known for its numerous rock-cut churches, which is cleverly framed by several restaurants at the entrance area.