15. Let's Talk Turkey.

BASICS: Turkey is truly a young country, more than two-thirds of the population is under age thirty. (I've read that and find it hard to believe, so I'll be investigating!) The Republic of Turkey is a parliamentary democracy. It's the only secular and democratic Muslim country in the world. Its capital is Ankara. Its population is almost 74 million people--in contrast, the U.S. population is ~300M. Approximately 16 million people live in Istanbul alone. The official language here is Turkish; and the monetary unit is the Turkish lira. It's about 60 cents to buy 1 lira. Or, put another way, every item I purchase that's 10TL is really costing me +/- $6US.

WEATHER: The latitude in Istanbul is generally the same as in Washington, D.C. There are four seasons, with spring and autumn being long with blue skies and a breeze. Summers are hot, damn hot if you're not a fan of 90+F, which I am not! And winters usually run from November through March being mainly gray and rainy, although they do have occasional snow.

GOVERNMENT: The prime minister is considered the head of the government and is in charge of the country. The Grand National Assembly (usually just referred to as Meclis or the parliament) is a 550-member body that is elected by the people. The assembly elects the president, a position that's largely ceremonial. Thanks to Atatürk, the government is secular--a separation between religion and government--since 1923.

MEMBERSHIPS: Turkey was a founding member of the United Nations. They've been an associate member of the European Union since 1963, but have not been accepted as a full member. Turkey is also a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). And because of its location straddling the Middle East and Europe, Turkey is strategic in world affairs.

RECREATION: Soccer is the most popular sport in Turkey. There are three popular teams based in Istanbul, and there are a total of 18 teams in the Super League. Not only is our local team, Galatasaray, usually at the top of the game--they also wear the colors of Gryffindor! Turks also excel at weightlifting and Turkish wrestling (which involves oil).



FOOD: Turkey is one of the few agriculturally self-sufficient countries in the world. The most popular food is kebap made from grilled lamb. The three staples here are lamb, eggplant, and yogurt. Apricots, honey, figs, peppers, cucumber, and tomatoes are plentiful. There are also sweets called Turkish delights (lokum) which come in a lot of flavors and colors. And, as I've mentioned before, more than 70% of the hazelnuts in the world come from Turkey!



CULTURE: Turks are from diverse backgrounds--a reminder of the many different groups that conquered Turkey over thousands of years. The Ottoman Navy brought the Jewish people who were expelled from Spain to safety in the Ottoman lands in 1492. One-fifth of the population is Kurdish. People are mostly Sunni Muslim, but Turkey is the only secular government among all the Muslim countries in the world. 

GEOGRAPHY: Turkey is larger than the state of Texas. It's surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and the Aegean Sea. More than two-thirds of Turkey's borders are coastline that stretches over 3,700 miles. Istanbul--the largest city in Turkey--is partly in Europe and partly in Asia, and built on land in the Bosphorus seaway. Also, Turkey is one of the most earthquake prone areas on Earth. The North Anatolian Fault extends hundreds of miles from the Sea of Marmara to the Eastern Anatolian Highlands. Apparently, the fault moves about 8 inches a year, and there have been 13 major earthquakes in the past 70 years.

FACTOIDS: King Midas ruled western Turkey around 700 BC. Saint Nicholas was born here, in Patara, and lived as a bishop in Myra. Yes, people, Santa Claus is Turkish! Aesop was also born here on the Black Sea coast. It's reported that he was a slave before winning his freedom through wit and quick thinking--then he became one of the most famous storytellers of all time.



HISTORY: Turkey is home to one of the earliest settlements in the world. Catalhoyuk was built 8,800 years ago! About 4,000 years ago, the Hittites created an empire in Anatolia. Then there was King Midas, then Alexander the Great, Roman Asia Minor, and Constantine. The city of Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans; and after WWII, the country was invaded by Greece which led to the Turkish war of independence in 1920. Then came Atatürk, Turkey was declared a republic, and Istanbul became the modern name for this city!

COOLNESS: Once known as Cotton Castle, the white cliffs in Pamukkale western Turkey are made of the calcium-rich mineral travertine. From a distance, the cliffs look like a sheet of ice covering a hillside. A spring flows from pool to pool, and the cascade is more than a mile and a half long.

Anything else you're curious about, please let me know. I would welcome inspiration for blog topics! xx