TURKEY+(Our+Country)

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For all who are curious and eager to learn about the names and locations of these wonders, here is a key to the images shown in the video, sorted chronologically by their respective appearances in the presentation. Enjoy! 00:00 "Welcome..." 00:05 Iznik Quartz Tiles and Ottoman Calligraphy ([], []) 00:10 "...To the Cradle of Civilizations"Aspendos Amphitheater ([]) 00:15 Lycian Rock Tombs ([]) 00:20 Baths of Sardis ([]) 00:25 The Gypsy Girl of Zeugma ([], []) 00:30 The Trojan Horse ([]) 00:35 The Temple of Trajan at Pergamum ([]) 00:40 Mount Nemrut ([]) 00:45 The Blue Mosque ([]) 00:50 The Library of Celsus ([], []) 00:55 The Monastery of Sumela ([]) 01:00 Caunos Rock Tombs ([]) 01:05 Side Amphitheater ([]) 01:10 Ishak Pasha Palace ([], []) 01:15 Hagia Sophia Gold Mosaics ([]) 01:20 "...To the Land of Turquoise Waters"(Various pictures of Turkey's Mediterranean and Aegean Coast, Taken around Kas, Kalkan, Cesme, Fethiye, Gokova, Olympos, Gocek, Marmaris, Antalya, Datca, Karacasogut, Kusadasi, Kekova, Butterfly Valley, Cleopatra's Bay, Yassica Island, Tershane Island, etc. -- see Blue Voyage or Blue Cruise, []) 01:50 Oludeniz ([]) 01:55 (Various pictures of Turkey's Mediterranean and Aegean Coast, Taken around Kas, Kalkan, Cesme, Fethiye, Gokova, Olympos, Gocek, Marmaris, Antalya, Datca, Karacasogut, Kusadasi, Kekova, Butterfly Valley, Cleopatra's Bay, Yassica Island, Tershane Island, etc. -- see Blue Voyage or Blue Cruise, []) 02:25 Koprulu Kanyon in Antalya ([]) 02:30 Whirling Dervishes and Modern Dance Troupe at Mydonose Showland in Istanbul 02:35 Ortakoy ([]) 02:40 Hagia Sophia ([]) 02:45 Pamukkale ([]) 02:50 Cappadocia ([], [], []) 02:55 Absolutely No Idea, but probably an aerial picture taken showing a Blue Voyage (or Blue Cruise, []) 03:00 Istanbul and the Bosporus ([], []) 03:05 Cappadocia ([], [], []) 03:10 The Maiden's Tower ([]) 03:15 Hagia Sophia ([]) 03:20 Modern Dance Troupe (Fire of Anatolia) at Mydonose Showland in Istanbul 03:25 Antalya Karpuzkaldiran and Kursunlu Waterfalls ([]) 03:30 The Village of Uzungol and the Black Sea Region ([]) 03:35 The Levent District of Istanbul ([], [], []) 03:45 "Welcome To" 03:50 Iznik Quartz Tiles and Ottoman Calligraphy ([], []) 03:55 Turkish Culture and Tourism Logo 04:05 Turkish Flag

TURKEY media type="custom" key="10167407"

A Brief History Of TURKEY

Catal Huyuk Catal Huyuk was one of the world's first towns. It was built in what is now Turkey about 6,500 BC not long after farming began. Catal Huyuk probably had a population of about 6,000. In Catal Huyuk the houses were made of mud brick. Houses were built touching against each other. They did not have doors and houses were entered through hatches in roofs. Presumably having entrances in the roofs was safer then having them in the walls. (Catal Huyuk was unusual among early towns as it was not surrounded by walls). Since houses were built touching each other the roofs must have acted as streets! People must have walked across them. In Catal Huyuk the dead were buried inside houses. (Although they may have been exposed outside to be eaten by vultures first). Although Catal Huyuk was a true town (defined as a community not self-sufficient in food) as least some of its people lived by farming. They grew wheat and barley and they raised flocks of sheep and herds of goats. They also kept dogs. As well as farming the inhabitants of Catal Huyuk also hunted animals like aurochs (wild cattle), wolves, foxes and leopards. People in Catal Huyuk wore clothes woven from wool. They also wore jewellery made of stone, bone and shell. We do not know what the people of Catal Huyuk believed but religion was obviously important to them. They made figurines of clay and stone, which may have been gods and goddesses. They also mounted bull's skulls on the walls of some buildings and covered them in plaster to resemble living heads. It is believed these buildings were shrines. Catal Huyuk was abandoned about 5,000 BC. Nobody knows why but it may have been due to climate change. However later people in Turkey learned to use copper tools and later still bronze. After about 2,600 BC they began to build more substantial towns. The Hittites The Hittites were the first civilisation in Turkey. They moved to Turkey about 2,000 BC and at first they were divided into separate states. However about 1,650 BC they were united by King Labarnas. The Hittites were a powerful and warlike people. About 1595 BC they captured Babylon. Later the Hittites fought against Egypt. The Hittites reached a peak under King Suppililiumas (c. 1380 - c. 1346 BC). Under him the Hittites ruled not just most of Turkey but also parts of Syria and Palestine. Some Hittite warriors fought on foot but others fought from chariots, which were pulled by teams of horses. Hittite chariots were light enough to be lifted by one man. Each had a driver and a soldier, who often wore iron armour. Hittite archers shot bronze tipped arrows. The Hittite capital was at Hattusash. In it there were many temples. Like other ancient peoples the Hittites were polytheists (they worshipped many gods). Chief among them were the weather god Tarhun and his wife Istanu. There were many other gods and goddesses each of whom ruled some natural phenomena. However the mighty Hittite state broke down about 1,200 BC when people from the Aegean attacked it called the 'Sea Peoples' and in time the Hittites were largely forgotten. After the fall of the Hittites a number of civilisations rose and fell in Turkey. Among them were the Phrygians who were a powerful state in Central Turkey in the 8th Century BC. (The legendary King Midas was a Phrygian). Later came the Lydians. They dominated Western Turkey in the years 650-546 BC. The last Lydian king was Croesus 560-546, who we still remember in the phrase 'As rich as Croesus'. However by his time there was a new power in the Middle East - the Persians. The Persian Empire was created by Cyrus II, known as Cyrus the Great (559-529 BC). Cyrus first defeated another Iranian people called the Medes, then in 547 Cyrus defeated the kingdom of Lydia (in what is now Turkey) at the battle of Pterya and he became the ruler of most of Asia Minor. Soon afterwards Cyrus also defeated the Greek cities on the coast of Turkey. (These had been founded by the Greeks as colonies many years before). However in 334 BC Alexander the Great crossed the Dardanelles and swiftly conquered the Persian Empire including Turkey. Alexander died in 323 BC and his empire was divided between his generals. Turkey became split into rival kingdoms. Meanwhile in 279 BC Celts invaded Western Turkey and carved out a kingdom there. They became known as the Galatians. By the 2nd Century BC Rome was the dominant power in the region and in 133 BC the ruler of a kingdom named Pergamon left his kingdom to Rome. That was the beginning of Roman rule. Over the next 100 years the Romans gradually extended their rule over Turkey. In the First Century As the missionary Paul travelled to Turkey and Christianity took root in many cities. The new religion grew rapidly despite persecution. However persecution ended in 313 when the Emperor Constantine became a Christian. In 330 Constantine moved his capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople. (It is now called Istanbul). In the 4th Century the Roman Empire split in two. The Western half declined and in the 5th Century it was conquered by Germanic peoples. However the Eastern half of the Roman Empire flourished. It became known as the Byzantine Empire and it included what is now Turkey. Turkey in the Middle Ages Under Byzantine rule the arts and architecture flourished. Perhaps the greatest building of those times was the church called Hagia Sophia, which was built by the Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. However in the 7th century a new and powerful enemy arose - the Arabs. They laid siege to Constantinople twice but failed to capture it. Then in the 11th century a people called the Seljuk Turks from Central Asia moved south. They took Baghdad in 1055 and in 1071 they routed the Byzantine army at the battle of Manzikert. Afterwards the Turks came to rule most of Turkey and they introduced Islam and Turkish culture. For centuries Turkish culture flourished but in 1243 the Turks were defeated by the Mongols. For a short time the Mongols had a loose control of Turkey but they soon withdrew and left Turkey divided into a number of states. About 1288 a man named Osman created a new state in Turkey, which became the nucleus of a great Empire - the Ottoman Empire. In the 14th century the Ottomans gradually extended their territory and in 1453 they captured Constantinople bringing the Byzantine Empire to an end. The Ottoman Turks After they captured Constantinople (which was renamed Istanbul) the Turks made inroads into Europe. They captured the Balkans. They also captured Egypt in 1517 and in the 16th century the Ottoman Empire was immensely powerful and rich. However the Ottoman Empire reached a peak under Suleiman I (1520-66) known as Suleiman the magnificent. In 1522 he captured Rhodes and in 1526 he captured Hungary but he failed to capture Malta in 1566. The Turks were defeated at sea by the Spanish and Venetians at the battle of Lepanto in 1571. Nevertheless the Turks were left a force to be reckoned with. In 1573 they captured Cyprus. In the 17th century the Turkish Empire declined (although it remained very powerful). As late as 1683 the Turks lay siege to Vienna but they were driven back. Afterwards the Turks were forced to surrender territory to the Europeans. (The Turks surrendered Hungary by a treaty of 1699). In the 18th century there were several wars between Russia and the Turkish Empire and the Russians gradually took land from them. In the 19th century the Turkish Empire was faced with the rise of nationalism in Europe. The first country to break away was Greece in 1832. In the 19th century the Turkish Empire continued to decline. Abdulhamid II (1876-1909) attempted to modernise Turkey by building railways and telegraph lines but his rule was repressive. Meanwhile parts of the Turkish Empire broke away. In 1878 Romania and Serbia became independent. Bulgaria became independent in 1908. Also in 1908 a revolution took place in Turkey and the Sultan was forced to call elections. The next year he abdicated and his replacement was only a figurehead. Modern Turkey Then in 1914 Turkey joined the German side in the First World War. However Turkey surrendered on 30 October 1918. Afterwards the Turks were stripped of their empire. Furthermore Greece, France, Italy and Britain occupied parts of Turkey. The Sultan was powerless so in 1920 General Mustafa Kemal formed a national assembly in Ankara. Kemal and his army drove out foreigners in the Turkish War of Independence 1920-22 and in November 1922 the national assembly abolished the sultanate. Mustafa Kemal became president of Turkey. Kemal introduced reforms and made Turkey a modern, secular state. He also promoted education and introduced a modified Latin alphabet. The fez was abolished in 1925 and from 1930 women were allowed to vote. Mustafa Kemal took the name Kemal Ataturk. He remained president of Turkey until his death in 1938. Turkey remained neutral in World War II but joined NATO in 1952. In 1960 the Turkish army staged a coup but shortly afterwards new elections were held and democracy was restored. There was another coup in turkey 1970 but once again elections were held shortly afterwards. The army stepped in once more in 1980. Elections were held in 1983 and Turgut Ozal became prime minister. Under Ozal tourism boomed and foreign investment was encouraged. Turgut Ozal died in 1993. In 1999 Turkey was formally accepted as a candidate for EU membership. Today important industries in Turkey are tourism and textiles. Today the population of Turkey is 78 million

Turkish Culture

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Turkish Dishes

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Turkish Folk Dances media type="youtube" key="WKrvxuqJNUo" height="349" width="425"

Dance is a very popular form of entertainment in Turkey. Various styles of belly dancing and folk dances are performed, and there is an increasing interest, especially in cities, to learn all sorts of Latin dances. Greek dances are also considered to be a new form of dance that attracts the interest of the middle and upper middle classes. Hip-hop and break dance are getting very popular among younger generations in the outskirts of big cities. The contemporary / modern dance field, although confined to quite small circles in the cities of Istanbul and Ankara, also has been able to produce original works in the last 10 years, in a very interesting aesthetic and political framework. Although this is good news, there is one basic problem: the isolation of these genres. Neither folk dance practitioners, nor contemporary dancers mingle with each other. Latin dancers, who have many studios, clubs, performance spaces, and competitions, do not interact with other dance practitioners, and the folk dance field has a vast geography of its own completely isolated from other dance genres. Although recently it seems like the pressure of popular culture helps these genres’ coming together, it is generally still a quite shallow and superficial attempt with no real resonance in the aesthetic, political or cultural field. Yet, the Turkish dance field, still full of fertile prospects, awaits active collaborations both inside and outside its confinements.