Culture of Turkey
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Culture of Turkey
Culture contains both tangibles and intangibles. Intangibles includes stuff like beliefs and practices while tangibles usually includes physical objects.
Tangibles
Landscape and Geology
Mountain ranges are very common in Turkey. The most famous mountains are the Taurus and Pontic ranges found in Anatolia. These mountains are geologically considered young. This can be proven by the active faulting and folding which indicates that the mountains are still actively building themselves.
With 80 percent of Turkey lying in a tectonic zone, the country is susceptible to frequent earthquakes. The country lies directly between three major inter-continental plates – the Anatolian, Eurasian and Arabian plates.
(Above: Mount Ararat)
(Pamukkale, limestones hot springs in Turkey)
Flora and Fauna
Turkey has a lot to offer for folks who enjoys nature. The country is filled with rich ecosystem and a wide variety of animals ranging from birds to larger mammals can be found. The eastern provinces of Turkey are home to many large animals such as bears, jackal and wolfs.
To add on, the country has recorded 11,000 species of plants and flowers. This makes Turkey a biologically diverse country. All these varieties are due to the variation of habitats – from arid plants all the way till mountains and even temperate woodlands.
While travelling from Europe down to Asia, many can notice the unspoiled countryside which has been set aside by the government as national parks.
Architecture
Back in the days, the Turks in central Asia lived in tents and sun-dried brick shelters. When some of them migrated to modern day Turkey, they brought along these architectural influences with them to construct their homes in Anatolia.
During olden times in Turkey (all the way back till when people traded in the silk route), buildings were constructed for purposes instead of splendor. The solid exterior on the external of the building gave no hints or indications of how the internal parts of the buildings would look like. Also, brick caravanserais were common amongst the people.
During the Ottoman period, Turkish architecture started to change. It had more aesthetic value added to the buildings both internally and externally. Splendid and impressive mosques, palaces, mausoleums, medreses, baths, covered bazaars and even fountains were built. These Ottoman architecture usually used more slender, curved and complicated forms as compared to ancient time Turkey. What is seen outside in the Ottoman architecture is reflected to what is seen internally in the building.
(Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, showcases the Ottoman Architecture)
(Blue Mosque, Istanbul, showcases Turkey's Islamic architecture)
Intangibles
Religion
98% of the Turkish population is Muslim. Many people in urbanized areas believe that religion is the choice of an individual and that the political party should not have a say in it. However, even saying this, the Islamic religion has definitely influence the way the Turks live their lives. For example, many Turkish boys circumcise themselves due to the Islamic traditions.
Superstitions
Be it modern or traditional, many Turks still believe in superstitions. Although it it not legally correct to do stuff like casting a spell, doing magic or given large “potions” to sick people, many Turks still turn to such practices when they are desperate.
Evil Eye
The most common and widely known belief in Turkey is the “Evil Eye”. It is typical for a human being to feel jealous or envious of someone who processes the qualities that are desired by an individual. Therefore, it is believed that such feelings provoked may cause harm to the person who is being envied. As a result, when someone property or good news is not being praised with the word “Masallah” (May God Preserve), which is a protective word, many people equip themselves with his blue bead in the shape of an eye to ward off the bad luck effect.
(Evil eye bead in Turkey)
(Evil eye bead in Turkey)
