Interesting facts about Turkey. Description of Turkey. History, Culture

Turkey is not only a popular destination for tourists, but also the center of many historical events, and the state with a unique culture. Architectural sights and unusual traditions of this country attract people's attention around the world. What are the geographical features of Turkey? What is remarkable about her story? What can you tell us about her art, culture, customs? Let's look at it in detail.

Geographical position

It is worthwhile to start interesting facts about Turkey from its unique position - it is located in South-Eastern Europe and South-West Asia at the same time. The length of the territory from west to east is one thousand six hundred kilometers, and from north to south - six hundred. The main part belongs to the Anatolian peninsula, which is also known as "Asia Minor". The seas washing Turkey are called Black, Aegean and Mediterranean. The first is located in the north, and the other two are in the west and south. In addition, there are straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. The European and Asian parts are separated by water, the sea passage connecting the Black and Aegean seas. The latter is also sometimes called Marble. The mountains in Turkey occupy a fairly impressive part of the territory, so its relief can not be called flat. The average height of the surface on the area of the state is one thousand meters above sea level. The largest mountains in Turkey are Pontic and Taurus. The highest point is Kachkar at three thousand nine hundred thirty-one meters.

Borders and population

The largest city of Turkey is Istanbul. It has registered more than ten million inhabitants. Large size is another ten cities - there are more than a million. The area of the state is seven hundred and eighty thousand five hundred and eighty square kilometers. The seas surrounding Turkey create a natural border along the coastline, which stretches for seven thousand two hundred kilometers. In total, Turkey borders on eight states. These are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The length of the land borders is two thousand six hundred and forty-eight kilometers, and the longest is the one that divides the country with Syria-eight hundred and twenty-two kilometers.

The most popular regions of Turkey are on the coast - the cities of Kemer, Side, Alanya, Marmaris and Antalya. It is these names that are familiar to tourists, but a real connoisseur of geography and history should learn about the country and other facts. For example, many islands of Turkey are equally interesting for visiting - for example, the Pashalimana ridge is a picturesque place with bays and exotic vegetation.

Ancient history of the country

For the first time man appeared on the earths here for seven and a half thousand years before our era. But then the new states were created and disappeared randomly, so to connect this date with how many years of Turkey it is impossible - at that time it was a completely different country. Here there were soldiers of Egyptians, Syrians and Anatolians, there were also Greeks. No stability existed. In the two hundred and seventy-nine year BC, the Celts founded a city on the territory of the country - now it is known as the capital of Turkey Ankara. Then came the Roman period of history. The territory spread the influence of Christians, and the capital of the state became Constantinople. The Emperor Justinian expanded the lands of the Byzantine Empire to the Balkans, North Africa and Anatolia, and also captured Italy. After some time, the influence diminished, and the Turks controlled only the lands of the modern state, as well as Iraq and Iran. A new flourishing occurred with the advent of the Ottoman Empire, which was expanded to the center of Europe.

Modern History

The ups and downs alternate in the annals of the Turkish state. In the early twentieth century, the description of Turkey as a powerful empire was still quite true, but the collapse was already approaching. The unsuccessful course of the First World became the end of greatness. In the twenties, there was a war of independence and the sultanate was abolished. During the years of Ataturk's rule, a constitution was adopted and many conservative religious laws were abolished. Women got the right to vote, democracy was established in the country. The course for development lasted until the end of the century. At the beginning of the twenty-first main aspiration of the Turks is to join the European Union. At the moment, this is impossible due to the fact that many regions of Turkey are characterized by economic instability and are subject to attacks by Kurds. Separatism remains a hot problem. If the Kurdish issue is not resolved, Ankara will not become one of the capitals of the European Union.

Architecture of Turkey

Studying interesting facts about Turkey, it is necessary to learn not only about history and geographical position, but also about culture - various kinds of art are extremely important for every local resident. Let's start with architecture. It has an impressive variety in almost every city. The basis of construction has long been a stone from which the blocks were made. Different regions of Turkey can boast of such sights as mosques, citadels, madrassas, baths, markets and caravanserais. They are covered with tiles, ornamental carvings, colored ceramic tiles. Plots, geometric figures and calligraphic inscriptions become a plot for facing. The top of the architectural art are many buildings of Istanbul, for example, Hagia Sophia - the most famous temple in Turkey, representing several denominations.

Traditional Sculpture

Some of the statues, preserved in Turkey, belong to the old pages of the history of the state. They are located on monumental buildings as decoration. The traditional option is the figures that stand out on the relief walls. Often, the statue is placed on the corners, and on the pediments of the niches. Due to the fact that the Muslim religion prohibits the depiction of people and animals, the sculptural art of conservative religious periods often turns out to be very limited, therefore the Turkish museums can not boast of a wide collection of figures.

Painting

Interesting facts about Turkey and the local art can be quite sad. An impressive number of examples simply do not exist, judging the ancient traditions of painting can only be from the manuscripts that were customary to decorate, and the miniatures used at the court to glorify the Sultan. Different regions of Turkey can boast of their own calligraphy schools, so a special style of writing can be called a kind of replacement of the traditional for the rest of the world of painting. Directly the paintings of the artists of the past are distinguished by the coarseness of colors and angular figures without the romanticism of the images. However, they are quite colorful and harmonious. Modern representatives of painting are guided by the rules of European masters and inspired by Western traditions.

Decorative and applied arts

Description of Turkey is impossible without mentioning this kind of skill. Many buildings even of the most domestic character are decorated with paintings, such decor is found on utensils and household items. For drawings, stylized motifs depicting plants, animals, and flowers are used. Frequent subjects are boats with sails, bouquets of tulips, carnations, irises, hyacinths. For painting, green, red-brown and blue paint are used. Another common skill is weaving - bright red fabrics with gold or silver pattern are in great demand. In addition, the whole world knows Turkish carpets. They are distinguished by a restrained color and original composition. Some regions of Turkey are also famous for the production of carved wooden objects, metal weapons and dishes, colorful ceramics and faience.

Literature

Many interesting facts about Turkey can be gleaned from sources such as books by local authors. Ancient culture is easy to learn from the works created during the Seljuk times in Arabic. The court poets of those times wrote in Persian. To our days, ancient tales, legends, myths, proverbs, songs and even riddles and anecdotes have come down. Literary works were created earlier only in verse - in this style there are knightly novels and praises of power.

During the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks wrote satirical books exposing bribery, embezzlement, wickedness and drunkenness. Usual prose was used only for scientific works - works on religion, medicine, history. Literature in the usual sense appeared quite late, so novels, adventure or social novels, as well as plays, are usually dated by modernity. Over time, the Turkish language was simplified, and now in books it does not differ from the people's.

Turkish cuisine

Eating is one of the key elements of Oriental cultures. Turkish cuisine is among the richest in tastes in the world. Some secrets of dishes can be studied and foreigners, and others can cook only a very experienced cook. It is interesting that each region has its own traditional dishes. Contrary to the opinion that the eastern cuisine is too sharp, the spices here are used moderately. A special advantage is that many dishes are also available for vegetarians - Turkish dishes are varied and are prepared not only from meat, but also from a variety of vegetables, fruits and all kinds of cereals.

Customs

To better understand the lives of local residents, it is worth learning some of their rules. For example, women in black can not be photographed, and men need to ask for permission. Entering the mosque or private house, the Turks always take off their shoes and leave it at the entrance. If there is a danger of confusion, you can put the shoes in a bag and take it with you. The Turks never drink alcohol on the streets. The most offensive thing a foreigner can do is to confuse the country with Greece. It is not necessary to joke about Ataturk - despite some shortcomings, he remains the most beloved national hero to this day. Another serious mistake is to call Istanbul Constantinople. The old name belonged to the capital of Byzantium, which the Ottomans conquered. Using it, you can seriously offend and demonstrate ignorance of history. And of course, one should not get confused - the main city of the country is Ankara.