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.
Trabzon Airport (IATA: TZX, ICAO: LTCG) is an airport next to Trabzon, a city in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. In 2007, it totally served 1,482,760 passengers, 1,397,175 of them were domestic passengers.
Coming from Bolu, we approached at the Safranbolu World Heritage Site, which was formerly titled Dadybra or Zalifra.
In recent years, more and more nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts have found their way to Turkey.
One of the historically oldest cities in the Black Sea region is without any doubt Kastamonu, a place that is said to have existed around 1800 BC, well before the Roman occupation.
Ordu is located in northern Turkey, about 900 km from Istanbul and 600 km from Ankara, on the eastern Black Sea coast and at the same time on the edge of the Pontic Mountains.
The centre of the town Ordu stretches along a stony beach on the shores of the Black Sea,
running parallel to the highway. Ordu has a small harbour but this can be used by the larger ships too.
Pompeiopolis, sometimes also written Pompeioupolis, was an ancient city in the Paphlagonia region of Asia Minor in the north of today's Turkey.
Shortly after the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk), there was a rapid development in industrial terms, which among other things led to the establishment of the first steel mill in Turkey.
On the way to Trabzon we stopped for a short tea break in Gümüshane, a small town of about 26,000 inhabitants.
The Turkish city of Corum is located about 100 kilometers west of Amasya, a provincial capital with about 210,000 inhabitants, which belongs to the Black Sea region, although the coast is about 300 kilometers away.
One of the most interesting Anatolian places is the provincial capital Tokat, which today has about 114,000 inhabitants. The old town on Castle Hill and the district around Hatuniye Camii reflect the decayed splendor of a long history.
Sirince is a small Aegean village visited by many people because it preserves its historical architecture. It became famous as being the location where the story of the novel called “Farewell Anatolia” takes place. The novel was written by Greek author Dido Satiriou.
The idyllic fishing town of Foca, just 70 kilometres from Izmir, is a popular holiday destination with beautiful and clean sandy beaches, well-kept restaurants, accommodation and several other attractions.
It is possible to find various sandy or rocky beaches all around the town of Kuşadası. Some of them are private beach clubs where you have to pay an entrance fee to use the facilities and some are free public beaches.
The centuries-old tradition of camel fighting in Western Anatolia has its origins in the time when nomadic peoples led their caravans thousands of kilometres across the country on their way from the Orient to the West.
Decades ago, a prehistoric settlement from the Bronze Age was found near the city of Limantepe, now Urla, on the west coast of Turkey, which also had an artificial, ancient harbour.
The ruins of the ancient cities of Klazomenai and Erythrai lie not far from the modern city of Urla, around 30 and 50 kilometers from the gates of Izmir.
We have just received another short interim report by email from Sylvia and Anselm, who set off from Pamucak towards Izmir in their motorhome early in the morning. They had asked for tips on parking and a city tour in Izmir, which we were of course happy to pass on.
We had passed the town of Dikili several times during our tours along the Turkish Aegean, but it was never a good place to stop. Now we were again coming from Ayvalik on the road 550 towards Izmir when we were overcome by a “little hunger”
It took many years and enormous costs until finally in Kadifekale, a district of Izmir, the excavation of one of the most important ancient theatres of Roman origin could begin.