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GENERAL & PRACTICAL INFOS ABOUT
TURKEY
The reasons for visiting Turkey are
numerous. To begin with, this
wonderful land is blessed by a
lovely nature. Surrounded by seas on
three sides, it is covered by
mountains, forests, steppes and all
sorts of land variations, all of
which is of superb beauty. Indeed
the greater part of the country is
as lovely as a national park. The
genuine friendliness and traditional
hospitality of Turks towards
visitors is justly renowned world
wide. And then of course, the
history of the land of Turkey,
called Anatolia, is incredibly rich
and long.
Turkey has hosted over the past 5000
years more than 36 civilisations .
The whole country is the reflection
of this richness, through its
culture, traditions, archeology, and
still hosts many ethnic and
religious minorities such as
armenians, jewish, christians, old
levantine families, and so on.
Its geographical location borders
with Armenia, Iran, Syria, Greece,
Bulgaria, Georgia which all add to
Turkey’s great influence.
As a fact Turkey is the cradle of
our civilisations, harboring in its
bosom an incredible blend of
cultures, history, and
archaeological sites.
SAFETY
At this very moment there's not a
single reason not to go to Turkey.
Regarding the average crime rate
most foreigners will be even safer
in Turkey than at home. The crime
rate in Istanbul (about 12 million
inhabitants) is far lower than in
western countries and in non-
tourist Turkey. It's virtually
non existent. The risk that
something is stolen from you by
Turks is about zero.
RELIGIOUS ASPECT
It is a well- known fact to those
who have already been to Turkey,
which The Turkish Republic is a
singular and unique country, totally
different from all Islamic countries
of the world.
It is indeed a modern, democratic,
secular country, where everyone can
openly belong to any religion of
their choice. This is guaranteed by
the Constitution itself. Although
the great majority of the population
is Moslems, there is total respect
and tolerance towards other
convictions, cultures and descent.
You need to be aware though that
Turkey, some areas are still
conservative and the values of Islam
are widely respected. Very informal
or revealing clothing can be seen as
disrespectful, especially in small
towns.
ATATURK : MUSTAFA KEMAL
Turkey is a democratic, secular
republic that was established in
1923 after the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire. The founder of
Modern Turkey is
Ataturk
who led Turks in the 1919-1922 War
of Independence. He went on to
reform the education system and
language, replaced the Koranic law
with European codes and commenced
the process of building a modern,
industrial society.
In 1949 Turkey became a member of
the Council of Europe, 1952 it
joined NATO and played a vital role
in the Cold War. And joined the
Customs Union with Europe and has
applied for full membership of the
European Union. The military is seen
as the defender of the Constitution
and Secularism in Turkey.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
The new Civil Code, adopted in 1926,
abolished polygamy and recognized
the equal rights of women in
divorce, custody, and inheritance.
The entire educational system from
the grade school to the university
became coeducational. Ataturk
greatly admired the support that the
national liberation struggle
received from women and praised
their many contributions: " In
Turkish society, women have not
lagged behind men in science,
scholarship, and culture. Perhaps
they have even gone further ahead."
He gave women the same opportunities
as men, including full political
rights. In the mid-1930s, 18 women,
among them a villager, were elected
to the national parliament.
And Turkey had:
"The
world's first women supreme court
justice."
LANGUAGE
The most difficult change in
any society is probably a language
reform. Most nations never attempt
it; those who do, usually prefer a
gradual approach. Under Atatürk's
Leadership, Turkey undertook the
modern world's swiftest and most
extensive language reform. In 1928,
when he decided that the Arabic
script, which had been used by Turks
for a thousand year, should be
replaced with the Latin alphabet. He
asked the experts: "How long would
it take?" Most of them replied: "At
least five years." "We shall do it,"
Ataturk said, "within five months".
Today, Turkey has major universities
all over the country. Except for
Europe and North America she has one
of the world's highest ratios of
university graduates to population.
English and German are widely spoken
in hotels and restaurants resorts
and cities. In villages it can be
difficult to find people who speak
languages other than Turkish. But
the natural friendliness of Turkish
people will overcome many barriers.
If you learn even a few basic words
of Turkish you will be rewarded with
an enthusiastic response form the
people.
WHAT TO PACK
Turkey has a diverse range of
climates. The coast is generally
mild in winter and hot in summer.
The interior is warm in summer and
cold in winter so you will need to
bring clothes according to the
season. Turks are generally informal
in their choice of clothing and so
there is little need to bring formal
wear.
Turkey is also a country for walking
either to enjoy the scenery or
visiting the rights. Good footwear,
hat, sun protection are advisable.
Turkey uses a 220volt electricity,
50cycles, 2pin European plug system,
so you will need to bring an adapter
if your electricity system is
different.
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