99 percent of Turkey's
population is Muslim. A mosque is a place of worship for
followers of the Islamic faith. The oldest mosque within
the borders of Turkey is the Ulu Cami (Great Mosque) of
Diyarbakir, dating back to the seventh century with several
later restorations. t
Befrore the 10th Century, old
Turkish Mosques were mainly square in shape, but the Seljuk's
and later the Ottomans changed the shape of Mosques to
circular structures with large domes (as seen on the left).
Until 1928, Turkish was written with a version of the
Arabic script known as the Ottoman Turkish script. In
1928, as part of his efforts to modernise Turkey, Mustafa
Kemal Atatürk changed the Arabic script with a version
of the Latin alphabet, which has been used ever since.
Nowadays, only scholars and those who learnt to read before
1928 can read Turkish written in the Arabic script.
This
picture demonstrates what used to be old Turkish writing,
before Ataturk modernised the Turkish language.
Traditional Turkish music falls under two catagories:
classical art music and folk music. The classical music
is the type of music that developed in the Ottoman Empire.
As the Empire grew, there were many influences from other
countries, such as Arabia, Persia and Armania. Folk music
had been created by people settled in one particular location,
played or recited with great affection. These songs have
been passed down from generation to generation, therefore
the names of the composers are generally unknown.
The national food is called
Kebab, which is either lamb, fish or chicken, cooked on
a barbeque.
Turkey is famous for it's succulent
fruit, and for it's fruit juices. There is also ayran
(yogurt drink).
Islam forbids drinking alcohol,
but many Turks are European in their lifestyle, and enjoy
alcoholic drinks with their meals.
The world-famous Turkish Coffee
grounded coffee beans and drank in small cups. It can
also be made in many different ways, according to preference.
These are:
Sade - plain, no sugar
(fairly bitter)
Az sekerli - little
sugar (takes off the bitter edge; less than a teaspoon
per cup)
Orta sekerli - medium
sugar (sweetish; about a teaspoon of sugar for each
cup)
Çok sekerli -
with lots of sugar (quite sweet; two teaspoons of sugar
or more)
It is a tradition to have your
fortune told after drinking the coffee, by reading the
coffee grains in the cup.
"One
neither desires coffee
nor a coffeehouse.
One desires to talk with others,
coffee is but an excuse."
~ Turkish Saying~
