Culture
Turkey has been called "the cradle of civilization" by traveling through this historic land, tourists will discover exactly what is meant by this phrase. The world's first town, a neolithic city at Catalhoyuk, dates back to 6.500 B.C. From the days of Catalhoyuk up to the present. Turkey boasts a rich culture that through the centuries has made a lasting impression on modem civilization. The heir to many centuries of cultures makes Turkey a paradise of information and cultural wealth. Hattis. Phrygians, Urartians, Lycians, Lydians, Ionians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans have all made important contributions to Turkish history and ancient sites and ruins scattered throughout the country give proof of each civilization's unique distinction.
Turkey also has a very fascinating recent history. Upon the decline of the Ottoman Empire a young man named Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923. He led his country into peace and stability, with tremendous economic growth and complete modernization. Through decades of change and growth, Turkey still boasts this success, living by its adopted motto of "Peace in the World"
According to the 2000 census, Turkey has 65 million inhabitants, 41 % of whom live in the countryside. The major cities are: Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antalya and Bursa.

Folk Music

The lively Turkish folkmusic, which originated on the steppes of Asia, is in complete contrast to the refined Turkish classical music of the Ottoman court. Until recently, folkmusic was not written doen, and the traditions have been kept alive by the asiklar (troubadours). Distinct from folkmusic is Ottoman military music, now performed by the mehter takimi (Janissary Band) in Istanbul, which originated in Central Asia and is played with kettle drums, clarinets, cymbals and bells. The mystical music of the Whirling Dervishes (Mevleviler) is dominated by the haunting sound of the reed pipe or ney and can be heard in Konya during the mevlana Festival in December

Folk Dances

Turkish folk-dances and folk- music create one of our traditions which, for centuries, as the most effective means of national feelings and culture. As a geographical, historical and cultural phenomena, our folk-dances and our music work emerging in a variety of forms and of very rich character in different regions are considered to be a cultural treasure. The number of our folk- dances performed and folk-songs sing reaches almost 10 thousand that are observed in weddings, gatherings, festivals, friendship meetings (yarenler) association meetings, seymenlik (performance of young men armed in national costume who take part in a wedding processionfestivals) ceremonies, various seasonal recreations, holidays and in many other traditional activities. It is necessary to regard the Turkish folk-music and folk-dances always as a whole completing each other.

Including a many small kinds, our main East-Anatolia), halays (in Anatolia), zeybeks (on the Aegean coast), horas (cyclic dance) and horons (round dance), samahs (folk-dance) etc. Our folk- dances spread over all of these regions have very rich figures and melody structure and they are, in general, classified into a) woman dances b) man dances and c) woman -man dances. Another classification is a)one-person dances b)two-people dances and c) group dances. Following are the characteristics of some of our folk-dances:

1. Bars: With their structure and formation, they are the dances performed by groups in the open. They are spread, in general, over the eastern part of Anatolia (Erzurum, Bayburt, Agri, Kars, Artvin and Erzincan provinces). The characteristic of their formation is that they are performed side-by-side, hand, shoulder and arm-in-arm. Woman and man bars are different from one another. The principal instruments of our bar dances are drum and zurna (shrill pipe). Later, clarinet has been added to the woman bars. The dominant measures in bars are 58 and 98. Occasionally measures of 68 and 128 are used. Aksak 98 measures which are also the most characteristic measures, in particular, of the Turkish folk music are applied with extremely different and interesting structures in this dance.

2. Halay: This folk-dance is performed to a large extent in the Eastern, South- Eastern and Central Anatolia and it is one of the most striking dance. It has a rich figure structure of simplicity is the symbol of creation and originality of the folk. The rhythmic elements of halay dances are very rich and are mostly performed with drum-zurna combination as well as with kaval (shepherds pipe), sipsi (reed), cigirtma (fife) or baglama (an instrument with three double strings played whit a plectrum) or performed when folk songs are sung. You may experience all the measures of the Turkish folk music in the halay melodies.

3. Horons: HORON or the round dance is a typical folk dance of the Black Sea coastal area and its interior parts. Horons appear very different from the folk dances in other parts of the country with their formation of tempo, rhythm and measure. Horons are performed, in general, by groups and their characteristic measure is 716 For their melodies are rendered very fast, it is very difficult to render them with every instrument. For this reason, rendering with a drum and zurna becomes practical. Melodies of horon are performed with the small type of zurna which is called cura and blowing instruments such as bagpipe mey.

4. Zeybeks: Zeybeks are, in general, the widespread folk dances of the Western Anatolia. It is rendered by one person or two or by a group of people and its name changes for example as seymen in the central parts of Anatolia. Zeybek dances are formed, in general, of 98 measures and have a variety of tempos such as very slow, slow, fast and very fast. Apart from drum-zurna, a three-double string instrument baglama, reed, marrow bow are used for fast zeybek dances.

Popular Customs

Hospitaly :

Hospitally is one of the cornerstones of the Turkish way of life. Following Koranic tenets and naturally friendly intincts, the Turk is a most gracious and generous host. Even the poorest peasant feels bound to honor his guest (misafir) in the best possible manner. Hospitally is taken to such lengths that a foreigner often feels he is suffering from an overdose of it after being piled with food and drinks for hours and being unable to refuse anything, lest he hurt his hosts feelings. In addition to ensuring a guests material well-being, the Turk makes every effort to converse, no matter what linguistic barriers might exist. While most middle-class urban-dwelling Turks speak at least one European language, even the uneducated bravely struggle to make themselves understood, with remarkable success.

Turkish coffee houses:

Even the smallest Turkish village has its coffee-house or kahvehane where men can talk, sip coffee and play the national game of backgammon (tavla). In Istanbul especially, men can still be seen smoking their hubble bubble pipes (nargile) in these coffee houses.

Turkish baths :

Oving to teh emphasis placed on cleanliness in Turkish society, there have been public bath-houses (hamam) in Turkey since medieval times. There are separate baths for men and women or when there is only one bath house in the town, different days or times of day are allocated for men and women. After entering the hamam and leaving ones clothes in a cubicle, one proceeds wrapped in a towel (pestemal) to the gobek tasi, a large heated stone where one perspires and is rubbed doen by a bath attendant. If the heat proves too much, one can retire to a cooler room for a while. This method of bathing is most refreshing and many of the old marble baths are very interesting, architecturally.

Traditional Institutions – Dervish Orders

Khorasan holy men, including Haji Bektashi Veli, united the Christian residents of Anatolia and Turkoman migrants with their educational and developmental activities and played an important role in the formation of cultural unity and central authority in Anatolia. Some holy men migrated to Anatolia, settled on mountains and empty crossroads and opened dervish lodges there. These institutions settled on empty land gradually became centers for culture, development and religious thought. In this manner, religious congregations spread everywhere, rules of morals, good breeding, attitudes and beliefs reached a high standard, knowledge and science were both produced and spread in these centers. The administration encouraged such holy men to settle in villages, and their educational activities gave them some privileges. As a result, even in the most desolate places in Anatolia, dervish lodges emerged, and with the effect of the education they provided, a common cultural structure began to form.

Haji Bektashi Veli was one of those figures who came to Anatolia from Khorasan with this purpose in mind. He was born in Nishabur, Khorasan in 1248, spent his childhood in Khorasan, and was trained in philosophy and social and positive sciences at Hodja Ahmed Yesevi’s school. After traveling to Iran, Iraq and Arabia, Haji Bektash settled in Sulucukarahoyuk in 127580.

At that time, Anatolia was under Mongol occupation, there was a severe social and economic crisis and fighting for political power. In that difficult climate, Haji Bektashi Veli settled in Sulucakarahoyuk, developed his philosophy and began to teach his students. His tolerance and human love based philosophy reached many people, and were taken up by them in the important center of Christianity of Cappadocia.

Any road that doesn’t follow science, ends in darkness,
Give education to women,
Control on your tongue, hands and waist,
The greatest book to read is man himself,
Honesty is the door of a friend,
Being a teacher is to give, not to take,
The universe is for man, and man for the universe,
Science illuminates the paths of truth,
We travel in the way of science, comprehension and human love,
Clean where you’ve settled and deserve the money you’ve made,
Let’s be one, be big and energetic,
Don’t hurt anyone, even though you’ve been hurt,
Don’t ask anyone for anything that would be difficult for you to do,
Don’t blame any nation or individual,
Blessed are those who illuminate the darkness of thought,
Keep on searching, and you’ll find,
The beauty of the face consists of the words you speak,
Don’t forget that even your enemy is human,
The biggest God-given miracle is work,
In the language of friendly conversation, you can’t discriminate between man and woman,
Everything God has created is in order,
To us, there’s no difference between man and woman,
If you think there is, you’re mistaken.
His thoughts are based on human love and human existence. This vision is similar to the 1948 Charter on Human Rights. His thoughts were also shared by M. Kemal Ataturk 600 years later, and the Turkish Republic was built on the principles of secularism, democracy and respect for human rights. His thoughts are still alive and still lighten the way for many people.

It’s not the trivet but the fire gives the heat,
The miracle is not in the crown but in the khirkah (woolen garment worn by a dervish)
Whatever you’re searching for, search in yourself,
It’s neither in Jerusalem, Mecca nor in the Hadj.

“ There is no need to discriminate between religions. Religions cause disputes among people. In fact, all religions aim to provide peace and brotherhood on earth” says Bektashi Veli in his opus “Velayetname”.

Folk Heros

Nasrettin Hoca:
A 13th century humorist and sage from Aksehir. His witticisms are known throughout Turkey and often appear in conversation.

Karagoz:
A jester, said to have lived in Bursa in the 14th century and now immortalized as a shadow puppet. Karagoz is a rough man of the people who uses his ribald wit to get the better of his pompous friend, Hacivat. The puppets are made from gaily painted, translucent animal skins and are projected onto a white screen.

Yunus Emre:
The 13th century philosopher poet, one of Turkeys national treasures, promoted basic themes of universal love, friendship, brotherliness and divine Justice. His simple and pure writing is relevant and thought- provoking to this day.

Koroglu:
A 15th century folk poet, Koroglu was a role model for his contemporaries and a hero of his time. His adventures have been recounted for centuries and perhaps now with more interest than ever. Koroglu was one of the first people to pioneer the ideal of unconditional help for the poor and down trodden. He was also outspoken against the government control and harassment.