INTRODUCTION TO TURKEY

          The Republic of Turkey - Türk Cumhuriyet - was established in 1923.  Turkey’s land mass is 7740.82 square kilometres.  In the south, the Taurus Mountains sweep right down almost to the coastal plain.  The coastline is more than 8333km long.  Turkey’ s population was recorded at 65 million in the 1997/8 census, 41% of which live in the countryside.  Not surprisingly then, agriculture still plays an important role in today’s economy - the main crops are wheat, rice, cotton, tea, tobacco, nuts & fruit.  Turkey is one of only 6 self-sufficient countries in the world, defined as such by possessing natural resources of gold & oil, essential minerals, adequate water supply & able to produce all fruits, vegetables & livestock.

Ancient History

            Today’s Turkey is the remaining core of what was once a vast , late medieval empire extending from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic.  At it’s centre is a high plateau region known historically as Anatolia  (or Asia Minor).  Referred to as the ‘cradle of civilisation’, Anatolia has hosted a rich succession of cultures forming much of the basis of modern western civilisation:  From the Neolithic city of Çatalhoyuk  near  Konya (c. 6,500 - 5650 BC) considered to be the world’ first town, followed Hattis & Hittities, Lycians, Ionians & Persians, through to Romans, Byzantines, Selçuk Turks & Ottomans.  All of which go to create a complex historical framework of the present day country & a People of varied ethnic & religious origins.

                The majority of today’s Turks are descendants of tribes from central Asia whom originally came to Byzantine Anatolia from the east during the 11th & 13th centuries.  Originating in Mongolia during the 7th or 8th centuries this nomadic group the Chinese called ‘Tukueh’ or ‘Durko’ - Turks.  In the 9th century they encountered the Arabs, who by the 10th century had converted them to Islam.               

                By the mid-12th century one branch of the original Turk tribes , the Selçuks, had established the state of the Sultanate of Rum, its capital at Konya, in the heart of Anatolia.  Achieving peace with the Byzantines it evolved into a highly cultured mini-empire peaking in the first half of the 13th century - the Selçuks marking their territories with a network of kervansarays, medreses & other public monuments & focusing on encouraging trade.

                The Selçuk State in Anatolia collapsed under attack from Mongols in 1243 whence Anatolia fragmented into numerous short-lived & small Turcoman (the general term used for the other original Turk Tribes) emirates.  One of these was led, from the 1920’s onwards, by Osman.  The development of his emirate led to the dynasty known as ‘Osmanli’ in Turkish & as ‘Ottoman’ in the West.  Eventually in 1453 on the 29th May the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II took Byzantine Constantinople.  So the Ottoman Empire became the legitimate successor of the Roman & Byzantine ones

Recent History

             After some five centuries of power the Empire went into decline.  The period from 1839 through tot he end of WW1 saw years of political, economic & social wrangling & change, until the Revolutionary Committee for Union & Progress - the ‘Young Turks’- gained power, espousing a resolutely Turkish-Nationalistic, secular & technocratic but undemocratic ideology. By 1919 the Empire had lost much of it’s lands & was politically weak & the Allies carried out much of their long-planned designs on the Ottoman heartland.  Occupation by the Allies aided by the collaborationist Sultan Mehmet VI ensued.

                Resistance against the invaders though was led by Mustafa Kemal, a soldier who had gone up through the ranks to Army General, during the War of Independence (1921 - 1923).  With the abolition of the Sultanate in 1922 the Lausanne peace conference was immediately convened.  The resulting signing of the Treaty Lausanne on the 24th July 1923 confirmed the recognition of frontiers won in the war.  (Also therein Greece & Turkey agreed to an exchange of minority populations:  Nearly half a million Muslims in Greece

were sent to Turkey & the remaining 1.3 million Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey were dispatched to Greece.)  This marked the true end of World War I & though amongst the defeated nations, Turkey emerged with defendable territory:  Compared to the old Empire it was a small state, 97% Anatolian & Muslim.  A

new parliament was formed & in October 1923 the Grand National assembly moved the capital to Ankara & proclaimed the Republic.  Atatürk (‘Father Turk’ as Mustafa Kemal dubbed himself) led the Republic until his death in 1938, having wholly modernised Turkey with his sweeping reforms.

Religion

         The Turkish population is 97% Muslim & the majority of those are of the Sunni denomination.  The Turkish State is secular & guarantees complete religious freedom of worship to non-Muslims.  You will hear the muezzin (the call to pray) 5 times a day being sung from the camii (mosque - pronounced ‘jarmi’).  Kalkan has three mosques - the original one at the end of the harbour, one just above the harbour (converted from a Greek orthodox church) & one above the weekly market.  Visitors are

          welcome at the mosques - ask the imam (religious teacher) to show you around.  Remember you must be appropriately dressed, men to wear long trousers & women to cover their legs & head.  Friday is the equivalent Sabbath.

Language

                Turkish originates from the Ural-Altaic languages, structured life Finnish & Hungarian.  The Arabic alphabet was replaced by the Latin in 1928.  A few words which may help during your holiday

                merhaba                -      hello

                nasil siniz?             -      how are you? & the response...

                Iyim                       -      I am well

                gorusuruz              -      see you later / casual ‘goodbye’, pronounced as ‘garusharus’

                güle güle                -     goodbye (when leaving permanently)

                tessekkur ederim  -     thankyou, pronounced ‘tesh eh kur ed derim’. Slightly easier is

                sagol                      -      pronounced ‘saoul’ - casual

                lutfen                     -      please

                ne kadar?              -      how much?

                para                       -       money

                kaç para?              -       how much? pronounced ‘kach’

                hesap                     -       bill

                liman                      -       harbour

                plaj                         -       beach pronounced pilarje

                deniz                       -       sea

                çay                          -       tea pronounced ‘chay’

                merkez                   -        centre

                Ingilizim                 -        I am English

                bir                           -        1

                iki                           -        2

                uç                            -       3 pronounced ‘ooch’

                dört                         -       4 pronounced ‘dirt’

                bes                          -       5 pronounced ‘besh’

Eating

       There are numerous restaurants in Kalkan (as well as cafes & bars), offering a wide range of dishes the majority of which are Turkish & Mediterranean although a few places offer European meals.  We do not make recommendations – only suggest that you go out & try as many of them as possible.  We can, however guide you on which dishes are worth trying:

       The average 2 course diner with wine is around £10 ahead but there are cheaper & more expensive meals.

Dishes worth trying:

Meze:    This is a traditional first course or even meal in Turkish restaurants.  A variety of mainly vegetable dishes will be on display in cold cabinets, to which you help yourself, charged by the plateful.

Börek:   Savoury pastries made with yufka (a filo pastry), filled with cheese & parsley or mince, then either baked or deep fried

Dolma:  The name deriving from the word for stuffed, vegetables - peppers, tomatoes, aubergines or vine leaves - filled with either vegetable or minced lamb flavoured sweet rices 

Cacik:    Like a soup in consistency, chopped cucumber mixed with yoghurt, water, dried mint, pepper, salt & sometimes garlic - extremely refreshing & an excellent accompaniment to any rice dishes.

Menemen:   Sautéed onions, tomatoes & peppers steamed with beaten eggs - sweet, creamy & quite rich.

Çorba:   Soup - red lentil soup served with dried red pepper & lemon juice is well worth trying.  Due to the sweetness of local tomatoes, tomato soup is usually very good.  Local favourites are Iskembe Çorba (tripe soup served with garlic water) & Beyin Çorba (main component cow brain).

Köfte:    Turkish meat balls made of minced lamb, onion, oil & mixed spices.  These are either dry grilled or cooked in a sauce.

Manti:   The equivalent of home-made ravioli & filled with meat.  Served with yoghurt on top, with dried red pepper fried in butter or oil & poured over it.

Pide:      Often advertised under the title of Turkish Pizza which does not do it justice, this is an unleven bread baked in a stone-fired oven that can be served as a meal accompaniment or as a main course topped with vegetables & cheese.  With a  mince topping it is known as Lamlucah.

Güveç:  Turkish casseroles with meat, fish or vegetables cooked in individual earthenware pots.

Kebabs:  Not like the junk food served in the UK.  There are a variety of kebebs from the different regions of Turkey:

Adana is fairly hotly spiced mince moulded onto a skewer & grilled. 

Şis (pronounced shish) is small pieces of lamb or chicken frilled on a skewer. 

Döner are slices of packed lamb or chicken cooked on a spit, served in pitta or normal bread with onions & tomatoes. 

Iskendron is similar but served on a plate, the meat layered on pieces of bread with yoghurt & a spicy sauce.

Gözleme:  Large savoury pancakes made from a flour & water dough hand rolled until very thin & cooked on an iron griddle over an open or gas fire, with mince & /or potato, cheese & parsley fillings.

....& Drinking

Turkish wine (şarap - pronounced ‘sharap’ ) is not in the league of Chateau Neuf du Pap - but generally is palatable .  Yakut is a good red & Çankaya for white.

                The Turkish national drink is Raki - similar to French Pastis & Greek Uzo - an aniseed based spirit.  Imbibed with water to mix, it is extremely strong.  And given that aniseed in it’s natural state is a poison to the brain, it is perhaps not surprising that if you get drunk on raki, you are usually drunk unlike ever before.  However, should you wish to attempt such folly, you should stick to raki alone for the whole evening - mixing it with other drinks is fairly lethal & makes for an atrocious hangover.

                For more moderate tastes there is Turkish brandy, vodka & gin (all quite decent....-ish) as well as quite a range of liqueurs.  Imported drinks are generally more expensive.  The main brand of beer (or rather larger) is Efes.  There is also Efes Dark & Efes Extra.

                A word about the water:  There is no disease in the local water (mountain spring water) but the pipes & tanks in which it is kept sometimes make it inadvisable to drink & it’s high mineral content can affect those unaccustomed to it.  So it’s advisable to drink bottled water only, although small quantities like the ice in drinks & water used in cooking, boiled or used for brushing teeth is usually fine.

*Please note: The majority of restaurants in Kalkan have very high standards for food preparation & hygiene. Rather than food poisoning, 99% of stomach upsets experienced whilst on holiday are more likely due to the different food (as well as it’s richness because of the amount of oil & fresh vegetables used), combined with the individual drinking more alcohol than usual, the affects of which being much stronger in the heat.

Health

      No injections are needed for this part of Turkey, although it is wise to have your tetanus up to date.

      Due to the number of ‘casualties’ we deal with at our apartments every summer, to follow is some basic information regarding....

Mosquitoes

1)            There are lots here all year round: You will not escape.

2)            Always make sure you have put on repellent, especially after sundown when they are at their most active & again before you go to bed to protect during the night. And protect your whole body: Ankles & feet are a target when you are sitting eating dinner & around the eyes is an area people often forget at night.  Local shops sell Sin Kov.  The Turkish lemon cologne can also work for some as a deterrent as it is alcohol based.

3)            Women seem to be affected more by mosquitoes, presumably due to the perfumed creams they use - the smell of which attracts mosquitoes.

4)            Keep your doors shut (the windows have screens) especially at night.  The electric plug-in machines that burn repellent in our experience are only minimally effective.  We find buying room spray & fumigating twice a day keeps the mosquitoes at bay much more effectively.  This spray is fairly toxic however, so spray & leave for at least 15 minutes! And if you are asthmatic get someone else to do the spraying.

5)            If you have been bitten try not to scratch the bite as this spreads the poison the mosquitoes inject (to bring the blood to the surface for them to drink). Put cologne or an ice-cube on an itchy bite to numb it & use an anti-histamine gel / cream to soothe the itching.

6)            If you have a reaction beyond itching  - like excessive swelling - again use an anti-histamine (i.e. to combat the allergic reaction to the poison) gel / cream & if that is not strong enough than start to take it in tablet form.  If the skin actually opens  & weeps:  DO NOT CONTINUE PUTTING REPELLENT ON IT.  Repellents contain nerve agent to kill the mosquito & are only for the outside of your body - if they get in your blood stream you will make things far worse.  If bites open they will usually become infected in which case go to the chemist who will probably put you on anti-biotic & quartizone creams.  And take action quickly, don’t wait for a few days to see if the reaction will go away - most of the time it doesn’t.

....& Coping with the Heat

1)            Temperatures average 25- 30 C in the summer, often reaching 50 C+ in July & August: 

2)           The sun is at it’s hottest & most powerful between 11.30am & 2pm but it can still be extremely powerful before & after these times.  Lie under the shade & do not aim to hit the beach during the hottest hours.

3)           Please ensure you use protection whilst in the sun, even if you are just walking around.  This will aid your suntan rather than prevent it, allowing the skin to colour rather than burn. Remember you will catch the sun doubly through reflection when in water.

4)           Dehydration can occur very quickly & make you seriously ill.  Try to drink at least a 1.5lt bottle of water per day.  And be careful of your alcohol consumption - as  a rule of thumb 1 drink in the heat is the equivalent of 3 under normal conditions.  Try to eat melon & cucumber (for the water content) & feta cheese (for the salt content) everyday.  If you feel faint a quick & usually extremely effective remedy is to drink a glass of ayran, a yoghurt & water drink with salt added (similar to the Indian drink lassi).

5)            If you suddenly feel extremely tired &  / or shaky, have a headache or spots before your eyes & start being sick or have diarrhoea - you probably have sunstroke.  In extreme cases sunstroke can lead to coma so please take note of the following.  It can be due to the heat rather than just direct contact with the sun & can occur up to a week after exposure to either.  As a preliminary measure lie down in a darkened room with a cold wet towel round your neck. & try & drink either water or ayran & eat some natural yoghurt (the live bacteria in which will help to kill the bacteria causing the sickness).  If your temperature rises take paracetamol & if this does not lower it within half an hour & certainly if your temperature continues to rise call a doctor as quickly as possible as you will probably need to be put on a drip.  In the meantime put cold wet towels or preferably ice-packs on your body