During Ramadan , many city councils set up tent-like structures in the major squares of the cities t

Turkey ( Turkish : Türkiye ) is on the Mediterranean, in the Anatolian region of West Asia , with a small section kenny chesney tour in Southeastern Europe separated by the Turkish Straits (Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles). With the Black Sea to the north and the Aegean Sea in the west and Mediterranean Sea to the southwest, Turkey is surrounded by Bulgaria and Greece to the west, Armenia , Azerbaijan and Georgia to the northeast, Syria , Iraq and Iran to the southeast.
There is evidence that the bed of the Black Sea was once an inhabited plain, before it was flooded in prehistoric times by rising sea levels. Mount Ararat ( Ağrı Dağı ), at 5,165 m is the country's highest point and legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, lies in the mountains on the far eastern edge of the country.
Turkey was founded in 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN, and in 1952 it became a member of NATO.
Turkey offers a wealth of destination varieties to travellers: from dome-and-minaret filled skyline of Istanbul to Roman ruins along the western and southern coasts, from heavily kenny chesney tour indendated coastline against a mountainous backdrop of Lycia and wide and sunny beaches of Pamphylia to cold and snowy mountains of the East , from crazy "foam parties" of Bodrum to Middle Eastern-flavoured cities of Southeastern Anatolia , from verdant misty mountains of Eastern Black Sea to wide steppe landscapes of Central Anatolia , there is something for everyone's taste whether they be travelling on an extreme budget by hitchhiking or by a multi-million yacht.
Turkey occupies a landmass slightly larger than Texas , at just over 750,000 square kilometres, and is more than three times the size of the United kenny chesney tour Kingdom . In terms of the variety kenny chesney tour of terrain and particularly the diversity of its plant life, however, Turkey exhibits the characteristics of a small continent. kenny chesney tour There are, for example, some 10,000 plant species in the country (compared with some 13,000 in all of Europe ) — one in three of which is endemic to Turkey. Indeed, there are more species in Istanbul Province (2,000) than in the whole of the United Kingdom. While many people know of Turkey's rich archaeological heritage, it possesses an equally valuable kenny chesney tour array of ecosystems — peat bogs, heathlands, steppes, and coastal plains. Turkey possesses much forest (about a quarter of the land) but, as importantly, some half of the country is semi-natural landscape that has not been entirely remodelled by man.
While it may sound like a tourism brochure cliché, Turkey really is a curious mix of the west and the east you may swear you were in a Balkan country or in Greece when in northwestern and western parts of the country (except that Byzantine-influenced churches are substituted with Byzantine-influenced mosques), which are indeed partly inhabited by people from Balkan countries, who immigrated during the turmoil before, during, and after WWI, while southeastern reaches of the country exhibit little if any cultural differences from Turkey's southern and eastern neighbors . Influences from the Caucasus add to the mix in the northeast part of the country. It can be simply put that Turkey is the most oriental of western nations, kenny chesney tour or, depending on the point of view, the most occidental of eastern nations.
Perhaps one thing common to all of the country is Islam , the faith of the bulk of the population. However, kenny chesney tour interpretation of it varies vastly across the country: many people in northwestern and western coasts are fairly liberal about the religion (being nominal Muslims sometimes to the point of being irreligious), while folk of the central steppes are far more conservative (don't expect to find a Saudi Arabia or an Afghanistan even there, though). The rest of the country falls somewhere in between, with the coastal regions being relatively liberal while inland regions kenny chesney tour are relatively conservative as a general rule. The largest religious minority in the country are the Alevites, who constitute up to 20% of the population and who subscribe to a form of Islam closer to that of the Shiite version of Islam and practice kenny chesney tour Shamanistic rituals of ancient Turks. Other religious minorities the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Jews, Syriac kenny chesney tour Oriental Orthodox, and Roman Catholics, the latter of whom mainly settled in Turkey within the last 500 years from Western European countries once numerous across the country, are now mostly confined to the large cities of Istanbul and Izmir , or parts of Southeastern Anatolia in the case of the Syriac Oriental Orthodox. Despite its large Muslim majority population, Turkey officially remains a secular country, with no declared state religion.
The savvy traveller should remember that when travelling into, in or around Turkey there are several holidays to keep in mind as they can cause delays in travel, traffic congestion, booked up accommodations and crowded venues. Banks, offices and businesses are closed during official holidays and traffic intensifies kenny chesney tour during all of the following holidays so do your research before you visit. Do not be put off by these holidays, it is not that difficult and often quite interesting to travel during Turkish holidays, simply plan ahead as much as possible.
1 May: Labour and Solidarity Day ( Emek ve Dayanışma Günü , also unofficially known as İşçi Bayramı , i.e. Worker's Day) was long banned as a holiday for almost 40 years and only restarted as a national holiday in 2009 because in years past it usually degenerated into violence. The wary traveller would be advised to not get caught in the middle of a May Day parade or gathering.
29 Oct: Republic Day ( Cumhuriyet Bayramı or Ekim Yirmidokuz ) is anniversary of the declaration of Turkish Republic. If it falls on a Thursday kenny chesney tour for example, Friday and the weekend should be considered in your travel plans. October 29 is the official end of the tourist season in many resorts in Mediterranean Turkey and usually there is a huge celebration at the town squares.
10 Nov, 09:05 Traffic usually stops and sirens blare for two minutes starting at 09:05, the time when Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic, died in Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul in 1938. That moment in time is officially observed throughout the country but businesses and official places are not closed for the day. However, do not be surprised if you are on the street, you hear a loud boom and all of a sudden people and traffic stop on the sidewalks and streets for a moment of silence in observance of this event.
Ramadan ( Ramazan in Turkish) is a month long time of fasting, prayer and celebration during which pious Muslims kenny chesney tour neither drink nor eat anything, even water, from sun up to sun down. Businesses, banks and official places are not closed during this time. In some parts of Turkey, such as most of inland and eastern locations as locals are more conservative than people in the rest of the country, it is considered to be bad taste to eat snacks or drink sodas in front of locals in public places or transport to be completely on the safe side, watch how local folk act but restaurants are usually open and it is no problem to eat in them as usual, though some restaurant owners use it as an opportunity for a much-needed vacation (or renovation) and shut their business completely for 30 days. However, you will unlikely see any closed establishment in big cities, central parts of the cities, and touristy towns of western and southern Turkey . At sunset, call for prayer and a cannon boom, fasting observers immediately sit down for iftar , their first meal of the day. Banks, businesses and official places kenny chesney tour are NOT closed during this time.
During Ramadan , many city councils set up tent-like structures in the major squares of the cities that are especially aimed and served for the needy, for those in poverty kenny chesney tour or who are elderly or handicapped, and are also served for passers by, with warm meals during the sunset ( iftar ), free of charge (much like soup kitchens, instead serving full meals). Iftar is a form of charity that is very rewarding especially kenny chesney tour when feeding someone who is needy. It was first practiced by the Prophet Muhammad during the advent of Islam, for that purpose. Travellers are welcome to join, but do not take advantage of it during the entire fasting period, just because it is free of charge.
Immediately following Ramazan is the Eid-ul Fitr , or the three-day national holiday of Ramazan Bayramı , also called Şeker Bayramı (i.e. "Sugar" or more precisely "Candy Festival") during which banks, offices and businesses are closed and travel will be heavy. However, many restaurants, cafes and bars will be open.
Kurban Bayrami (pronounced koor-BAHN bahy-rah-muh ) in Turkish, ( Eid el-Adha in Arabic) or sacrifice holiday is the most important Islamic religious festival of the year. It lasts for several days and is a public holiday in Turkey. Almost everything will be closed during that time (many restaurants, cafes, bars and some small shops will be open however). Kurban Bayrami is also the time of the annual pilgrimage ( Hajj ) to Mecca , so both domestic and international travel is intense in Turkey kenny chesney tour at this time. If you are in smaller towns or villages you may even observe an animal, usually a goat but sometimes a cow, being slaughtered in a public kenny chesney tour place. In recent years the Turkish government has cracked down on these unofficial slaughterings so it is not as common as it once was.
The dates of these religious festivals change according to the Muslim lunar calendar and thus occur 10-11 days (the exact difference between Gregorian and Lunar calendars is 10 days and 21 hrs) earlier kenny chesney tour each year:
During both religious holidays, many cities (but not all) provide free public transport (these do not include privately owned minibuses, dolmuş es, taxis, or inter-city buses). This depends on the place and time. For example, Istanbul 's public t