Geography
Turkey is a republic located in the Middle East and partly in Europe. The area of the country is 780576 km². See Turkey abbreviations.
In the north, Turkey goes to the Black Sea, in the south – to the Mediterranean, in the west – to the Aegean and Marmara.
Turkey shares borders with countries such as Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Turkey is unique primarily in that one of its large parts (called Anatolia and located on the peninsula of Asia Minor) is territorially located in Asia, and the other, smaller one (Eastern Thrace) is in Europe. These two regions are separated by the Bosporus, the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara, which connect the Black and Mediterranean Seas.
The historical and state predecessor of Turkey is the Ottoman Empire, which existed for 600 years and gave rise to the Republic of Turkey after the end of the First World War.
The Mediterranean coast of Turkey is divided into two large parts: the West coast, washed by the Aegean Sea, and the South coast, originating from the popular resort of Antalya with its spacious sandy beaches.
The plain behind the beach strip (called Pamphylia in antiquity), suitable for agriculture, is adjacent to the east by a mountainous region (called Cilicia in the era of the Roman Empire).
The Turkish sea coast is distinguished by a variety of beaches: from sandy to pebbly and rocky. The coastline of the country is 7,168 kilometers long.
Climate
According to 800zipcodes, the climate of Turkey on the coast is predominantly subtropical Mediterranean, characterized by a hot summer period (with an average air temperature of +26 ° C) and not characterized by low temperatures in winter (an average air temperature in the winter months is +13 ° C).
In mountainous areas, winters tend to be colder than on the coasts, with stable snow cover. The average annual rainfall in the country ranges from 1000 to 2500 millimeters per year.
Famous beach and medical resorts in Turkey: Alanya, Belek, Bodrum, Dalaman, Kangal, Antalya, Kemer, Kusadasi, Marmaris, Pamukkale, Side, Istanbul.
Turkish Cuisine
Turkish cuisine occupies an important niche among the national cuisines of the world, thanks to its rich history and variety of dishes.
The Ottoman Empire, the historical and state predecessor of the Republic of Turkey, became famous, among other things, for such a feature as the cult of food. In the 17th century, Topkapi Palace alone, located on the territory of Istanbul, was home to approximately 13,000 highly specialized chefs, who cooked daily for 10,000 people.
Lunch meal in Turkey is long and thorough and can take up to 4-5 hours. In Turkey, it is customary to sit at the dinner table with friends and family, snacking on the go is not welcome here and is considered bad form.
Lunch usually includes more than three courses: this includes appetizers (meze), main hot dishes, and desserts.
Appetizers are various salads, olives, pickled vegetables, mushrooms, cheese, pieces of melon pulp, fish, pies, squid, stuffed eggs, fresh bread, yoghurt sauce with garlic, fried mussels.
In Turkey, baking is equated with an art form, many types of (certainly fresh) pastries are eaten here. White wheat bread is called “ekmek” here, and there are several types of flat cakes, including “borek” – the thinnest layers of dough are also used to make puff pastries and stuffed tubes.
Kebabs
After snacks, hot dishes are served on the table, a special place among them is occupied by kebabs – meat traditionally cooked on an open fire (in many other countries, kebab is called shish kebab). In ancient times, kebabs were prepared exclusively from lamb, but in modern Turkey, various types of meat (including poultry meat) and fish are used to prepare this dish.
As a popular side dish for meat and vegetable dishes in Turkey, pilav is a dish made from wheat or rice.
Vegetable dishes differ in different ways of preparation: stewed vegetables with olive oil, as well as stuffed and subsequently fried vegetables, they are also prepared by baking.
All types of stuffed vegetables have the same name in Turkey – dolma. The most popular type of dolma is a dish of green sweet peppers with minced rice.
It is worth trying the delicious national dish zeytinjala, which is a stew of green beans, tomatoes and onions.
Various spices and seasonings in Turkish national cuisine are included in small enough quantities to emphasize the taste of the main products.
Turkish cuisine offers many traditional sweets and desserts, both fruit and pastries, the most popular of which are baklava, muhallebi and lokma.
