Découvrez la Turquie

Istanbul – all roads lead to color and mystery
Colors probably are the most predominant feature of the city, which exudes a sense of mystery, of adventure about what might be just around the next corner

ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News

What can one say about this huge but captivating city? People have written books for centuries describing it and all it contains. Magnificent St. Sophia Museum and Sultan Ahmed Mosque across from it. Ancient obelisks from Egypt where once the Byzantines held horse races. Gypsy flower sellers in Taksim Square with a myriad of colors. Sunset and then moonlight slithering over the slap-slap water of the Bosphorus as you enjoy fresh fish and raki, Turkey’s national drink, possibly with a violinist playing romantic tunes of yesteryear in the background of that waterfront restaurant.

Colors probably are the most predominant feature of the city, which exudes a sense of mystery, of adventure about what might be just around the next corner. And sometimes the most interesting things aren’t found in the guidebooks, or at least not yet.

There’s a sense of industriousness about Istanbul – traffic is bustling around as if there’s no tomorrow in spite of the municipality’s inauguration of rapid transit and underground metro systems that can very efficiently whisk you around much of the city. Otherwise, buses do quite nicely as do the dolmus, or minivans, that take several customers at a time along fixed routes to designated destinations. Taxis are also relatively inexpensive.

There are, of course, the must-do places for those who’ve come to Istanbul for the first time – Topkapi Palace, St. Sophia, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Grand Bazaar with alternative tours that take people to the Chora Church or to the Archaeology Museum on days that the other sites are closed. But there are many more places to explore and many more museums, if that is what interests you, that you needn’t feel compelled to do the routine touristic tour. You just need a reasonably good guidebook and a hotel concierge.

Good eating is to be had almost everywhere. Fish restaurants along the Bosphorus or at Kumkapi, a quaintly redecorated little village near the Armenian patriarchal church. Fresh fish will be from that day’s catch at almost all restaurants – no frozen stuff this. Kebab restaurants are in abundance everywhere, with some so highly popular, like Beyti and Hamdi, that reservations have to be made.

Boats to take you up and down the Bosphorus during the day and early evening range from the caiques that the Ottoman sultans used to big city ferry boats and every other size in between.

The Byzantine walls are a long hike, but it’s fascinating to think what it might have been like to be the last Byzantine emperor defending the walls against the Ottoman Turks in 1453. There are other fortifications such as the Rumeli Fortress, which now is used for open-air concerts during the summer.

Modern nightlife abounds along the Bosphorus, especially from Kurucesme on the European coast to Sariyer, and on the Asian side, especially as much of its population in recent years is young and eager to go out to jazz clubs and discos.

Four and especially five-star hotels all have fitness centers for those who want to work out, but it can be pleasant to go for a stroll in Yildiz Park or the Belgrade Forest or just along shores of the Bosphorus or the Sea of Marmara. Sunrises or sunsets are great times to be out on the shore because of the beauty of the sky and water.

The city has modern art museums; it has active theater programs and music performances as well as too many gallery exhibitions to count. Turks are good socializers and if they don’t have an early morning appointment or young children, they’ll be more than happy to show you how to enjoy Istanbul. If you haven’t understood that already!

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Tracking the Turks with a brief history.

The Turks of Turkey began entering Anatolia as nomadic tribes around the ninth century A.D. with their horses, tents and flocks of sheep and goats. They found themselves in a land that had been the playing field for numerous small principalities, kingdoms and empires for a couple of thousand years. The Hittite kingdom is by far the best known. The Persians came, the Greeks under Alexander the Great and then the Romans and the Byzantines.

The first of the Turkish kingdoms was that of the Seljuks based in Konya, where they ruled for 200 years or so. They were followed by the Ottomans, who went on to conquer Constantinople (Istanbul), much of the Balkans, North Africa, extensive parts of the Middle East, including some areas in today’s Iran, and the Crimean region.

Although the Ottoman Empire existed for some 500 years, in fact it is, or rather was, the longest-surviving empire in the world. In the end it collapsed under the onslaught of Western influences that encouraged nationalism, overtly or covertly.

The empire’s end was brought about by many things including a bankrupt treasury, but the sultans favored the Germans in World War I. Istanbul was taken over by the opposing Allies once the Germans were defeated, and the Greeks took advantage of the situation to launch an attack on Turkey.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who is regarded as the founder of the modern Turkish Republic, led the long and difficult fight to repulse the Greeks and later to set up a republic and negotiated a final peace treaty that would leave Turkey as it is today.

The Turkish Republic was officially declared in 1923 on the basis of the Treaty of Lausanne. Its government consists of a president, prime minister and parliament, obviously based on parliamentary governments in the Western world. It has had its ups and downs over the years as the military saw itself as the protectors of the fledgling democracy. But today the country is looking optimistically towards its entry into full membership with the European Union, with accession talks scheduled to begin in October.

he country’s economy is robust with a nearly 10 percent growth rate this past year. Construction is evident almost everywhere. Exports are growing just as imports are. The number of tourists coming to the country is up dramatically, dramatically enough to make one of Turkey’s neighbors to the west become somewhat concerned as its own touristic areas are not doing well.

Of course like every country Turkey has its problems, but its future looks very good.

Turkey a land with three different geographies

Turkey comprises 296,356 square miles – a combination as large as the states of Texas and Louisiana

ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News
Turkey comprises 296,356 square miles – a combination as large as the states of Texas and Louisiana. The Anatolian plateau, or the central part of the country, is a mountainous region, on average over 3,000 feet high. The fabled Mt. Ararat, where Noah’s Ark is said to have landed, stands at 17,000 feet. It is basically a continuation of the Central Asian steppes and, as one source put it, there was a reason for naming it Asia Minor in ancient times because it was the furthest west that could be considered Asia.

Although Turkey has been blessed with rivers that originate within Turkey, these rivers cannot be used for shipping. During the winter and later in spring when the snow on the mountains thaws, they become raging torrents while in summer they are nearly bone dry. There are in addition three

coastal plains, each of which enjoys a different climate, with each one contributing to the country’s agricultural wealth.

The Black Sea plain is moist and provides a marvelous environment for growing hazelnuts and tea. At present experiments are ongoing to introduce other cash crops such as kiwi. The Aegean Sea plain has an environment that is typically Mediterranean – olives, fruits and vegetables. The southern plain along the Mediterranean, however, has a subtropical climate that has particularly facilitated cotton growing in the eastern section of the south coast. But because of climatic changes, it’s not clear what will happen in the future as during the summer prevailing winds from Africa are bringing hot, dry air and are inducing drought conditions.

The flora are typically Mediterranean and range from evergreens to lilac and jasmine. And if you’re interested in wild life, boars and bears head a list that also includes squirrels, deer, wolves, foxes, hares and bats. But most importantly Turkey is surrounded by three seas where fish abound, or at least abounded until the Black and Mediterranean seas were over fished. Rules are now being applied and fishing seasons have been severely restricted in the hope that the fish stock will grow again. Actually, in the past two or three years it has grown but not to anywhere near where it used to be, say 15-20 years ago. Domestic animals are the ones you would normally expect in a Mediterranean country, although the occasional camel can still attract stares, even from Turks.

Cf: Turkish Daily News

Y'a pas la même chose en français ?

Hakannibal a écrit:: Y'a pas la même chose en français ?

c'est une pub pour les angolophobes Langue

moi aussi j'aurais prefere le version franconophobes Mr. Green

Cherchez, vous trouverez peut-être Yeux roulants

....... je ne connais que Turkish Daily News.

Mais je suis sûre que vs comprenez ls articles, en tout cas vous pouvez comprendre les grandes lignes.

ps: Murat, tu me fais rire.... Mr Red

avec tes inventions de mots Mr. Green

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