Do Turkish people eat turkey?

The answer to this question is rarely.  They mostly eat chicken or meat.

Food in Turkey varies from place to place.  If you are closer to the coastline or in the Aegean Region, then you will see more fish and vegetables because of its abundance of olive trees and wide variety of vegetables.  If you are in the south east corner you will see more meat and chicken based dishes such as there kebabs. (skewered meat,chicken, or vegetables).

Like many other places fast food is taking over and eating out is becoming more common in developed areas. Even some traditional Turkish foods like börek and gözleme, are often served as fast food in Turkey.  But, there are still many restaurants that offer traditional homemade cooking.

Borek

Trilye Restaurant in Ankara

Places to go:

• Van's Breakfast House (http://www.yelp.com/biz/van-kahvalt%C4%B1-evi-istanbul-2)
• Ciya Kabap (http://www.ciya.com.tr/)
• Trilye (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g298656-d788195-Reviews-Trilye_Restaurant-Ankara.html)

Why you should travel Turkey

Turkey has many great and famous historic sites that are  special to the Turkish people and defining to their history.  Yes, you could look it up on online and read about them, but experiencing them is a whole different thing.  Not only are there many things to see, but the is also many great restaurants here, so you do not need to eat fast food everyday.

Many people hearing that Turkey is in the middle east immediately say never going there because of what they here on the news about what is going on there right now.  Now that is what they believe and I cannot change that, but I can tell you from my trip there it is not what it looks like on the news and even the news says that (http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2021212030_resatkasabaopedxml.html ).  My trip there changed my perspective of the middle east.  The locals are very nice and kind and want to make peace with America as much as everyone else.  I realized that it is blown out of proportion on the media about the middle east and that it is only the extremists who are acting in this way.  But, don't take my word for it travel there yourself and you will see that it is way different than what you expected.

The biggest city Istanbul

Consider as the gateway to the middle east from the west.  It is has the most people in Turkey.  This city was originally called Constantinople the capital of the Roman Empire and was renamed to Istanbul in 1920.  There are a lot if not more historical sites here than Ankara.  Like many cities Istanbul has been influenced by western powers, but keeps many historical sites such as the Mosques.   Here the Muslims still keep their traditional values and balancing the modern lifestyle.

The modernization and traditional values/buildings

Hagia Sophia

Suleymaniya Mosque

Unlike Ankara, Istanbul has many mosques where many Muslims go to pray.  Visiting there gave me a different perspective of the Muslim people.  They seem so devoted and committed to their beliefs.  After talking with some they are accepting of each other (Sunni and Shia'a).

The Capital

When I first arrived in the Capital, Ankara,  I was surprised to find the many relics and parks found in Ankara from the Roman and Byzantine empire and how much of them survived with the changing world.  Like many countries and cities Ankara is industrialized and influenced by western powers.  It takes many days to see all of the relics, so you never get board or run out of things to see.  Throughout school I learned more about Istanbul(Constantinople) because of its significance to the Roman Republic/Empire.  I never knew much about Ankara, but after visiting there I found out that many Roman leaders from Constantinople (Istanbul) would visit here daily.

A city square in Ankara

Temple of Augustus

Ataturk Mausoleum

There is a huge Muslim population in Turkey.  About 97.8% of the population is Muslim and of that 97.8% Muslims 72% of them are Sunni, 25% are Shia'a and 3% are Twelver Shia'a.  All of the grade schools have religion classes where they learn is Sunni Prayers being that most of the population is Sunni Muslims.  There are no significant Muslim Mosque in Ankara.  They are mostly in Istanbul.

Where is Turkey?

When You think of Turkey I bet the first thing that comes to mind is this.......

Now I am not talking about the food I am talking about the land ruled by the Ottomans, Alexander the Great and the country where the capital of the Roman Empire is located.

Turkey is located North of the Mediterranean Sea and Syria and South of the Black Sea.  Its capital is Ankara, which surprised me because of the significance of Istanbul during the Roman empire and also it being the most populated city and being considered the gateway into the Middle East. From the Hunter-gathers of the Paleolithic era to Greece to the Romans and Ottomans Turkey is the richest when it comes to historical land marks and relics.  As well as one of the seven wonders of the world the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

This shows where the capital and biggest city are.  

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

Showing some of the sites of Turkey that are a must see.


A few tips:

• Turkey has very hot and humid summers and cold and sometimes snowy winters.  Recommend you prepare for any situation depending on the season you are there.
• Be careful of taxis many will try to rip you off or charge way to much to ride.  Recommend that you take the bus or train.
• Visiting the Grand Bazaar and other tourist attractions, beware of pick pockets and keep things zipped up and safe.
• You need a visa to travel to Turkey and always ask to see the listed price
• Recommended that you drink and brush teeth with bottled water
• According to Expedia for a round trip (flying United) plus hotel for 2 (Ankara Hilton for one week) from Seattle to the capital Ankara costs about $1,866.00.