The official language of the country, Turkish is spoken by 220 million people and is the world's 5th most widely used language. Today's Turkish has evolved from dialects known since the 11th century and is one of the group of languages known as Ural-Altaic which includes Finnish and Hungarian.

Turkish is written with the Latin alphabet with the addition of 6 different characters. Turkish is completely phonetic - each letter of the alphabet has only one ... Details

Although 99% of the population is Muslim, religion is seen as strictly a private matter in Turkey. In fact, Turkey is the only secular country in Islamic world. Secularism is enshrined in the constitution that religion has no place whatsoever in governing of the country. Like other European countries, the weekly holiday is Sunday - not Friday as many are mistaken- and the Gregorian calendar is used in Turkey. The constitution secures the freedom of belief and worshiping. Duri... Details

Turkish cuisine is renowned as one of the world's best. It is considered to be one of the three main cuisines of the world because of the variety of its recipes, its use of natural ingredients, its flavours and tastes which appeal to all palates and its influence throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The cuisine originated in central Asia, the first home of the Turks, and then evolved with the contributions of the inland and Mediterranean cultu... Details

Turkish cuisine is renowned as one of the world's best. It is considered to be one of the three main cuisines of the world because of the variety of its recipes, its use of natural ingredients, its flavours and tastes which appeal to all palates and its influence throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The cuisine originated in central Asia, the first home of the Turks, and then evolved with the contributions of the inland and Mediterranean cultures with which ... Details

The Kitchen of Imperial Palace
The importance of culinary art to the Ottoman Sultans is evident to every visitor to Topkapý Palace. The huge kitchens were housed in several buildings under ten domes. By the 17th century some thirteen hundred kitchen staff were housed in the Palace. Hundreds of cooks, specializing in different categories, such as soups, pilafs, kebabs, vegetables, fish, breads, pastries, candy and helva, syrups and jams, and beverages, fed as many as ten tho... Details

In Turkey, despite the Islamic prohibition against wine and anything alcolic, there is a rich tradition associated with liquor. Drinking alcoholic beverages in the company of family and friends, both at home as well as in taverns and restaurant, is part of special occasions. Similiar to the spanish tapas, "meze" is the general category of dishes that are brought in small quantities to start the meal off. These are eaten, along with wine or more likely with "raký", the anise-flavoured national dr... Details