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2 The Essence of Turkey...Some argue that Turkey is in the Middle East, while many others insist that it is part of Europe. Geographically speaking, most of Turkey is located in Asia, although part of Istanbul and a portion west of the city belongs to the continent of Europe. Turkey is definitely more modern than most of the other Middle Eastern countries. However, it still maintains a lot of the culture and charm that is found only in the Middle East. In fact, many of the items below which sets Turkey apart, can also be found in some of the other countries in that region.
Fancy tile work can be found all over Turkey in mosques, palaces, homes, stores and street stalls. Blue is a popular color for these pieces of art. The art of tile work reached its height in Turkey during the time that the Ottoman empire was in power. However, it is still very common and definitely an essence of Turkey. This particular tile mural is found on the walls of the Blue Mosque and contains Muslim prayers in Arabic.
CUCUMBERS. All over the Middle East we see people walking down the street snacking on a cucumber. Cucumbers also make up a part of almost any meal in Turkey and the rest of the Middle East. The cucumber stand here on a street corner in Istanbul does much better business than the ice cream vendor down the road. Them Turks sure are healthy.
Olives are also a very popular food staple in Turkey. Here one may find a wide selection of olives in the market. This aint no tourist market my friends.
SOUP FOR BREAKFAST? Actually, we have found that many countries around the world have this tradition. In Turkey the breakfast soup of choice is lentle soup. While Kelly sticks with the typical tourist "turkish breakfast" which consists of cucumbers, olives, tomatoes, hard boiled egg and bread, Rich feasts on soup with the real working class Turks.
TURKISH
DELIGHT
OUCH!! The circumcision ritual for Muslim males is a rite of passage into manhood. Unlike most other religions that perform circumcision on the boy during his first few weeks, Muslims perform circumcision on the boy when he reaches the age of nine or ten. This is the outfit that the young men get to wear for the special ceremony. We saw two young toddlers running around the beautiful carpets of the Blue Mosque in these cool duds. We guess that this playful activity was taking place prior to their passage into manhood.
The old school hamams cater only to men. However, modern times and tourism has changed this tradition and now many hamams allow women, although usually at a different time than the men. You may be asking, "What happens in a Turkish bath?" Well, an attendant leads you into a "hot room" and pours hot water on you. He then scrubbs your body with a course cloth, removing dead skin and dirt. After that, you are cleaned up with soap and shampoo and given the choice of a massage which is sometimes painful, but said to be well worth the pain. After this, you are brought to the "cold room" to rest, drink tea and socialize with the other hamamers. Did we try the Turkish bath? Sadly enough, the answer would be no. Perhaps out of modesty, but probably out of fear.
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THE TURKISH BATH
(a/k/a Hamam) is said to be cleansing, refreshing and quite social.
The steam bath actually was brought to Turkey from the Romans via the
Byzantines. However, the Turks took it to another level building grand,
elaborate baths and have kept the tradition going even until today. The
Hamam was also adopted from the Turks by the Syrians. The photo to the
left comes from a display in a nineteenth century Syrian home. 