The New Year has found us traveling across the globe to Turkey, a country in the Middle East with a population of 84.43 million people. If you’ve never thought about taking a trip there, we’re positive you’ll add it to your bucket list after reading about all it has to offer. Awe-inspiring ruins of ancient empires, the rich Turkish language and culture, serene waters, and mighty mountains; Turkey is every traveler’s dream destination. Let’s take a closer look at ten fun facts about the Turkish language and culture.
Interesting Facts About Turkish Language and Culture Everyone Needs to Know
Amazing Cuisine
Turkish food is considered one of the most diverse in the world. It is dubbed the third richest cuisine following French and Chinese gastronomy. Turkish cuisine is regarded as flavorful and savory and not overly spicy.
The food culture is inherently healthy and features a wide array of meats, fruits, and vegetables. Lamb meat is the most popular meat used in Turkish dishes, while the eggplant is the most commonly used vegetable.
Because of its abundant livestock, the Southeastern Anatolian region of Turkey for example is famous for kebabs. The Aegean region, noted for its olive production, is well-known for its classic olive oil vegetable dishes and herbs, while pastries are a staple in Thrace.
Ethnic Languages, the Turkish Language Association, and Turkish Words
Turkey is an ethnically diverse country. They have more than 30 ethnic languages! However, the people only speak a few of them on a regular basis. Due to the dominance of the Turkish language, many of the other languages fall under the minority class.
In Turkey, the most common ethnic languages include the Turkish language, Kurmanji, Arabic, and Zazaki. Other languages, such as Turkish dialects and Tungusic languages like Balkan, Laz, Armenian, and Circassian languages, have few speakers. The most commonly spoken ethnic language here is Turkish language. It’s an agglutinative language. And roughly 70% of Turkish people speak it. There’s even a Turkish Language Association that promotes the status of this beautiful language! The Turkish language association might also be a great place to find inspiration and language courses before visiting Turkey!
If you’re planning to visit Turkey it would be a great idea to familiarize yourself with their official language and learn to speak Turkish words. You don’t have to speak Turkish fluently, but some basic knowledge of Turkish grammar and the Turkish alphabet never hurt anyone! Having some Turkish language words in your vocabulary can prevent certain communication barriers between yourself and locals from this country.
Tea, Tea, Tea!
When you think about a nation with a fondness for tea, The United Kingdom is sure to pop into your head. However, Turks love their tea as well. And tea is synonymous with Turkish culture. Turkish tea is just as famous as Turkish coffee (which many think is the national drink)! And we’re betting that’s one of the facts about the Turkish culture you might not have been familiar with!
Turkey has the highest consumption of tea per capita! In Turkey, tea is an important part of Turkish culture. Tea drinking is almost ritual-like here. In Turkey, it’s nothing strange to have take a tea break three or four times a day.
They traditionally serve tea with little cubes of beet sugar. It is never accompanied by milk or lemon. They typically also serve Kurabiye, either sweet or savory biscuits, with tea at teatime. And teatime is generally between three and five o’clock in the afternoon. However, there’s no set rule as to when you can or can’t have tea.
The Evil Eye
As far as Turkish souvenirs go, the evil eye amulet is the most popular under the sun! Interesting fact: this is a popular souvenir for travelers from ALL over the world.
They say that the evil eye is a curse cast by a malevolent look. The curse generally falls on an unsuspecting victim. Many cultures believe that being cursed with an evil eye results in misfortune or damage. They often refer to talismans used to ward off the evil eye as “evil eyes”.
In Turkish, they call the evil eye amulet ‘Nazar boncuu’. You can also find this sign in several other nations that formed part of the ancient Ottoman Empire. Did you know that the practice of creating this form of glass art with the evil eye is at least 3000 years old???
Religion
Religion tells a great deal about a country’s culture, and in Turkey 99% of the population is Muslim. What is even more fascinating is that Turkey is home to a whopping 82,693 mosques. The remaining 0.1% of Turks are Christians or members of other religions.
Turkey has a long and illustrious Islamic history. Under the Ottoman Empire, the area was a Sunni Islamic state. Throughout the country, impressive Islamic architecture and monuments serve as visual reminders of this rich heritage. Islam entails various obligations on those who follow it. Among these are; men and women are to keep ritual cleanliness, pray five times a day, and fast every year during the month of Ramadan.
To Wrap Up this Agglutinative Language and Culture
The richness of the Turkish language and culture is undoubtedly one of the reasons that Turkey is such a popular tourist destination. To become fully immersed in the cuisine, tea rituals, ethnic languages and historic architecture is a traveler’s dream.
Wanting to feel immersed in cultures all over the globe is part of what makes us human and here at Day Translations. And we are dedicated to connecting you with the rest of the world! How? Through our professional translation services for all your translation needs!
Let us help you to enhance your international communication through our accurate and reliable localized translations. Let’s do it together!