Discovering Turkey: A Land of Rich History and Cultural Marvels

1. Turkey Istituto secondario di primo grado “ A. Balzico Cava de' Tirreni Class II I Students Avagliano Sara, Di Salvatore Chiara, Orlando Grazia, Santoriello Rosaria, Vitale Aldo. School year 2010/11

2. Location: south east of Europe Area: 783.562 km Population: 76.586.256 Capital city: Ankara Important towns: Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Adana, Kirsehir Flag: Ay Yildiz (red with a white crescent moon and a five-pointed star) Official Language: Turkish Main religion: Islam Government: Parliamentary Republic Monetary system: Turkish Lira Highest mountain: Mount Ararat Other mountains: Suphan Dagi (Suphan Mountain), Mount Erciyes, Demirkazik Main rivers: Tigris, Euphrates, Meric, Ergene, Gediz, Kizilirma Lakes: Van Lake, Lake, Beysehir Lake, KebanLake, Egridir Lake National Holidays: Apr 23: National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (anniversary of the establishment of Turkish Grand National Assembly) May 1: Labour and Solidarity Day (recently added in 2009) May 19: Ataturk Commemoration and Youth e Sports Day ( the arrival of Ataturk in Samsun, and the beginning of the War of Independence) Aug 30: Victory Day (victory over invading forces i Turkish in 1922). Oct 29: Republic Day (anniversary of the declaration of the Turkish Republic) National Anthem: Istiklal Marsi (The Anthem of Independence). Typical dishes: Kebap, pilav, keskek, gozlome Famous people: Hidayet “Hedo” Turkoglu born March 19, 1979 in Gaziosmanpasa, Istanbul, Turkey is a Turkish professional basketball player, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, etc.

3. ISTANBUL'S MONUMENTSThe most important Istanbul's monuments are : - Topkapi Palace : home of the sultans - Ayasofya (Hagia sophia) : it changed the course of Western architecture; greatest church in Christendom for 1000 years.- Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque: Islam's elegant answer to Ayasofya, with six minarets and blue interior tiles- Byzantine Hippodrome: the political and recreational heart of Byzantyne Constantinople and Ottoman IstanbulTurkish & Islamic Arts Museum: facing the Blue Mosque on the Hippodrome, a treasure-house of 1000 years of fine art -Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarniçi): subterranean nickname "sunken palace" of 336 marble columns which could hold 80,000 cubic feet of water in case of drought.

4. Home of the Ottoman sultansfor nearly 400 years, Topkapı Sarayı ("Palace of the Cannon Gate") was the seraglio, the heart of the vast Ottoman Empire, ruled by the monarch who lived in Topkapı's hundreds of rooms with hundreds of concubines, children, and white and black servants.

5. The Church of the Divine Wisdom(Hagia Sophia in Greek), is one of the most impressive and important buildings ever constructed.Its wide, flat dome was a daring engineering feat in the 6th century, and architects still marvel at the building's many innovations.It was built on the site of Byzantium's acropolis by Emperor Justinian (527-65 AD) in 537 AD.Ayasofya was the greatest church in Christendom.

6. Istanbul's imperial Mosque of Sultan Ahmet I(Sultan Ahmet Camii) is called the Blue Mosque because of its interior tiles, The mosque (built 1603-17) is the masterwork of Ottoman architect Sedefkâr Mehmet Ağa.With its six minarets and a great cascade of domes, the mosque is a worthy sibling to Hagia Sophia just a few minutes' stroll to the north.

7. The Basilica Cistern(Yerebatan Sarnıç) is so called because it lays beneath the Stoa Basilica, a grand Byzantine public square. It's also called the SunkenPalaceCistern(Yerebatan Saray Sarnıçı) because that's what it looks like.Whatever you call it, it's impressive because of its size, measuring 138 meters long and 64.6 meters wide, covering nearly 1000 square meters (2.4 acres); its capacity (80,000 cubic meters—over 21 million US gallons) and its 336 marble columns.

8. Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and the country’s second largest city after Istanbul.

9. Istanbul Istanbul is the most important city of Turkey.

10. The typical dishes are: kebab, kofte, kokorec, borek and gozlome.

11. The president of the Turkish Republic is Abdullah Gul. He is 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey. President Gul was born in Kayseri, on October 29, 1950 a city in central Anatolia. Gul studied economics at the Istanbul University.

12. The official monetary system is the Turkish Lira.

13. Partner town : Kirșehir Kirșehir is a city in the Central Anatolia Region in Turkey. It is the capital district of the Kirsehir Province. Kirsehir’s history goes back to 3,000 B.C. The first settlers were Hittites. When the Romans started to control the city, it was called “Macissus”. With the division of the Roman Empire, the city was rebuilt by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and recalled as “Justinianopolis ”. In 1071 , with the Malazgirt war, the Turkey conquered the city and changed the name into “Kir sehri” which means ‘steppe city’. Kirsehir is the first basement and settlement of Ahi Community.

14. 1) What’s the capital city of Turkey?2) What’s the name of the important city of Turkey?3) What are the names of Istanbul monuments?4) Who is the president of Turkey?5) When Abdullah Gul was elected president of Turkey?6) What’s the highest mountain of Turkey?7) What are the main rivers of Turkey?8) What are the Lakes of Turkey?9) What are the typical dishes of Turkey?10) What’s the national Anthem of Turkey? Questions

15. 1) nsatibnlu=.....2) aranka=.....3) ontinsaum=.......4) rvires=.....5) metahn=.....6) etinderps=.....7) sekal=.....8) kerytu=...9) onatilna=....10) isehds=...... Solve these anagrams

16. Find these words in the diagram. You can go up, down, right to left and left to right and diagonal. The remaining letters contain a word for you.

17. Ankara -River -Istanbul -Church -Pilav - Currency - Kebap - Ajda - Tigri - Izmir - Gediz - Ottoman - Keban -Bursa - Borek - Serra - Adana - Mountain - Art. Solutions

19. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.Thank you for your attention !!