Culture of Turkey
The culture of Turkey takes its roots from Ottoman Empire. Ottoman literature and the court music of Turkey had a predominantly religious character and sounded overly pompous and sad for the western audience. Visual arts were constrained by the requirements of Islam that forbid to depict beings having an "immortal soul", which is why talented Muslims did not incline themselves towards this type of arts. Turkish museums are filled to the brim with various colored plates, elegant glass vases, wood carving decorated gates of mosques, sparkling colored Korans, intricate decorations and luxurious costumes. Ataturk turned the culture of Turkey upside down in an instant, giving way to the development of painting, sculpture, literature, western music (he loved opera), dances and drama. The introduction of the new, Latin based alphabet increased the literacy of the population and the Ottoman court prose allowed the use of the national language. Several Turkish writers, including Nazim Hikmet, Yasar Kemal and Orhan Pamuk became famous not only in Turkey, but all over the world. Such purely Ottoman art crafts such as paper finish that looked like marble and shadow doll theater became famous. While the passion for carpet braiding has not faded in Turkey until this day.
Turkish folk music and Turkish films reflect culture of Turkey quite good. Folk music was (and still remains) very energetic. Turkish music, which can be often heard on the radio, is traditional folk music but features a contemporary urban inclination. The main representatives of folk music are Turkish troubadours. The thousand year long tradition of Turkish troubadours was practically destroyed after the invention of television and video cassette players, but the songs of the great troubadours are still popular and are oftentimes re-recorded and broadcasted over the radio or on TV. Cinema in Turkey has a long history as it developed starting in the early '20s of the 20th Century and quickly became widespread after the Second World War Turkish films started to treat social and political problems in the 60s and 70s. Turkish films can be described as honest, realistic, and having a dry humor. The most popular Turkish films directors are Yilmaz Güney, Tunch, Basaran, Omer Zyulfu and Cavour.
99% of the population of Turkey is Muslim, predominantly Sunnis, but in the East and Southeast of the country there are Shiites and Alevis. Many traditions of Turkey and their way of life are rooted deeply in the laws of Islam. Many Turks consider visiting a mosque to be obligatory. According to the etiquette it is required to wear conservative clothing and take off your shoes visiting a mosque. Regions which are visited by tourists less often (or places were traditional Islamic influence is felt) women must have their heads covered, as well as their legs, their shoulders; they must wear conservative dresses, and their skirts cannot be above knee lengths. Avoid visiting a mosque during prayer and on Fridays – a holy day for all Muslims. Other traditions of Turkey are related to being polite and the Turks themselves often can be heard complaining that they can't step through the door without exchanging 5 minute worth of standard courtesy, however, if you use these court traditions you will certainly make your hosts very happy.
Many women who come to Turkey complain about moral and physical harassment. You should not be afraid or let foolish problems spoil your vacation, you should be rather careful though. When you know some traditions of Turkey you will not get into a problem. Roughly speaking, don't walk around with no shirt, naked shoulders or legs, especially if you are travelling in the eastern part of the country. You could also wear a wedding band. During walks try to appear concentrated and do not pay attention to whistling in your direction. Also avoid deserted streets after dark. If you are eating alone somewhere then it is best to visit family restaurants. Drinking alone at a local bar would be very careless.
