It is said that three major kinds of cuisine exist in the world; Turkish, Chinese, and French. Fully justifying its reputation, Turkish Cuisine is always a pleasant surprise for the visitor.

In addition to being the refined product of centuries of experience, Turkish Cuisine has a very pure quality. The variety and simplicity of the recipes and the quality of the ingredients are guarantees of delicious meals.

Kebabs are dishes of plain or marinated meat either stewed or grilled. Almost every district of Anatolia has its own kebap specialty. Lamb is the basic meat of Turkish kitchen. Pieces of lamb threaded on a skewer and grilled over charcoal form the famous "Sis kebab", now known in many countries of the world. "Doner kebab" is another famous Turkish dish, being a roll of lamb on a vertical skewer turning parallel to a hot grill. You should also try "Alanazik", "Sac kavurma", "Tandir" and different types of "Kofte" as typical meat dishes.

The aubergine is used in a wide variety of dishes from "karniyarik" and "hünkarbegendi", to "patlican salatasi" (eggplant salad) and "patlican dolmasi" (stuffed eggplants). It can be cooked with onions, garlic and tomatoes and served cold as "imam bayildi".

A delicious Turkish specialty is "pilav", a rice dish which is difficult for the inexperienced cook to prepare. In the Black Sea region of Turkey they make a great dish with rice and small fish called "Hamsili pilav". Another interesting dish from the same region is "Miroloto".

"Börek" are pies of flaky pastry stuffed with meat, cheese or potatoes. The delicious Turkish natural yoghurt, "yogurt", is justifiably renowned. A typical appetizer prepared with yogurt is "Cacik". And, of course, don't forget to try "Manti", with loads of yogurt.

One notable variety are the "zeytinyaglilar", dishes cooked with olive oil. "Dolma" is a name applied to such vegetables as grape leaves, cabbage leaves, and green peppers stuffed with spiced rice (Biber dolma). You should also try "Baklali Enginar" (with artichoke) and "Tekmil Lahana" (with cabbage).

Turkish sweets are famous throughout the world and many of these have milk as the basic ingredient such as "sütlac", "tavuk gögsü", "kazandibi", "helva", "asure", but the best-known are "baklava" and "kadayif" pastries.

Among the national drinks, Turkish coffee, Turkish tea, ayran, shira, salgam, sahlep and boza should be mentioned. Turkish coffee comes thick and dark in a small cup and may be served without sugar, with a little sugar or with a lot of sugar. Either way, it is truly delicious. If you like alcohol you can try "Raki" made of anise, it is called as "lions drink" because you must be strong as a lion to drink it.

Soups are coming in a wide variety. These may be light, or rich and substantial. They are generally based on meat stock and served at the start of the meal. Lentil soup is the most common and best loved variety, but there are other preferred soups such as yayla, tarhana, asiran and guli soups.

Mezes are "Hors d'oeuvres" or appetizers figuring mainly at meals accompanied by wine or raki . Eaten sparingly, they arouse the appetite before the meal proper. Examples of meze include gozleme, fried aubergines with yogurt, lakerda (bonito pre-served in brine), pastirma (pressed beef), kisir, humus, fish croquettes, and lambs' brains with plenty of lemon juice. At many restaurants a selection of meze is brought to the table on a tray immediately after the drinks are served for the customers to make their choice.

Some other typical Turkish dishes are:

Pilaf
Generally made of rice, but also of bulgur (cracked wheat) and sehriye (vermicelli), pilaf (pilav) is one of the mainstays of the Turkish table. The rice should not be sticky but separate into individual grains. The pilaf may include aubergines, chick peas, beans or peas. Although pilaf is traditionally a course in its own right, in recent years it has appeared as a garnish with meat and chicken dishes at many restaurants.

Borek
Thinly rolled pastry, often the paper thin variety known as yufka, is wrapped around various savory fillings or arranged in layers . The myriad types of börek are unmatched delicacies when cooked to perfection. Boreks can be fried, baked, cooked on a griddle or boiled. Traditionally it was said that no girl should marry until she had mastered the art of börek making. Preferred fillings are cheese, minced meat, spinach and potatoes. In the form of rolls filled with cheese or minced meat mixtures and fried, böreks are known as "Sigara (cigarette) boregi". Böreks should be light and crisp, without a trace of excess oil.

Doner Kebap
Slices of marinated lamb on a tall vertical spit and grilled as it slowly turns are delicious. The cooked parts of the cone of meat are cut in very thin slices by a huge sword-like knife, and arranged on a plate with Ace or flat pide (pitta) bread. This dish is the most formidable obstacle to the victory of the hamburger in the fast food market. Doner kebap in rolls with slices of pickle and chips is the most common stand-up lunch for city office workers.

A local variation of Doner Kebap would be Cag Kebabi from Erzurum. It is made with slices of lamb threaded on a spit, with 10 percent minced beef mixed with milk, chopped onion, black pepper and flaked chili pepper spread between each slice to hold them together. The surface is covered tightly with wood ash, and then the kebab is roasted horizontally over a wood fire. As the outer surface browns, the cook takes a metal skewer and threads it through the cooked surface, slices off the portion with a long döner knife, and serves it with thin lavas bread.

Kofte
The diverse köftes of all shapes and sizes are a culinary world of their own. Finely minced meat mixed with spices, onions and other ingredients is shaped by hand, and grilled, fried, boiled or baked. Koftes are named according to the cooking method, ingredients or shape. Plump oval köfte dipped in egg and fried have the evocative name of "Ladies Thighs" (kadin budu). Some köftes are cooked in a sauce as in the case of the delicious "Izmir köfte", the köftes are first grilled and then cooked with green peppers, potato slices and tomatoes in their own gravy. An interesting dish called "Hamsi köfte" comes from the Black Sea region of Turkey.

Origins Islam is the religion of allegiance to God and his prophet Mohammed, who lived around 570-632 and came from a family of traders at Mecca. The religion's book of revelation, mediated by the prophet, is the Koran. The word Islam derives from the same semitic root as the Hebrew word Shalom, which means peace. Islam means "entering into a condition of peace and security with God, through allegiance or surrender to him".

Mohammed is said to have received his revelations over a period of 23 years from the Angel Jibreel, or Gabriel, who was relaying the word of God.

It was not a completely new faith but is the third great monotheistic religion. In Muslim eyes, Mohammed completes a succession of prophets, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, each of whom refined and restated the message of God.

The Koran therefore corroborates, updates and expands the Old and New Testaments.

It contains 114 chapters, written in vivid, rhyming prose, and was settled in its current form within 30 years of Mohammed's death.

Main tenets Central to Islam is the absolute sense that there can only be one God - Allah - and that he is the source of all creation and disposer of all lives and events. Hence, there is no God but God and Mohammed is his messenger.

All people should become a single Umma - community - witnessing to that fact. On the day of judgment, all will rise from the dead and be sent to heaven or hell.

The Koran contains many moral exhortations, forming the basis of Islamic (sharia) law. It lays down generosity and fairness and the requirements for daily prayer, alms giving, abstinence during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca.

The five pillars of the Islamic faith - the fundamental constituents of Muslim life - are: · Shahada, the profession of faith in the uniqueness of Allah and the centrality of Mohammed as his prophet · Salat, formal worship or prayer · Zakat, the giving of alms for the poor, assessed on all adult Muslims as 2.5% of capital assets once a year · Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Muslim should undertake at least once in their lifetime; the annual hajj takes place during the last 10 days of the 12th lunar month every year · Sawm, fasting during Ramadan, the holy ninth month of the lunar year.

Early history In 622, Mohammed travelled from Mecca to Medina in the hijrah (emigration) - this forms the starting point in the Muslim dating system.

After the prophet's death his community split into followers of the caliph Abu Bakr and those who supported Mohammed's closest relative, his son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib.

This division between Shia (followers of Ali) and Sunni (followers of the custom of the caliphate) persists to this day. Although both share most of the customs of the religion, Shiites place more emphasis on the guiding role of the imam.

About 90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and about 10% Shia.

Sharia The divine law of Islam by which Muslims should live their lives.

It embraces every aspect of life, including family relations, inheritance, taxation, purification and prayer and observes no distinction between secular and religious law.

How far modern Islamic states follow this principle depends on the degree of secularisation they permit. It is essentially laid down by the Koran but has been updated and extended by fatwa (legal opinion), consensus and custom.

The Guardian (London) Monday June 17, 2002

The pearl of Mediterranean, is an attractive city with shady palm-lined boulevards and a prize-winning marina.The snow remains on the top of Toros and Bay mountains during hot seasons and you may swim in the warm waters of Mediterranean at the same day.The summers are hot and rainless while the other months are warm and often rainy.In this area one can observe, as it were, the progress of history through the statues of gods and goddesses,temples, theatres, agoras,churches, mosques,tombs

The Romans, Byzantines and Seljuks successively occupied the city before it came under Ottoman rule.Kaleici, has narrow, winding streets and old wooden houses abut the ancient city walls. Traces of Byzantine, Roman and Seljuks architecture and culture can still be seen in the rustic old town.The award-winning Antalya Kaleici Marina and Leisure Center is considered one of the loveliest marinas in Turkey. This center can well meet everyNear the marina the two towers flanking the gate and other sections of the walls still stand. The clock tower in Kalekapisi Square was also part of the old city's fortifications.Take time to visit the arcaelogical museum, with remains from the Paleolithic Age to Ottoman times, offers a glimpse of the area's rich history.Inside the city Yivli Minare and Kulliye, Karaalioglu park are in our host of places to see.

Land and sea everywhere meet the beaches stretching for miles or the steep cliffs. Konyaalti Antalya and Lara coasts invite you to its crystal clear .The prominent sites accesible by daily tours are Side, Perge, Manavgat and Alanya. Natural attractions include the Manavgat Waterfalls, the Upper and Lower Duden Waterfalls and the fascinating Kadinyari Cliff, from whose heights unfaithful wives were given the heave-ho.Blue voyagers may set their sails to Phaselis, Olympos, Adrasan and Kekova. For more information about Antalya and the surrounding cities and regions see Antalya Travel Guide

Vexillologists (who study flags), have a field day trying to figure out the origin and connotations associated with the flag. There are legends galore and the various symbols can be interpreted according to which school of history one subscribes to. The crescent and the moon is a predominantly Islamic symbol but research has shown that it was used in Asia Minor, long before the advent of Islam.

Legend has it that that the moon occulting a star appeared as a reflection in a bloody puddle, after the battle of Kosovo, in 1448. The battle was a decisive one for Turkey as it founded the long and illustrious Ottoman Empire, which ruled until 19th century. The image is said to be a part of this historic event and commemorated by Sultan Murad II as the motif of the Turkish national flag. Another exotic folklore credits the motif to be inspired by a dream of the first Ottoman Emperor. A crescent and a star is supposed to have emerged from his chest and exploded, which was later construed as the dynasty`s seizure of Constantinople (Istanbul). Again, another version has the legendary Kemal Ataturk witnessing the image of crescent shaped star in a pool of blood, after a victorious battle in the Turkish war of Independence at Sakarya.

History, however presents some interesting information. The basic form of the Turkish National Flag is supposed to have been established in 1793 under Ottoman Sultan Selim III. The green flag of the navy was changed to red and a white crescent and multi pointed star were included. The five-pointed star dates from approximately 1844. When the Ottoman Empire became the Republic of Turkey, the Flag remained the same, except some design specifications.

History lore has some nearly exotic things to say about the star and the crescent. Diana (Artemis) was the patron goddess of Byzantium. Her symbol was the moon. In AD 330, the Emperor Constantin renamed the city as Constantinople (the present day Istanbul) and dedicated the city to Virgin Mary. Thus, the star symbol was superimposed on the crescent. In 1453, Constantinople was overtaken by the Ottoman Turks. They called the city Istanbul but somehow did not change the motif.