Crabtree Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com For Cousin Richard with love
Contents Welcome to Turkey 4 Special Days 6 New Year 8 National Sovereignty and Children’s Day 10 Kirkpinar Festival 12 Labor and Solidarity Day 14 Commemoration of Atatürk 16 Youth and Sports Day 18 Ramadan 20 Victory Day 22 Feast of the Sacrifice 24 Republic Day 26 Death of Atatürk 28 Mevlana Festival 30 Glossary and Index 32
georgia iraq syria lebanon mediterranean sea cyprus greece europe bulgaria asia turkey Welcome to Turkey Turkey is a country that is located on two continents Asia and Europe More than 80 million people live in the nation’s 81 provinces Most are Turkish with Kurds being the largest of more than 20 ethnic groups The official language is Turkish but Kurdish and other languages are also spoken Did You Know Ninety-seven percent of Turkey is located in Asia 4
Almost all Turks are Sunni Muslims Their religious holidays follow a lunar calendar based on the Moon’s phases This makes holidays occur earlier each year National holidays in Turkey fall on the same date each year They follow the Gregorian calendar based on Earth’s travel around the Sun Did You Know Each region or area in Turkey has its own festivals Some celebrate sports such as camel wrestling Others such as the cherry and apricot festivals celebrate harvest time 5
