G Turkiye

Author: tur

  • Sunnet (Circumcision) in Turkey

    Circumcision is an operation in which the foreskin of the penis is removed. It is a practice of great religious significance among certain religious groups, notably the Jews and the Moslems. Circumcision is known to have been practiced in ancient Egypt even before it was introduced to the Jews as part of God’s covenant with Prophet Abraham. In Islam, however, the authority for circumcision came not from the Koran but from the example of the Prophet Mohammed.

    In Islam, whatever the prophet does or says is called sunnet; therefore this word stands for circumcision in modern Turkish. Urologists claim that circumcised males have far fewer urinary tract infections and are less at risk for catching sexually transmitted diseases than are uncircumcised males. On the other side, pediatricians say that the medical risks attendant upon the surgery far outweigh the possible future consequences of foregoing the operation.

    As an Islamic country, in Turkey all Moslem boys are circumcised between the ages 2-14 by licensed circumcising surgeons. From the social point of view, the most prominent feature of circumcision is the introduction of a child to his religious society as a new member. This explains the reason for circumcision of people who convert into Moslems as a first step. It is impressed on a boy at a very early age that circumcision is a step for transition to manhood.

    As long as they are accepted as very important events in people’s lives, circumcisions are generally made with big ceremonies in festive atmosphere. If a family has more than one boy, they wait for an appropriate time to perform it altogether. In this case the younger child might be less than 4. In some rural areas, villagers sometimes share expenses of a circumcision feast like they do with the work. Wealthy people may take poor boys or orphans together with their children for circumcision.

    Charity organizations make collective ceremonies for poor boys and orphans. Considering school periods of children, circumcisions are held in summer months while the children are on vacation, from June through September at weekends.

  • Types of Families in Turkiye

    Families are divided into several types according to social, economic and local conditions. The traditional extended and nuclear families are the two common types of families in Turkey. The traditional extended family, generally means that three generations live together: grandfather, adult sons and sons’ sons, their wives and their unmarried daughters a married daughter becomes a member of her husband’s family and lives there. There is a unity of production and consumption together with common property.

    This type of family is becoming more and more rare today. The nuclear family, parallel to industrialization and urbanization, replaces traditional families. The nuclear family consists of a husband, wife and unmarried children and is more suitable to modern Turkish social life today.

    There are some economic, traditional and emotional conditions that form the duties and responsibilities of the modern nuclear family member. As for the economic conditions, each individual is supposed to play a part in supporting the continuation of the family. The father is usually responsible for making the basic income, the mother may perhaps contribute by working and if not, will assume full time take care of the home. Grandparents may also supply help with incomes from their pension or returns from owned property and rents.

    Younger children help with the housework (re-pairing, painting, cleaning) and when older contribute by usually covering at least their own expenses. Tradition places the father as the head of the family, but the mother has equal rights. The father is the representative and protector of the family whereas the mother takes care of all the day to day things.

  • Turkey Neighbors

    Turkey is located on the Southeast corner of the European and Midwest border of the Asian continents .The European and Asian sides are divided by the Istanbul Bogazi (The Bosphorus), the Sea of Marmara, and the Canakkale Bogazi (Dardanelle). Turkey’s land mass is 814,578 sq km. To give a general idea that makes 32 times the Netherlands.

    The Country is surrounded by the Black Sea on the north, Mediterranean sea on the south and the Aegean Sea on the west. The coastline of Turkey’s seas is about 8,300 km long..Turkey’s neighbor countries are: Northwest: Greece and Bulgaria, Northeast: Georgia and Armenia, East: Iran, Southeast: Iraq and Syria.

  • The Highlands Wildlife in the Mountains of Turkey

    The wildlife in these mountains presents the same diversity as that of the rich plant cover. Taurus Mountains are home for birds such as pigeons, blackbirds, francolins, partridges, quail, turtledoves, woodcock as well as for eagles, sturnidaes, falcons, chaffinches and orioles. Animals that can be observed here in their natural habitat are deer, fallow deer, bezoar goat, boar, lynx, roe deer, fox, wolf, jackals, martens, rabbits and hyena. The Taurus highlands are found within the provinces of Gaziantep, Hatay (Antioch), Adana, Icel, Antalya and Mugla.

  • Civil Aviation in Turkey

    Of Turkey’s 87 mainly state owned airports with paved runways, 16 have runways longer than 3,000 meters. Some 14 heliports were in operation in 2004. The three largest airports are located at Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. Istanbul Ataturk, the largest airport, was expanded in 2000, as was the primary tourist airport at Ankara. The state owned national airline, Turk Hava Yollari (THY, Turkish Airlines), is a state controlled enterprise that flies from Ankara and Istanbul to 79 international destinations, including major cities in Europe and the United States.