Introduction
In our research, we have interviewed a Turkish woman from Istanbul. The aim of the interview was to get a better understanding of the peculiarities of the Turkish culture, to get to know some interesting facts about national customs and traditions.
Main Body
Good morning Zehra. Thank you for coming and for your attention paid. We would like to ask you several questions concerning the cultural peculiarities of your country, if you dont mind, of course. Can you please describe the traditional Turkish dishes and maybe their cooking methods?
Traditional Turkish cuisine has many dishes that are typical of our culture. Among a great variety of them, it should be mentioned such dish as pilaf, which is one of the main foods in our cuisine. There are also such dishes as borek, kebap, kofte, and many more. In order to know better the Turkish culture, you should taste at least some of them.
We should do it by all means. And speaking about Turkish architecture, what architectural monuments in Istanbul should be visited first of all?
The Turkish architecture is multifarious. It was influenced by a mixture of different styles. The most celebrated building in Istanbul is Hagia Sophia, which may be considered a symbol of the city. There are also a lot of beautiful ancient mosques such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Sakirin Mosque, and many others. The Turkish traditional architectural style is famous for its ornaments and carvings. At the same time, there are many buildings of contemporary architecture.
What are the main holidays and traditions in Turkey? How do you celebrate a wedding, or for instance a birth of a child?
Turkey is a country with very rich traditions. Family relations are of great importance to our nation. There exists a strict hierarchy in the family. Children and mothers implicitly obey to father who is the head of a family. Younger brothers obey the elder brothers, as well as sisters, obey all brothers. But the head of a family is always a man. At the same time, the youngest brother has a right to give direction to an elder sister. However, it must be admitted that the mother of a large family is honored by all members of a family.
A wedding rite in Turkey always begins with a marriage proposal and a betrothal. As a rule, a celebration begins on Thursday and lasts several days. There are several wedding traditions in Turkey. For instance, the hands of a bride are covered with refined traceries and her father ties a crimson ribbon on her snow-white dress. Close family members present a newly wedded couple with jewelry. At the same time in rural districts of Turkey, people do not pay much attention to civil marriage. Here the Islamic wedding that is performed by the imam is of greater importance. However, such kind of a marriage is not recognized by the state.
The birth of a child is a blessed event and there are many traditions connected with it in our culture. The relatives present the parents of a child with coins and jewelry. When a name for a child is chosen, he has murmured a prayer in-ear and his name is repeated three times.
What is the attitude towards the elderly in your culture?
Regardless of their activity, young people treat the aged with respect. For instance, if an elder person enters a house everyone has to stand up, greet him, and to give a place to him if necessary. It is considered to be indecency to smoke or to drink alcohol in the presence of the aged.
Thank you for the informative talk. It was very pleasant to deal with you. Your information is very useful for cultural understanding.
Not at all. However, if you want to have a better vision of Turkey you have to visit this county.