Türkiye

words by Riza Otelcioglu

Turkiye, used to be known commonly as Turkey until last year when it reverted back to its original name Türkiye used by the Turks since 1923, when Türkiye became the successor state to the Ottoman Empire

Turkiye is a country which is worldwide famous for its history, culture, tourism and hospitality and is a country where the people share their own food on their table even with foreigners to show their hospitality.

Turkiye is a country where almost everyone tries to help visitors in their capacities and capabilities even though there might be a language barrier for some

The country is a genuine melting pot of cultures with each region highlighting its different civilizations, culture and traditions

It is a dynamic nation with the greater population and more modernised locations found on the Western and Southern side, whilst the more traditional cities can be found within the Central, Eastern and North parts, a country that has its feet planted firmly in two continents, Europe and Asia… On 6th of February 2023, this beautiful and welcoming country woke up to shock of a devastating earthquake which struck the Central Eastern part of the country

All the newspapers and social media were announcing that an earthquake with 7 8 magnitude had been recorded at Kahramanmaras during the very early hours whilst people slept peacefully in their beds The shock of the quake devastated buildings killing thousands as it shook buildings to the ground An earthquake that took little mercy boasting one of the most powerful quakes in the country since 1939 The news immediately flashed back in our deep memories of two other serious earthquakes that we had experienced in 1999 and reminded everyone of the devastating results it left behind. Close to twenty thousand people had lost their lives, fifty thousand people were wounded, and roughly one hundred thousand buildings had been destroyed by those earthquakes