BEST OF TURKEY - Volume 1

Chapter 7

Retail Destnations

Marina & Yachting

Chapter 2 Chapter 4 Travel & Tourism

Chapter 6

Chapter 5

Culture & Heritage

Green Innovation & CSR

Luxury Life Styles

Chapter 8

Chapter 3

Dining & Entertainment

Hospitality & Hotels

Design & Interiors

Chapter 10

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Chapter 9

BEST OF TURKEY

Best Of Turkey

Chapter 17

Automotive Industry & Spare Part Manufacturers

Chapter 19

Textile Industry & Fashion Manufacturers

Chapter 12 Chapter 14 Media, Communicaton & Technology

Chapter 16

Chapter 15

Banking, Investment & Finance

Supplier Industry for Construction

Transportation, Logistics, Airlines & Airports

Chapter 18

Chapter 13

Real Estate, Construction & Architecture

Training & Education

Food Products

Chapter 20

Chapter 11

Health, Beauty & Wellness

BEST OF TURKEY

CHAPTER 1

BEST OF TURKEY

Founder Of Republic Of Turkey Turkey Guide Name Republic of Turkiye

Government Constitutional multi-party

Capital City Ankara

Population 70.000.000

Biggest Cities Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Gaziantep, Konya, EskiĹ&#x;ehir

Time Zone UTC +2

Area 780,574 sq km.

Official Language Turkish

Internet code .tr International Tel Code +90

Geographic Location and Neighbours On the East side Georgia, Armenia, Nakhichevan and Iran On the South side Syria and Irak On the West side Aegean Sea, Greece and Bulgaria On the North side Black Sea Turkey is located in the subtropical zone of Northern Hemisphere between 36 – 42 degrees of Northern latitudes and 26 – 45 degrees of Eastern longitudes. According to these values Turkey lives four seasons every year. Between the eastern and western points there is 76 minutes of time difference exists.

small part of the country is in Europe and called Trakya (cognated from the name of the region Thracia of Ancient Times).

Trakya and Anadolu seperated from each other by Bosphorus and Çanakkale Straits. Surrounded on its three sides by three seas, Black Sea on North, Mediterranean on South and Aegean Sea on West, Turkey seems like a rectangular peninsula. It is characterised by a central plateau surrounded by chains of mountains on the north, west and South and a rugged mountainous region on the east with an average elevation of 1050 metres.

Most of the Turkey’s land is placed in Asia and called Anatolia (Anadolu in Turkish) or Asia Minor during the Ancient Times. A

National and Religious Days

April 23 – National Sovereignty and Children’s Day May 19 – Celebration of Ataturk and Youth and Sport Day August 30 – Victorius Day October 29 – Republic Day Religious Ramadan Fiesta – it takes 3 days Religious Kurban Fiesta – it takes 4 days (The dates of these two fiestas change every year because of the 10 days difference between lunar year system and sun year system.)

BEST OF TURKEY

“BEST OF TURKEY” BOOK

Turkey, a natural bridge between Asia and Europe, is one of the most important and spectacular country of the world not only with its natural and historical beauties but also with its service quality. Especially in the last few decades tourism, in the role of being a locomotive of economy, has been developing all over the world.

The Ministry of Cultur and Tourism of Turkish Republic is in the strive of setting the potential of our country into action to meet the new demands of sector by pursuing global developments and new aims. On the other hand to diversify the kinds of tourism we do cooperation with the sector and spread all touristic activities over whole year.

During these activities we particularly consider “continuous tourism” with respect to natural environment as a basic principle and focus on sharing the values of Turkey with the rest of the world in a balance of protection and use.

In respect to its location and values Turkey is like the center of common human heritage and also a joining point for many different religions. At this point eastern and western cultures join with each other and be enlivened with a different interpretation. These uniqe values as can be seen in our people’s living culture and their relations with others, this indulgence sensibility can also be observed from the abreast standing of worship areas from different religions.

Our country has been ornamented with numerous masterpieces which were hand on us by so many civilizations. Nine of these are in the “World Cultural Heritage List” and many more historical, cultural and natural values have enough quality and importance to be in that list. Our purpose as Culture and Tourism Ministry is at first hand to protect and restore these masterpieces without giving any harm to their originality, second handing out this richness to the future generation to be shared by all members of world civilization. Very suitable to the soul of this book which was created with great care probably we might name all these common cultural heritages of Turkey as “best of” cultures and civilizations.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has always been working for Turkey to attain its “best” values to the highest rank, which Turkey deserves, among the “best” of the worlds. In this context we believe that “Best Of Turkey” will play a major role in presentation the best values of Turkey to whole world in areas such as business, investment, tourism, education and luxury lifestyle.

Ertuğrul Günay Minister of Culture and Tourism Republic of Turkey

Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Our country is almost a touristic eden which has been landowning to many different cultures and beliefs through ages; with it’s natural and historical beauties, spectacular environment and four seasons in a year.

By using all these values, Turkey will play a major role to solve unemployment problem by creating new deployment areas and in providing national, regional and local development.

BEST OF TURKEY

Within this frame Ministry of Culture and Tourism proceeds its attempts on diversed fields in order to present tourism potential of Turkey world wide by preparing the needed infrastructure. This also will provide an opportunity to progress Turkish tourism at national and international dimensions and as a result becoming an economical must value. To this direction our Ministry has prepared “Tourism Strategy of Turkey 2023” and “ Action Plan 2007 – 2013”. These two plans are like road maps to create continuous touristic facilities and our tourism future with stableness. The cases which are held according to this strategy, put into practice systematically and essential efforts has been made to locate our country among the worlds best economies with a considerable share in the tourism industry of the world.

According to “Tourism Strategy of Turkey 2023” our presentation strategy is as follows; to focus on branding at national, regional and local criteria and also adding to national presentation and marketing to start activities for becoming a final destination point. Our vision on the above subject is to strengthen the countrys image, and provide it to be a tourism brand of the world top five in any case.

As a result of this our tourism mision would be outlined as “carrying on a policy which gives possibility: to bring forth our cultural heritage and values; to set forth qualified and diversified productions which can provide the realization of sustainable tourism; to renovate itself along with the changing and thriving demands; to present the rich cultural and touristic potential in domestic and foreign markets by the help of developing technologies.”

On the other hand, in the “tourism developing regions�, consist of more than one town, which will be configured as destination points we have the aim of using tourism factor as a facility at local and regional improvement. Thus tourism will be developed on the bases of thematic and regional destination points. In our country there are some routes that should be put forward because of their natural, historical and cultural significances. Touristic potential of these routes will surely be opened to use.

It is obvious that in Turkey the development of domestic market as well as foreign market is extremely important. Countries which are mostly popular for visitors, are at the same time have powerfull domestic markets. Under the light of this fact to enliven every region of our country and develop domestic tourism we create projects, presentation and public relations activities all along 2008.

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More than 80 countries presentation and marketing activities of Turkey are maintaining by Turkish Consultancy and Attache Offices. In these activities so many professional advirtising campaignes, PR and information activities are carried on due to the markets characteristics. On the other hand rich cultural values of our country are represented as well as distinguish and unique productions.

Ministry of Culture and Tourism participates more than 150 international fairs in various contries every year.

Especially on tourism area Turkey attends to 6 greatest fair, these are ( BIT Milano Tourism Fair, ITB Berlin Tourism Fair, MITT Moscow Tourism Fair, WTM London World Tourism Fair, Madrid Fitur, ATM Arabian Traveller M. ) Our country is planning, preparing and performing various projects and activities not only at the side of Ministry but also at the side of private sector. With all these projects tourism in Turkey is enlivened and to tourism development a positive acceleration is gained. Important activities that can be handled in this context briefly lined up as follows:

The 57. Annual Congress of “German Tour Operators and Travel Agencies Association” (DRV) was achieved between November 15-18 2007 in Antalya-Belek. In the congress the participants were about 1300 employees of German tour operators and travel agencies which send 4 million tourists to Turkey every year. This organization as can be considered extremely beneficial, caused to very important results for our country in the presentation and image at international area.

In abroad so many activities like “Turkis Day, Turkish Night, Turkish Year, Turkish Festival” were very helpfull to present Turkish Culture. For instance; 2007 was celebrated as Russian Culture Year in Turkey on the other hand 2008 was celebrated ad turkish Culture Year in Russia. Within the project many activities were held in Russia intended to the presentation of Turkey. In Germany – Berlin between 8 – 10 October Turkey participated to Popkorn Music Festival with the status of “Guest Country”.

BEST OF TURKEY

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism commemorates the birth and death days of important persons with international authorities. In the year 2007 which was accepted as “The Year of Mevlana” within the “800. Birthday Celebration” activity many sub-activities were held to make the international representation of Mevlana and also the representation of Turkey such as ( Whirling Dervishes Perf ormances, Conferences about the philosophy of Mevlana, Digital Exhibitions, Presentation Kit and so…) All these activities about Mevlana were held in more than 25 culture and art center cities and about 44.000 audiences watched whirling dervishes with great care. This gave a great opportunity to Turkey to present itself all over the world.

Because of the 2000. year of his birthday between the June 28. 2008 and June 29. 2009 announced as the year of Saint Paulus and many activities were held in many towns of Turkey including his birth place Tarsus.

Many studies have been carying on to support the attempts of 2010 Istanbul European Culture Capital Agency. The most eminents are: I. Balet Contest of Istanbul; Istanbul Project from the eyes of Atıl Kutoglu; 40 Station Project, in which photograhper Muammer Yanmaz exhibits the photographs of 40 Turks when they were

in London subway, took place in Space Gallery of London; British photographer Anabel Elstons photographes which shows British persons settled in Turkey. On the other hand under the coordination of Denmark Culture Institute placed in Istanbul, Copenhagen and New York sides and with the supports of Copenhagen Culture and Presentation Attache various artistic, musical and cultural activities were held and a kind of international culture and tourism loby was created.

Lots of work has been done for instance towards Cannes Film Festival to have good and useful presentation for Turkey. To rock band “ Mor ve Otesi” was supported for their presentation works throughout Eurovision Contest process and a special advirtising campaign was done.

Within the presentation of internet and new communication Technologies; HYPERLINK "http://www.goturkey.com" www.goturkey.com portal was created and advirtising campaign was carried on in the worlds most visited travel site Expedia.com and in Yahoo search engine of 8 country.

Within the “Earth TV Project” in 45 TV channels live broadcasting is going on by the cameras located in Istanbul, Antalya and Izmir and to 2.1 billion people of 200 countries would be reached. By these attempts Turkeys advirtisements and presentations would be held with hi-tec opportunities globally and audio-visually.

In 2008 Olympic Games and Manavgat Mountain Bike Marathon presentation works were done and within international film festivals many Turkish movies were projected. With the enterprise of Ministry, ASTA American Travel Agencies Association which has members more than 20.000 in 140 countries has taken the decision of assembled the “2010 International Destination Congress” in Istanbul.

According to the agreement signed between our Ministry and Frankfurt Book Fair Administration “2008 Guest Country Turkey Project” was constituted and executed in 2008. In this Project our country was presented with all its colours in the fields of culture, art and literature.

Ministry of Culture and Tourism contributed to many foreign exhibition. Some of these exhibitions are; “Treasures of Topkapı Palace – Magnificant Ottoman Dynasty Exhibition 01 August 2007 – 11 February 2008 in Japan; Golden Lines / Ottoman Caligraphy Exhibition from the Museum of Sakıp Sabancı 04. April – 15 June 2008 in Spain; Porcelains from Topkapı Palace and Museum of Turkish-Islamic Masterpieces 11 April – 15 August 2008 in Sweden.

Turkey has always been supported to many similar exhibitions in international area.

Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Republic of Turkey İbrahim Yazar Hilal Demirel , Ömür Bozkurt, Emrah Ömer Demir

BEST OF TURKEY

TOURISM IN TURKEY Due to Turkey’s geographical diversity, four different climates, breathtaking natural archeological sites it has so much to offer visitors.

It’s shores are laced with beaches, bays, coves, ports, islands and peninsulas.

Turkey is also blessed with majestic mountains and valleys, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and grottoes perfect for winter and summer tourism and all kinds of sports.

Adding to these properties steadily improving hotel infrastructure, tradition of hospitality and competitive prices are available.

Especially in the regions of Aegean and Mediterranean summer tourism is on the top level in cities like Antalya, Alanya, Marmaris, Kuşadası, Bodrum, Fethiye, Kaş but limited in the Black Sea region. Here mostly “high plateau” tourism has been improved with all its infrastucture in the cities such as Trabzon, Giresun, Rize, Ilgaz, Bolu and Abant.

Antalya is the most requested city and Istanbul is at the second rank. Mugla, Edirne, Izmir, Aydın and Ankara are also popular cities for visitors.

European experts guess that Turkey will gain the fourth rank after France, Spain and Italy in Europe and gain 40.000.000.000 USD as a yearly income in 2020.

For the same year The Ministry of Culture and Tourism guess that 60.000.000 visitors will be in Turkey and income reach to 50.000.000.000 USD. Turkey has a road map to shape the future of tourism, “The Strategy of Turkish Tourism 2023 and Action Plan 2007 – 2023” which was drawn by The Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In this campaign the “hug of dissimilarity” is emphasized as main approach. The richness of dissimilarity which is enlived all around Turkey, reflects as the richness of natural, cultural, aesthetical and folkloric diversity. This multicolour and multisound culture is not a contrariness but a combination.

European experts guess that Turkey will gain the fourth rank after France, Spain and Italy in Europe and gain 40.000.000.000 USD as a yearly income in 2020. For the same year The Ministry of Culture and Tourism guess that 60.000.000 visitors will be in Turkey and income reach to 50.000.000.000 USD. Turkey has a road map to shape the future of tourism, “The Strategy of Turkish Tourism 2023 and Action Plan 2007 – 2023” which was drawn by The Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In this campaign the “hug of dissimilarity” is emphasized as main approach. The richness of dissimilarity which is enlived all around Turkey, reflects as the richness of natural, cultural, aesthetical and folkloric diversity. This multicolour and multisound culture is not a contrariness but a combination.

FAITH TOURISM The aim of visiting the sacred places by the followers of related religion or belief in tourism concept is considered to be “faith tourism”.

Between 1995-1998 with participating of many foreign tour operators, media member and authorities so many faith tours had been performed. In Anadolu there are innumerable places belong to Islam, Christianity and Judaism which are very important according to faith tourism.

Istanbul: One of the most important cities in the world not only for Islam but also for Christianity. On one side hundreds of mosques like Sultan Ahmet Mosque, Blue Mosque on the other sides churches like Hagia Sophia Church and Fener Patriarchate are exist in Istanbul.

Konya: The tomb of great humanist, peace-adviser and leader Mevlana Jalaliddin Roumi is in this city. The best and greatest example of wooden supported mosque of Anadolu “Esrefoglu Mosque” is also in Konya.

Edirne: One of the world’s best architectural work The Mosque of Selimiye which Sinan the Architecture named as his “expertness work” is here. Edirne is an important religion center of Islamic world with the mosques “Eski Camii, Üç Şerefeli Camii, II. Bayezit Camii”.

The Cupolas of Bitlis-Ahlat: The most extinguish examples of Seldjuk Architecture called “kümbet” in Turkish are the buildings of which splendours reflect from the past with glamour. “Ulu Kümbet, Huseyin Timur kümbeti, Buğatay Aka Kümbeti, Hasan Padişah Kümbeti, Erzan Hatun Kümbeti, Emir Bayındır Kümbeti and Keşiş Kümbeti are some of the spectacular ones.

The Mosque of Kars – Menuçehr: It was built by the order of “Emir of Ani” in 1072 and was the first mosque of Seldjuks in Anadolu.

Bursa: Because of being the first capital citiy of Ottoman Empire Bursa is very rich by Islamic buildings. “Yeşil Camii and its Tomb”, “the monumental and classical example of multi-dome mosques Ulu Camii”, Muradiye and Yıldırım Bayezit Complexes and mosque of Emir Sultan are all can be seen in Bursa.

Iznik: Nicaea of Ancient Times. The first eight of nineteen consules meeting of Christianity gathered in Anadolu and the first and seventh were held in İznik (Nicaea) in Hagia Sophia and Consul Palaces. Şanlıurfa: Known as the city of Prophets. Famous with Lake of Fish, Cave in which Ibrahim the prophet was born, Tomb of Eyyub the Prophet, The City of Suayib and many other sacred places exist in this sacred city.

Harran: It’s name can be seen in many Holy Books and it has a major role among the other sacred places of Turkey. According to the Books while on his migration to South from Şanlıurfa Ibrahim the Prophet lodges in Harran and here his father Terah passes away. İçel-Tarsus: The native city of Saint Paul who endeavour to spread the Christianity. In Tarsus The Church and The Well of St. Paul exist. In İçel Meryemlik ( Hagia Tekla), Olba Temple Church, Virgin Mary Church, Monastery of Alahan are all welcome the visitors.

Manisa- The Church of Thyatira (Akhisar). Today it is understood that the brick ruins inside the city border was the Church of Thyatira which is one of the seven churches told in Bible.

Alaşehir (Philadelphia Church): Another of seven holy church told in Bible.

Hatay- Antakya: According to the traditional belief “The Bible of Matta” was written in Antakya. The name “Christian” was first given to the followers of Christ here. To announce Bible to pagans Saint Paul made three

BEST OF TURKEY

voyages starting from Antakya. Also Saint Johannes known as “Golden Mouth” lived here. The school of “Holy Bible” an one of the first churches of world “St. Pierre Church” adds more importance to Antakya as a faith tourism center. İzmir – Selçuk: The House of Virgin Mary is located 9 km. far away from Selçuk on the mount of Bülbül with the height 420 meters and supposed to be built in the 4. century B.C. It is believed that Virgin Mary lived here to the age of 101. With the expansion of Christianity this church is built here planned in the shape of cross.

In the year 1967, The Virgin Mary Church declared as a holy place. On every first sunday follows the 15th of August a ceremony is held here. Adding to Virgin Mary Church, Basilica of st. Jean (one of the apostles of Christ), Seven Sleepers, three of seven churchesseen in Bible (İzmir, Efes, Bergama) are waiting for their visitors.

Nevşehir – Kapadokya: Very famous with its engraved churches in rocks and the religiosus mural paintings drawn on their inside walls. In Nevşehir Province especially Valley of Göreme, Zelve, Çavuşin, Ortahisar, İbrahimpaşa, Mustafapaşa, Yeşilöz ve Akçasaray regions are full of with (more than 2200) these kind of churches.

Kapadokya, in ancient geography, Cappadocia or Capadocia, from Persian: Katpatuka meaning “the land of beautiful horses”. The name continued to be used in western sources and in the Christian tradition throughout history and is still widely used as an international tourism concept to define a region of exceptional natural wonders characterized by fairy chimneys and a unique historical and cultural heritage.

Derinkuyu Orthodox Church: It is clear from the inscription carved on the Western Gate that this church was dedicated to Saint Theodoros Trion. In the era of Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecit (1839-1861) with the encouragement of Konya Metropolitan Bishop Neoftion and with the pecuniar support of “Malakpoi” people it was built in 1858 by the chief architect Kiriako Papadopoulos of Haldis.

Isparta-Yalvaç: St. Paul Church in Antiocheia City is known as one of the first churches of Christianity. St. Paul, after having been received the citizenship right of Rome he was baptised here by Saul and Hananya.

St. Paul came to the city with St. Barnabas in 46 A.D. and gave his first official sermon in city’s synagogue.

Later St. Paul Church was built over that synagogue.

Antalya: A city about which we can have some knowledge from The Bible and also a place visited by St. Paul.

Antalya-Demre: St. Nicolaus ( Noel Baba in turkish) or St. Claus had carried on his official episcopacy work here. He was born and lived all his life in Demre. In the 6th century a church was built in Demre to his memory. Today it is a custom to held an international festival for St. Claus between every 6th and 8th December in Demre and Kaş.

Denizli-Laodikia (Goncalı) Church: Antique city of Laodicia is 6 km. away from Denizli and took her name from Laodika, the wife of king Antiochos II (B.C. 250) from Seleukos dynasty who was ruling over region during the Hellenistic period. The city had gained a great importance in the 5th century A.D. as a bishopric center beacuse of hosting the Ecumenical Counsel. Adding to this it is also known as one of the seven churches which are found in the Apocalypse chapter of The Bible’s last Bap. Balıkesir-Ayvalık-Taksiharis-Aya Nicola Churches: Since ornated with many religious subjected frescoes from the Torah and Bible these churches are considered to be sacred and visited regularly by Orthodox society.

Adding to above places; The Mosque and Tomb of Ankara Hacı Bayram, Tombs of Veysel Karani and İbrahim Hakkı in Siirt, Ulu Camii (mosque) in Sivas, the Tomb of Yunus Emre (greatest turkish poet and humanist) in Eskişehir, the Monastery of Dayr-ul-Zeferan in Mardin, the Madrasa with double minaret, the Monastery of Sumela in Trabzon, Akdamar Island in Van, the Churches of Çarpanak, Karaman-Deyle, Thousand and one Churches, Mount Ağrı ( Ararat ) and many more should be specially signified.

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MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE Turkey, primarily for its geographical location beside other reasons, would be considered as one of the most important countries of the world. While it connects Blacksea to Mediterranean Sea, Middle East to Asia and Europe by maintaining the economical transportation between east and west, Turkey also blends the cultural and geographical values of east and west with its unique beauties which have the historical marks of numerous civilizations.

With its ports, industrial infrastructure, qualified workforce, organized industrial zones, mostly young population and adding to all being a huge market with a population more than 70 million people Turkey is one of the few remarkable countries which have succesfully been carried on sustainable growth for the last years.

Turkey is also a very attractive country with its 659 billion US GNP, approximately 300 billion US trading volume, 150 billion US export volume, wide manufacturing range and variety of production end.

Turkey offers great opportunities not only to Turkish investors but also to foreign ones with the world’s most liberal “foreign capital� law, transportation infrastructure, naval and railway systems. Trading and developing economical relations with Turkey will be undoubtedly usefull for all countries precisely Turkey is on the way to become a member of European Union.

Especially conveniences provided to all investors, endeavours of reducing the bureocratic entanglements for establishing company, up to date R&D laws and new settings to ease the deployment and investment environment problems.

In Turkey the comissions of liberal economy are effectively at work and international rules have already been accepted. On the way to become a member of EU, Turkey has got all needed qualifications to be the business headquarter of Asia and Europe.

To impel our potential power within that frame, by Ministry of Industry and Commerce for the first time in the history of Turkish Republic GBS (Enterprising Data System) completed in September 2008 after a nine month period considered to be as a record. Our ministry can watch all activities of 2.010.377 establishments of 3800 different sectores. This means we have regular and periodically updated lists from which we can easily find the quantities of establishments in various sectors and their employees, their producing power, how much they owe to or from others. All these data will show a clear route to investors and deciders who will design the future of Turkey.

GBS will also draw the route map of our new encouragement policy. It will be our radar to see the front in the terms of crisis as we try to overcome on these days. With this system, by also taking global dynamics into consideration we prepared our Industrial Strategy Certificate. This is our main certificate which is manifesting our vision, approach and main policy.

What we put forward in the certificate as our primary vision is to become “manufacturing basement of Eurasia and Europe at middle and high technology�. According to our vision we have strategic focuses such as; t t t

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Within this frame we can talk about the opportunities that Turkey offers should be taken into consideration by the investors.

Turkey has varied market opportunities according to its centered location. For instance an investor can find 1,2 billion USD value markets if he fly only 1 hour away from Turkey. At 2 hour distance market value becames 2,6 billion USD, at 3 hours distance it reaches to 9,4 billion USD. Adding to this data around Turkey in the range of 4 hour fly there are approxiametly 1.300.000.000 people living and reaching to these people Turkey is an unique point.

Turkey has been playing a major part for its regional neighbours at their integration to global economy. This action will surely bring so many new opportunities not only for the foreign investors in Turkey but also fort he businessmen who are doing business with Turkey.

Many strategic analyzes show that Turkey is a rising star. Turkey is in 2 rank at plain glass producing, 5. rank at jewellery producing, 6. rank at cement producing, 8. rank at ship construction sector, 10. rank at tourism sector. On the other hand in Europe Turkey is at 1. rank at textile producing, TVproducing, manure producing, mega-yatching, iron-steel industry, refrigirator producing sectors. These economical and industrial successes are all the evidents of Turkey’s irrevocable run to become a global actor. The way to have the economical opportunities which Turkey offers is doing business and investments in Turkey.

Tomorrow would be too late to get it!

BEST OF TURKEY

TURKISH ECONOMY STAR OF EUROASIA In recent years, Turkey has achieved significant growth and momentum in industrial production, basic infrastructure, foreign trade, banking and capital markets, foreign investment and the services sector.

Turkey is a country that to be largely self sufficient in food production.

Its agricultural sector is huge, producing wheat, barley, corn, cotton, tea, tobacco, hazelnuts, citrus fruits, figs, grapes and many other fruits, in addition to sunflower seeds, soybeans, sugar beets and a whole range of vegetables. In the industrial sector, the automotive, textile, construction, appliances, furniture, chemical and pharmaceutical industries have all achieved remarkable growth over the last two decades.

Many towns in Turkey such as Akşehir, Gebze, Konya, Gazi Antep, Denizli, Uşak, Kahraman Maraş, Çorum and Kayseri are becoming major business centres. The service sector, encompassing tourism, telecommunications, transport, advertising, insurance and electronic media has expanded rapidly.

As a developing country, Turkey continues to confront diverse economic and social problems. Whatever happens with its fertile lands, progressive economy and diligent pioneering people, Turkey is facing the future with great confidence.

TRANSPORTATION There are now 1.880 km. of motorways in Turkey and construction for hundreds of more stil continues. More than 30.000 trucks are produced every year and approximately 950.000 journeys made by Turkish trucks to other countries annually.

Regarding to air ways, the leader of the sector is Turkish Airlines with more than 38.000 seats. It is probably the youngest fleet of the world. Also 15 more private companies in Turkey carry on air way transportation in the sector. The Turkish Merchant fleet, a relatively modest sector unter recently, has also undergone an impressive expansion.

TURKISH CAPITAL MARKETS The rapid development of the capital markets took off with the establishment of the Istanbul Stock Exchange in 1986. This opened the way for the formation of a secondary market for the trading of securities. With the establishment of the Istanbul Stock Exchange, the net value of portfolio investments made by foreign investors has increased considerably. The Istanbul Gold Exchange began operations in 1995, bringing to a close the monoply of the Central Bank in the import and the export of gold and ensuring that gold prices in Turkey follows world prices.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS Today Turkey holds a respectable place among countries with advanced telecommunication networks. The country is equipped with more than 59 Million telephones, which are controlled by 19.000 automatic switchboards. The Turksat satellites have further broadened the network. The media in Turkey has been quick to take the advantage of technology. More than 20 national television Networks exist, hundreds of local stations and national and local radio stations are stil on broadcasting.

TEXTILES AND CLOTHING The textile and clothing sector is the leading and driving force of Turkish exports, representing %28 of total exports in 2004 to over 200 countries. In 2003, the European Union imported 40%cof textile products from Turkey. Turkey is one of the top international wool producer, cotton and synthetic fibre. Turkey produced more than 1.3 million tons of cotton in 2003. The GAP (Southeast Anatolian Development Project) helped expand the amount of irrigated land in the region, thus increasing the production of cotton.

Turkey posesses the raw materials, a qualified work force, good fashion designers and the know-how for quality textile production. These assests, combined with the possibilities in the new markets in Central Asia and Russia, have prompted Western companies to further extend their cooperation with Turkish partners.

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY Car manufacturing in Turkey began in 1966 with the introduction of “Anadol” a fibreglass car powered by an English-made engine. After that date Turkey has passed a long way untill today. Currrently in Turkey there are five major car-producing factories. Turkey thus looks set to become one of the major world players in the automotive industry. Some foreign companies are already handing over the production of entire models to their Turkish partners. The total annual production capacity today stands over a million units, including 700.000 passenger cars, commercial vehicles and components totals over $12 billion in 2005, a remarkable achievement for what is a relatively new industry. There are presently over six million registered cars in Turkish traffic, more than 70 cars per 1000 people.

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Turkey’s dynamic and mobile population and the ever-increasing tourism investments keep the construction sector busy. Turkish constructors, however, have not been satisfied with this domestic potential and turned their sights toward the international markets. Today more than 700 Turkish construction companies are active in 60 countries, where they have been welcomed for the quality and the promptness of their work. Their total contracting commitments represent $38,5 billion, while employing 20.000 Turkish and 12.000 foreign workers.

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NEW TURKISH MONEY New Turkish Money “Turkish Lira” has been operative from January Ist of 2009. As usual on the front sides of all monys the founder of our republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk portraits exist.

On other sides there are some eminent historical figures of Turkish history can be seen.

5 Turkish Lira On the back side of 5 TL. Turkeys first professor of science history Adnan Sayılı exists. What makes him so distinguish is his graduation exam which he took it from Atatürk the founder of Turkish Republic. With the support of Atatürk he choosed to have an undergraduate programme in Harvard University with George Sarton who was very popular during those days. He got his doctorate degree from Harvard at 1942 with the topic of “Scientific Institutes in Islamic World”. This doctorate thesis is known to be the first of its discipline not only of Harvard but also world.

10 Turkish Lira On the back side of 10 TL. the portrait of one of Turkish best mathematician Cahit Arf exists.

He was born in Salonicca in 1912 and migrated to Istanbul when he was only 2 years old. His education started in Istanbul but reached to an end in Ecole Normale Superieure of France.

In 1933 he gave a start to his career in Istanbul University than in 1937 he went to Germany and continued his studies in University of Gottingen and got his doctorate degree in 1938. He developed the Theorem of Hesse– Arf in this university with german mathematician Helmut Hesse. Between 1964-1966 he studied in Institute of Advanced Study in New Jersey. After he turned back to Turkey again he had been studided in Mathematic Department of Middle East Technical University untill his retirement in 1980. He passed away in 1997 because of a heart attack. With his studies and great ardour “mathematic” has become into todays eminent position in Turkey.

20 Turkish Lira On the back side of 20 TL. the portrait of Mimar Kemaleddin Bey (Mr. Kemaleddin the architect) (1870-1927) is exist. He was one of the founders of “Ottoman Achitects and Engineers Society” In 1919 he was called by the British government of Kudüs to be a part of the team that restore Mescid-i Aksa. After having done it with great succes and awarded by the government he turned back to Turkey and built Ankara Palace. Some of his great works are The Tomb of Ahmed Cevdet Paşa (1901), Filibe Train Station in Bulgaria (1908), Mosque of Bebekin Istanbul (1913), The Library of Istanbul University and some of his important restoration Works are Sultan Ahmet Mosque, Fatih Mosque and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

50 Turkish Lira On the back side of 50 TL. the portrait of Fatma Aliye Hanım (Miss Fatma Aliye) (1862-1936) known as the first woman novelist of Turkish literature exists. She was one of the daughters of Ottomans great historian and statesman Ahmet Cevdet Paşa and became wife of Faik Paşa at 1879. Died in 13 July 1936.

100 Turkish Lira On the back side of 100 TL. the portrait of “Itri”, the founder of “Classical Turkish Music” exists.

He was supposed to born between 1630-1640 in Istanbul. His real name is Mustafa but he used Itri as his pen name under his poems. His contamporary sources thought he was “Mevlevi” (follower of Mevlana). He reached his zenith as a musician during the era of Sultan Mehmed IV. He was one of the most effective musician of Classical Turkish Music with AbdulkadirMeragi and Hamamizade Ismail Dede Efendi. According to Şeyhülislam Esad Efendi, Itri composed more than 1000 melody but only 40 of them are exist today. He was thought to have passed away in 1711 or 1712.

200 Turkish Lira On the back side of 200 TL. Yunus Emre the Poet can be seen. With his words and lines some of them became adages some of them became melodies of many turkish songs Yunus Emre is the most prominent literary figure of Turkish culture and civilization. In Anatolia there are so many tombs and graveyards which are asserted to be his and so many places named as Yunus Emre.

TURKISH POLITICAL HISTORY 1923 is a very important historical date for Turkey since it is the date of a new beginning, awakening and, flourishing source of new hopes for coming days.

Monarchical Otoman Empire was gone and young republic took place instead of it. Young Republic was based on national state rules and from France took “laique” principals for which Anglo Saxon world uses the word “secularism”. After that new Turkish Government abolished the Caliphate institution and adapt all its properties and authority to Turkish Parliament.

So for Turkey from now on the unquestioned sovereignity of Sultan has been finished but a new period had started which was, at the end of 40’s, finished by the first democratic election.

The most important achivement that the Republic did just after its founding was to cancel the binding agreements which was known as “capitulations” and blocked the empire’s worlwide economic affairs due to the wishes of great states in the beginning years of 20th century. This gave Republic an opportunity to modernise the country in economic and social areas. With the leading of Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, so many revolutions had been done from 1923 to 1938 the year Mustafa Kemal Ataturk passed away. In all those years the Republic tried to establish a democracy based on western concepts such as woman rights, human rights, new civil code; also a new way of government on the fields of education and health under the responsibility of the state.

In 1938 while the war winds were starting to blow in Europe, Turkey lost its founder and greatest leader of all, Atatürk. But nothing could stop the existence try of Turkey and so many revolutionary acts has been done untill 1946. Just after a year The Second World War ended young turkish state gave a radical decision and national elections were held. Even if it was done with one party, Cumhuriyet Halk Fırkası (the party that found the republic) it was a good preparation for real democracy. In 1950 like in all democratic countries elections were held with more than one party and the winner was the opposition party.

From 1950 up to 1980 democracy in Turkey was indeed represented as a pathway through mountains with ups and downs and Turkey itself was the mountaineer who tried to find his way. Turkey, in this thirty years, had witnessed three military intervention every ten year caused by different reasons such as exaggerated political struggles between parties, emergence of radical groups who want to capture and/or change the government, rising of violent acts in society.

Two years after 1980’s intervention new constitution was accepted by referendum. It was followed by national election and center party was elected. This was a new beginning for Turkey and no more military intervention was going to be seen again up to present. From 1983 the turkish economy and political system has been liberalised and gaining much more freedom.

In current system, every five years elections are held and 550 members are elected to become a member of the parliament which is known as The Grand National Assembly. Turkish state is known to be a unitary system which has been taken under protection by the constitution.

Turkey has been trying to fulfill the criteria of European Union for a long time and resulted his attempts first by signing The Customs Union Agreement than in the European Unity Helsinki Summit gained the candidate status and finally by becoming a negotiating country consecutively in 1996, 1999 and 2005.

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TURKISH CUISINE FOODS FOR ALL SEASONS Turkish cuisine is considered to be one of the three main cuisines of the world because of the variety of its recipes, its use of natural ingredients, its flavours and tastes which appeal to all palates and its influence throughout Europe, Asia and Middle East and Africa.

The cuisine originated in central Asia, the first home of the Turks, and then evolved with the contributions of the inland and Mediterranean cultures with which Turks interacted after their arrival in Anatolia. It was refined and enriched over the centuries in the Palace of the Sultan, but its tendency for simplicity and natural tates was preserved. In line with the Palace cuisine, regions of Anatolia developed their own gastronomic specialities.

Since the Otoman Empire had brought several peoples together under one rule, it is hardly surprising that similar dishes can be found in so many of the countries which were once part of the Empire. The origin of many Turkish dishes is sometimes reflected in their names such as Arnavut ciğeri ( Albanian liver), Tatar böreği (Tatar meat pie), Çerkez tavuğu (Circassian chicken) and Şam Tatlıları (Damascus sweets).

Like its Chinese and French counterparts, Turkish cuisine developed according to what ingredients were available in the country. The original Turkish cuisine in Central Asia was composed mainly of meat dishes and milk products such as cheese. In Anatolia, the cuisine grew with the abundant supply of vegetables and fruits. With its root in Central Asia, and its later development in Anatolia, Turkish cuisine is in a sense a bridge between far-Eastern and Mediterranean cusines, with the accent always on enhancing the natural taste and flavour of the ingredients. There is no one dominant element in Turkish cuisine, like sauces in French and paste in Italian cuisines.

On the other hand, the meat, fish, vegetables and pastes can be prepared in countless different ways. For instance eggplant, a vegetable which is rarely consumed in Europe, is a main dish in Turkey and can be cooked no less than forty different ways. The sauces and spices used in Turkish cuisine are never allowed to alter the original taste of the main ingredient. All ingredients are basically cooked in their own juices and the flavour enhanced with butter, olive oil, salt, onions, garlic, spices and vinegar. The meat, fish and vegetables should be always fresh.

While the Palace cuisine was developing in Istanbul, local cuisines in Anatolia were multiplying in several regions, all displaying different geographical and climatic characteristics. These cuisines, after remaining within regional borders for centuries, are now being transplanted to the big cities and their suburbs as a consequence of large scale urbanisation and migration towards new urban centers. As a result, the national Turkish cuisine has been enriched by the contribution of a great number of local recipies. In eastern Anatolia, where winters are long and stock breeding a main economic activity, meat, butter, yoghurt, cheeses and cereals make up the basic diet.

The Van region in particular is known for its numerous cheeses with contain aromatic herbs. The southeast, where the summers are very hot, is beter known for its kepabs and deserts. Gazi Antep is one of the main culinary centres of this region, as is Şanlı Urfa, famous for its kebaps and çiğ köfte by kneading raw ground meat with hot pepper and cracked wheat. Lahmacun is the Turkish like of pizza, baked mostly with ground beef and spices. It has now become one of the most popular fast foods throughout Turkey. The cuisine in the south-east has been influenced by Arabic cuisine and includes hot salads and the traditional humus made from ground chickpeas. As one approaches the western Mediterranean, the proliferation of olive oil is clearly visible. Olive trees are plentiful right along the coast and up to the Sea of Marmara. It is natural therefore that most of the dishes, in particular seafood and vegetables, are cooked with olive oil.

In central Anatolia, the cities of Konya and Kayseri have long contributed to Turkey’s national cuisine. Konya is well known for its “tandır” (a kind of oven built in a hole in the earth) kebap, its meat and vegetabledishes and helva (a sweet prepared with sesame oil, different cereals and syrup or honey). Kayseri is famous for its pastırma (a dried meat coated with fenugreek seeds, red pepper and garlic) and mantı (a kind of ravioli filled with meat and served with yoghurt).

The Black Sea Region, seperated from the Anatolian plateau by mountains, has a highly original cuisine based around corn, black cabbage and hamsi fish, which can be prepared in over fifty different ways, including pastries and pickles. Another speciality is a fondue made of butter, corn and cheese.

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TURKISH DRINKS FLOATING TASTES

The main alcoholic drink in Turkey is “rakı” made from grapes and anise.

The way people drink rakı, and the food and the snacks that accompany it are very important and distinctive. Rakı is not just an aperitif, although it can be taken like one, it is a beverage drunk throughout the dinner, a dinner that lasts longer than usual in an animated atmosphereof prolonged converstaions. The “mezes” (hors d’oeuvres) served with the rakı are brought on small plates and include fresh salads, white cheese, lakerda (pickled turna), mussels stuffed with rice, çiroz (a fish dried in the sun and served with olive oil, vinegar and dill), dolmas (stuffed vine leaves or cabbages) and turşu (vegetable pickles including cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage and aubergines). The main course follows the hors d’oeuvres.

Although wine did not spread to the world from Turkey, Anatolia is considered to be its motherland. Indeed, the history of Dionysus’ rites go back to thousands of years and the mural reliefs of the Hittite ruins depict kings offering wines. The amphorae discovered under the Aegean also indicative that wine was being exported at that time to other Mediterranean countries.

Wine production went into a decline during Ottoman times, only to be revived after the 1920s when the new Turkish state extended its support to the industry.

Today, the quantitiy and quality of wine produced in Turkey have significantly improved.

Some Turkish culinary specialities have a world-wide reputation, one of which of course is the “lokum”, or Turkish delight as it is known throughout the world. Thisis made of sugar syrup, boiled with starch to which are added hazelnut, pistachios, mint or rose water. Other sweet specialities include pastes of almonds, pistachios and coconut. The roasted pistachio is a favourite snack and is also used in several dishes and sweet. Of course, the best known is Turkish “coffee”. Its preparation is quite different from other coffees. The coffee is first stirred in cold water in a pot with a handle and then boiled untill it produces a foam. The foam is then poured into the cup and the coffe boiled once again.The coffee leaves grounds in the bottom of the cup which are obviously undrinkable but have a very important use.

Turkish woman are very talented in fortune telling by scrutinising at length the appearance of coffee grounds. Coffe was imported to Istanbul at the beginning of the 16th century when Yemen was conquered. Soon coffee-houses multiplied in Istanbul; they continue to exist today and to play an important social an deven political role during elections. The offering of coffee in Turkey is an expression of friendship and respect. In offices, in shops and in houses, one is often offered a cup of tea or coffee. Coffee also plays a part in marriage: when a man wishes to propose his father and mother visit the parents of the prospective bride to ask for her hand. During the discussion, the girl brings coffee and, after a brief exchange of greetings leaves the room. The parents of the groom thus have an opportunity to meet her.

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FINE ARTS IN TURKEY Turkey has an immense saving on Fine Arts from the past. This saving converted to a new identy in the context of dynamism, production and contemporariness.

Thus Republic by synthesizing its rich heritage with contemporary understanding has created its own cultur and art.

In the first annual celebration of Republic it was very noticeable that five of twenty-five students were painters who were send to abroad for education. This shows in what way Atatürk and the Republic approached to art.

Until the 18th century, painting in Turkey was mainly in the form of miniatures, usually linked to boksa in the form of manuscript illustration. In the 18th century, trends shifted towards oil painting, beginning with murals. Thereafter, under European inspiration, painting courses were introduced in military scjhools. The first Turkish painters were therefore milşitary peaople who, respecting the Islamic tradition which bars representation of the human face, focused at first on landscapes. The modernisation of Turkish painting, including representation of the human figure, started with the founding of the Academy of Arts under the direction of Osman Hamdi Bey, one of the great names in Turkish painting. In 1923, following the proclamation of the Republic, a society of contemporary painting was set up, followed by many other such schools. Art exhibitions in Turkey’s cities multiplied, more and more people started to acquire paintings and banks and companies began investing in art.

TURKISH LITERATURE Literature has long been an important component of Turkish cultural life, reflecting the history of the people, their legends, their mysticism, and the political and social changes that affected this land throughout its long history.

The oldest literary legacy of the pre-Islamic perios are the Orhon inscriptions in northern Mongolia, written in 735 on two large Stones in honour of a Turkish king and his brother. During the Ottoman period, the prevailing literary form was poetry, the dominant dialect was Anatolian or Ottoman and the main subject beauty and romance. The Otoman Divan literature was highly influenced by Persian culture and written in a dialect which combined Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. Seperate from the aristocratic Divan literature, folk literature continued to dominate Anatolia where troubadour-like post celebrated nature, love and God in simple Turkish language. Towards the 20th century, the language of Turkish literature became simplier and more political and social in substance. The great and politically controversial poet, Nazım Hikmet introduced free verse in the late 1930s. Nowadays, the irrefutable master of the Turkish popular novel is Yaşar Kemal with his authentic, colourful and forceful description of Anatolian life. Young Turkiash writers tend to go beyond the usual social issues, preferring to tackle problems such as feminism and aspects of the East-West dichotomy which continues to fascinate Turkish intellectuals. Some of the rising stars of contemporary Turkish literature are: Orhan Pamuk, Nedim Gürsel, Ahmet Altan, Pınar Kür and Elif Şafak.

TRADITIONAL VALUES HANDICRAFTS The inhabitants of Anatolia have used copper kitchen utensils from time immemorial; but copper work reached its height during the Otoman Age.

The Ottomans exploited the copper mines in Anatolia and in the Balkans, and perfected the craftsmanship of copper. Today, the traditional pots and pans have been replaced by more convenient utensils, but in cities where copper creftsmanship continues, such as Gaziantep, Diyarbakır, Kahramanmaraş, Muğla, copper and brass objects are stil manufactured in the traditional style.

An interesting technique in Anatolia is the gold plating of copper to produce what is referred to in Turkish “tombak”. This unique technique applies melted gold to the copper object in such a way that it infiltrates the pores of the copper itself. Through this method, the layer of gold does not peel off and the copper acquires a more subtle, tinted and warmer colour. Turkish artisans have used this process for centuries to make cups, bowls, incense boxes, food dishes and many other traditional objects which are now in great demand by antique shops.

The Seljuks and the Ottomans developed a highly original decorative and pictorial style for ceramics, imitating the technique of tile-mosaic.

The best known examples can be found in the Alaettin Mosque and the Karatay Medrese in Konya. With the emergence of Otoman might, ceramic art matured and Bursa, İznik, Kütahya and İstanbul became major centres of production. The Ottomans introduced coloured glazes, in particular the sapphire blue and the golden yellow, and invented a new technique enabling many tiles to be fired on one single modular tile, thereby eliminating the time consuming process of piecing fragments together in the mosaic. In the latter part of the 15th century, production in İznik developed an extraordinarly high artistic and technical quality.

In the 16th century, a red colour was developed, known as “turkish red”. Ceramic production in İznik ended in the 18th century. But Kütahya continues the tradition today, and in İstanbul some talented potters are reproducing the 16th century wares.

Carpet weaving is one of Turkey’s oldest handicrafts. Turkish carpets and kilims are characterised by the use of wollen yarn, by bold drawings and bright colours that form a pattern of infinite beauty. The turkish carpet is also known for the use of what is called “the turkish knot”, meaning that they typically have between 16-30 symmetrical knots per square centimetre. Turkish carpet weaving started among the nomadic Turkish peoples in Central Asia and was introduced to Anatolia by the Seljuks in the 11th century. Anatolian women have continued this tradition for centuries, using woollen yarn produced by twisting the wool with their fingers and the dyes they extracted from wild plant roots. Turkish carpets were exported to Europe as early as the 14th century, where they were held in such high regard that they were very often depicted in the Works of leading painters such as Holbein, Loto, and Tintoretto.

The gold and silver ornaments discovered in the royal tombs of Alacahöyük and in the royal tombs of Alacahöyük and in Troy indicate that the art of jewellery was very advanced in Anatolia even in the bronze age.

The necklace found at Boğazköy is a masterpiece of Hittite art, while the gold necklaces, half moon earrings and bracelets found in Gordium reflect the delicate taste and style of the Phrygians.

From the 16th century onwards, artisans in the Sultan’s Palace succeded in creating their own original and rich style. The art of jewellery stil continues in many regions of Anatolia and the Grand (Covered) Bazaar in İstanbul has preserved its historic reputation as the main centre of jewellery.

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The word tile both indicates designed wall covering materails used as architectural elements and decorative home accessories called pots and pans such as plate , bowl , vase ..etc . On the other hand , designed wall covering materials generally called tile , and the forms performed as accessories called ceramics. In Persian language the word tile means “ belonging to chinese” and it was arosen from the admiration of the Ottoman Empire to the 15. century’ s China porcelain.

The tile art, whose origin is based on 8. and 9. century Uighurs , has reached to Anatolia by Seljuks and had been continued succesfully with its unique colour and design mentality at Ottoman Period. The desings created by the Ottoman Palace muralists had been performed in İznik tile workshops. In this regard, İznik reserves a very important place in Turkish tile art.

Tile art, which has developed by holding hundreds of years of history and reached today, has been performed with countless formation technique and desingns. However in this article we will have a short look at Iznik tiles that are still called the the center of the art of tile-making and mention the historical development of Turkish art of tile.

First of all, let’s go over the production stages of tiles. The raw material of Iznik tiles is a gemstone called quartz and it is much found in valleys near Iznik. Quartz, being a firm stone gives endurance to tile. Tiles, also used as an architectural element gives freshness and comfort to localty through quartz , in religious architecture provides acoustical functions . There are also scientific researches indicate that quartz magnetizes the negative energy . From this point of view The Iznik tiles are being considered as a factor that maintains peace in religious or civilian architecture .

At first, mud mixed with quartz is poured into a mold and left for drying . In this way red mudded tile is being had. After this, tile is covered with white liner and first baking process starts. Tile that drys at lower degrees, is taken from oven and sanded and it gets ready to attempt for designes. It may be designed as a single tile or a tile panel with various designs . At first the designs are drawn on a preliminary sketch according to the measurements , after completing the composition by equipping with needles all the desings are pierced .

After this process , the design paper is laid over the previously prepared tile quarries and coaldust bandaged with muslin is spreaded over it. When we remove the paper we see the coaldust passed from the holes on the tile quarries.

After this process design contours are painted by the help of a slim brush and it gets ready to reach to the process of panel coloring stage . In traditional Iznik tile ochers are used to color . After coloring the designs the tiles are covered with a material called “glaze” and are rebaked but at this stage they are baked at 900 centigrade degrees. After baking period we see that the glaze layer covered over tile becomes glassy and that the ochers painted on the tiles are changed into brigter colors after underglaze baking. We should also point out that every single color gives different reactions after baking.

In this short brief we are able to realize that Iznik tiles have processes that expend very hard efforts .

We should also remark that the production we talk about in this article is underglaze technique used in Iznik tiles. Except from this there a lot of production techniques such as coat incising , overglaze , colored glaze etc.

And now lets take a look throug the history of Iznik tiles. According to the excavations in Iznik the first known technique in former Ottoman period is colored glaze tecnique . It is dated on the end of 14. century and the beginning of 15. century . The color white undercoated paste is red. The designes are painted with colorful glazes after being printed or incised. Blue tones , turquoise and purple colors are used on transparent under-

glazes . While baking to prevent intermixing the colors the holes on contours are coated with wax or another chemicals .The production place of this ceramics group called “Milet Style” whose designs are under the effect of “Mine Art” is Iznik.

The end of 15. century and the beginning of 16. century has been a starting point of a new period in Ottoman tile art. In this period Iznik has still been the most important production center. This period’s first and new style is “blue – white “ group. The most important characteristic of these tiles and ceramics which is more developed in comparison with the past examples is shining glazes and hard and white pastes . From this period to the middle of 17. century this quality had been protected , different design styles in tile and ceramic production and been continued. In the designes flowers , clouds and a style of ornamentation motifs had skilfully been used . In one of the group of ceramics, it had been observed that a new style had been formed which is colored with cobalt blue and similar tones and a circular ones with flowers and leafs introverted to themselves. These designs were attributed to “Baba Nakkaş” who was the chief muralist of palace in 15. century and called “Baba Nakkaş” style.

One of the group of ceramics from the group of blue-white’s production place is also Iznik which is called “Haliç Style “ because the first examples were met in Haliç. These group of ceramics have specific styles with little leafs and flowers that are on spirals.

The produciton place of another group of ceramics dated the half of 16. century and wrongly named “ Şam Style” is also İznik. A new pallette has been formed with accession of cobalt blue and turquoise with purple and khaki green colors. This period that the naturalist flower styles had been newly used is also described as a transition period of variegation .

Beginning from the second half of 16. century most succesful period of Turkish tile – ceramic art has come.

These creations which have reached the perfection in design and colors are called “reddy underglaze technique” . In this duration , Kanuni period of Ottoman Empire , which was the most powerful period in politics and economics , the usage of tile in ornamentation of arcitectural monuments is observed becoming a very important element .

In reddy underglaze technique, cobalt blue tones, turquoise, green, black, brown and swollen red is skilfully performed to tiles and ceramics. In designs , while older stylized motifs were continued, near these, accepted as the school of “Kara Memi” who was chief muralist of palace, naturalist stylized flower were observed; besides the flowers like tulips, carnations, hyacinths, roses, lillies, daffodils and violets cypresses, blossoms, grape leafs, fruit trees were interpreted in different ways through freely compositions. In addition to these in several ceramic forms rock – wave motifs, galleons, herringbone ground decorations and animal figures were also applied.

Unforunately from the second half of 17. century political upheavals and economic chaos in Ottoman Empire had loomed largely in culture – art area . The tiles produced in workshops of Iznik fell of in quality. Colors were fogged , red turned into brown , the motifs used in designs got bigger and they were carelessly processed. This period ,in 18. century ,ended when all the workshops in Iznik got out of business and Kütahya came into being as new center of tile.

As can be seen in Iznik tiles there are various style designs. Both the findings from encavations, both the tiles used as arcitectural element , countless examples may come across up to today. These kinds of examples ‘ conserving the color and endurance for hundreds of years is also a proof that indicates the improved substructure of Iznik tiles. At this point lets generally talk about conception of desings which are characteristics of Iznik tile.

The first observable thing in tiles is a succesful perfomance of style conception , also performing the elements

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such as emptiness – strike , distribution of colors and size of motifs Nearly perfect within a balance and accordance. To compose , at first the design rules should be roundly assimilated. In order to analyse the motifs , as we firstly mentioned the blue – white styled hatayi (vertical cut image of flowers), penç, bud and leaf motifs are also seen here. Hatayi is a flower’s vertical section ‘s profile , penç is a flower’s horizontal section ‘ s view from above, and bud is a blossom‘s horizontal section and all of them are abstracted stylized designs. These are generally located to spiral branches that come from a point of exit and consecutive, the direction of leafs and flowers is upon these branches. The flowers are not close to each other or not big as the branches could not carry. Leafs , flower and branches must be proportional to each other. In tile panel practice the framing that surrounds the design must also be proportional to the size of panel . Sometimes in order to enrich the compositon and to collect the design in the middle part a center point design called “şemse” and in the upper cornerns cornerpiece design is used. In tile panels compositon begins from root at downside and goes up, and on the upper parts sometimes stylized cloud motifs are used. From this point of view we can realize that composition is a simulation of nature and styled stuck to the rules of it. Rumi design which we may mostly meet in tile art, i think the most difficult motif to perform. Because it has rigid rules of point of exit , sizes , direction of motifs according to the other designs. There is no absolute finding about what they exactly symbolise in nature. Generally it is composed of same sized motifs located on spiral branches and it is also seen that are used with other flower motifs. But certanly in tile art different motifs can not be used on the same branch. There is also another design group composed with naturalist designs , has a rich substructure and we call it “Kara Memi school” . In these designs instead of sprial branches more natural branch exits take place. Suitable to the structure of each flower seperate branches and leafs are used . Most distintively performed motif is tulip which has a very important place in Turkish art. Except from this flowers such as carnations , roses , hyacinths , lilies , daffodils and blossoms , fruit trees, cypress, galleons and various animal figured desings are still skilfully used .

When we analyse the point that Iznik tile reached today, we see that with lots of newly established workshops the art is trying to be aroused. The people or corporations that set to perform this should be aware how an historical accumulation that they work on. The most important corporations are universities that take an active part in arousing tile art. By understanding the design rules , the most accurate way to perform an accurate work of art is to attend a scientific method and to analyse the historical improvement of art. Especially in Mimar Sinan University traditional turkish handcrats department, in many of the universities’ fine arts departments gives tile art education theoretically and practically . Academical works on tile art are the most accurate guides on researching this art. I had lots of opportunites to design on the education that ı have been given. I have learned the traditional one with all the rules but ı always took pain over performing one to one imitation.

Knowing the history have prepared a healty substructure but when ı have reached to perform the art adapting today , ı have prefered to undersign different kind of performances. Because art needs creativity and you have the only chance to say that the performance is yours even if there are something from you.

Iznik tile, being one of most important one from Traditional Turkish Arts , with the creative power of experts , setting countless and valuable performances , has become a worldwide known and interested art . In this article ı have tried to generally metion the history of Iznik tile and how it is strained by a hard effort according to the best of my ability. After knowing all these the original work is set upon the creativity of artist and thereby tile comes to life in the skilful hands.

Coşkun PINAR “Designer” Bibliography: Bakır, T.Sitare, İznik Tiles and Gülbenkyan Collection, Ankara, 1999

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