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Turkish Culture and Arts
Turkey Attractions
- Halicarnassus of Turkey
- Harput of Turkey
- Iotape of Turkey
- Knidos of Turkey
- Phaselis of Turkey
- Priene of Turkey
- Smyrna of Turkey
- Stratonikeia of Turkey
- Corum-Alacahoyuk of Turkey
- Anavarza of Turkey
- Aspendos of Turkey
- Zeugma-Zeugma City of Turkey
- Kars- Ruins of Ani of Turkey
- Archaeological Site of Perge of Turkey
- Bodrum Telmissos of turkey
- Burdur Archaeological Site of Sagalassos of Turkey
- Hattusha Open-Air Museum of Turkey
- Kalamaki of Turkey
- Letoon of Turkey
- Laodikea
- Miletus of Turkey
- Myra of turkey
- Perge of Turkey
- Foça - Phokaia of Turkey
- Manisa-Sardis of Turkey
- Patara of Turkey
- Telmessos of Turkey
- Xanthos of Turkey
- Pamukkale-Hierapolis of Turkey
- Antalya Termessos of Turkey
- Antalya - Limyra of Turkey
- Sagalassos of Turkey
- Assos of Turkey
- Izmir-Pergamon of Turkey
- Adıyaman Nemrut of Turkey
- Aydın Aphrodisias of Turkey
- Cappadocia-Historical Places of Turkey
- Beyoğlu – Taksim in Turkey
- Cumalikizik in Turkey
- Damlatas Caves in Turkey
- Demre in Turkey
- Karain Cave in Turkey
- Uludag in Turkey
- The Princes’ Islands in Turkey
- Tortum Waterfall in Turkey
- Belek in Turkey
- Kas in Turkey
- Sirince in Turkey
- Gocek in Turkey
- Historical Peninsula in Turkey
- Alanya in Turkey
- The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)
- Turkish Bath Experience in Istanbul
- Grand Bazaar Istanbul and Spice Bazaar
- Istanbul Aquarium
- Christmas in Turkey: Tourist places and a unique experience for Christmas
Religious Sites
- Bursa Great Mosque
- St. Paul’s Church
- Eshab Kehf Cave of the Seven Sleepers
- Eyüp Sultan Mosque
- Süleymaniye Mosque and Complex
- The Church of Virgin Mary
- The Basilica of St. John
- Haci Bektas-ı Veli Complex
- Church of Saint Pierre
- Ahlat
- Sanli Urfa Rizvaniye Mosque And Halil Ul Rahman Lake
- Van-Akdamar
- Ağrı-Mount Ararat-Noah's Ark
- Amasya -Sultan Bayezıd II. Mosque Complex
- Ankara - Hacı Bayram Veli Complex Ankara
- Antalya - St. Nicolas
- Bitlis - Seljuk Mausoleums and Tombstones ( Ahlat)
- Bursa - Green Mosque
- Cappadocia- Hacı Bektaşi Veli Complex
- Erzurum -Çifte (Twin ) Minaret Medrese
- Eskişehir
- Hatay - Cradle of the Saints
- Hatay - St. Peters Grotto (Antakya)
- Hatay - Habib-Un Naccar Mosque And Tomb ( Antakya )
- İsparta St Pauls Basilica ( Yalvaç )
- Istanbul - Holy Tourism
- Konya - Mevlana Museum
- Konya - Mevlana Complex
- Manisa-Sardis ( Sart )
- Mardin-Deyrulzafaran Monastery ( Mardin )
- St. Paul Church and Well
- Pamukkale-ST Philli Martyriun Hierapolis ( Pamukkale )
- Şanlıurfa - Harran of Turkey
- Siirt-Tombs of Ibrahim Hakkı Efendi and HZ.Fakirullah
- Veysel Karani Complex (Siirt-Baykan)
- Sivas - Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi of Turkey
- Trabzon-Maçka Sumela Monastery of Turkey
- Pamukkale - Hierapolis
Museums
- Asclepeion Ancient City in Pergamon of Turkey
- Hatay Antakya Archeology Museum of Turkey
- Aphrodisias Museum of Turkey
- Antalya Archaeological Museum of Turkey
- Burdur Archaeology Museum of Turkey
- Denizli Hierapolis Archeology Museum: Your full guide
- Hacı Bektaş Veli Museum of Turkey
- Istanbul Galata Mawlawi House Museum of Turkey
- Rahmi Koc Museum Turkey
- Miniatürk of Turkey
- The Archeology and Mummy Museum of Amasya of Turkey
- Iznik Ayasofya Museum (Hagia Sophia Museum in Nicaea)
- Alacahoyuk Historic Site and Museum of Turkey
- Istanbul Military Museum of Turkey
- Yildiz Palace Museum of Turkey
- Ataturk Congress and Ethnography Museum of Turkey
- The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations of Turkey
- Trabzon Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) Museum of Turkey
- Didyma Historic Site of Turkey
- Miletus Historic Site of Turkey
- Assos Historic Site of Turkey
- Troia Historic Site of Turkey
- Gaziantep - Zeugma Mosaics Museum of Turkey
- Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology of Turkey
- Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (Tomb of Mausolus) of Turkey
- Derinkuyu Underground City of Turkey
- Zelve Open Air Museum of Turkey
- Pergamon Acropolis Archeological Site of Turkey
- Ephesus Archeological Museum of Turkey
- Hagia Sophia Museum of Turkey
- Istanbul Archeology Museum
- Chora Museum in Turkey
- Great Palace Mosaic Museum in Turkey
- Istanbul Topkapi Palace Museum
- Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
- Mevlana (Rumi) Museum
- Ataturk and the War of Independence Museum
- Ankara Etnography Museum
- Hatay Archaeology Museum in Turkey
Top Destinations and Attractions
- Troy of Turkey
- Konya Attractions
- Antalya Attractions
- Bursa Attractions
- Fethiye in Turkey
- Nemrut in Turkey
- Zeugma in Turkey
- Side in Turkey
- Sumela Monastery in Turkey
- Cesme in Turkey
- Bodrum in Turkey
- Cappadocia in Turkey
- Kusadasi in Turkey
- Marmaris in Turkey
- Dalaman in Turkey
- Pamukkale (Hierapolis) in Turkey
- Dalyan in Turkey
- Ephesus in Turkey | The Ancient Ruins of Ephesus
- Turkey Vacations: The best of Turkey
Climate of Turkey
Alternative Tourism
Things to Know About Turkey
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Outdoor Sports
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Suggested Tours
One of the world-renowned desserts of Turkish cuisine is baklava. Baklava is made either with pistachio or walnut. Turkish cuisine has a range of baklava-like desserts which include şöbiyet, bülbül yuvası, saray sarması, sütlü nuriye, and sarı burma.
Kadaif ('Kadayıf') is a common Turkish dessert that employs shredded yufka. There are different types of kadaif: tel (wire) or Burma (wring) kadayıf, both of which can be prepared with either walnut or pistachio.
Although carrying the label "kadayıf", ekmek kadayıfı is totally different from "tel kadayıf" . Künefe and ekmek kadayıfı are rich in syrup and butter, and are usually served with kaymak (clotted/scrambled butter). Künefe contains wire kadayıf with a layer of melted cheese in between and it is served hot with pistachio or walnut.
Among milk-based desserts, the most popular ones are muhallebi, su muhallebisi, sütlaç (rice pudding), keşkül, kazandibi (meaning the bottom of "kazan" because of its burnt surface), and tavuk göğsü (a sweet, gelatinous, milk pudding dessert quite similar to kazandibi, to which very thinly peeled chicken breast is added to give a chewy texture). A speciality from the Mediterranean region is haytalı, which consists of pieces of starch pudding and ice cream (or crushed ice) put in rose water sweetened with syrup.
Helva (halva): un helvası (flour helva is usually cooked after someone has died), irmik helvası (cooked with semolina and pine nuts), yaz helvası (made from walnut or almond), tahin helvası (crushed sesame seeds), kos helva, pişmaniye (floss halva).
Other popular desserts include; Revani (with semolina and starch), şekerpare, kalburabasma, dilber dudağı, vezir parmağı, hanım göbeği, kemalpaşa, tulumba, zerde, höşmerim, paluze, irmik tatlısı/peltesi, lokma.
Güllaç is a dessert typically served at Ramadan, which consists of very thin large dough layers put in the milk and rose water, served with pomegranate seeds and walnut. A story is told that in the kitchens of the Palace, those extra thin dough layers were prepared with "prayers", as it was believed that if one did not pray while opening phyllo dough, it would never be possible to obtain such thin layers.
Aşure can be described as a sweet soup containing boiled beans, wheat and dried fruits. Sometimes cinnamon and rose water is added when being served. According to legend, it was first cooked on Noah's Ark and contained seven different ingredients in one dish. All the Anatolian peoples have cooked and are still cooking aşure especially during the month of Muharrem.
Some traditional Turkish desserts are fruit-based: ayva tatlısı (quince), incir tatlısı (fig), kabak tatlısı (pumpkin), elma tatlısı (apple) and armut tatlısı (pear). Fruits are cooked in a pot or in the oven with sugar, carnation and cinnamon (without adding water). After being chilled, they are served with walnut or pistachio and kaymak.
Homemade cookies are commonly called kurabiye in Turkish. The most common types are acıbadem kurabiyesi (prepared only with egg, sugar and almond), un kurabiyesi (flour kurabiye) and cevizli kurabiye (kurabiye with walnut). Another dough based dessert is ay çöreği.
Tahin-pekmez is a traditional combination especially in rural areas. Tahin is sesame paste and pekmez is grape syrup. These are sold separately and mixed before consumption.
Lokum (Turkish delight), which was eaten for digestion after meals and called "rahat hulkum" in the Ottoman era, is another well-known sweet/candy with a range of varieties.
Cezerye, cevizli (walnut) sucuk (named after its sucuk/sujuk like shape, also known as Churchkhela in Circassian region) and pestil (fruit pestils) are among other common sweets.
Marzipan badem ezmesi or fıstık ezmesi (made of ground pistachio) is another common confection in Turkey.
Another jelly like Turkish sweet is macun. Mesir macunu of Manisa/İzmir (which was also called "nevruziye" as this macun was distributed on the first day of spring in the Ottoman Palace) contains 41 different spices. It is still believed that "mesir macunu" is good for health and has healing effects. As with lokum, nane macunu (prepared with mint) used to be eaten as a digestive after heavy meals. Herbs and flowers having curative effects were grown in the gardens of Topkapı under the control of the chief doctor "hekimbaşı" and pharmacists of the Palace who used those herbs for preparing special types of macun and sherbet.
Tavuk göğsü is a Turkish style milky pudding with chicken breast.
There are also several types of ice creams based salep powder or Cornstarch with Rose water such as Dondurma (Turkish gum ice cream), dried fruit ice cream, ice cream rose petals.
Dried fruit, used in dolma, pilav, meat dishes and other desserts is also eaten with almonds or walnuts as a dessert. Figs, grapes, apricots are the most widespread dried fruits.
Kaymak (clotted cream-butter) is often served with desserts to cut the sweetness.
Turkish tea or Turkish coffee, with or without sugar, is usually served after dinner or more rarely together with desserts.