Turkish customs and taboos
The Republic of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, English: The Republic of Turkey), referred to as Turkey. The name "Turkey" comes from the Turks, the main residents of the country. Modern Turks are descendants of the Turkic tribes in the past. The name "Turkey" was not widely used until the end of the 19th century. The word "Turkey" is transformed from the "Turkic" sound.
In Tatar,"Turk" means "courage". "Turkey" means "the country of brave people". Although the Ottoman ruling class believed that calling itself a "Turk" was an insult to itself because it meant "country bumpkins" or even "fools." But by 1897, the young poet Mohammed Imin proudly declared: "We are Turks, Turkish blood flows in our veins, and we call the name of Turkey..." Therefore, when the Republic was established on October 29, 1923,"Turkey" was officially adopted as the name.
Turkey is located in western Asia, spanning Europe and Asia. It borders Iran, Armenia, and Georgia in the east, Syria and Iraq in the southeast, Greece and Bulgaria in the west and northwest, the Black Sea in the north, and faces Cyprus across the Mediterranean Sea in the southwest. It is a crossroads connecting Europe and Asia.
Turkey covers an area of 781,000 square kilometers. Turkey has a population of 76,34,7830 (statistics in 2013), of which Turks account for the vast majority, and Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, etc. account for a minority. Turkey is divided into eight administrative regions. The capital, Ankara. The currency is the Turkish lira. The official language is Turkish, and other ethnic languages are Kurdish, Zazaqi, Azerbaijan, and Kabarda.
The country of Turkey is in the Middle East with a long history and is famous. Although it is an Islamic country, its schedule is no different from that in the West. In addition to having to take off your shoes and be silent when entering the mosque, the domestic atmosphere is very free, especially in an international city like Istanbul, which is completely different from other Islamic countries in the Middle East.
When Turks meet guests in social occasions, they usually exchange greetings first, then shake hands, and wish the guests good health. When they meet relatives and friends, they also kiss each other on both cheeks). When Turks bid farewell to relatives and friends, they generally bow more often. When saluting, they must place their hands on their chests and make a 90-degree bow to express their respect and farewell to the guests. If your hands are not crossed before your chest, it means that you are not welcome to visit again next time.
Waving and greeting is the most common greeting etiquette when meeting. It is rude to point at anyone with your index finger or tip of your toes. In addition, couples should not be too intimate in public. There are no restrictions on general occasions, but smoking is prohibited in cinemas, theaters, buses and rental taxis.
Turkey nodded when expressing "agree"; and tilted back when expressing "disagree" while frowning upward or raising eyebrows. Sometimes Turks also say "tsk" to mean "no." In contrast, if you shake your head left and right, it means "I don't understand." Raise your hands to your head to express "thank you". Sometimes he also nodded slightly when expressing gratitude.
They especially like foreign guests to talk to them in Turkish. Even if you have just learned to talk to them, they will be particularly friendly to you because of it. Turkey is one of the world-famous culinary kingdoms. Their cooking skills are widely spread and influential in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa. They are happy to be tasted and appreciated by others. They like to talk about non-controversial topics such as international issues, family, careers and personal hobbies.
Turks live at a slow pace. It takes at least two or three hours to eat a meal in a restaurant, but when they drive, they go on a rampage like a horse. Turks like to drink tea and coffee. Unlike ordinary tea and coffee, Turkish tea and coffee take a long time to brew. Although they don't drink China green tea or scented tea, they will be very happy if they are given a small bucket of China tea.
Turks like to invite guests to their homes and will definitely entertain you very politely. Guests should taste coffee, cigarettes, snacks, and fruits one by one, and finally invite you to come back next time. In Turkey, people retain an ancient traditional custom. People generally have a special feeling for garlic. Therefore, people are willing to hang a few plaits of garlic on their doorsteps and use it to turn evil into good fortune.
Turkish cooking technology is very famous in the world. Someone once said that there are three countries in the world that pay most attention to food. The first is China, the second is France, and the third is Turkey. They especially like to eat mutton, especially sheep brain marrow as the most precious, and believe that sheep brain marrow is a superior tonic.
They have a strong preference for eggplant among vegetables. Therefore, there can be as many as hundreds of varieties of dishes for cooking eggplant. In the minds of Turkish people,"roasted mutton" is extremely popular. While turning to roast mutton, I am happy to cut some slices of meat from the outside and spread them on the big cake. I think that the meat is tender, crispy, delicious and delicious when sliced in this way.
They like to eat rice very much, but they use rice not mainly as a staple food, but as a dish with mutton soup (that is, mutton rice soup). They also like a variety of sweet foods made with flour, milk, sugar and hazelnuts. According to their dining habits, this is the last meal. Turkey's alcoholic products are also one of the local specialties. Among them, Turkish beer, locally produced wines, and Turkey's unique wine called lak (anise) are all first-class.
They also particularly like flowers, especially tulips. Tulips are a symbol of happiness and a token of love in the eyes of Turks, and are respected as the national flower. They prefer green, white and magenta. I think these colors give people a positive impression.
The Turks also give specific meanings to flowers of various colors. For example, white roses imply "chastity", red roses imply "love", pink roses express "my heart belongs to you", and yellow roses imply "separation". White stone bamboo flowers represent "purity", red stone bamboo flowers imply "friendship", and yellow stone bamboo flowers imply "sadness". The white canna is "friendship", the red canna is "prayer", the purple canna is "trust", and the yellow canna is "jealousy". White tulips imply "simplicity", red tulips imply "I love you", pink tulips imply "understanding", and yellow tulips imply "nervousness". White chrysanthemums represent "loyalty", yellow chrysanthemums represent "unrequited love", pink chrysanthemums represent "silent prayer", and purple chrysanthemums imply "anger". Daffodils imply "forget not", orchids imply "pride and self-confidence", daisies imply "health and wealth", lotus flowers imply "future and innovation", and so on, there are many names.
Because most Turks believe in Islam, and a few believe in Christianity. So they also avoid passing things or food with their left hand. Believing that the left hand is dirty, using the left hand to pass on things or food is a great disrespect to people and is suspected of insulting people. They are extremely disgusted and disgusted by the intimate behavior between married men and women or lovers in public. They believe this is an immoral behavior. The most taboo for them to use colors when decorating their rooms. It is very unlucky for the owner to think that the color of the flower indicates a bad omen.
Christian Turks avoid "13". Think that "13" is unlucky and a number that portends bad luck and disaster. Therefore, no matter what they do, they try to avoid this number. Turkey does not like to discuss issues related to politics and the conflict between Cyprus and Greece during social events and chatting with guests. They abstain from pork and all ugly and unclean objects, such as turtles, crabs, etc.; they also abstain from using pig products and discuss pigs or pig-related issues.
Turkey, which believes in Islam, has been known as the "country of polygamy" since ancient times. The first non-religious Civil Code enacted after the Kemal Revolution readjusted various relationships such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance of private property. It not only abolished polygamy, but also placed women on equal footing with men on all these legal issues. The Kemals had high hopes for new legislation, but in fact it became a dead letter in many respects. The phenomena of polygamy and the superiority of men and women continue to exist in society. According to Islamic rules, a Turkish man is allowed to marry four wives separately, but the country does not recognize such polygamous Muslim marriages.