The Sugar Feast (Şeker Bayramı or Eid ul-Fitr) is the three day festival following Ramadan. Eid ul-Fitr is the Arabic name of this religious holiday. Eid meaning "festivity" and Fitr meaning "original nature." It refers to the restoration of one's best human composition and the celebration of the end of the thirty days of fasting during Ramadan.Bayram is the term used … [Read more...]
250 Useful Turkish Words and Expressions for Tourists
Knowing a few basic Turkish words and expressions will not only please locals, it will also come in handy during your stay. Turks will try their best to help you, but not all Turks speak English -- and that's an understatement. Most restaurants have menus in both Turkish and English, but especially in snack bars the translations may be far from perfect.This list of 250 … [Read more...]
Turkish Language and Pronunciation Rules (for Tourists)
Turkish is a phonetic language. This basically means that it is spoken the way it is written, and vica versa. To accomplish that, in 1928 Atatürk introduced a phonetic variant of the Latin alphabet. The letters Q, W and X were removed and 7 new, rather exotic looking characters were introduced: ç, ğ, ş, ö, ü and ı (undotted i). As a result, the Turkish alphabet consists of 29 … [Read more...]
Where (Not) to Celebrate New Year in Istanbul?
Celebrating New Year in Istanbul (Yılbaşı / Yeni Yıl) is a great idea. Turkey's metropolitan is bustling all year round, but definitely goes the extra mile to welcome the new year. Every venue wants to outdo the other to make the transition from old to new as unique and special as possible. Therefore, listing what every bar, restaurant or hotel has up their sleeve is simply … [Read more...]
Celebrating Christmas in Istanbul — Pros and Cons
The roots of Santa Claus lay in Turkey, to be precise in Patara near Myra. Already in the 4th century A.D.E. St Nicholas dropped bags of money down the chimneys to help people. But today, in a country with a 98% Muslim population, Christmas is a day like any other day. Yet, spending Christmas in Istanbul is not that odd an idea -- here's why.5 Reasons Why Istanbul Is a … [Read more...]