Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts

November 24 - Teachers' Day in Turkey

Posted on November 24, 2020

"Kasim" is "November" in the Turkish language.
And "Ogretmenler Günü" means "Teachers Day."

The man in this banner is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,
the first president of the Republic of Turkey.
















Teachers are important in every nation!

Of course, in some ways, we humans are all teachers, just as we are all learners. For one thing, we teach ourselves many things! Those of us who are not paid to teach do still teach younger siblings, friends, and to some extent older loved ones - and when we are adults we teach our own children and often co-workers, customers, and others.

But some people devote their lives to helping others learn - to teaching, to writing and filming amazing educational materials,
to giving fascinating lectures, to creating museum displays and wonderful video/computer games - to education!

And we all benefit from amazing teachers. Kids who learn critical thinking skills - kids who learn how to read, how to find trustworthy sources, how to do research, how to test ideas using the scientific method - kids who develop their creativity and learn to believe in their own ability to learn - Wow! What can't a society do when people have quality educations?!


On this date in 1928, the founding President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, officially accepted the title of head teacher of the nation's schools. 

That's not exactly what I was expecting; "Teacher's Day" seemed like it was obviously going to be honoring paid, professional teachers, not a nation's president. 



But Atatürk did show great leadership in adopting a new, Latin-based alphabet for Turkey, encouraging others to realize that
their nation's future lay in their children, and their children's educations, and in making progressive reforms that helped the nation become more modern, fair, secular, and industrial. 

Hooray for kids, and hooray for teachers, and hooray for leaders with true leadership!
















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October 30 - Connecting Europe and Asia!?

Posted October 30, 2020

The thing about continents is that it's hard to agree on which huge land masses get to be continents, and which are just really large islands, and which land masses qualify as separate continents, even if they share a land border.

Only Australia and Antarctica are completely separate from every other continent. In the case of North and South America, some people in the world consider them separate continents, despite the narrow (120-mile) connection at Panama. Other people consider both Americas as one large continent named - you guessed it! - America. 


In the case of Africa and Asia, the Suez Canal (the Isthmus of Suez) is considered by most to be the eastern border of Africa, so Egypt contains a bit of Asia along with all of its African territory. 

The orange portion on this map is the part
of Egypt that is considered to be in Asia.


But in the case of Europe and Asia...

Well! There have been people who call the whole hugest-continent-in-the-world "Eurasia," and there have been many who have drawn a line separating Europe and Asia (the exact placement of that separating line is not always agreed upon!). Quite a few nations are considered to have land in both Europe and Asia, including Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.




It's the Turkey bit that I am writing about today: October 30 is the anniversary of the 1973 completion of the Bosphorus Bridge. This bridge is said to connect Europe and Asia - although of course we have seen that there are a LOT of miles of connection!


One thing that is interesting about this bridge is, not only is Turkey partly in Europe and partly in Asia, but Istanbul - Turkey's largest city, and the city that is the nation's economic and cultural center - Istanbul is ALSO partly in Europe and partly in Asia. It is the Bosphorus Bridge that connects the two parts of Istanbul!

Above and below, the Asian side of Istanbul.


Above and below, the European side of Istanbul.









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May 19 – Youth and Sports Day in Turkey

Posted on May 19, 2019

Another name for Turkey's May 19 holiday is the Commemoration of Atatürk. Atatürk means "Father of the Turks," and it refers to Mustafa Kemal, Founder of Turkey. Kemal landed in the coastal city of Samsun, on May 19, 1919, to start the War of Independence.



Independence from who? you may be wondering...



Well, the Ottoman Empire (aka Turkish Empire) was one of the losers in World War I, and so the various lands that were part of the Ottoman Empire had been partitioned up (in other words, divided up) and were occupied by the Allies (the nations on the winning side of the war). 

(Above, the map at the beginning of World War I; below, the map after that war.)



So, basically independence from occupying forces from Greece, Armenia, France, the United Kingdom (Britain), and Italy.

The public holiday is a day off work for almost everyone, and a day off of school for students (but this year falls on a Sunday, on the weekend, so many people already have the day off!).

For the past 10 days, young Turkish athletes have been carrying the national flag from Samsun (where Atatürk started the push for independence) to Ankara (the capital city). The route is more than 400 kilometers (about 250 miles). Today that flag is presented to Turkey's president. 

Sporting events are held during the day, and some students give presentations or put on programs. 

Atatürk is celebrated today as if it were his birthday (Kemal's birthdate is unknown). People lay wreaths on the monuments of this Founding Father, and many people hand Turkish flags outside their windows.

Here are some spectacular things to see in Turkey:

Grand Bazaar:




Basilica Cistern:



Mosques:


Cappadocia Mountains:



Hot springs and pools:



Etc., etc.!!!






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