TURKISH LIFESTYLE IS A VIVID MOSAIC; JUXTAPOSING THE WEST AND THE EAST, THE

MODERN AND THE ANCIENT.

Life in Turkey is a rich variety of cultures and traditions, some dating back centuries and others or more recent heritage. Any visitor to Turkey will find a great deal that is exotic, and much that is reassuringly familiar. The intriguing blend of East and West makes up the Turkish lifestyle.

Many aspects of Turkish culture are a blend of traditional and modern ways.Manners are generally formal—especially in the presence of older people—but Turks do not hesitate to express their feelings; They generally use their hands a lot, adding meaning and emphasis to their conversations. They also love to laugh.

The family is an important institution in Turkish society and is usually close-knit.

Family members and friends often shake hands and kiss on both cheeks when meeting.

Turkish youngsters sometimes socialize in groups, and sometimes one-on-one. Most youngsters have made their friends through school but neighborhood bonds are strong in Turkey so they can become friends with their neighbors as well. Friendship means bonds and sharing in Turkish culture.

EYE CONTACT

Eye contact is important in Turkish culture, as a sign of respect when speaking with others.Teenagers are expected to make eye contactwith adults.

Ali’s

Ali

• Young people today have an active brain, they take part in many social activities, some of them are excellent.

These social activities are;

•Getting together at friends’ homes•Going to the cinema•Playing games•Playing a musical instrument or dancing etc…

Soccer is the most popular sport, both to watch and to play in Turkey. Turkish youngsters also enjoy volleyball, basketball, bicycling and swimming.

They play “bağlama” a traditional Turkish musical instrument or guitar in their free times and sing a song all together.

Times have changed. Youngsters today have the benefit of living in a highly techonological era complete with hi-tech gadgets and excellent infrastructure in terms of educational facilities, a variety of careers to choose from and so much more.

Some youngsters enjoy reading books rather than surfing on the NET. They think their best friends are books.

Our government also started a campaign called “Turkey is reading” in every school. It gave many contributions to younsters’ reading habits.

Many Turkish youngsters play backgammon, chess or billard in their free time with their close friends. Backgammon and chess are very traditional and famous board games for Turkish people.

They also like dancing very much. They perform their abilities in traditional dances. They wear traditional dresses.

KOLBASTI HORON

FOLK DANCE

THEIR EATING HABITS

Fast food isn’t very common in our city.We are happy with our traditional food such as; MANTI, SARMA (DOLMA), TURKISH DELIGHT and BÖREK

These are “inseparable three” in youngs’ breakfast at the school canteen.

TEA SİMİT CHEESE

Generally in Turkey, clothing styles show difference among cities. But in fact Music style is very dominant in their clothing.RAP music listeners wear loose t-shirts and pants and hatsThey put on metalic braccelents,earings

ROCK music listeners choose black clothes and black & dark make up.They put on leather jewelleries and have strange tattoos on their bodies.

On the other hand, POP music listeners wear sportive clothes and trainers.They generally look relaxed and choose colourful dresses.

Aysın HINÇAL ,one of our students made a questionaire about teenagers’ lifestyles in our school.

Hey YOUNG! If you say I am here, choose you IDENTITY

She asked 100 pupils: “Are you happy with the society you live in?”

Her second question : “Are you a social pupil?”

Her last question : “Can you explain your thoughts freely?”

As you see, the questionaire result show that Turkish youngs need some changes that enable them more SOCIAL ,more ACTIVE and more HAPPY.

Our project “VOTING YES FOR EUROPE” will make our students aware of other cultures in order to learn tolerance and to accept common values. Students and teachers will enhance language competence in the target language as well as in other languages. They will exchange experience, learn and have fun together and finally make new friends.