So many words come to mind when you see the beauty of Türkiye. Not only beautiful but also unique, not only sights but unforgettable experiences. Türkiye offers nothing less than a good life with happy memories. To read more stories about various regions of Türkiye please follow the links:
We would like you to check the life in Turkey with your own eyes before reading the details below. Please click for the videos.
Please do not hesitate to contact directly with the "Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism" for all the issues that you are corious about, wishes, complaints, requests and suggestions.Please click.
Turkish Music Culture
Türkiye's cultural fabric is made up of a rich combination of diverse cultures rooted deeply in history. By virtue of its geographical position, Türkiye lies at the axis of the cultures of the East, the West, the Middle Eastern, the Mediterranean and Islam. Anatolia is one of the world’s oldest human habitats – hosts of civilizations have called it home – and it enjoys a unique cultural richness with its thousands of years of history. Anatolia’s cultural variety is so rich that we can see great cultural differences even in areas geographically quite close to each other.
This colorful portrait holds just as true for Türkiye’s music. For detailed information on Traditional/Local Music, Modern Turkish Classical Music, Popular Music and Other Music Examples please click.
Opera and Ballet
The country’s first Opera Society was established in 1930 in İstanbul. The first Ballet School was established in 1948, also in İstanbul and then moved to Ankara and became part of the State Conservatory. Later, both were fused into The State Opera and Ballet that remained within the organizational structure of the State Theatres established in 1949, continues its performance as a Directorate which has been attached to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism since 1970. In Türkiye, Opera and Ballet State Halls are respectively in Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir, Mersin and Antalya. For Turkish background of opera and ballet; please click here.
Details about festivals, competitions, tickets etc. you can check our Directorate General of State Opera and Ballet.
Theatre
Theatre goes way back in history in Türkiye. It was institutionalized in 1914 with the establishment of “Darülbedayi-I Osmaniye” (formerly, İstanbul Conservatory of Music and City Theatre). Muhsin Ertuğrul who took over Darülbedayi in 1927, laid the foundation for a modern and contemporary theatre. The İstanbul City Theatres were established in 1934, followed by the State Opera and Ballet in 1949 and the State Theatre Directorate attached to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 1970. With 43 stages in 13 cities together with touring theatre companies, theatres open their curtains every night, mostly in Turkish. With carefully selected and rich repertory State Theatre performs play all over Türkiye, additionally every year in and out of the country about 500 plays are staged.
For more information please click here.
Cinema
The first governmental institution related to cinema, General Directorate of Cinema, was founded under the authority of the Ministry of Culture, the department of Fine Arts in 1977. Later, it was decided that the department of literary and artistic works and the department of cinema were to be united because of their close resemblance in terms of subject and service. The new structure which is the General Directorate of Cinema and Copyright was constituted on November 6th, 1989.
In accordance with the enactment of the law General Directorate of cinema and copyright, the department of copyright and the General Directorate of Cinema were reconstructed on November 2nd 2011. General Directorate of cinema continues it's service on Anafartalar Street no 67 on the third floor of the old historical courthouse building in Ulus/Ankara. For further details about Turkish cinema and its history, please click here.
For the Türkiye Filming Guide Book please click here.
Cinema lovers can follow the links to see some examples of private cinema ticket offices in Turkey:
Traditional Arts and Crafts
Traditional Turkish handicrafts include; carpet-making, rug-making, sumac, cloth-weaving, writing, tile-making, ceramics and pottery, embroidery, leather manufacture, musical instrument-making, masonry, copper work, basket-making, saddle-making, felt-making, weaving, woodwork, cart-making etc. Weaving materials in traditional Turkish handicrafts consist of wool, mohair, cotton, bristles and silk. For more detail please click here.
Fine arts in Türkiye are categorized as painting, sculpting, ceramics, photography, cartooning, Turkish decorative arts, Turkish handcrafts and similar fields. İbrahim Çallı, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu and Fikret Mualla are the most renowned names among painters, while Zühtü Müridoğlu stands out among sculptors, Füreyya Koral among ceramics artists, Cemal Nadir among the cartoonists, and Ara Güler among the photographers. For more detail please click here.
Touristical Attractions and Museums
In Türkiye Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia), Dolmabahçe Palace, Kariye Mosque, Fethiye and İmrahor Mosques in İstanbul, Yeşil Mosque and Muradiye Külliyesi (mosque complex) in Bursa and similar historical monuments were converted into museums in the 1930s. Moreover, the best known museums in Ankara are The Ethnographic Museum and The Anatolian Civilizations Museum. There is a total number of 94 museums under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. For all museums or archaeological sites in Türkiye please click.
You can buy museum passes valid for all museums in Türkiye.
You can also visit museums online now. Please click here to visit.
Religious Life
85% of the population in Türkiye is Muslim. You can check the Department of Religious Affairs website for detailed information about religious life. Please click here.
Türkiye: Focal Point of Three Faiths
Throughout its long history as a nurturing homeland to Christianity, Judaism and Islam, Türkiye has embraced their diverse beliefs and preserved their holy sites. For more than a millennium, Türkiye has been at the crossroads of civilization, a melting pot of eastern and western traditions and a place where faiths converge.
Tradition holds that Abraham was born in Ur, in today’s Sanliurfa, and sojourned in a little cave in Harran, in Southeast Anatolia. St. Paul, born Saul of Tarsus, spread Christianity on his many missionary journeys throughout the land. The Eastern Orthodox faith reveres the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul. Sultan Selim, upon the conquest of the Mamluks in Egypt, claimed the title of Caliph, or Commander of the Faithful, for himself and established Topkapi Palace as the new home for Islam’s holiest relics. It is no wonder, as incubator or dwelling for the world’s three monotheistic religions, that Türkiye is often invoked as “The other Holy Land.”
One may say it all started in the beginning, in the Southeastern town of Sanliurfa, also known as the City of Prophets. Here, the Halil Rahman Mosque now surrounds the cave that is thought to be the birthplace of Abraham. Located 30 miles south of Sanliurfa, the city of Harran (Altinbasak) was Abraham's home when he heard God's call. Also south of Sanliurfa, in the district of Eyyubiye, the Prophet Job, famed for his patience, is believed to have spent seven years in a cave recovering from illness.
Today, visitors seeking to experience Türkiye through the eyes of their faith can visit such seminal sites as the House of the Virgin Mary, Harran Cave, St. Paul’s Grotto, and the Seven Churches of the Revelation, while simultaneously feasting on the wonders of a country that embraces people of all faiths. For more information please click.
Fun For The Family
With much of Türkiye’s rich historic and cultural wealth scattered throughout the country in a virtual playground of open-air wonders, kids won’t even notice they’re being exposed to the learning experience of a lifetime.
Those venturing only as far as Istanbul have a wealth of options. Consider strolling through Türkiye's centuries at Miniaturk, where you and your children can tower above 105 Turkish monuments in miniature, and thus cover destinations you may have otherwise missed, all in one afternoon.
Or take a cruise up the Bosphorus, the artery that slices right through Europe and Asia. You will be following in the wake of Jason and the Argonauts, viewing marble palaces, imposing castles and seaside villas. Or explore what’s beneath the waves vicariously at Turkuazoo. At Istanbul’s giant aquarium and research center, you can take the underwater safari, an 87-yard moving walkway that provides a porthole into the activity along the ocean floor, or your kids can feed the sharks (and other fishes).
Inspire your children’s imagination at the Istanbul Toy Museum, a vibrant extravaganza of more than 7,000 antique and collectible toys and miniatures curated by the Turkish poet and novelist, Sunay Akin. Or encourage your budding scientist at the Museum of Energy, where hands-on exhibits allow your little ones to have fun while generating their own science experiments.
Associations and Unions
Ministry of Interior Department of Associations is providing information regarding this topic. Please click here for more information.
To see the procedures regarding the activities of Foreign CSOs (Associations, Foundations, Nonprofit Organizations) in Türkiye please click here.