Hakan from Turkey
Hakan from Turkey
My name’s Hakan and I'm a university student in Istanbul which is the largest city in Turkey. My family lives in Manisa where I was born and raised with my two brothers. I am away from my family because of my education - I only see them four or five times every year. When my family meet we like to watch films, go travelling, or have a ‘mangal’ which is like a barbecue here in Turkey.
In Turkey you can see...
...four seasons in one day! Turkey is a very big country and the climate is very different in different parts of the country. For example, in Erzurum, located in Eastern Turkey, you can see snow but at the same time you can swim in Antalya, which is a city in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Turkey has lots of cultures. It’s a mix of the East and the West. Because Turkey has had lots of cultural diversity for centuries you can find amazing things like historical buildings, traditional foods, and natural beauty. Every year, many tourists come to Turkey. Those from European countries love to come and swim in the summer as there are a lot of great beaches in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions. I recommend that you visit these places. My favourite place is Fethiye, I have never been abroad but I think Fethiye is the most beautiful place in terms of natural beauty in the world. It is absolutely beautiful. Where l live, in Istanbul, there is a place called Moda, I like to go there at the weekend. It's on the coast and is calm and peaceful. Very different from the centre of Istanbul!
My favourite time of the year...
...is summer because where I live is near the Aegean sea and we can go swimming. I also enjoy holidays! 95% of Turkey’s population is Muslim. Because of this, the most common holidays are religious holidays which we call 'Bayram'. Bayram is a family time. One tradition is for children to knock on people’s doors to celebrate and the people who open the door give money or sweets to them.
I love Turkish food...
...because there are lots of different kinds. There is no specific food for dinner but on special occasions and on religious holidays people treat people who come to their home. People will often give each other Baklava, which is a traditional Turkish dessert made from honey and almonds. My favourite foods are mantı (small meat dumplings with garlic and youghurt), lahmacun (a bit like pizza bread with meat and vegetable son the top), meatballs and Baklava.
In Turkey, people love...
...playing and watching football! We usually play football on astroturf in Turkey because there are not so many grass pitches. If football fans can find a ticket they watch important matches in the stadium but finding tickets for big matches is really hard. If a fan can’t get a ticket there are some certain places in Istanbul where fans of different teams watch the match. Galatasaray fans watch in Nevizade Street and,Fenerbahce fans watch in Bagdat Street. I used to play for a club but unfortunately my achilles tendon ruptured so I had to give it up.
I support...
...Galatasaray in Turkey. They are a big team and in 2000 won the UEFA and UEFA Super Cup but I was too young to remember them. I watch the team in the Ali Sami Yen Spor Complex Turk Telecom Arena which has an incredible atmosphere. Every time I see the green pitch it is a fabulous feeling. I have lots of other football memories. Here is one of them. One day, there was a critical match for Galatasaray, which is my favorite club. The coach was sacked before the match so we had no coach and this match was really important for the championship. It was 0-0 in the 90th minute and there was a free kick for Galatasaray. I prayed so much for us to score and we did and we finished the season as Champions!
My favourite Premier League club is...
...Leicester City. The Foxes are a small team but they managed to win against the big teams like Manchester Utd and Arsenal. The team played with all their heart and that is great to see. The Premier League is really popular in Turkey. Most people who follow the PL have a dream to watch a PL match in a stadium in England. Not so long ago we had a couple of Turkish players in the Premier League. Tugay Kerimoglu played over 200 times for Blackburn Rovers and Tuncay Sanli played Premier League football for Middlesbrough, Stoke and Bolton.
My football hero is...
...Felipe Melo because he plays every match with all his heart even if the rest of the team have given up. Melo never gives up and he is also a great player with great vision on the pitch. In Turkey, fans don't like him becaue of some of his bad habits on the pitch. However, Galatasaray fans love him!
My favourite football quote is...
Football isn't a matter of life and death, it is much more important than that.
Bill Shankly, ex-Liverpool manager.
Six things you might not know about Turkey.
Quiz
Please login to take this quiz.
What do you think?
Did you learn anything new about life in Turkey? Do you do any of the things that Hakan wrote about?
Tell us about where you are from and some of the things that are special about where you live.
If you want to be one of our featured fans, let us know in the comments section and we will contact you by email.
Don't worry about your English we are here to help you with that! All you need to do is answer a few questions and send us a few photos from your country.
Leave a comment
Log in to leave a comment
Komentar
14/03/2023
points
Hi Jack, Please let me correct that Bosphorus is a strait not river which separates two continents.
14/03/2023 16:10
Tottenham Hotspur
5558
Hi Jack, Please let me correct that Bosphorus is a strait not river which separates two continents.
15/03/2023
points
Hi Hsn
Thanks for the correction. I will update the text.
Jack
15/03/2023 00:24
Arsenal
22
Hi Hsn
Thanks for the correction. I will update the text.
Jack
13/06/2020
points
Merhaba canım arkadaşım :)
It's amazing to hear from you and luckily we live in the same Aegean region but I'm about 35 kilometres away in Konak.
However , my brother lives in Güzelyurt , Manisa and he's a professor at Celal Bayar University.
Very nice to hear from you brother and wish you all the best in the future :)
13/06/2020 17:35
Manchester United
6539
Merhaba canım arkadaşım :)
It's amazing to hear from you and luckily we live in the same Aegean region but I'm about 35 kilometres away in Konak.
However , my brother lives in Güzelyurt , Manisa and he's a professor at Celal Bayar University.
Very nice to hear from you brother and wish you all the best in the future :)
28/09/2017
points
You are right.Istanbul is amazing place.I remember how Shakhtar(Donetsk)won the UEFA cup in 2009.
28/09/2017 18:54
Arsenal
2337
You are right.Istanbul is amazing place.I remember how Shakhtar(Donetsk)won the UEFA cup in 2009.
15/07/2017
points
Great informations about Turkey,can you tell me more about the rivaly between your team and Fenerbache,do a lot of problems happen when they face each other?
15/07/2017 10:27
Liverpool
3705
Great informations about Turkey,can you tell me more about the rivaly between your team and Fenerbache,do a lot of problems happen when they face each other?
29/05/2017
points
Ramadan karim to all of my muslim brothers and sisters!
29/05/2017 23:52
Manchester City
813
Ramadan karim to all of my muslim brothers and sisters!
13/06/2020
points
Thanks a lot dear brother.
Ramadan Mubarak to everyone enjoying the Holy month :)
13/06/2020 17:29
Manchester United
6539
Thanks a lot dear brother.
Ramadan Mubarak to everyone enjoying the Holy month :)
25/05/2017
points
Hi, Hakan. I enjoyed reading your article, it's interesting. Now I know new things about life in Turkey. And the celebrations here in the Bayram are the same. Thanks Hakan and Ramadan Karim
25/05/2017 16:01
Liverpool
2903
Hi, Hakan. I enjoyed reading your article, it's interesting. Now I know new things about life in Turkey. And the celebrations here in the Bayram are the same. Thanks Hakan and Ramadan Karim
27/05/2017
points
Thnaks for enjoying reading my story.
27/05/2017 21:12
Leicester City
1761
Thnaks for enjoying reading my story.
24/05/2017
points
I learned some new things about life in Turkey but even if some features are the same in the Maghreb region like the religion or some food like beklava or some dishes it is hard to be familiar with because the langage is so strange for us. Turkish ruled some cities and ports here in Algeria for so long, perhaps three centuries, but no deep links in langage.
24/05/2017 15:57
Manchester City
3988
I learned some new things about life in Turkey but even if some features are the same in the Maghreb region like the religion or some food like beklava or some dishes it is hard to be familiar with because the langage is so strange for us. Turkish ruled some cities and ports here in Algeria for so long, perhaps three centuries, but no deep links in langage.
22/05/2017
points
Turkey is a great destination for most Ghanaian players and Stephen Appiah our formal national team captain palyed for fernabache.
22/05/2017 15:49
Manchester United
4779
Turkey is a great destination for most Ghanaian players and Stephen Appiah our formal national team captain palyed for fernabache.
27/05/2017
points
Yes,you are right.He had come to Turkey for Galatasaray in 1999.
27/05/2017 21:14
Leicester City
1761
Yes,you are right.He had come to Turkey for Galatasaray in 1999.
21/05/2017
points
Assalamu alaykum Hakan arkadas!
First of all let me introduce myself: my name is Mirzohid and I'm from Namangan, Uzbekistan. Nice to meet you!
I liked your story and even I've heard and known a lot about Turkey your story made me to feel myslef there in your story. I love Turkey and Turkish people. As you mentioned because of our religion we're close to each other. Also as a nation we're the same!
Thank you very much for your story about your amazing country. I really liked it very much!
What's interesting, I also support Galatasaray and from the last season Leicester City. As you see we have lots of things that we both like!
Hope next season will be more successful than this one for both of our club!
Good luck kardasim.
Your bro
Mirzohid
Namangan, Uzbekistan
21/05/2017 18:52
Manchester City
813
Assalamu alaykum Hakan arkadas!
First of all let me introduce myself: my name is Mirzohid and I'm from Namangan, Uzbekistan. Nice to meet you!
I liked your story and even I've heard and known a lot about Turkey your story made me to feel myslef there in your story. I love Turkey and Turkish people. As you mentioned because of our religion we're close to each other. Also as a nation we're the same!
Thank you very much for your story about your amazing country. I really liked it very much!
What's interesting, I also support Galatasaray and from the last season Leicester City. As you see we have lots of things that we both like!
Hope next season will be more successful than this one for both of our club!
Good luck kardasim.
Your bro
Mirzohid
Namangan, Uzbekistan
27/05/2017
points
Nice to meet you too,thanks for your warm emotions.I am happy that you are a fan of Galatasaray and you liked my story.
I hope so.
27/05/2017 21:10
Leicester City
1761
Nice to meet you too,thanks for your warm emotions.I am happy that you are a fan of Galatasaray and you liked my story.
I hope so.