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.

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.