The center of the former Ottaman Empire, home to ancient Troy, Romans, Persians and more, Turkey is a true hybrid of cultures. Read on to find out more about one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.
曾是前奧圖曼土耳其帝國的中心，更是古特洛伊、羅馬、波斯和其他帝國的發源地，土耳其是名副其實的文化綜合體。往下讀，深入了解全球最受歡迎的旅遊景點之一。
A closer look 說古論今
PHOTO: AP
Over 20 million tourists entered Turkey in 2006, putting it in the top 10 travel destinations in the world. They were drawn by the clean beaches, the Black Sea, the breathtaking mountains, fascinating archeological sites and the Turkish people's reputation for hospitality.
Turkey has archeological remains dating back to 7000BC. It has been part of the Phrygian, Persian, Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine empires. In some places sites of significance overlap. An example of this is Ephesus, which is one of the best preserved imperial Roman cities in Europe. It is home to the Temple of Artemis, which is now reduced to ruins. Christianity's St. Paul made a famous sermon here too, much to the dismay of local vendors of silver statues of Artemis at the time!
Istanbul, the former capital, is the only city in the world to span two continents. The center of the city is in Europe and the suburbs are in Asia. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, different cultures were forced into close contact in modern day Turkey. The founder of the Republic of Turkey, Ataturk (which means father of the Turks) made sweeping reforms. The state became secular, moving away from the religion of the majority, Islam. Women were given voting rights, and the Arabic writing system was replaced with a Roman alphabet in just three months.
Turkish food is world famous. Shish kebab and doner kebab can be found from the streets of London to Taipei. In Turkey, lamb is a particular favorite. Breads, vegetables, yogurt, olives and cheese are also very popular.
(Catherine Thomas, staff writer)
土耳其二○○六年有超過兩千萬名觀光客造訪，榮登全球十大旅遊景點。遊客被潔淨的海灘、黑海、令人屏息的山脈、迷人的古蹟和土耳其人聞名的好客性格所吸引。
土耳其的建築遺跡可上溯至西元前七千年，弗里吉亞帝國、波斯帝國、古希臘帝國、羅馬帝國和拜占庭帝國都曾佔領此地。在某些地方，重要的遺址交疊存在，如全歐洲保存最好的羅馬城市以弗所，同時也是阿米提斯神殿原址，如今只剩斷垣殘瓦。基督教聖徒保羅也曾在此發表過著名的講道，這令當時在當地兜售阿提米斯銀身雕像的攤販相當驚慌。
舊都伊斯坦堡是世界上唯一橫跨兩洲的城市，市中心在歐洲，郊區在亞洲。奧圖曼土耳其帝國在二十世紀初瓦解後，不同文化被迫密切地在現代土耳其相遇。土耳其共和國的建國者凱末爾（意為土耳其之父）作了全面性的改革，土耳其的政治和宗教漸行漸遠，不再與大多數人信奉的伊斯蘭教結合，女性擁有投票權，而阿拉伯文書寫系統在三個月內就被替換成羅馬字母。
土耳其食物舉世聞名，烤肉串和沙威瑪從倫敦到台北街頭處處可見。土耳其人特別喜歡羊肉，麵包、蔬菜、優格、橄欖和起司也非常受歡迎。
（翻譯：鄭湘儀）
WHO KNEW? 你知道嗎?
Turks enjoy busy social lives, revolving around good friends, good food and nightlife. Nightclubs stay open until dawn and it isn't uncommon to retreat to a Turkish Bath House on the way home. The baths, known as hammams, are a blend of dry and moist heat, cold water and massage. Males and females attend separately.
In the villages, the Koy Odasi is the social center for men only, where backgammon is played, tea is drunk and hubble-bubble pipes are smoked. Although coffee was once Turkey's national drink, tea has stolen the mantle. Fresh tea is nearly always available all over Turkey, served hot in tulip shaped glasses. The tea comes from the eastern Black Sea coast. Traditional sports such as kirkpinar, wrestling in leather pants while covered in olive oil, share equal popularity with non-traditional sports such as soccer and adventure sports.
土耳其人享受忙碌的社交生活，沉浸在好友、美食和夜生活之中。夜總會營業至清晨，回家路上到土耳其浴堂裡休憩一下也是司空見慣的事。這種稱作「hammams」的土耳其浴，結合了乾蒸、濕蒸、冷水和按摩，而且男女分浴。
「Koy Odasi」是村莊中的社交中心，只准男生進入，他們在裡頭下西洋雙陸棋、飲茶和抽水煙。咖啡雖曾是土耳其的國飲，茶飲卻奪走了這項殊榮，在土耳其各地隨處可見熱騰騰、以鬱金香形狀玻璃杯奉上的鮮茶，鮮茶源自黑海東岸。傳統運動如穿皮褲、擦橄欖油的土耳其油脂角力，足球、冒險運動等非傳統運動，都同樣受歡迎。
A LOOK AT CONTEXT
1. I have a hybrid car. It can run equally well on electricity and gas.
Hybrid means ...
a. a mixture of at least three things.
b. unconnected.
c. a blend of at least two things.
d. a tall bridge.
2. Uncle James was renowned for his hospitality. Visitors to his home always left well-fed and with pockets bulging with a piece fruit cake or bottle of ale.
Hospitality is ...
a. the art of making people feel unwelcome.
b. the art of making people feel uncomfortable.
c. the art of making people feel extremely welcome.
d. the art of sending visitors to the hospital.
3. The Sydney Harbour Bridge spans Sydney Harbor and is the world's largest steel arch bridge.
If something spans something, it ...
a. extends over it.
b. is very short.
c. is very tall.
d. is Spanish style.
4. All public shools in the US are secular. Parents wishing to send their children to religious schools must send them to private schools.
Secular means ...
a. pertaining to a specific religion.
b. pertaining to several religions.
c. not pertaining to a particular religion.
d. religious.
ABOUT TURKEY
Size: 780,580km2, or about 22 times the size of Taiwan
Location: Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia
Border countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Syria
Capital: Ankara
Population: About 71 million
Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian
Government: Republican parliamentary democracy
Currency: NT$25 = 1 Turkish New Lira
面積：七十八萬零五百八十平方公里，約為台灣的二十二倍大
位置：東南歐和西南亞
鄰國：亞美尼亞、亞塞拜然、保加利亞、喬治亞、希臘、伊朗、伊拉克和敘利亞
首都：安卡拉
人口：約七千一百萬人
語言：土耳其語（官方語言）、庫德語、迪姆利語（或薩沙語）、阿塞拜然語、卡巴爾達語
政府：國會共和民主
貨幣：新台幣二十五元等於一新土耳其里拉
WHAT TIME IS IT THERE ?
Right now Turkey is five hours behind Taiwan. If it is 9pm in Taiwan, it is 4pm in Turkey.
現在土耳其比台灣晚五個小時，台灣若是晚上九點，土耳其就是下午四點。
FLAG 國旗
Red has been in the Turkish flag for around 700 years. Although the star and crescent are Muslim symbols, they pre-date Islam. One traditional story is that the Byzantines used the crescent as the symbol of their patron goddess, Diana. In 330 the ruler, the Emperor Constantine, dedicated the capital to the Virgin Mary, and consequently the Virgin Mary's symbol, a star, was added to the flag.
土耳其國旗上的紅色有七百年左右的歷史，弦月抱星雖象徵伊斯蘭教，此標誌的出現卻早於伊斯蘭教。傳說拜占庭人以弦月象徵他們的守護神黛安娜，而西元三三○年，君士坦丁大帝將首都獻給聖母瑪麗亞，並在國旗上添上象徵她的標誌︰五角星。
When people talk about fast delivery or logistics, most assume these are modern inventions. However, the need to convey messages and ship goods efficiently existed in ancient China. As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the governments implemented official systems to deliver orders and military information across long distances. Later, this system, known as yizhan, reached its peak during the Tang period and remained crucial to Chinese society for centuries. The main function of a yizhan was to deploy documents and personnel quickly across vast regions. Messengers would stop at these stations to change horses or rest. Sometimes,
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 “Sentence me to death! I beg you — I beg you!” He stood, thin from weeks in a cell, but steady. The courtroom was silent. Soldiers lined the walls. Reporters looked up, pens suspended above their notebooks. The judges shifted. Cameras clicked once, then stopped. Outside, the sun blazed over the barracks yard. Inside, it was winter. The words rebellion and death penalty hung in the air like a storm cloud about to break. But this moment had not begun here. It began three months earlier, on a warm December evening. The traffic circle
A: While year-end blockbusters hit cinemas, South Korea’s two-day 2025 Asia Artist Awards, known as “AAA,” is scheduled for this weekend in Kaohsiung. B: Saturday’s AAA award show will be co-hosted by IVE’s Jang Won-young and 2PM’s Lee Jun-ho. A: Apart from Park Bo-gum and IU from the K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines, the lineup includes Lee Jun-hyuk, Kim You-jung, Yoon-a and Japan’s Satoh Takeru. B: And the performers include IVE, Le Sserafim, Monsta X, Stray Kids and Singapore’s JJ Lin. A: Sunday’s ACON music show will be co-hosted by I-dle’s Taiwanese member Susan Yeh and Cravity’s Taiwanese-American
A: I went to see Wicked: For Good on Thanksgiving Day last Thursday. It was so interesting. B: I went to see Zootopia 2. It was also pretty good. My friends say I look like one of the movie’s characters: Officer Benjamin Clawhauser. A: Now that you mention it, you do look like the cheetah. What other blockbusters are coming out soon? B: Avatar: Fire and Ash, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, and Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere are the most anticipated movies. A: Plus, Hero! Hito! — a documentary film about Taiwan winning the 2024 “WBSC Premier
RSS