T is for Turkey
Ranked #3,573 in Travel & Places, #110,536 overall
Turkey: Mosaics, Turkish Delight, & Camel Fights
Are you a geography teacher, lover of travel, homeschooling or involved parent, student, or life-long learner? Join us on our adventure as we travel the globe! In an effort to make world geography more meaningful and memorable, we will visit one country per letter of the alphabet. Locate the country on a world map, color the flag, watch YouTube clips, cook an ethnic meal, create an ethnic craft, read a book about the country, and more!
Take the guesswork out of your travel plans! I have all the maps, recipes, craft ideas, video clips, etc. that you will need. Sit back and relax and join us on our journey as we explore the world! No passports or plane tickets required!
Where is Turkey?
Locate Turkey on this map of Europe. Use this map of Turkey to label the capitol, Ankara. Mark other relevant features (rivers, mountains, famous locations, etc.) if desired.If you'd like to spend a bit more time researching the country, you can add the language, currency, type of government, religion, and/or famous landmarks. Write them on the back of the map. You can easily find all this information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey.
Color the flag of Turkey
Print and color the flag of Turkey and learn the history and meaning of it from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Turkey. Visit Turkey on YouTube
Read a book about Turkey
Fun Facts
The Black Sea coastal strip is covered with hazelnut trees. Turkey produces 65% of the world's hazelnuts.
The Derinkuyu Underground City is a complete city that has been dug into the earth 7 stories deep. Inside this underground city are food stores, kitchens, churches, water wells, a missionary school, and more.
While the Spanish have bullfights, the Italians cockfights, and the English go hunting with hounds, the Turks have camel wrestling.
Design Turkish tiles
Paint Turkish tiles on paper by following the directions at www.simplekidscrafts.com. If you have older children, you can try making Turkish tiles out of dried beans (mosaic-style) by following the directions at paperplateandplane.wordpress.com. If you want to go the easy route, simply print off one of the Turkish tile patterns at www.papermandalas.co and color it. Turkish Meal
Turkish meals traditionally start with soup and a salad. Before the main meal, serve Turkish Red Lentil Soup and Turkish Salad. For your main meal serve Kofta (meatballs) with pita bread (store-bought), shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, lemon slices, and a yogurt sauce (made from 1 c. plain yogurt, 1-2 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, and 2 tsp. diced parsley (optional)). Serve black tea for your beverage and Turkish Delight for dessert.
Turkish Red Lentil Soup
- Serves: 4
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup washed & cleaned red lentils (or any other type of lentil)
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup finely chopped mild onion
- 1/2 cup peeled and diced potato (use Simply Potatoes pre-diced potatoes to save time if desired)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
Instructions
Place the red lentils in a colander and rinse. Sift through to remove and debris or damaged beans. Place the washed and cleaned lentils into a medium pot with the stock, potatoes, onions and paprika. Bring the pot to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Loosely place a lid on the pot leaving slightly ajar as to allow some evaporation. Cook for 40-40 minutes until the lentils are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place all but 1 cup of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend briefly. Return blended soup to the pot with the reserved cup of soup and serve. (This recipe came from food.com.)
Turkish Salad
- Serves: 6
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1 cup diced peeled cucumber
- 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
- 1/3 cup green onion
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and chill for at least 1 hour before serving. (This recipe came from food.com.)
Kofta (Turkish Meatballs)
- Serves: 6
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup fine fresh breadcrumb
- 1 lb lean ground lamb or beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon dried or fresh mint
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Make the bread crumbs by breaking up 2 slices of stale whole-wheat bread into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely crumbed. Add the ground lamb/beef and the egg, and process until blended. Add the spices, garlic and parsley. Process the meat well to achieve a fine texture. Roll the mixture into small meatballs (a melon-baller helps) or hand-shaped patties using dampened hands. You may cook them at once, or refrigerate the mixture for several hours. When ready to cook them, heat the oil in a heavy skillet, and fry the balls or patties until cooked through and evenly browned. The meatballs should be stirred several times, and the patties should be turned once. Remove them with a slotted spoon to drain. Serve with a yogurt or tahini sauce on a bed of rice or in a pita. (This recipe came from food.com.)
Lokoom (Turkish Delight)
- Serves: 12-16
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
If your children have read "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," you'll definitely want to try this recipe. Otherwise, you can make baklava for dessert.
Ingredients
- 3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water (add 1-2 Tbsp. of rose water if desired)
- 1 tablespoon lemons or 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind or 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
- 5-10 drops of food coloring
- powdered sugar
Instructions
Mix gelatin, sugar and salt in a heavy pot. Add water. Bring to slow boil and simmer without stirring for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in juice and rind. Add a few drops of food coloring. Taste for flavor. Add more juice if desired. Pour into 8 inch square pan which has been rinsed in cold water but not dried. Chill overnight. Cut into squares and roll each in powdered sugar. (This recipe came from food.com.)
Pray for the people of Turkey
Turkey in the News
- A Turkish War of Religion: Kurdish Activists Sense a Conspiracy
- By Piotr Zalewski / Diyarbakir Monday, June 04, 2012 A Kurdish protester clashes with Turkish police during a "Noruz" or "Navroz" celebration in Istanbul on March 18, 2012. In a widely reported speech last month, Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke about ...
- Turkish women protest plans to curb abortion
- The largely Kurdish southeast has the highest birth rate in Turkey with 27.3 births in every 1000, compared to 11,4 births in the northwest, according to the latest available figures in 2010 by the Turkish Statistical Institute.
Other countries starting with the letter T
Would you prefer to study a different country? Try one of these.
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Tchad
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos
Tuvalu
More countries to visit
Like this?
Please take a moment to "like" this lens. That helps my ranking in searches, making it easier for others to find this web page.
This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.
Comments, questions, or ideas
I LOVE hearing from you! Please leave a note to let me know you dropped by!
-
-
jadehorseshoe
Dec 30, 2011 @ 12:50 am | delete
- VERY Nice Lens!
-
Orbitz!
by iijuan12
I was an 8th Grade American History teacher and now I am a homeschooling mom of 5. I love finding activities that appeal to kinestic learners, storybo... more »
- 169 featured lenses
- Winner of 37 trophies!
- Top lens » Earthquakes Lesson Plan
Explore related pages
Orient - Occident
Amazon Price: $15.45 (as of 06/04/2012)
This CD includes many traditional Turkish songs.
Navitas Naturals Organic Mulberries Turkish Superfruit, 16-Ounce Pouch
Amazon Price: (as of 06/04/2012)
Turkish mulberries have been considered a precious fruit for thousands of years due to their incredible taste. They taste similar to golden raisins and are fun to try!
Rick Steves' Europe: Greece & Turkey 2000-2009
Amazon Price: $11.56 (as of 06/04/2012)
Very informative and entertaining DVD on Turkey.
