Turkey And American Culture Essay

The Turks are the largest people group in Turkey. They are predominantly nominally Sunni Muslim, but they do respect Christianity and Judaism. The Turks come from nomadic tribes like the Mongols and Huns and it was in the 9th or 10th centuries that they had converted to Islam. In 1923, Turkey became a republic and it was given religious freedoms under its new constitution.

Ideals Governing Child-Raising The extended family lives together. It is the parent’s responsibility to raise the kids, but they have the help of their extended family. The government says that each family should have at least three children. Children is Turkey do not have bedtimes, but they stay up with their parents. Alone time for the parents is not is not a strong characteristic

They love to touch. The women sometimes will put their arms around each other’s waists while walking or hold hands while talking. The touching is done above the waist though. When someone touches someone’s leg, it is considered a sexual gesture. Also, the lower back should not be touched.

Roles of Women In traditional society, women where in charge of the home and they did things like tend the crops, take care of the animals, and perform household duties. Kemal Atatürk pushed for reform in this area and women now have equal rights at least in law. Two of these areas where freedom was gained are voting and holding a political office. Despite his efforts and the things that have changed, normal behavior does not change quickly. Also, the Islamic government now holds a more conservative view of the role of women.

Notions of Modesty On of Atatürk’s reforms has to do with the veil or Burka. The veil was actually outlawed and European dress was encouraged instead. This law has apparently not been enforced recently. The use of it has increased though most do not follow the traditional ideas of modesty. Most of the women who do observe this practice wear a light draping over coat and a colorful headscarf.

Conception of

She is not supposed to look at monkeys or camels, a dead person or attend a funeral. She is also not supposed to chew gum. When she gives birth, they will unfasten her hair, open locked door and feed the birds. The placenta and umbilical cord are also have rituals tide to them. The mother and baby cannot leave the house for 40 days, because they believe they are vulnerable to mother or baby snatchers. Here are some more general superstitions. Muslims do not believe in washing or bathing in stagnant water. They will have a washing bowl, but they will rinse them in running water. Also you might not find drain plugs in your hotel room. A broken mirror or looking in a mirror at night bring bad luck. When you count your fish when fishing, you will not get as many fish as in the past. Something bad will happen if you don’t get married between two religious holidays. A shooting star means someone has died. When one wakes in the morning they should wash their face, because the evil spirits have been walking on it. When you find a ladybug, hold it in your palm and sing to it till it flies away, because it brings good