Turkish Traditions

Throughout the years we have blogged about Turkish traditions. As expats, it took us a while to get used to them, we now know them but they still are exotic :)

I've listed this table in our Home shop. It is called a sofra in Turkish, it is a floor table. Traditionally there were no normal tables in Turkish homes. A  wooden piece like this or just a round ring would be put on the floor, then a large piece of cloth and on top of that a circular tray with all the food brought in from the kitchen. We have one of those as well in the shop.

Soup gets served in bowls but all the other food is eaten directly from the pans, no one gets a plate. Bread is crucial at the Turkish sofra, a Turk does not feel full without bread :) And plates get al cleaned up with bread. The cloth is where everyone 'goes under', the cloth covers the legs and prevents crumbs to fall on the floor, it is a big sin to step on bread so this is a precaution for that as well as an easy cleanup.

The sofra has no limit on how many people can sit around it. Those that are full get up and those who come later can slide right in. Surprise guests are normal. No chairs mean just sitting a little closer when it gets crowded. The sofra is now seen as the poor's table, they say that you get full quicker as your stomach get suppressed by sitting in such a position. When the meal is over the sofra is hung on the wall, occupying no floor space.

Our sofra is pretty unique, it has hand-painted and torched details. Would look great in a bohemian home with floor cushions.

Nowadays sofra's are made of MDF with collapsable plastic legs, not so pretty, or you even have them entirely made out of plastic :(

Turkish Traditions

One of the things that makes a different country exotic is often the traditions. In Turkey there are religious holidays but there are also Republic holidays established by the first president of Turkey, Atatürk (litterally translated: Father of all the Turks).
Ome of them is April 23, the day for the children.
This day involves dances prepared for weeks before hand. I think the parents enjoy this more then the children, it is a day that they can proudly show of their child.

I think the children would rather be on their skateboard or playing games on their computer, but they do get alot of extra attention :)

These days are always messy with lots of music and people and food of course.
Funny enough 23rd of April the weather is always sunny and is the start of Summer.

I didn't take much pictures of the dance it self but more of the cute mess beforehand. As it all started much later then anticipated the children started to get tired and overheated with their layers of traditional costumes.

The dances are traditionally a serious act so the children look very serious too, which is quiet funny to look at.

Next holiday will be 19th of May the day of youth and sports, where simular activities will be taken place :)

Turkish Engagement Party

A close friend of mine got engaged yesterday. I knew it would be boring but as she is my friend I just had to be there. The 'Party' was without music, there was an half hour praying, where everyone almost fell asleep. I just wanted to show you a fun Turkish detail, the ring ritual...


The rings are bound on a red ribbon, so may the bound be forever (red ribbons are also used at wedding as you can see here).

Again a little prayer before cutting the ribbon.

Bundle of Joy

The custom of swaddling babies is a very old one. All kind of benefits are attributed to swaddling: babies cry less, they grow with nice straight limbs, etc. And it sure makes a nice, easy to carry, package.

This illustration, from 15th century England’s manuscript, is one of the oldest that remain.

These Tudor ladies, the twins Cholmondley sisters, married on the same day and gave birth on the same day. They appear stultified by the fact in this portrait, dating from 1610.

In the new world, the native Americans, like this Chippeway mother, carried their babies in much the same fashion.

This sweet doll in a glass cabinet is from 19th century Sicily.



In the Netherlands, where the custom of swaddling felt in disuse at the beginning of the 19th century, it became ‘in’ again the last fifteen years or so, along with the rest of the western world. Nowadays, a brisk trade in swaddle blankets, muslin's and such, can be found on the net. Also numerous sites give detailed information on how to convert your baby in a true bundle of joy.



The luckiest though, is this little guy in eastern Turkey. His mum knows how to combine century old traditions with the modern commodity of in-crib plumbing. Hurray!!


Photographer, alas, unknown.

Turkish Kevlar Vest

This protection amulet includes a bullet encased with a knotting technique; kind of double sided macramé and is probably made by a male prisoner.

Such amulets are often given to young men going to military service and are supposed to protect them from bullets and other harm.

So, here you are, your light weight, low tech, Kevlar vest.

Little Bride

That is the Turkish name for poppy.
The first Turkish woman known to have been married in a white wedding dress is Naime Sultan, the daughter of sultan Abdülhamid the second, who married in 1898.

The traditional Turkish wedding dress was in bold colors, like purple or red, richly embroidered in gold thread. This dress varied from region to region, often from village to village, and very often the head covering of the bride was red. Therefore…poppy = little bride.


Now every girl that can afford a wedding dress marries in white, but the traditional wedding dresses with their enormous variety and richness of design are not forgotten. They are used the night before the wedding, during henna night, a beautiful ceremony to mark the separation of the girl from her father’s house and the entering of her new life as married woman.

A Turkish wedding

One of Estella’s friends got married the other day. A Turkish wedding is, of course, similar to any other wedding, but some oddities make it worth to share in a blog post.

Here is the bride gathering her strength for the ceremony, with the omnipresent Ata Türk looming in the background.


The bride and groom make their appearance at the wedding place accompanied by confetti and party crackers.


They give each other their ‘yes’ in the presence of two witnesses, a wedding official (in purple gown) and all the guests.


Then the happy couple opens the dance. The red sash around the bride’s loins is a virginity symbol, as is the white dress.


The male friends of the groom dance around the couple.


The most awkward part of the ceremony is the pinning of money or gold coins on bride and groom. Somebody holds a dish with pins and you fasten your offering without sticking the pin in human parts. Because the gift is openly displayed, thriftiness is out of the question!


The fastening of presents is accompanied by happy drumming.


Exhausted by all the festivities, the bride badly needed an smoke. That had to happen in the bathroom, because well brought up Turks never smoke in the presence of their elders, no matter how old they have become themselves.


She also needed a pee.


Greatly relieved, she goes back to the festivities.


The cutting of the cake. The knife is very similar to a Turkish scimitar. If the girl has second thoughts, this is the moment to act upon them, one should think.


The couple, tired and happy, at the end of the evening with the friends of the bride. As the Turkish say: ‘That they may grow old on one pillow.’