Many of the churches and mosques in Turkey are decorated with elaborate mosaics. Haghia Sophia,
“The Church of Holy Wisdom” in Istanbul, one of the world’s greatest architectural achievements, the
Church of St. Saviour in Chora, and The Church of Haghia Sophia in Trabzon, situated on the Black
Sea, a restored 13th-century Byzantine church that reverted to a mosque in 1577, are just three of the many places
throughout Turkey which represent beautiful and intricate mosaics. Many of the mosaics depict Christ, Turkish
Emperors and/or scenes from the Old Testament of the Bible.
These mosaics were made using thousands of
small, individually colored titles, arranged sideby-
side on the walls and ceilings to create
intricate designs and pictures. Up close, they
look like an arbitrary arrangement of small
colored squares, but as you move away, the
tiles of these huge displays blend together to
create beautiful and very detailed multi-colored
pictures. In some mosques, these mosiacs
cover entire walls, or, such as in the case of the
Church of St. Savior in Chora, cover entire
domes and ceilings.
Activity:
Materials needed include different colors of
construction paper, scissors, white glue.
Obviously, the artists who created the mosiacs
throughout Turkey first began with a sketch or
design of the picture they wanted to create.
These pictures may have been first sketched
on the walls with charcoal, before the hundreds
of individual colored tiles were cemented in place to add the
color to the design and final picture.
Give each student an 8.5” x 11” piece of white cardboard or
construction paper. Using a pencil, have them draw a picture
of their choosing… a house, an animal, a favorite person. Or,
depending on the grade and their artistic ability, you may want
to distribute pre-drawn black & white line art pictures. Cut different colors of construction paper into small squares
(about 1/2” square each). Put each color of paper squares in a different bowl (bowl of red paper squares, bowl of
green paper squares, etc.). Let students apply glue to their picture and then arrange the small paper squares of
different colors to fill in different parts of their picture with color.
Ready to take on a larger project, one more comparable to the great artists of Turkey? Cover a bulletin board (or
an entire wall of your classroom) with white butcher paper. Have your class work together and use pencils or black
crayons to draw a huge scene covering the entire paper. The scene could include houses, sunshine, animals,
people, buildings, etc. It could be a scene of your schoolyard, a scene of different places throughout Memphis, or
a scene of associated with the Republic of Turkey. Each day, allow students to use the white glue and paper
squares to cover a section of your wall mosaic. Once the entire paper is covered, your room is decorated just like
Haghia Sophia (you may even want to enter it into Memphis in May’s “Best Classroom” contest!).

Bazaars are famous throughout The Republic of Turkey. Don’t confuse Turkey’s famous bazaars
with American shopping malls. While both serve as major centers of commerce, most Turkish bazaars were built
over 650 years before construction on Wolfchase Galleria ever began. Many bazaars were built by sultans and
other dignitaries during the Ottoman Empire, and were a part of mosque complexes. These buildings played an
important role in the modernization of Ottoman trade. The world’s biggest emporium is the Covered Bazaar of
Istanbul, which served as the seat of the Ottoman government from 1453 until the end of World War I.
The Covered Bazaar was built around 1460 by Sultan Mehmet II, who conquered Constantinople (which later
became Istanbul). A labyrinth of passageways and corridors, it has more than 4,000 (that’s right… 4,000) shops,
2,000 workshops and numerous vendors making and selling everything, including jewelry, handwoven carpets,
antiques, ceramics, leatherware, alabaster, copper goods, furniture, fabrics, blue jeans and thousands of other
items. The Covered Bazaar also has a dozen restaurants, 60 sandwich buffets, two mosques, six mescits (small
mosques), several barber shops and a coffeehouse. An average of 500,000
people visit the complex every day!
While your bazaar may not be quite as large as the Covered Bazaar in
Istanbul, it can be just as much fun. Explain Turkish bazaars to your
students, and explain to them that, throughout the Turkish lessons, your
classroom will be converted into a Turkish bazaar. As the teacher, the
bazaar, of course, should bear your name… like the Grand Robertson
Bazaar. Allow your students to work with you to create and paint an
impressive sign to go on your classroom door. Decorate it with traditional
Turkish designs.
Each day, throughout your classroom lesson on Turkey, when your students
enter the Bazaar, they may learn and experience Turkish cuisine, Turkish
handicrafts and, possibly while taking a break from shopping for a cup of
Turkish coffee, maybe even enjoy a traditional Turkish tale or game. Of
course, if they want to know the prices of the thousands of items sold
throughout a bazaar, they’d better also learn a few Turkish numbers, as
well. That, and more, are included throughout the pages of your Grade
Division of this Curriculum Guide. It offers
your students a fun and educational
exploration of the exciting country of Turkey!

Pull out the research and travel books; fire up the Internet. Are you ready to take the “Ultimate
Turkish Quiz”? Fill in the blanks with the cities, regions or answers that match each description.
Teachers, make copies and see which students can find the most answers!
1. Blue “Evil Eye” protector: ________________________________________________________________
2. Only “mortal” statue on Mt. Nemrut: ________________________________________________________
3. Region of “mushroom” formations & underground cities: __________________________________________
4. City famous as centre of Turkish tea industry: ___________________________________________________
5. Valley where you’ll find the Tomb of King Midas: _______________________________________________
6. City seat of the legendary King Midas: _______________________________________________________
7. Name of the famous “whirling” dancers: ______________________________________________________
8. Modern capital of the Turkish Republic: _______________________________________________________
9. Where you’ll find St. Paul’s well: ___________________________________________________________
10. City of St. Nicholas (no, not the North Pole): __________________________________________________
11. City known for loggerhead turtle nesting: _____________________________________________________
12. Remnants of Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, found here: _____________
13. Terraced white calcium carbonate flows are here: ______________________________________________
14. Where you’ll find the House of Mary, the Blessed Virgin: _________________________________________
15. Became the first capital of the Ottoman Empire in 1326: __________________________________________
16. Connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara: _____________________________________________
17. The barracks where Florence Nightingale practiced nursing: _______________________________________
18. Ataturk died on November 10, 1938. Do you know what time and where?: ___________________________
19. The Orient Express ran 1,800 miles between Istanbul and this city: __________________________________
20. Originated in 7000 BC, perhaps the world’s first “town”: _________________________________________
21. Home of the gigantic Watermelon Festival: ___________________________________________________
22. Two major divisions of Turkey (one in Europe, one in Asia): ________________________________________
23. The Muslim holy month: _________________________________________________________________
24. Home of Turkey’s largest and most famous horse: _______________________________________________
25. Istanbul’s previous name: ________________________________________________________________

Answers Ultimate Quiz,
1. boncuk
2. King Antiochus I
3. Cappadocia
4. Rize
5. Þehitgazi
6. Gordion
7. Dervishes
8. Ankara
9. Tarsus
10. Demre
11. Dalyan
12. Bodrum
13. Pamukkale
14. Ephesus
15. Bursa
16. Bosphorus
17. Selimiye
18. Dolmabahçe Palace, 9:05 a.m.
19. Paris, France
20. Çatalhöyük
21. Diyarbakir
22. Thrace & Anatolia
23. Ramazan
24. Troy
25. Constantinople

It is home to the oldest known human settlement in the world, and its borders have been populated
by Ottomans, Hittites, Persians and Byzantines. But who are some of the most famous Turks of
yesterday and today? This “short list” of famous Turks includes musicians, politicians, actors and
athletes… even Ottoman sultans! And while some may be unfamiliar (and difficult to spell) all have
helped to shape this fascinating country, and the world! For a more comprehensive list and biographical information,
search Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Turks. You may also want to have your students complete
the “Famous Turks” activity on page 66 of this guide.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - (born 1881) Turkish army officer, statesman and the Founder and first President of
the Republic of Turkey. He led to the liberation of the country and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey.
Ahmet Necdet Sezer - (born September 13, 1941) Tenth President of the Republic of Turkey. The Grand
National Assembly of Turkey elected Sezer in 2000 after Süleyman Demirel’s seven-year term expired.

Azra Akın - (born December 12, 1981) Turkish model who was crowned Miss World 2002 at the annual
pageant, held that year in London, England.

Barbarossa - The ferocious and feared “pirate” who became admiral of the Ottoman fleet in 1534.

Ahmet Ertegün - (1923-2006) Legendary founder of Atlantic Records. When Turkish Ambassador Münir Ertegün
and his family moved to Washington, DC in 1936, his two sons, Ahmet and Nesuhi, already had a collection of
25,000 blues and jazz records. With a $10,000 loan from his Turkish dentist, Ahmet launched Atlantic Records
and, in doing so, changed the music industry forever, introducing the world to such names as Ray Charles, Aretha
Franklin, Wilson Picket, the Rolling Stones, and many others.

Halil Mutlu - (born July 13, 1973) Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting, having won three Olympic championships,
five World Championships and nine European Championships, who also broke more than 20 world records.

Hidayet (Hedo) Türkoğlu - (born March 19, 1979) NBA Orlando Magic small forward, and the first Turkish
NBA basketball player. Selected 16th pick by the Sacramento Kings in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft.
Mehmet II (The Conqueror) - (born March 30, 1432) The 15th century Ottoman sultan who safeguarded
freedom of worship and successfully captured Istanbul in 1453 as his Empire’s new capital city.

Mehmet Okur - (born May 26, 1979) Star center basketball player for the NBA Utah Jazz, formerly with the
NBA championship Detroit Pistons.
Nasreddin Hoca - Famous 13th century folk philosopher and humorist whose memorialized as a legend. His
anecdotes are quoted throughout Turkey among all classes and levels of Turkish people.

Tunch Ilkin - (born September 23, 1957) Former offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1980 - 1992) and
Green Bay Packers (1993), earning two Pro Bowl appearances.

Yunus Emre - (born approximately 1238) The 13th century philosopher poet and one of Turkey’s national
treasures, who promoted basic themes of love, friendship, brotherhood and divine justice.

Cuneiform was the world’s first written language, and was created over 5,000 years ago. The only
recorded material about the civilization of the Hittites, one of the most powerful political organizations of
the entire Middle East during the 2nd millennium B.C., are 25,000 clay cuneiform tablets discovered in Bogazkale,
the modern name for the ancient Hittite capital city of Hattusas in the central area of Turkey. These archives even
include the “Treaty of Quadesh,” the first treaty ever recorded in history, signed between the Hittites and Egypt, a
treaty of “eternal peace” guaranteed throughout the region.
Pictograms, or drawings representing actual things, were the basis for cuneiform writing. As shown in the chart,
early pictograms resembled the objects they represented. However, through repeated use over time, they began to
look simpler, even abstract. The first pictograms were drawn in vertical columns with a pen made from a sharpened
reed. Then two developments made the process quicker and easier. People began to write in horizontal rows, and
a new type of pen was used which was pushed into the clay, producing the “wedge-shaped” signs that are known
as cuneiform writing. Cuneiform was written on clay tablets, the primary media for everyday written communication
which were also used extensively in schools. Tablets were routinely recycled and, if permanence was called for,
they could be baked hard in a kiln.
Activity 1:
1. Teachers, allow students to visit the web site http://www.upennmuseum.com/cuneiform.cgi. At that web site,
they are given the opportunity to type in the initials of their monogram, which are then converted into cuneiform.
2. Roll out Sculpey clay onto a 4×6 card.
3. Using tools such as the wedge-shaped pieces from a Trivial Pursuit game and popsicle sticks,
allow each student to imprint his or her cuneiform monogram onto one of the “tablets” of Sculpey
clay.
4. An additional option - Use a pencil to make holes at the edge of the clay (for hanging later).
5. Bake the clay pieces in an ordinary oven (instructions on Sculpey boxes) until brown and
ancient looking! Display your students’ cuneiform tablets around the classroom.
Special thanks to Cecilia Wondergem, St. Basil Catholic School in South Haven, Michigan.
Activity 2:
1. Make cuneiform “tablets” by placing 11 popsicle sticks side by side. Glue 3 sticks crosswise
to hold them together.
2. Paint the smooth sides of the tablets
in earth colors.
3. Draw your cuneiform monograms
on the smooth sides with ink, paint,
or using pipecleaners which can be
bent and glued into place.

Where our National Anthem is known as the “Star Spangled Banner”, the Turkish National Anthem
is known as “Istiklâl Marsi”, or The March of Independence. The “Istiklal Marsi” was officially
adopted as Turkey’s National Anthem on March 12, 1921 (although the official music wasn’t adopted
until 1932). A total of 724 poems were submitted to a competition organized to find and select the
most suitable original composition, and a poem written by the poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy was adopted unanimously
by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. There are ten verses to Ersoy’s poem, which reflects the national spirit of
the days of the Turkish struggle for independence, but only the first two are sung as the national anthem.

Twenty-four composers participated in another competition arranged for the selection of a musical composition for
the National Anthem. The Council, which was only able to convene in 1924, due to the War of Independence
adopted the music composed by Ali Rifat Çagatay. The words of the National Anthem were sung to this music for
eight years. Thereafter, the music of the National Anthem was changed to an arrangement written by Zeki Üngör,
conductor of the Presidential Symphonic Orchestra, and the words of the National Anthem have been sung to this
musical accompaniment ever since.

Fear not, the crimson flag, waving in these dawns will never fade
Before the last hearth that is burning in my nation vanishes.
That is my nation’s star, it will shine;
That is mine, it belongs solely to my nation.

Oh coy crescent do not frown for I am ready to sacrifice myself for you!
Please smile upon my heroic nation, why that anger, why that rage?
If you frown, our blood shed for you will not be worthy.
Freedom is the right of my nation who worships God and seeks what is righteous.