Muslims fast the whole month of Ramadan from dawn to sunset. Fasting is a compulsory ritual for adult Muslims, unless they have any health problems which will make it difficult for them to fast, such as taking essential medications which they can't skip, or their doctors recommend that they cannot withstand such long fasting period. During the holy month of Ramadan some rich people arrange breakfast meals for the poor people. These can be either done by individuals, or group of people to provide … Read more
Tandoor Clay Ovens Ovens consisting of a clay-lined pit or a large, earthen jar buried in the ground
A traditional Tandoor oven is a cylindrical clay oven with wood coals at the bottom. The thick clay inner walls of a Tandoori oven hold in heat and radiate it back to the food. Some Tandoors are set into the ground for increased insulation. The Tandoor is used for cooking cooking meat, poultry, fish or bread in Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Transcaucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia as well as India and Bangladesh. Food is exposed to live coals and cooks via convection … Read more
Tulum Cheese Using goatskin casing for ripening and preserving goats cheese
Tulum cheese (Turkish: tulum peyniri) is a traditional Turkish goat's milk cheese ripened in a goatskin casing, called Tulum in Turkish. As a rich source for protein, calcium, fat and phosphorus, Tulum cheese is an important food for healthy nutrition, with its unique flavour provided by the natural microflora created in the goatskin during ripening. Tulum cheese is made by heating high-fat goat's milk to a temperature of 30 °C (86 °F) and subsequently souring it through the addition of a … Read more
Tarhana Natural Instant Soup
Tarhana is a traditional dish in Turkish cuisine that refers to a dough or powder made using various vegetables, spices, yeast, and yogurt. The name can refer to the actual powder or dough itself, as well as a soup made by using the dough or powder and adding boiling water. Created as a way of preserving food before the invention of refrigerators and other safe food storage methods, this is effectively one of the oldest instant soups. Tarhana mixes can be purchased from grocery stores, … Read more
Kerpiç (Adobe Brick) Natural building with sand, clay and water
Kerpiç (adobe brick) is a traditional construction material made out of clay and straw widely used in Anatolia, also in the Middle East and the Americas. Use of adobe brick dates back to 7500 BC in one of the earliest human settlements in Catalhoyuk, Anatolia. As such, adobe bricks used for construction are made out of clay, with straw and manure and are baked in the sun before they are used. The result is not as hardy as regular bricks and it becomes less so with time, being especially … Read more
Cistern (Sarnic) Traditional Rainwater Harvesting in Anatolia
Evidence of human civilization in Anatolia goes back thousands of years: remains of water works have been found dating from the II millennium B.C. These ancient water works also included cisterns, which played a certain role in water supply throughout the entire history of our country: either as the only source or as an emergency water system. A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are … Read more
Zakat Collecting money for the poor or for a development project
Zakat means in Arabic 'that which purifies' and it is basically the giving of a fixed portion of one's wealth as a tax to the administration or government. This is one pillar of Islam. Zakat is a way to redistribute the wealth, thus increasing the flow of cash in the economy with a particular interest in the poor and the dispossessed Muslim. Non Muslims are not required to pay Zakat, but give a tax by a different name called Jizyah tax. The giving of the Zakat is considered a means of … Read more
Belly Dancing Dance for Celebration
Belly Dance takes many different forms depending on the country and region of practice, both in costume and dance style. New styles have evolved in the West as its popularity has spread globally. Belly Dance has: • Percussive movements - Staccato movements, most commonly of the hips, which can be used to punctuate the music or accent a beat. Typical movements in this group include hip drops, vertical hip rocks, outwards hip hits, hip lifts, and hip twists. Percussive movements using other parts … Read more
Beehive Houses Traditional Natural building
Beehive homes can be found in the midst of hot deserts and cities. Most are found in rural farming communities, but there are also villages located in Urfa, Turkey and Aleppo (the largest city in Syria), which have been continually inhabited since the 6th millennium BC. Beehive homes are used for both storage and residences. Built from all natural local materials, the thick walls help cool the interior by keeping out the sun, and acting as thick insulation. The walls are made from mud bricks … Read more
Mosaic Art with Patience
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance such as in a cathedral. Small pieces, mostly roughly square, of stone or glass of different colors, known as tesserae, (diminutive tessellae), are used to create a pattern or picture. The earliest known examples of mosaics made of different materials were found at … Read more
