Cultural Exploration

Mya Williams

Turkey• Located in the continent of Asia.

• Turkeys capitol is Ankara.

Languages & SymbolsLanguages

• Turkish- 90%, Kurdish- 6%, Arabic- 1.2%,

Circassion- .09%, Greek, Armenian, and Judezmo (Romance language) are

spoken by Jews.

Symbols• The white crescent and star,

symbols of Islam, are placed slightly to the left on the red field, and that shade of red states back to the Ottoman Empire of the 17th

century.

Turkey has a population of 68,893,916

Religion: Muslim- 99.8%, .2%- Christians and Jews

WOW!

Values, Beliefs, and Norms• Turkish culture believes that you should have a family when

your much older so you can be more dedicated to family• They dress very conservatively.

• It’s a really big deal for females to go to school and get a good education.

• Willingness to sacrifice

His Story made History The government founded and supported historical and linguistic societies that researched and, if necessary, invented a glorious Turkish past that would instill pride in the country's citizens. The official policy of Turkish nationalistic indoctrination has been largely effective. Most citizens, regardless of their non-Turkish ancestry, self-identify as Turks both ethnically and nationally, with the exception of some Kurds.

With the Ottoman Empire's demise in World War I, the heartland of the old empire—Istanbul and Asia Minor—was reconstituted as the Republic of Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (later called Mustafa Kemal Atatürk). To make Turkey a modern, Western-style, secular nation-state, Atatürk disestablished Islam as the state religion, adopted Western legal codes, and established a compulsory secular educational system in which all young Muslim citizens, regardless of ethnicity, were taught that they were ethnically Turkish and citizens of a Turkish nation-state. After centuries of intermarriage with Mediterranean and Balkan peoples and the assimilation of those peoples into the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish state, the vast majority of today's Turks physically resemble southern Europeans rather than central Asiatics.

Todays Problems?!

•The major source of tension in the Ottoman Empire, of which Turkey was a part of, was due to conflicts between the central administration and the periphery that was composed of primordial groups in Anatolia. Starting with the nineteenth century, the administration pressed for the Westernization of the military in the wake of losses against European powers. This was followed by changes in political life, including the recognition of the limits to the powers of the sovereign, and the rights of religious minorities, that resulted in European pressures. As a result, center-periphery tension was transformed into a conflict between ruling classes pressing for Westernization and traditional elements that had to lose from such changes.

99 Problems and money is one

• Turkey’s economy is slowing down. Its currency is hovering around record lows against the dollar, and

some of its firms are facing huge foreign debts. Turkey is expected to enter the top tier of the world

though.

Jobs Industrial sector, Agricultural sector, mining, tourism (big impact on economy)

Love Hate• One thing I like about Turkey is how its part of

Europe and Asia so you can do a lot of traveling.

• One thing I don’t like is how they dress, especially when its hot.

Mi casa or Tu casa?!

• I would rather live in my house. Although my research doesn’t say so I know a lot of bad things are more prone to happen in Turkey. I would feel more safe at my home.

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/turkey-country-profile.html

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/turkey/trflags.htm

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/28/business/turkey-economy-election/

MadagascarLocated in the continent of Africa

Madagascar’s capitol is Antananarivo

Languages

Malagasy and French

National Symbols

• The national seal of Madagascar contains a map of the island set in a white circle with the head of a zubu below and green and red rays

that represent the sun.

Religion- 55% of the population abide by traditional belief, 5% are Muslim, and 40% are

Christians

Population- 22 Million

Values, Beliefs, and Norms• The dead are considered “god on earth”,

authoritative members of the family, and are involved in the daily life of family members.• Great hardship can result if the dead is

offended or neglected. • Most traditions and norms are argued with

religion.

ECONOMY

• Madagascar carries on a relatively small foreign trade, and the annual value of imports is usually higher than the value of exports. The main imports are capital and consumer goods, petroleum, and food products. The leading exports are coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, textiles, chromite, and petroleum products. The principal trade partners are France, the United States, and China. Madagascar relies heavily upon assistance from members of the European Union and international agencies

His story made History

• The Malagasy are of mixed Malayo-Indonesian and African-Arab ancestry. Indonesians are believed to have migrated to the island about 700. King Andrianampoinimerina (1787–1810) ruled the major kingdom on the island, and his son, Radama I (1810–1828), unified much of the island. The French made the island a protectorate in 1885, and then, in 1894–1895, ended the monarchy, exiling Queen Rànavàlona III to Algiers. A colonial administration was set up, to which the Comoro Islands were attached in 1908, and other territories later. In World War II, the British occupied Madagascar, which retained ties to Vichy France.

Issues today?!

• Madagascar is very poor. 70% of the population was below the governments own

poverty level approximately 45 cents a day for income.

Love Hate

• I don’t really like Madagascar. Many of their values I disagree with but I’m not yucking their yum. I couldn’t see myself living there. I found it interesting that most of Madagascar’s population lives off of less than 2 dollars a day.

Travelocity

• In the future I plan on living in a different country. I want to be able to experience new things so I can definitely see myself experiencing some cultural shock. I want to study abroad so I’ll see a lot more different cultures.

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/madagascar/mgsymbols.htm

http://www.wildmadagascar.org/overview/loc/28-beliefs.html