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Hakan is a Galatasaray and Leicester fan from Turkey.

Hakan from Turkey

Hakan from Turkey

Leicester City Badge.

My name’s Hakan and I'm a university student in Istanbul which is the largest city in Turkey. My family lives in Manisa where I was born and raised with my two brothers. I am away from my family because of my education - I only see them four or five times every year. When my family meet we like to watch films, go travelling, or have a ‘mangal’ which is like a barbecue here in Turkey.

Here I am with my friends . You can see me in the middle with my phone!

In Turkey you can see...

...four seasons in one day! Turkey is a very big country and the climate is very different in different parts of the country. For example, in Erzurum, located in Eastern Turkey, you can see snow but at the same time you can swim in Antalya, which is a city in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Turkey has lots of cultures. It’s a mix of the East and the West. Because Turkey has had lots of cultural diversity for centuries you can find amazing things like historical buildings, traditional foods, and natural beauty. Every year,  many tourists come to Turkey. Those from European countries love to come and swim in the summer as there are a lot of great beaches in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions. I recommend that you visit these places. My favourite place is Fethiye, I have never been abroad but I think Fethiye is the most beautiful place in terms of natural beauty in the world. It is absolutely beautiful.  Where l live, in Istanbul, there is a place called Moda, I like to go there at the weekend. It's on the coast and is calm and peaceful. Very different from the centre of Istanbul!

In the forest. Quiet, peaceful and green. Turkey is very diverse!

My favourite time of the year...

...is summer because where I live is near the Aegean sea and we can go swimming. I also enjoy holidays! 95% of Turkey’s population is Muslim. Because of this, the most common holidays are religious holidays which we call 'Bayram'. Bayram is a family time. One tradition is for children to knock on people’s doors to celebrate and the people who open the door give money or sweets to them.

This is one of the best parks in Istanbul.

I love Turkish food... 

...because there are lots of different kinds. There is no specific food for dinner but on special occasions and on religious holidays people treat people who come to their home. People will often give each other Baklava, which is a traditional Turkish dessert made from honey and almonds. My favourite foods are mantı (small meat dumplings with garlic and youghurt), lahmacun (a bit like pizza bread with meat and vegetable son the top), meatballs and Baklava.

Next to the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul.

In Turkey, people love...

...playing and watching football! We usually play football on astroturf in Turkey because there are not so many grass pitches. If football fans can find a ticket they watch important matches in the stadium but finding tickets for big matches is really hard. If a fan can’t get a ticket there are some certain places in Istanbul where fans of different teams watch the match. Galatasaray fans watch in Nevizade Street and,Fenerbahce fans watch in Bagdat Street. I used to play for a club but unfortunately my achilles tendon ruptured so I had to give it up.

At a cafe next to the Bosphorus in Istanbul!

I support...

...Galatasaray in Turkey. They are a big team and in 2000 won the UEFA and UEFA Super Cup but I was too young to remember them. I watch the team in the Ali Sami Yen Spor Complex Turk Telecom Arena which has an incredible atmosphere. Every time I see the green pitch it is a fabulous feeling. I have lots of other football memories. Here is one of them. One day, there was a critical match for Galatasaray, which is my favorite club. The coach was sacked before the match so we had no coach and this match was really important for the championship. It was 0-0 in the 90th minute and there was a free kick for Galatasaray. I prayed so much for us to score and we did and we finished the season as Champions!

I love going to watch Galatasaray at the weekend!

My favourite Premier League club is...

...Leicester City. The Foxes are a small team but they managed to win against the big teams like Manchester Utd and Arsenal. The team played with all their heart and that is great to see. The Premier League is really popular in Turkey. Most people who follow the PL have a dream to watch a PL match in a stadium in England. Not so long ago we had a couple of Turkish players in the Premier League. Tugay Kerimoglu played over 200 times for Blackburn Rovers and Tuncay Sanli played Premier League football for Middlesbrough, Stoke and Bolton.

I support Leicester after their fantastic Premier League win last season.

My football hero is...

...Felipe Melo because he plays every match with all his heart even if the rest of the team have given up. Melo never gives up and he is also a great player with great vision on the pitch. In Turkey, fans don't like him becaue of some of his bad habits on the pitch. However, Galatasaray fans love him!

Felipe Melo - my football hero!

My favourite football quote is...

Football isn't a matter of life and death, it is much more important than that.

Bill Shankly, ex-Liverpool manager.

Six things you might not know about Turkey.

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Comments

hsn's picture
hsn
14/03/2023
TR
5560
points

Hi Jack, Please let me correct that Bosphorus is a strait not river which separates two continents.


hsn's picture
hsn
14/03/2023 16:10
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5560

Hi Jack, Please let me correct that Bosphorus is a strait not river which separates two continents.

Jack Radford's picture
Jack Radford
15/03/2023
GB
22
points

Hi Hsn

Thanks for the correction. I will update the text.

Jack


Jack Radford's picture
Jack Radford
15/03/2023 00:24
United Kingdom
Arsenal
22

Hi Hsn

Thanks for the correction. I will update the text.

Jack

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
13/06/2020
TR
6539
points

Merhaba canım arkadaşım :)
It's amazing to hear from you and luckily we live in the same Aegean region but I'm about 35 kilometres away in Konak.
However , my brother lives in Güzelyurt , Manisa and he's a professor at Celal Bayar University.
Very nice to hear from you brother and wish you all the best in the future :)


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
13/06/2020 17:35
Turkey
Manchester United
6539

Merhaba canım arkadaşım :)
It's amazing to hear from you and luckily we live in the same Aegean region but I'm about 35 kilometres away in Konak.
However , my brother lives in Güzelyurt , Manisa and he's a professor at Celal Bayar University.
Very nice to hear from you brother and wish you all the best in the future :)

sabanoleg
28/09/2017
UA
2337
points

You are right.Istanbul is amazing place.I remember how Shakhtar(Donetsk)won the UEFA cup in 2009.


sabanoleg
28/09/2017 18:54
Ukraine
Arsenal
2337

You are right.Istanbul is amazing place.I remember how Shakhtar(Donetsk)won the UEFA cup in 2009.

assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
15/07/2017
PS
3705
points

Great informations about Turkey,can you tell me more about the rivaly between your team and Fenerbache,do a lot of problems happen when they face each other?


assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
15/07/2017 10:27
Palestinian Territory
Liverpool
3705

Great informations about Turkey,can you tell me more about the rivaly between your team and Fenerbache,do a lot of problems happen when they face each other?

mkoriev
29/05/2017
UZ
813
points

Ramadan karim to all of my muslim brothers and sisters!


mkoriev
29/05/2017 23:52
Uzbekistan
Manchester City
813

Ramadan karim to all of my muslim brothers and sisters!

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
13/06/2020
TR
6539
points

Thanks a lot dear brother.
Ramadan Mubarak to everyone enjoying the Holy month :)


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
13/06/2020 17:29
Turkey
Manchester United
6539

Thanks a lot dear brother.
Ramadan Mubarak to everyone enjoying the Holy month :)

Ahmed Adam Mamado's picture
Ahmed Adam Mamado
25/05/2017
SD
2903
points

Hi, Hakan. I enjoyed reading your article, it's interesting. Now I know new things about life in Turkey. And the celebrations here in the Bayram are the same. Thanks Hakan and Ramadan Karim


Ahmed Adam Mamado's picture
Ahmed Adam Mamado
25/05/2017 16:01
Sudan
Liverpool
2903

Hi, Hakan. I enjoyed reading your article, it's interesting. Now I know new things about life in Turkey. And the celebrations here in the Bayram are the same. Thanks Hakan and Ramadan Karim

HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
27/05/2017
TR
1761
points

Thnaks for enjoying reading my story.


HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
27/05/2017 21:12
Turkey
Leicester City
1761

Thnaks for enjoying reading my story.

elghoul's picture
elghoul
24/05/2017
DZ
3988
points

I learned some new things about life in Turkey but even if some features are the same in the Maghreb region like the religion or some food like beklava or some dishes it is hard to be familiar with because the langage is so strange for us. Turkish ruled some cities and ports here in Algeria for so long, perhaps three centuries, but no deep links in langage.

 


elghoul's picture
elghoul
24/05/2017 15:57
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

I learned some new things about life in Turkey but even if some features are the same in the Maghreb region like the religion or some food like beklava or some dishes it is hard to be familiar with because the langage is so strange for us. Turkish ruled some cities and ports here in Algeria for so long, perhaps three centuries, but no deep links in langage.

 

kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
22/05/2017
GH
4779
points

Turkey is a great destination for most Ghanaian players and Stephen Appiah our formal national team captain palyed for fernabache.


kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
22/05/2017 15:49
Ghana
Manchester United
4779

Turkey is a great destination for most Ghanaian players and Stephen Appiah our formal national team captain palyed for fernabache.

HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
27/05/2017
TR
1761
points

Yes,you are right.He had come to Turkey for Galatasaray in 1999.


HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
27/05/2017 21:14
Turkey
Leicester City
1761

Yes,you are right.He had come to Turkey for Galatasaray in 1999.

mkoriev
21/05/2017
UZ
813
points

Assalamu alaykum Hakan arkadas!
First of all let me introduce myself: my name is Mirzohid and I'm from Namangan, Uzbekistan. Nice to meet you!
I liked your story and even I've heard and known a lot about Turkey your story made me to feel myslef there in your story. I love Turkey and Turkish people. As you mentioned because of our religion we're close to each other. Also as a nation we're the same!
Thank you very much for your story about your amazing country. I really liked it very much!
What's interesting, I also support Galatasaray and from the last season Leicester City. As you see we have lots of things that we both like!
Hope next season will be more successful than this one for both of our club!
Good luck kardasim.
Your bro
Mirzohid
Namangan, Uzbekistan


mkoriev
21/05/2017 18:52
Uzbekistan
Manchester City
813

Assalamu alaykum Hakan arkadas!
First of all let me introduce myself: my name is Mirzohid and I'm from Namangan, Uzbekistan. Nice to meet you!
I liked your story and even I've heard and known a lot about Turkey your story made me to feel myslef there in your story. I love Turkey and Turkish people. As you mentioned because of our religion we're close to each other. Also as a nation we're the same!
Thank you very much for your story about your amazing country. I really liked it very much!
What's interesting, I also support Galatasaray and from the last season Leicester City. As you see we have lots of things that we both like!
Hope next season will be more successful than this one for both of our club!
Good luck kardasim.
Your bro
Mirzohid
Namangan, Uzbekistan

HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
27/05/2017
TR
1761
points

Nice to meet you too,thanks for your warm emotions.I am happy that you are a fan of Galatasaray and you liked my story.
I hope so.


HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
27/05/2017 21:10
Turkey
Leicester City
1761

Nice to meet you too,thanks for your warm emotions.I am happy that you are a fan of Galatasaray and you liked my story.
I hope so.

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6578
2mobeckham6539
3hsn5560
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia74676
2Ukraine33885
3Spain29525
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23505
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20460
8Turkey20111
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United146938
2Liverpool111453
3Chelsea90265
4Arsenal86299
5Manchester City58908
6Tottenham Hotspur19499
7Newcastle United10626
8West Ham United7701
9AFC Bournemouth4915
10Crystal Palace4568

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

To learn more about life in other countries.

To learn about members of the Premier Skills English community.