ARTS AND LITERATURE
Turks enjoy traditional music and listening to folk singers who sing about love, war, death and other themes. The singer is usually accompanied by musicians playing instruments such as a saz (a stringed instrument), a kaval (a type of flute), a tulum (similar to a Scottish bagpipe), a zurna (a wind instrument), a kanun (a square-shaped stringed instrument), a ney (a type of flute), or a kemence (similar to a violin but held upright like a cello). 
Turkey has a rich architectural heritage, and many tourists come to see its archaeological monuments and buildings. Istanbul is famous for the Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Palace, Aya Sofya and the Rustem Pasha Mosque. In many of these places, it is possible to see the finest Turkish crafts, from carpets (known as kilims) to decorated tiles to jewellery.

 Turkish poetry has a long history. Traditionally, poetry was used to record the feats and triumphs of wandering tribes. Once the tribes came into contact with Islam, they developed a new form of poetry known as Divan poetry. A mystic folk form of poetry developed simultaneously, which included elements of Sufism. Yunus Emre was a well-known mystic poet in the 14th century. Folk poetry has influenced modern-day Turkish poets such as Fazil Husnu Daglarca.
Modern Turkish literature includes the work of novelists such as Orhan Pamuk, author of The White Castle and The New Life, and Latife Tekin, author of Berji Kristin: Tales from the Garbage Hills. All of these books have been translated into English.

 A traditional Turkish entertainment is a shadow puppet play called Karagoz. The puppets are made of leather and manipulated by rods. A white screen is hung in front of the puppets and a light throws their shadows onto the screen.
 Did you know? 
 
Meerschaum pipes come from Turkey. They are made from a clay-like substance found near the city of Eskisehir, west of Ankara. Craftspeople carve them into the shapes of people and animals. The material is white when it is carved, but turns a warm brown from the pipe smoke.		  
The Presidential Symphony Orchestra and the State Opera perform both Turkish and foreign works, and there is a concert season from October to May in the large cities. Istanbul has a state theatre that performs Western and Turkish plays and is host to an International Culture and Art Festival. Izmir, on the west coast of Turkey, is known for its annual fair and many theatre performances.