Over time, the World Sacred Music Festival of Fes is becoming one of the best of its kind in the world. A must for lovers of music, spirituality, and the variety and richness of their expressions around the globe, this festival brings together, every year, some of the most revered artists of world music nowadays. […]
If you know that luxury comes as a result of a combination of simplicity and uniqueness, we can offer you a private appointment with a Moroccan storyteller unwind one of his fascinating tales privately for you, either outside or in some exclusive setting. Perhaps, it does not sound as enticing as assisting the birth of […]
A sound echoing in the streets reminds us of cold winter nights in our childhood. With their familiar call of ‘Boza!’ street sellers carrying large metal jugs walk Istanbul’s streets in the evenings, bringing a delicious traditional drink to our doors. Sadly, masters and sellers are becoming rare today. It is a cold drink made […]
As the Turkish Republic was founded on the heritage of the Ottoman Empire, many things from that time such as the Turkish Flag continued with slight changes. The Ottomans used various flags of different colors at different times. In the 14th century, it was white, in the 15th century, it was changed to red. Once […]
The ‘Islamic’ label accorded by the media to the kind of global terrorism that the world is currently facing has had a misleading effect. Whereby certain nations that are as safe, if not safer, than the West, and that enjoy social stability that would be judged as enviable even to Western standards, have been unjustly […]
Of all Turkey’s delicious sweet confections, the most famous one is baklava. This exquisitely flavored pastry has been made in Anatolia for long centuries, and its ancestor may be a dish made by the Assyrians consisting of dried fruit sandwiched between two layers of pastry and baked in the oven. The earliest record of it as […]
If any aroma were especially associated with the East it would be that of coffee. In coffee a journey westwards over the centuries it has taken many different forms and acquired a unique symbolic role in the etiquette of hospitality. Coffee culture has thus become an inextricable part of social life. The Name Origin of […]
Before going deep down in its history and alphabet; the standard blow-your-mind for the Turkish Language example is: Afyonkarahisarlilastiramadiklarimizdanmisiniz? (45 characters) which means: Are you one of those people whom we tried -unsuccessfully- to make to resemble the citizens of Afyonkarahisar? This was once the record and pretty popular for a long while till another […]
A glance at a topographical map of Turkey reveals that this is a country of mountains. Rising from all four directions, mountains encircle the peninsula of Anatolia. A part of the Alpine-Himalayan Mountain range, Turkey has mountainous regions with different geological formations. The North Anatolian range skirts the Mediterranean shore. Turkey’s magnificent mountains and forests […]
Asure has venerable associations, being ascribed to the times of Noah’s Flood. It is said to have been invented after the Ark rested on Mount Cudi in Southeastern Turkey (according to Islamic tradition) or Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey (Christian tradition). Whichever mountain it was, Noah ordered that all the remaining provisions on the ark […]
