A local dance that used to be performed in Taskale is described by Cenk Gencdis in his book about the town. Two people dressed up as a camel in a costume made of sacking. A wise man wearing a white robe would appear first and behind him the camel, and then the camel’s owner, an […]
Heading westwards across the fertile plain watered by the Gediz River, you suddenly catch the salty scent of the sea in the air. Then a monumental tower thought to have been built by one of the generals of Alexander the Great comes into sight at the right-hand side of the road next to a Roman […]
Roses are the oldest source of perfume. Ancient Sanskrit documents mention rose oil, which is the strongest form of this scent, and in the Iliad’s Homer relates how Aphrodite rubbed Hector’s dead body with rose oil. What was meant by rose oil in these texts was not what we mean by this term today, since […]
While the neighborhood of Balat Istanbul has a rich history and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, less than 1% of travelers to Turkey visit it. Have you heard of the “Neighborhoods of Faith”? Fatih, Fener, and Balat are where different religions and communities live in harmony to create a cultural melting pot. Are […]
You’ve probably seen the iconic evil eye symbol a hundred different times and paid no mind to it. Or, you’ve pondered its meaning and the history behind it. In fact, you may even own a piece of jewelry with the evil eye symbol but not thought twice about its actual meaning- only that it looked […]
Topkapi Palace was the splendid home of the Ottoman sultans for 400 years, built by Mehmed II the Conqueror (1451-1481), and from 1478 onwards used both as an imperial residence and the seat of government. Events at Topkapi Palace determined the destiny of the most far-flung parts of the empire. Here decisions to go to […]
Musicians announce their approach. The roar of the crowd and the noise of music can be heard outside the arena and even in distant neighborhoods of the city. Dressed in magnificent rented costumes the gladiators descend from their litters for the first and perhaps the last time. Seated in the state in the tribunes, magnates, […]
The sea around Datca is just as the poet Can Yucel has described: ‘Greener than seaweed when you remain still, and blue when you swim.’ Datca lies on the Resadiye Peninsula, which in geographical terms marks the confluence of the Aegean and Mediterranean. But it is better described as a heaven on earth, a place […]
According to Sumerologist Dr. Muazzez Ilmiye Cig, celebrating the New Year’s Eve is not something new for Turkish people. It has rather been a culture to decorate the pine tree which also represents the “Tree of Life” that rose in the sky from the center of the earth. What Comes Around Goes Around The celebration […]
Located on the northwest of the city in Arnavutkoy district, The New Istanbul Airport (ISL) is the largest in the world. The airport was inaugurated on 29th October 2018 after speeding up the construction process as a total of 42 months to open the first stage of 90 million passengers capacity, second and third stages […]
