One of the most memorable dishes of Turkish Cuisine is Manti (known also as Turkish Ravioli), tiny dumplings stuffed with minced meat and garnished with garlic yogurt. This dish is thought to have originated in the province of Kayseri, spreading from there to the rest of Turkey, but the one made in Kayseri remains distinguished […]
A member of a noble family on his mother’s side, Strabo was born in 64 or 63 BC in the city of Amaseia (now called Amasya) capital of Pontus, a region in northeastern Anatolia that was an independent kingdom from the 4th century BC until overcome by Pompey in 66 BC. Pontus became a province […]
What is red, carries a sack, laughs in a jocular fashion and flies through the sky in a sleigh? No marks for getting the answer right, because we all know it is Father Christmas… In part, he is the ancient Viking spirit of winter, dating from a time when people feared the harsh winter season […]
Life An Athenian, the son of Gryllus, Xenophon was born about 444 BC. In his early life, he was a pupil of Socrates; but the turning point in his career came when he decided to serve in the Greek contingent raised by Cyrus against Artaxerxes in 401. Xenophon himself mentions the circumstances of which he […]
With the coming of cold winter days, Turkey’s cake and pudding shops begin serving salep in place of ice cream. On the ferryboats which ply their way between the European and Asian shores of Istanbul with smoke trailing from their funnels and chased by flocks of seagulls, many of the passengers order steaming cups of […]
Turkish Alparslan (“Courageous Lion”), the original name ‘Adud Al-Dawla Abu Shuja’ Muhammad Ibn Da’ud Chaghribeg, the second sultan of the Seljuq Turks (1063-72), who inherited the Seljuq territories of Khorasan and western Iran and went on to conquer Georgia, Armenia, and much of Asia Minor (won from the Byzantines). Who is Alp Arslan? His personality, […]
History is full of curious contradictions: heroic acts born of cowardice, and sparks of compassion amid ruthless conflict. One such example is Florence Nightingale, who not only transformed health care for soldiers during the Crimean War but whose work changed the whole concept of nursing and hospital care throughout the world. The Ottoman Empire, which […]
As you approach Sereflikochisar southeast of Ankara, glinting light to the west tells you that the Tuz Golu (Lake Salt) is approaching. The intense whiteness and sparkle of the salt crystals look deceptively like snow and ice. Even when you reach the edge, you still brace yourself for a freezing sensation as you take off […]
Milas lies on the lower slopes of Mount Sodra, from whose quarries came to the marble which adorns so many ancient cities in southwest Turkey. This region between the Buyuk Menderes (the ancient Meander) and the Dalaman rivers was controlled by the Carians. They were succeeded by the Persians, Macedonians, and Seleucids before becoming part […]
Paul was a 1st century Jew who, after being the bitterest enemy of the Christian Church, became its leading missionary and possibly its greatest theologian. His letters, the earliest extant Christian documents, antedate the Gospels of the New Testament. More than half of the Acts of the Apostles deals with his career, and this, together […]
