Ibn Battuta (1305 – 136?) Ibn Battuta started on his travels when he was 20 years old in 1325. His main reason to travel was to go on a Hajj, or a Pilgrimage to Mecca, as all good Muslims want to do. But his traveling went on for about 29 years and he covered about […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
When the 17th-century Turkish writer Evliya Celebi, who traveled throughout the Ottoman Empire recording everything he saw, visited Malatya he remarked upon the plentiful water from numerous springs, the good air, and the orchards and vineyards in the green plain, and said that this was a city which aroused the admiration of all those who […]
“Do not dismiss the dish saying that it is just, simply food. The blessed thing is an entire civilization in itself!” Abdulhak Sinasi Turkish Cuisine: Prologue For those who travel engaged in culinary pursuits, Turkish Cuisine is a very, curious one. The variety of dishes that make up the cuisine, the ways they all come […]
Geographically, Turkey enjoys a very special location concerning seas and landmasses, and a remarkable diversity of terrain, habitat, and climate, with a large number of streams and rivers. The country has a coastline of 8200 kilometers, yet an average altitude of over 1100 meters. Vast forests of spruce and fir suddenly make way for bare […]
By name Mehmed Fatih (Turkish: Fatih Sultan Mehmet – English: Mehmed the Conqueror) (b. March 30, 1432, Adrianople, Thrace, Ottoman Empire- D. May 3, 1481, Hunkarcayiri, near Maltepe, near Constantinople), Ottoman sultan from 1444 to 1446 and from 1451 to 1481. A great military leader, he captured Constantinople and conquered the territories in Anatolia and […]
