The friendship between Turkey and Australia was strengthened by the incongruous conflict between these two nations during the so-called Great War of 1914-1918. This, of course, was not a battle over territory or ethnic difference. There was no historical reason to cause one party to hate the other. The Turks were defending their territory. The […]
HISTORY TIMELINE OF ISTANBUL Pre-Historic Era 7000 BC Neolithic fishing settlements in Kadikoy, Pendik & Yarimburgaz. Byzantium 660 BC – 196 AD (Greek/Pagan) 750 B.C. Greeks sailed through the Bosphorus. 676 B.C. Byzantium was founded probably by Greek colonists from Athens and Megara. 667 B.C. Greek colony of Chalcedon founded in what is known as […]
Butterfly Valley opens onto a cove near Fethiye on Turkey’s southwest coast. This deep steep-sided valley has a floor of approximately ten hectares in an area where almost all the butterfly and moth species from the Mediterranean coastal region are to be found, making it an open-air natural history museum. The abundance of Lepidoptera is […]
Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and the Blue Mosque are the sights that first come to mind when visiting Istanbul. But, there is so much else to see that a few days or even weeks would not suffice for them all. Among them, the Istanbul Archaeological Museum is one that should not be missed. It contains […]
Whenever I decide to write an article about Safranbolu, which occupies such an important place in my life, something always seems to be missing. Even if I have decided on the title and the points which need to be emphasized, when it comes to setting it all down in writing I feel that I haven’t […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
