World Heritage

  • Hagia Sophia’s History – A cathedral, mosque and museum

    Written by Casey on November 8th, 2011 in History, I was in Turkey, Religions in Turkey, Travel, World Heritage3 Comments
    Hagia Sophia’s History – A cathedral, mosque and museum
    Hagia Sophia was such an architectural feat of its time that Emperor Justinian I supposedly declared ‘Oh, Solomon I have outdone thee!’ It’s the only building in the world to have served as a Catholic Cathedral, as well as hold the seat of Greek Orthodox Christianity and Sunni Islam. Known as many names, to English it’s ‘The Church of the Holy Wisdom’, to Greeks as ‘Hagia Sophia’, ‘Saint Sophia’ in Latin and ‘Ayasofya’ or ‘Aya Sofya’ in Turkish. From cathedral to mosque to museum, it’s no surprise that it’s universally acknowledged as one of the great buildings of the world....

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  • Traditional Turkish Puppet Shadow Theater Karagoz Hacivat

    Written by Umut on January 31st, 2011 in Turkish Culture, World Heritage2 Comments
    Traditional Turkish Puppet Shadow Theater Karagoz Hacivat
    One of the greatest memories of my childhood belongs to the times when I watched traditional Turkish puppet shadow play “Karagöz & Hacivat ”. Popularized during the Ottoman period, Karagöz and Hacivat are the lead characters whose contrasting interaction is the central theme of the play. Karagöz represents the ignorant but street smart people while Hacivat is using a literary language as a member of the educated class. Their fights are somehow funny that make audience laugh and enjoy the play. The legend of Karagöz is believed to have begun in Bursa during the construction of the Ulu mosque in...

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  • The Expat’s Kurban Bayrami

    Written by Valantis on January 27th, 2011 in Turkish Culture, World Heritage2 Comments
    The Expat’s Kurban Bayrami
    “Bayraminiz kutlu olsun!” is the greeting everyone gives each other on the day of Kurban Bayrami (in Arabic: Eid Al-Adha).  It is the most important holiday in Islam, and lasts approximately 3 days, being the equivalent to Christmas Break in the US.  It celebrates the prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael (Isaac in the Judeo-Christian tradition), in accordance with God’s demands.  However, God intervenes at the last minute, saving Ishmael, replacing him with a ram which is then sacrificed in the name of God.  This is considered to be the point where monotheism begins as a practiced faith...

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  • History on Horseback: The Evliya Çelebi Way

    Written by OnurInal on July 6th, 2010 in History, World Heritage1 Comment
    History on Horseback: The Evliya Çelebi Way
    In my previous post, I talked about Evliya Çelebi, a Turkish traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years in the 17th century, whom the UNESCO has recognized as “Man of the Year” in 2011. Now, I want to tell you the Evliya Çelebi Way, a new cultural route through the Anatolia countryside. The Evliya Çelebi Way is an international project that has two connected goals: historical re-enactment and cultural re-connection by establishing cultural routes in Western and Southeastern Anatolia. The first central goal, historical re-enactment, is aimed to...

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  • Turkey’s Children’s Day Celebration

    Written by Valantis on April 26th, 2010 in Living in Turkey, Turkish Culture, World HeritageNo comments yet
    Turkey’s Children’s Day Celebration
    April 23rd is a major event for Turkey and its children. The national holiday marks the celebration of children and their future, and their continuation to carry on the sovereignty of Turkey and the other countries of the world.  Although it’s not unusual to see Turkish flags hanging out of apartment buildings and office buildings, this holiday marks an even more extreme reason to post the flag in every possible corner of the country.  I’ve heard it said that Turkey has the world’s record for biggest flag.  Today, it can sure be proven. The patriotism has its reasons of course. ...

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  • Hasankeyf – Going, Going, Gone

    Written by Casey on March 16th, 2010 in Responsible Travel, Travel, World Heritage1 Comment
    Hasankeyf – Going, Going, Gone
    For those among us who suffer from procrastination, there’s always tomorrow, or next month, or even next year, to accomplish the things in life we want to achieve in order to reach ‘self-fulfillment’ or ‘inner happiness’ (things we never needed until self-help books came along). And for the most part, we have the luxury of putting things off until we can be bothered getting off our arses. However, if visiting the ancient town of Hasankeyf was on your ‘Top Ten’ list, procrastinate too long and you’ll have to grab your swimmers and snorkel and hope to hell you can hold...

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