Iznik (Nicaea) has remained in the leading role in the pages of history for thousands of years. it is a unique city which hostted the capitals of four empires. Every piece of land is interrmingled with the residue of centuries of ancient cultures. Iznik is a township of Bursa and it is located on the eastern shore of the lake which bears the same name. Footprints of civilizations dating back to 2500 BC are found in the tumuli around İznik with s...

The name of Caesarea was given to the city under the reign of Tiberius (14 - 37) in memory of the great Roman emperor. But the city, birthplace of Saint Basil (330 - 379), has changed its name several times in the course of its troubled past. Strabon was the first to mention the city, called Mazaca at the time. Curiously, Kayseri, the capital of Cappadocia, is not on the tourist circuits. Out of the way and visited very little, in spite of its...

Soğanlı harbors churches in their most beautiful natural environment. The village, hidden in the middle of poplar trees, has kept all its authenticity. «In this solitary valley so capriciously decorated by nature, the imagination can wander and populate it and make these strange and silent rocks come alive. Certain of these peaks resemble women with Bressan hats. Other rocks look like strange birds, frozen forever in their flight of stone. ...

Like Sinassos, Gelveri changed its name to Güzelyurt, «the beautiful country», when the exchange of populations took place. Formerly known as Karbala, near which Gregory of Naziance was born around 330, this large village is situated in the heart of an agricultural region and serves as an ideal point of departure for visiting the Ihlara valley. Several of the old Greek houses have kept their columns, lintels, and sculptures, vestiges of their ...

In this topic i'll share the Ceddin Dede Music of Ottoman Army (Janissary) Band. They are playing it in Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. Please share us your feelings about video. ...

On a finger of land at the confluence of the Bosphorus, the Golden Ham and the Sea of Marmara stands the Topkapı Palace, that maze of buildings that was the focal point of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. In these opulent surroundings the sultans and their court lived and governed. A magnificent wooded garden fills the outer, or first, court. In the second court, on the right, shaded by cypress and plane trees, stand the p...

Istanbul embraces two continents with one arm reaching out to Asia and the other to Europe. Through the city's heart, the Bosphorus, course the waters of the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn. The former capital of three successive empires, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman, Istanbul taday honors and preserves the legacy of its past while loaking forward to a modern future. It is Istanbul's endless variety that fascinates its ...

In other fifteen Mevlevihanes the Gelibolu Mevlevihane, Mevlevi Dervish Lodge is the one that has the largest area and the biggest and the most magnificient semahane or hall where the dervishes whirl into trance of communion with God. It is for hundred years old and it has activated for so long. The first Seyh and the founder of Mevlevihane was Agazade Mehmet Hakiki Dede, the son of Janissary Kara Hasan Aga. After his adventurous travel by gettin...

In Antalya, the pine-clad Toros (Taurus) Mountains sweep down to the sparkling clear sea resulting in an irregular coastline of rocky headlands and secluded coves. Holiday in Antalya The region, bathed in sunshine for 300 days of the year, is a paradise for sunbathing, swimming, and sports activities like wind surfing, water skiing, sailing, mountain climbing and spelunking. If you caome to Antalya in March or April, you can ski in the m...

The large and popular resort center of Alanya lies at one end of a rocky promontory which juts out into the Mediterranean between two long sandy beaches. A fortress repaired by the Seljuks in 1231, one of the most magnificent sights on the coast, crowns the headland. Nearly 150 towers punctuate the walls of the well-preserved, double-walled citadel. Within the outer walls are ruins of mosques, a caravanserai and a covered bazaar, and within the i...