Tag: Blue Mosque

  • Visit ancient cities in Turkey for less than $1,600

    Visit ancient cities in Turkey for less than $1,600

    By Mary Forgione Special to Tribune Newspapers

    10:32 a.m. CDT, October 4, 2011

    65200512 04101553

    The Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace in Istanbul as well as ancient temples in Ephesus and Pergamon are some of the sights visited on this inexpensive package tour from Friendly Planet Travel. If the dates work for you, this is a great price for a package that explores multiple cities in Turkey.

    The eight-day Taste of Turkey tour costs $1,572 per person, based on double occupancy, with tax and fees for departures on Jan. 18 and Feb. 1. The price is good for reservations made before Oct. 12; it goes up $300 after that date (other departure dates are available too but not at this price).

    The trip includes nonstop airfare from Chicago to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, airport transfers, hotel, daily breakfast, guided sightseeing tours and more. Check out the full itinerary and package details.

    Contact: Friendly Planet Travel, 800-555-5765

    via Visit ancient cities in Turkey for less than $1,600 – chicagotribune.com.

  • Istanbul, The planet’s Hippest Area

    Istanbul, The planet’s Hippest Area

    Positioned with the crossroads of Asia and europe, Istanbul, Chicken is amongst the most well-known urban centers in the world. The original known settlement of your location days to 1000 W.Chemical., plenty of time of California king David in Jerusalem while some decades after the A trojan virus Warfare. A major city was created for the Hard anodized cookware shoreline in 700 W.D. by Ancient settlers although the Byzantines settled on the ecu shore. Inside sixth centuries town was beaten from the Persians, and then Athens. It absolutely was integrated into the Roman Kingdom, then turned a Sterling stronghold during the Old, called Constantinople, until eventually mastered by Moslems while in the fifteenth century.

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    Wonderful this heritage at the rear of it, you may realise that Istanbul is stuck previously, however the urban center has developed into destination for all those factors modern-day the truth is, its new moniker is Hippest Metropolis The traditional properties and mosques mixture together with the new galleries and museums, museums and organizations to create this probably the most thrilling destinations on the globe plus the Istanbul places to stay are area of the enthusiasm.

    Within the ancient section, the Blue Mosque is one of the most well-known and incredible landmarks to arrive at, as is also the Topkapi Structure, the place to find the sultan luxurious way of life and the Fantastic Bazaar, the planet most popular searching hub. The Hagia Sophia is Istanbul most well-known monument but it mimics town track record. Built by Emporer Justinian in 537 on the view of Byzantium acropolis, it had been one of the most stunning church buildings in Christendom, also among the most essential, until finally Mehmet the Conqueror converted it into a mosque in 1453. It had become changed into a adult ed in 1934 and is amongst the most awesome houses on the globe.

    For that more sophisticated take on Istanbul, there are several night clubs and eateries that include good foodstuff and amusement. You’ll find gypsy artists, discos and homemade wine pubs, top notch dining places and reputation locations, a little something for anyone. Andon, for example, includes a beach cafe with lovely vistas with the Bosphorus, a homemade wine tavern offering soloists, a disco on a lawn floorboards, along with Istanbul sanat audio around the third floorboards and fasil audio around the fourth floorboards. Istanbul resorts are as particular and various as the town themselves. Many provide the guest a traditional come to feel, like the Bosphorus Building Hotel room and the 4 Seasons Hotel room Istanbul at Sultanahmet, while other people target an increasingly modern-day solution such as Core Development plus the Marmara Taksim. Still others, for example Ibrahim Pasa Oteli, straddle the two two extremes, older and new, exactly like Istanbul.

    via Istanbul, The planet\’s Hippest Area « Jxyouth.com.

  • Irresistable Istanbul Attracts Growing Tourist Interest

    Irresistable Istanbul Attracts Growing Tourist Interest

    Irresistable Istanbul Attracts Growing Tourist Interest largeTurkey’s travel industry authorities have been promoting the exotic and diverse city of Istanbul as an ideal place for British holidaymakers to visit this year.

    The Turkish Culture and Tourism Office highlighted the cultural and historical delights of taking an Istanbul city break. A spokesperson referenced the eclectic mix of historical influences that can be seen in every facet of the city’s make-up; from the times of Ancient Rome, through the Byzantine Empire era and Ottoman Empire right up until the current day.

    Turkish Culture and Tourism Office spokeswoman Joanna Marsh said that Istanbul is: “one of those cities which everyone has on their list of places to visit at least once in their lifetime.”

    She cited the uniquely exciting contrast of cultural influences as a major spur to get potential visitors to book a Turkish holiday or even a shorter city break. She also explained how Istanbul’s vibrant nightlife and enticing cuisine could offer something for everyone.

    Mentioning a number of must-see attractions, Ms Marsh said: “Head to a traditional Turkish Bath, visit Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque, but also make time to eat out at one of the swanky restaurants on the Bosphorus or in the trendy area of Beyoglu and visit more contemporary attractions such as the Museum of Modern Art.”

    In addition to the well known attractions, Ms Marsh said that one of the best ways to experience the wonderful sights, sounds and smells was to take leisurely walks through the city.

    Due to its continually rising popularity in the UK as a holiday destination, cheap flights to Turkey are plentiful and are offered by a wide variety of airlines. Be sure to book ahead in order to secure the best deals and avoid disappointment.

    via Irresistable Istanbul Attracts Growing Tourist Interest.

  • Be Muslim for a month in Istanbul: pray five times a day and fast

    Be Muslim for a month in Istanbul: pray five times a day and fast

    A chance to be immersed in Islam, particularly Sufi traditions and the mystic Rumi – without having to convert

    * guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 April 2011 20.53 BST

    Blue Mosque in Istanbul A reflection extends the minarets on the Blue Mosque, one of Istanbul's Muslim sights. Photograph: Richard Hamilton Smith/Corbis

    Blue Mosque in Istanbul

    A reflection extends the minarets on the Blue Mosque, one of Istanbul’s Muslim sights. Photograph: Richard Hamilton Smith/Corbis

    It has the ingredients of a conventional holiday – experiencing the culture and hospitality of one of the most exciting cities in the world. But few getaways encourage its participants to pray five times a day or try their hand at fasting, especially when those people are not Muslim.

    A social enterprise is offering individuals the opportunity to immerse themselves in Islam, without having to convert, through a trip to Istanbul that takes in the regular sights and sounds but also includes prayers at dawn and midnight and lessons on Islam and its basic practices.

    It draws heavily on the country’s Sufi traditions – with a particular emphasis on the poet and mystic Rumi. Ben Bowler, from the Blood Foundation, which runs the project, said: “We wanted to focus on Rumi because he is a unifying figure. Turkey has a relatively open brand of Islam and Istanbul is an existing tourist destination.

    “There is a willingness to engage with the west. We might not have found it in the Middle East or parts of south Asia. If we were in Saudi Arabia it would have been harder.”

    The foundation has called the initiative Muslim for a Month, despite it lasting nine days, and wants to offer a 21-day programme in the future. Bowler said most people would find it difficult to take a month off and admitted even the nine-day programme, which offers bed, board, instruction and sightseeing for £600, could have limited appeal.

    “We currently offer Monk for a Month, where people spend time in a Buddhist monastery in Tibet. That is successful. The difference is that there’s a curiosity about Buddhism in the west. People are attracted to it, people who do meditation for example.”

    In addition to praying and fasting, participants will forsake alcohol and pork. Smoking is, however, permitted. They will also be expected to carry out pre-prayer ablutions, mastering the art of hoiking their feet into a washbasin as part of the process.

    Bowler described the clash between “Muslims and the rest of the world” as one of the most “contentious issues around” and said Muslim for a Month will appeal to “open-minded” individuals who want something educational and cultural.

    “Our hosts don’t want to make the prayers obligatory but I think if you’re going to do something you should dive in. They might work up to five prayers a day – including the early morning one”. In mid-May, when the programme is due to start, the dawn prayer in Istanbul is around 3.30am.

    An inaugural programme in February involving participants connected to Monk for a Month attracted Catholics, an agnostic, some Jews and a Hindu from around the world. Although nobody converted – and there is no obligation to do so – Bowler said there were changed attitudes and a deeper understanding of Islam.

    “If we attract people who are predisposed to like Islam, that’s fine. I would like to think people aren’t so duplicitous that they will see Muslims for a Month as a cheap holiday to Istanbul.

    “There is no illusion that bowing down to Mecca five times a day makes you a Muslim. It’s what the rituals and practices represent – a constant consciousness of the divine.”

    Outreach programmes about Islam are nothing new. The Living Library, which operates in 12 countries and “loans” people out to challenge prejudice and stereotypes, features Muslims in its lending scheme. Deepening ties with Muslim communities is also a central plank of Barack Obama’s presidency. Last year he hosted an entrepreneurship summit.

    Television has also tried to play a part in improving people’s understanding of Islam. Make Me a Muslim, shown on Channel 4 in 2007, featured a gay hairdresser, an atheist taxi driver with a porn habit and a glamour model. Their Muslim mentors guided them in the dos and don’ts of the religion. The BBC’s offering – The Retreat – was shown that same year.

    via Be Muslim for a month in Istanbul: pray five times a day and fast | Travel | The Guardian.

  • How to Spend 24 Hours in Istanbul

    How to Spend 24 Hours in Istanbul

    February 15th, 2011 Poonam Chopra

    Istanbul is a tale of two cities. Straddling Europe and Asia and divided by the strait of Bosporus, the former capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires is the only metropolitan city that has its foot on two continents, with the old city sprawled over European territory and the modern, residential areas established on the Asian side. Considering its massive size, a timeframe of 24 hours can hardly do any of the city’s gems any justice at all, but it is sufficient to scratch the surface and instill a curiosity for more. It is an enchanting city, fusing the history of several cultures, languages, religions, and eras together and establishing itself as Turkey’s economic and cultural epicenter.

    Cami

    Formerly known as Constantinople, Istanbul is a city of contrasts, and not just in a geographical sense. Discover a synagogue, an orthodox church, and a mosque all erected in the same vicinity. Witness a man atop a horse, pulling a cart, and weaving in and out of traffic while a sea of luxury imported cars zoom by. Watch retired old men sitting and playing cards in quaint tea houses, while modern business women strut by in short skirts and suits, sipping their Starbucks coffee. Shop around in vast stylish, glass-fronted shopping malls or haggle at one of the old beautiful underground bazaars.

    Have your camera on hand and be ready to shoot because everything will be picture-worthy.

    1) Start your day with a traditional Turkish breakfast at one of the many waterfront cafes before introducing yourself to contemporary Turkey at the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art a few steps away.

    2) Stroll through the expansive Grand Bazaar and buy a wide array of spices, jewelry, hand-made crafts, carpets, and other trinkets.

    3) Marvel at the regal splendor of the Hagia Sophia and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque) and soak up the magnificence of Islamic architecture andTurkish history. Discover other historical landmarks around the Sultanahmet Square like the Basilica Cistern and the Egyptian Obelisk.

    4) Saunter through the quaint alleyways of historic Old Istanbul (Stamboul) and witness the restrained mystique of the East blended beautifully with the pronounced boldness of the West.

    5) Pay homage to the former Sultans of the Ottoman Empire by visiting the Topkapi Palace and walking through the former corridors of power.

    6) Pick up a döner kebab for a quick tasty lunch on the go from a roadside vendor.

    7) A trip to Istanbul is incomplete without stopping by at one of the many pudding and sweet shops along the way and sampling mouthwatering Turkish desserts like baklava or Sutlac (Turkish rice pudding).

    8 ) Whisk over to the other continent by ferry and admire the beautiful skyline along the Bosphorus.

    9) Take a late-evening break before dinner to wash off the grime from the day at atraditional Turkish bath, or hamam. Complete your session with a cup of strong Turkish coffee and a real Turkish delight.

    10) Visit the stunning Ortaköy Mosque at night and watch the mosque come alive with a dazzling light show and serene evening prayers. For the best views of the mosque and the Bosphorus Bridge, make a trip to the Banyan Restaurant, an open-air rooftop restaurant that overlooks the Bosphorus strait.

    11) Polish off the night with cocktails and other jet-setters on the rooftop terraces of Vogue or 360° Sky Lounge. Enjoy beautiful panoramic views of the city, dance to the latest electronic tunes, and mingle with the city’s glamorous denizens.

    12) Head to the buzzing areas of Taksim or Beyoğlu, the nightlife hubs of Istanbul for late-night drinks and dancing. You may even be able to find venues that showcase the cultural Turkish dance of belly dancing, or göbek dans.

    İyi eğlenceler (have fun)!

    Venere

  • Istanbul thrives as the new party capital of Europe

    Istanbul thrives as the new party capital of Europe

    The Golden Horn is booming as the world’s most dynamic city transforms its skyline and artists and students help make it buzz

    Istanbul Beyoglu

    In the run-up to New Year, the tourists were haggling over Louis Vuitton and Prada rip-offs in Istanbul‘s fabled grand bazaar. But in the high-rise shopping centres on the other side of town, bargain hunters in the winter sales are battling to get their hands on the real thing.

    Istanbul’s covered market, an early shrine to shopaholism, is about to celebrate its 550th anniversary with a multimillion-pound facelift. In fact, the entire city is in the throes of a multibillion-pound makeover, as what was once an outpost on the edge of Europe rebrands itself as a regional magnet.

    The city is buzzing. Only a few years ago, when residents spoke of millennium domes it was not the O2 venue for the latest Lady Gaga concert they had in mind, but the thousand years separating the Church of Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque on the skyline of the city’s historic peninsula. But now there are new skylines. At the European entrance to the Bosphorus bridge, work goes on through the night on the Zorlu Centre, a hotel-arts-shopping-residential-office complex. It is just down the road from the Sapphire skyscraper, which advertises itself as Istanbul’s tallest building, and with a strong arm you could throw a stone at the new Trump Towers.

    “Istanbul is a country, not a city,” says its mayor, Kadir Topbas, and the explanation of its modern boom is buried in the history of the past 30 years. In 1980 Istanbul could not afford the electricity to illuminate that famous skyline. The city, along with the rest of Turkey, was under martial law and there were midnight curfews and even shortages of Turkish coffee.

    Since then the city has elbowed its way into the global economy. The backstreet clip joints in the European neighbourhood of Beyoglu have turned into boutique hotels, fusion eateries and world music clubs. The smoke-filled coffee houses whose patrons once scrounged for the price of a glass of tea, now serve lattes – and if you try to light up, there is a £30 fine.

    At the end of the second world war, when the iron curtain came down to isolate Istanbul from the rest of Europe, only a million people lived here. Since then, the city has increased its population by that amount every 10 years. “Today’s Istanbul is above all an immigrant city,” says Murat Guvenc, city planner and curator of Istanbul 1910-2010, a remarkable exhibition that explains the pace of change. It is housed in santralistanbul – a converted power station more brutally chic than London’s Tate Modern.

    Turkey is already a young country – the average age is 29 – but Istanbul is even younger. People come there to work and often retire somewhere else. And if Turkey is notoriously poor at getting women into formal employment, nearly half of them work in Istanbul.

    A recent study by the Washington-based Brookings Institution, in a joint investigation with the LSE Cities project, judged that Istanbul had beaten Beijing and Shanghai to claim the title of 2010’s most dynamic city.

    “Istanbul takes the top ranking for economic growth in the past year,” wrote Alan Berube, director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Programme. “Its economy expanded by 5.5% on a per capita basis, and employment rose an astonishing 7.3% between 2009 and 2010. Turkey’s banking sector, which was less invested in risky financial instruments, became a safe haven for global capital fleeing established (and exposed) markets during the downturn.”

    Economists may be just realising that Istanbul is the place to be. Couch surfers and Erasmus exchange students have known this for some time. If emerging markets are kick-starting the global economy, creative dynamism is ebbing away from the old centres to the new. Istanbul is fast resembling Henry Miller’s Paris or the post-Soviet city-wide party in Prague where western twentysomethings can spend that critical time between university and life. “You just can’t just show up in New York or London and hope to fit in,” says Katherine Ammirati, 23, from Berkeley, California. “At least not without a plan bankrolled by well-heeled parents.”

    She came to Istanbul, doing tutoring jobs and then clerical work at a law firm and will go home one day to become a lawyer herself. “Istanbul still has rich and poor side by side, and that makes it feel like a real city,” she says.

    The international art community, too, has put the city on its nomadic route, drawn in large measure by the success of the privately organisedIstanbul Biennial, which will be held again this September. Sotheby’s recently set up shop in Istanbul, motivated by a new generation of Turkish artists and the new purchasing power of Turkish patrons. In the opening-night crush at Contemporary Istanbul, the city’s late autumn art fair, there was hardly elbow room to lift a glass.

    The frontiers are disappearing. New York galleries are opening up in Istanbul and Turkish collectors go abroad. Art Basel Miami Beach might not feel the competition yet, but the city founded by Constantine as the new Rome in 330 wasn’t built in a day.

    “Istanbul’s biggest problem is that we don’t know what we’re doing right,” says Kasim Zoto, a hotel keeper who sits on the board of the Turkish Hotel Association. In 1955 a Hilton hotel opened up a new modernist skyline across from the Golden Horn and the hillside was soon littered with convention centres, concert halls and more five-star hotels. In the next two years, the number of hotel rooms in the city will rise by a third and two new Hiltons will open.

    Not everyone approves of the consequences of such vertiginous growth. To some, gentrification appears out of control as “real” neighbourhoods, whether those of the Roma community by the old city walls, or the working-class districts around Beyoglu, are bulldozed for redevelopment. Only high-level lobbying last year stopped the city from being defrocked by Unesco as a world heritage site, as a row blew up over plans for an overland rail link for the city’s metro system that would slice the view of the Suleymaniye Mosque.

    The city has so far failed to meet an undertaking to produce an inventory of historic buildings and a master plan to manage the peninsula – all measures that would get in the way of the developers’ axe. Environmentalists feel powerless to stop the construction of a third Bosphorus bridge which, if the precedents of bridges one and two are anything to go by, will lead to the destruction of the city’s remaining green belt.

    Optimists and pessimists over Istanbul’s future tend to be divided along political lines, according to Hakan Yilmaz, a political scientist at the city’s Bosphorus University.

    Those who support the current religious-leaning government are inclined to see the glass half full. It is Turkey’s ardent secularists, now losing their status, who feel less hopeful about the future.

    And while some Istanbulites might see themselves caught up in a clash of civilisations, between the pious and religious and a western-oriented elite, for others it is precisely this tension that makes the city come alive.

    “There is a new culture being born,” says Kutlug Ataman, a Turner prize finalist. The “usual suspects” – the food and the nightlife – are what make Istanbul such an attractive place, he argues, but it’s the pace of change that makes the city so addictive. Having fled the country after the 1980 military coup, he sees Turkey’s transformation evolving, however imperfectly, in the right direction.

    As if to make his point, alongside a retrospective of Ataman’s own work in the Istanbul Modern museum is a celebration of the contribution of Armenian architects to the 19th and early 20th century city, an important step in allowing the city’s remaining Armenian community to reclaim the space they created. “We are becoming more democratic and you feel as an artist that you can make an impact,” Ataman says.

    And if Istanbul feels despondent about surrendering its European capital of culture crown to Turku in Finland, it knows the cloud has a silver lining. In 2012, it will become European capital of sport.

    Andrew Finkel is the author of the forthcoming book Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know, published by OUP

    URBAN RENEWAL

    667 BC City of Byzantium established by Greek colonists from Megara. Named after their king Byzas.

    AD 73 Byzantium incorporated into the Roman Empire.

    330 Byzantium becomes the capital city of the Roman Empire and is renamed Constantinople after the Emperor Constantine, pictured.

    1453 Constantinople captured by the Ottoman Turks, who call it Istanbul after the Greek meaning “to the city”.

    1923 Upon the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, the capital city is moved from Istanbul to Ankara.

    1930 Constantinople is officially renamed Istanbul.

    2010 Istanbul named as one of the European capitals of culture.

    The Guardian