Turkish Forum

Tag: Istanbul

  • Turkey travel: Istanbul in 24 hours

    Turkey travel: Istanbul in 24 hours

    Istanbul. It’s 12pm and as I roll off the bus from Ephesus the urge to explore grips immediately. An Islamic city without the radical factor is an attractive option in this day and age.

    The peaceful Topkapi Palace is first cab off the rank. In its outdoors, all four courtyards of it, the silence is only broken by the soft tweets of the avian residents.

    istanbul mosque

    Destination guide: Istanbul

    This air of serenity is accompanied by a rich royal history: Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566) insisted everyone walked around in silence to avoid compromising his tranquility. However his son Selim (1524-1574), known as The Sot (drunkard), lacked his father’s regal composure and eventually drowned on a bathhouse floor after an indulgent tryst with champagne.

    Another sultan, Ibrahim the mad (1615 -1648) ordered his counsel to find him the most obese woman possible and nicknamed his new sex pet ‘Piece of Sugar’. Then, upon hearing gossip that his concubines had been sullied by another man, he had 280 of his harem drowned in the Bosporus Sea. Speaking of impressive stories, the palace also houses a hair from the beard of the prophet Mohammed and an atrophied hand of St John the Baptist.

    The next day, palace curiosity satiated, the requisite visit to the Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque, where the high ceiling is lined with the 20,000 blue tiles that give the mosque its popular name and create one of Istanbul’s finest sights, is completed.

    Then the Aya Sofia – once the greatest church in Christendom until the Muslim conquests of 1453 when it was converted to a mosque  – beckons. Inside, the Muslims covered every exisiting gilded mosaic with their own art but the original, magnificent depictions of Christianity are gradually being restored.

    Book an Anzac Day tour

    Istanbul old and new

    Later, I sail calmly on a boat down the Bosphorous Strait between the Europe and Asia. The saline-infused air is rejuvenating as I study the shores of a city that has seen many rises and falls.

    Imposing, centuries-old fortresses guard silently on verdant hills while, sprawled among Ottoman architecture, chic outdoor cafes have their genteel hub-bub disturbed only by the wailing of the call to prayer.

    The mosques and markets of Istanbul

    If there’s enough of you, hire a private boat for as little as 30TL each at the wharf. The standard tourist cruise boats blast out garish disco music, ruining the peace.

    What to eat in Istanbul

    Sailing creates an appetite but it’s too far to backtrack to where I had lunch – the generous Pudding Shop Lale restaurant (near the Blue Mosque) – so I head to nearby Zinhan Kebab house. It was originally a women’s prison but the fare is as far from jail grub as you can get. As I tuck in, the realisation dawns that this a high-class, but not budget-blowing, way to experience Turkish cuisine.

    My magnificent chicken shish, punctuated with sharp sparks of spice, plants itself firmly in the number one spot of my Turkish taste experiences.

    And Zinhan keeps on giving: high above the city, it proves a great spot for night-time pics – imagine illuminated mosques, glowing to let the big man in the sky know he’s never forgotten, complemented by the glimmering emanations from the city’s lights as Istanbul comes to life for the night ahead.

    Anzac day in Turkey

    Head to Gallipoli this Anzac Day on April 25 to pay your personal tribute to the troops from NZ and OZ who fought so bravely in World War I. The only way to attend the Anzac Day ceremonies is on an organised trip run by a tour company.

    Book an Anzac Day tour

    Most Anzac Day tours leave Istanbul on April 24. It’s then a six-hour journey to Gallipoli. Once you arrive, you will secure a spot on the grass until the Dawn Service begins, which is a simple but poignant ceremony remembering the heroism and sacrifice of the soldiers who waded ashore in the first light of April 25, 1915. Take a sleeping bag.

    Anzac Day tours will include trips to the Lone Pine Australian Memorial and the New Zealand Memorial.

    Gallipoli, Turkey on Anzac Day

    Essential information

    WHEN TO GO: Any time, but spring and autumn are best. August is extremely hot.

    GETTING THERE: Plenty of flights leave London daily for Istanbul, which has two airports: the major Atatürk International Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport further afield.

    GETTING AROUND: The tram and bus are easy and cheap to use. There’s also the funicular, which takes you up to Beyoglu.

    VISAS: Australians and South Africans need to buy their visas at the airport in Turkey for £10, €10 or US$10 cash.

    CURRENCY: Turkish lira. 1 GBP = 2.29 TRY. Euros are often accepted for accommodation.

    LANGUAGE: Turkish.

    GOING OUT: A beer costs about 2.25 lira.

    ACCOMMODATION: Dorm beds cost from €11; a double room in a budget hotel is from €50.

    GET MORE INFO: visitistanbul.org

    » Jahn Vannisselroy travelled to Turkey with On The Go Tours (020 7371 1113; onthegotours.com) on the 11-day ANZAC Bonzer tour – £599 including nine nights’ three-star accommodation, an English-speaking Turkish guide, transfers and transport, nine breakfasts and six dinners.

    via Turkey travel: Istanbul in 24 hours – TNT Magazine.

  • Istanbul sea transport rocked by heavy winds

    Istanbul sea transport rocked by heavy winds

    Strong southwesterly winds halted traffic in the Marmara Sea on Monday while also badly affecting the western holiday spot of Bodrum, news agencies reported.

    Big waves caused by heavy winds hit the shore on the Bosphorus. DHA photo
    Big waves caused by heavy winds hit the shore on the Bosphorus. DHA photo

    Some services of sea ferries and buses working between several spots in Istanbul and the western provinces of Yalova and Bursa were halted Monday. The 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. services between Yenikapı-Kadıköy-Bursa and the 3:30 p.m. services between Yalova-Pendik and Yenikapı-Yalova were also halted.

    Ferry services between the Istanbul neighborhoods of Sirkeci and Harem have also been temporarily halted. Sea buses servicing the Bostancı-Kadıköy-Yenikapı-Bakırköy and Bostancı-Kabataş and Avcılar neighborhoods have also been temporarily suspended, according to the information from Istanbul Sea Buses Company.

    The southwester, or Lodos, also adversely affected sea traffic in the western province of Çanakkale. Ferry services between Gökçeada Island and Kabatepe and between Bozcaada Island and Geyikli were halted at 8 a.m. Ferries between Gelibolu, Lapseki and Çardak were also halted.

    Many restaurants, hotels, and houses along the Kumbahçe coast in Bodrum were filled with sea water because of especially large waves and some wooden piers were destroyed.

  • Minister confirms plans for third Istanbul airport

    Minister confirms plans for third Istanbul airport

    Turkish Minister of Transport and Communication Binali Yıldırım has confirmed that a third airport is scheduled to be built on the European side of Istanbul, Anatolia news agency reported Monday.

    “The new airport will serve an annual capacity of 60 million passengers and have two separate tarmacs,” Yıldırım told Anatolia, adding that it would be a build-operate-transfer project, a business model that gives building contractors the right to manage new facilities for a certain amount of time before transferring operations to the government.

    While Anatolia reported Monday that the exact location of the $5 billion project is yet to be decided, Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş told daily Hürriyet earlier this month the airport would be built in Silivri, on the northern outskirts of the city.

    Following the mayor’s statements, some parts of Silivri have started increasing in value, daily Vatan reported Monday. The project is expected to be built on an area of roughly 20,000 square meters, the daily reported.

    “This will be among the most prominent airports in Europe and will ease Istanbul’s air traffic congestion,” Yıldırım said.

    The minister said civil aviation in Istanbul is developing quickly, with Atatürk Airport on the European side of the city shouldering a major proportion of the traffic, while Sabiha Gökçen Airport on the Anatolian side is also receiving an increasing amount of traffic.

    Ministry handles subways

    The Transport and Communication Ministry is also set take control of the expansion of both Ankara’s and Istanbul’s subway systems from local municipalities, Yıldırım said, adding that Cabinet planned to formally announce the decision “soon.”

    The Railway, Ports and Airports Authority, or DLH, a sub-directorate in the ministry responsible for the construction of railways, ports and airports, will complete the expansion of the two cities’ subway infrastructure in conjunction with private companies.

    “In Istanbul, we will carry on with the current contractor, while in Ankara we will continue to cooperate with those eager to make new bids for lines the current contractors are reluctant to commit to,” he said.

    “We want to finalize these lines as soon as possible, giving priority to half-finished projects and lines vital for public transportation. It will take two or two and a half years to complete all ongoing subway projects,” he said.

  • Exhibition sheds light on Istanbul’s unique architectural history

    Exhibition sheds light on Istanbul’s unique architectural history

    ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

    Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency President Şekip Avdagiç said the exhibition gathered highly detailed information on architecture.
    Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency President Şekip Avdagiç said the exhibition gathered highly detailed information on architecture.

    A new exhibition opened with support from the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture provides detailed information about the life stories of Greek architects, who made great contributions to multi-cultural and modern structure of Istanbul in the beginning of 19th and 20th centuries. ‘Westernized Istanbul’s Greek Architects’ is now open at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts Faculty and will later move to Beyoğlu Sismaoglio Megaro building

    Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency President Şekip Avdagiç said the exhibition gathered highly detailed information on architecture.

    An exhibition titled “Westernized Istanbul’s Greek Architects,” by the Zoğrafyan High School Alumni Association with support from the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture, opened early this week at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts Faculty.

    Featuring the life stories of Greek architects who made great contributions to the multi-cultural and modern structure of some parts of the city in the beginning of 19th and 20th centuries, the exhibition sheds light on Istanbul’s unique history. It brings together the works of those forgotten Greek architects with an attempt to develop Istanbul’s architectural, historical, artistic and cultural treasures.

    Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency President Şekib Avdagiç said that the exhibition gathered highly detailed information: “The exhibition provides very detailed information particularly about the buildings made by Greek architects in Beyoğlu and Kadıköy. It reveals how the physical structure of the city, which is nourished by the harmony of different cultures, has been created, and strengthens our title of Capital of Culture.”

    Speaking on behalf of the Zoğrafyan High School Alumni Association, project coordinator Laki Vingas said that Greek architects had an important mission in Istanbul’s modernization: “The exhibition will play an important role in sharing the city’s cultural heritage with new generations. Also, the material gathered during the preparation process will be open to the use of everyone in their research.”

    Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew, who attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition, said that architecture was the concrete expression of a society’s cultural and aesthetic values. “Architecture adds a meaning and depth to today’s cities. The architects and master builders of the Ottoman Empire have gifted very significant and unique structures to Istanbul. Greek architects made great contributions to aesthetics in the Ottoman era.”

    About the exhibition

    “Westernized Istanbul’s Greek Architects” displays the life stories of Greek architects who made great contributions to the modern structure of the city in the beginning of the 19th and 20th centuries alongside photos of their works.

    The exhibition was organized with the idea that nobody knows the architects of the business places, buildings, schools and churches which created the architectural character of districts like Sultanhamam, Eminönü, Karaköy, Beyoğlu, Tarlabaşı, Sıraselviler, Pangaltı, Adalar, the Bosphorus and Kadıköy and still survive gorgeously in these districts.

    Among the architects whose works are presented in the exhibition are Vasilaki Ioannidis, who is known as the palace architect and built the Hagia Triada Church in Taksim, his son Yanko İoannidis, the architect of Heybeliada Seminary School, Perikles Fortiadis, the architect of the Private Fener Greek High School, Konstantinos Dimadis and the architect of the Bristol Hotel, today’s Pera Museum, Manoussos.

    The exhibition, curated by Hasan Kuruyazıcı, will remain open at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts Faculty Osman Hamdi Bey Hall until Dec. 23 and will move to the Beyoğlu Sismaoglio Megaro building until Jan. 16, 2011.

  • Büyükada orphanage in Istanbul to be transferred to Greek (Ecumenical) Patriarchate

    Büyükada orphanage in Istanbul to be transferred to Greek (Ecumenical) Patriarchate

    Büyükada orphanage in Istanbul to be transferred to Greek Patriarchate

    Friday, November 26, 2010

    ISTANBUL – Hürriyet

    Procedures to transfer the orphanage on the largest of Istanbul’s Princes’ Islands to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate have been completed and the deed will be delivered to Patriarch Bartholomew on Monday, daily Hürriyet reported Friday.

    The patriarchate’s lawyer, Cem Sofuoğlu, said the transfer of the Büyükada orphanage would mark the first time an issue in Turkey related to minority property rights had been resolved without a legal case.

    “We are witnessing such an incident for the first time in the history of the Turkish Republic,” Sofuoğlu said. “If there were not the political will, such a conclusion could not result because the case would go to the High Court of Appeals and getting [a decision] in favor of minorities is unfortunately not possible there.”

    After paying a fee of 150 Turkish Liras to the Land Registry Office of the Princes’ Islands on Monday, Sofuoğlu will go to the patriarchate, located in Istanbul’s Fener district, and deliver the deed to Patriarch Bartholomew in a ceremony.

    The Justice Ministry issued an official statement on the transfer, saying, “There is no alternative other than registering the orphanage to the Fener Greek Patriarchate’s records.”

    Noting that both the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry played a significant role in securing the outcome, Sofuoğlu said Turkey had stood by its signed commitment in the European Court of Human Rights and carried out the court’s decision in a period of three months.

    “We hope that similar applications will not be impeded with the words ‘however,’ ‘but’ or ‘yet’ from now on and that our courts will take this decision as an example,” Sofuoğlu said.

    Posted by Angela Damianakis

    via Elgreca’s Road to The Phanar District 34220: Büyükada orphanage in Istanbul to be transferred to Greek (Ecumenical) Patriarchate.

  • Mehr managing director meets Istanbul mayor

    Mehr managing director meets Istanbul mayor

    Mehr managing director meets Istanbul mayor

    Tehran Times Political Desk

    ISTANBUL – Reza Moqaddasi, managing director of the Mehr News Agency, held a meeting with Istanbul mayor Kadir Topbas on the sidelines of the general assembly of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in Istanbul on Friday.

    In the meeting, the mayor of Istanbul announced that he will pay a visit to Iran next year to finalize a sisterhood agreement between Istanbul and Isfahan.

    Moqaddasi also said the Mehr News Agency will spare no effort in increasing cooperation between the two neighboring countries of Iran and Turkey, the MNA correspondent reported from Istanbul