Ottoman İstanbul in 10 iconic monuments

Galata Bridge (Photo: Sunday's Zaman)

April 06, 2014, Sunday

From the day in May 1453 when Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror burst through the walls of Constantinople to seize the city from the Byzantines until the day when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk declared a new republic and moved its capital to Ankara, İstanbul was the heart of the Ottoman Empire, embellished with many magnificent buildings, particularly by the early sultans.
 Even in the later years when the Empire was in terminal decline, Constantinople (İstanbul) remained the cradle for experiments in architecture that eventually came to define the modern city.
These are some of the buildings that will give you an insight into the İstanbul of the Ottomans.


Rumeli Hisarı

Rumeli Hisarı

Why? Base for Sultan Mehmet II's assault on Constantinople

In 1452 the young Sultan Mehmet II determined to wrest the hugely important city of Constantinople from the weakened Byzantine emperors. As part of his preparations, he commissioned a huge new castle at the narrowest point of the Bosporus, opposite the castle built by his great-grandfather in what is now Anadolu Hisarı. Using these two castles the sultan was able to prevent food supplies passing up the strait to the besieged city, thus hastening its collapse.

Restored for the 500th anniversary of Sultan Mehmet II's victory in 1953, the castle now forms a dramatic landmark for Bosporus cruises. You can look round the interior too, although as yet nothing has been done to explain its role in the hugely important events of 1453.

Topkapı Sarayı

Why? Private home of early sultans and base for early Ottoman government

Built over the ruins of the old Byzantine palace on a superb site overlooking the confluence of the Bosporus, Golden Horn and Sea of Marmara, Topkapı Sarayı is the finest -- and most visited -- Ottoman monument in the city, its multiple pavilions, chambers and gardens an unexpected glimpse for most Western visitors of a style of architecture far removed from that of their home countries. Although parts of the complex date back to the reign of Sultan Mehmet II, it was many years before Topkapı became the permanent home of the Ottoman rulers and their families who lived in the famous harem -- really just the private apartments of the imperial family.
But Topkapı Sarayı was also the center of early Ottoman government, with the most important dignitaries gathering in the divan to make their decisions, with the sultans sometimes listening in unseen. Only slowly did the business of administering the Ottoman Empire move into separate premises away from the family home.

İbrahim Paşa Sarayı

Why? Only surviving example of early Ottoman private palace

Now home to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in the Hippodrome, the İbrahim Paşa Sarayı is often overlooked as an important building in its own right. In fact it was built in 1524 for İbrahim Paşa, the grand vizier, son-in-law and favorite of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, and somehow managed to survive his fall from grace and the depredations of the centuries until today it stands as the sole reminder of the grand homes once lived in by the upper echelons of early Ottoman society.
Currently closed for restoration, the palace is home to some of the city's most magnificent carpets as well as to a fine exhibition of ethnography. It should reopen soon.

Kapalı Çarsı

Why? Center of Ottoman commerce for hundreds of years

Touristy it may be now, but Kapalı Çarşı, also known as the Covered or Grand Bazaar, has an illustrious pedigree stretching right back to 1461 and the reign of Sultan Mehmet II. To appreciate that fact you need to look for the solid stone Bedesten, the covered market within a covered market whose mighty gates are still locked every evening. Then imagine how the extra buildings have been added gradually over the years until now there are said to be more than 4,000 shops making up the complex.


Süleymaniye Mosque

Süleymaniye Cami

Why? Masterpiece of greatest Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan

Unanimously regarded as the greatest of all Ottoman architects, Mimar Sinan (c. 1490-1588) was responsible for around 320 buildings, of which 84 still stand in İstanbul, including 42 mosques. Of these mosques, the most conspicuous on the skyline is Süleymaniye Cami, generally regarded as the finest of his gifts to the city despite strong competition from rivals such as the Şehzade, Rüstem Paşa and Sokollu Mehmet Paşa mosques. In the newly restored Süleymaniye Cami, Mimar Sinan brought to perfection a style of centrally domed building that had formed part of the city's silhouette since the days of the Hagia Sophia.

Süleymaniye Cami is also important as the most complete surviving example of an Ottoman külliye, the complex of social buildings associated with the imperial mosques. Clustered around it you can still see the imaret (soup kitchen), kervansaray (caravanserai), hamam (Turkish bath), hastane (hospital) and multiple medreses (schools) that all once functioned alongside it.


Fine funerary monuments on Cülus Yolu, Eyüp

Eyüp Cami

Why? İstanbul's most holy shrine where Ottoman sultans were confirmed in office

At the far end of the Golden Horn, Eyüp Cami is the most sacred of all İstanbul's holy places, the believed burial place of Eyüp el-Ensarı, standard-bearer and friend of the prophet Muhammad, who had been killed during the Umayyad siege of Constantinople in 668-69. So important was el-Ensarı that it was over his grave that Sultan Mehmet II built his first mosque after capturing the city. Today, nothing remains of that building, the mosque having been completely rebuilt in 1766 after an earthquake.

Throughout the Ottoman era, Eyüp Cami played an important role in the ceremonial attached to the coronation of a new sultan. Once appointed, the sultan would be rowed up the Golden Horn to Eyüp where he would process along the Cülus Yolu (Accession Road) to the mosque where the Sword of Osman would be strapped onto him to confirm him in his new office. The route of the old Cülus Yolu is still marked by some of the city's finest Ottoman buildings.

Nuruosmaniye Cami

Why? First example of a more Westernized style of mosque architecture

Frequently overlooked in the rush to reach the shopping treats of the Kapalı Çarşı, the huge Nuruosmaniye Cami is interesting, according to urban historian Murat Gül, as the first example of a new approach to mosque architecture that utilized Western-style ornamentation rather than the motifs familiar from early Ottoman buildings. Not only that, but it boasts the only horseshoe-shaped courtyard in the city. Lengthy restoration work appears to be nearing completion if you'd like to admire these innovations.

Dolmabahçe Sarayı

Why? Private home of later Ottoman sultans

In time the Ottomans tired of congested Topkapı Palace. At the same time, desperate to revive their declining empire, they had begun to flirt with Western ideas that found their natural home on the other side of the Golden Horn in Galata and Pera --modern Beyoğlu. So when the time came to design a new palace more suited to modern tastes, the decision was made to build it on reclaimed land in what is now Dolmabahçe. The men charged with creating this new palace were Garabet Amira and Nikoğos Balyan, scions of an Armenian family of architects that left as strong a stamp on late Ottoman Constantinople as Mimar Sinan had on the earlier version. The palace they completed in 1856 had 258 rooms, including a Ceremonial Hall with a 38-meter-high ceiling.

Topkapı served the imperial family for centuries but Dolmabahçe speedily fell from favor after an attack on the neighboring Çırağan Palace in 1878 exposed its vulnerability. It continued to be used for state business and it was here that the Republic of Turkey's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, died on 10 November 1938. To this day, his bed is draped with a Turkish flag. All the clocks in the palace stand still at the moment of his death.

Yıldız Sarayı

Why? Final home of the Ottoman sultans

In 1878 the sultans made their last move inland and uphill to Yıldız Park where the paranoid Sultan Abdülhamid presided over the creation not so much of a cohesive palace like Dolmabahçe but of a complex of buildings separated from each other by walls and tunnels that make it difficult for modern visitors who need to make two separate trips to see everything. More of the buildings are being restored to be ready to open to the public. Meanwhile the most striking section is the Şale, a long, low building that must surely be one of the grandest guesthouses in the world and was largely built to accommodate Abdülhamid's friend, Kaiser Wilhelm II, on his visits.

Galata Bridge

Why? First bridge to link old Turkish part of city with new, more Westernized part

Today it's almost impossible to imagine a time when there was no bridge across the Golden Horn linking the historic part of the city with what is now Beyoğlu. Yet that is indeed how matters stood until 1845, even though both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo had drawn up tentative plans for a bridge way back in the 16th century. Since then, Galata Bridge has gone through several rebuilds, most recently in 1994. A tram now sweeps majestically over the bridge, completely dispelling the colorful ghosts of the Ottoman past who swarmed across it so vividly in Edmondo de Amicis' travelogue, "Constantinople."

Keywords: ottoman empire , istanbul , iconic monuments

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-343798-ottoman-istanbul-in-10-iconic-monuments.html 

Byzantine İstanbul in 10 iconic monuments

(Photo: Sunday's Zaman)

March 30, 2014, Sunday

Long before it was İstanbul or even Constantinople, the great city that is now Turkey's undisputed cultural capital was Byzantium, the city on the Bosporus founded by Megaran colonists in 637 B.C.

As the Roman Empire became larger and more unwieldy, it was on this eastern city that the eyes of Emperor Constantine alighted in 330. Given his stamp of approval, it was renamed Constantinopolis and went on to become the heart of the Byzantine Empire that evolved out of the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire.

Today traces of the Byzantine era litter Old İstanbul inside the battered old land walls. The most conspicuous and most visited of those traces is, of course, the great church of Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) that bestrides Sultanahmet Square. But with many of the old buildings given new uses (specifically the churches as mosques) and with no museum devoted to the city's Byzantine history, it can be hard for the casual visitor to imagine how things once were. Click on www.byzantium1200.com to find out more about the Byzantine city, then head straight for these great sites to dream of the distant past.

Hagia Sophia Museum (Aysofya Cami)

Why? Finest surviving monument to early Byzantine era

Unmissably large, Hagia Sophia looks as if it must always have been part of the scenery. In fact, the building you see today was the third church on the site and owes its existence to a riot in 532 between the supporters of opposing chariot teams in the nearby Hippodrome that makes the more recent troubles in Gezi Park look like a storm in a teacup. By the time the dust had settled, not just the second Hagia Sophia but also two other Byzantine churches had been burnt down.

The great emperor Justinian moved fast to make good the damage, commissioning Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus to build a replacement so imposing that no one would remember what had gone before. Completed in 537, it boasted the largest dome in the world, which quickly fell victim to an earthquake in 558 and had to be rebuilt. That dome and its sturdy supporting pillars created a great sense of space that is harder to appreciate now that the scaffolding required to “restore” the building has been reinstalled in the nave.

No visitor to Hagia Sophia will be able to forget the glittering mosaics dating from the ninth to the 13th centuries that are dotted about the interior. The church stands mainly, though, as a monument to the grand ambitions of an emperor who left his mark in buildings scattered all over Western Anatolia and Thrace.


Chora Church

Chora Museum (Kariye Cami)

Why? Finest monument to the 13th-century Byzantine Renaissance

Built on a far more petite scale than Hagia Sophia, Chora Church, out near the Land Walls at Edirnekapı, was built in the 11th century when this part of the city was still rural. Expanded in the 13th century, it was given a lavish interior decoration scheme by a wealthy statesman called Theodore Metochites whose preposterous taste in headgear was immortalized in one of its many mosaics.
Today Chora is the best place to come to inspect the evidence of a Byzantine artistic renaissance that took root in the city after the Latins who occupied the city from 1204 to 1261 were finally turfed out. Visit soon since the building is scheduled to close for extensive restoration.

Fethiye Cami

Why? Second only to Chora Church as a place to admire late Byzantine mosaics

Should you be thwarted in your efforts to visit Chora Church, then head east along Draman Caddesi in search of the Fethiye Cami, which started life in the 12th century as the Monastery of the Theotokos Pammakaristos but, like the Chora Church, acquired a lavishly decorated extension in the 13th century. Nothing here can quite match the staggeringly lovely frescoes of the Chora's Parecclesion chapel, but the dome mosaics depicting the Pantocrator and the Virgin Mary are a stunning reminder of the glory that was Byzantium.

Monastery of the Pantocator (Zeyrek Cami)

Why? Burial place of some later Byzantine emperors

High on a bluff above the Golden Horn at Unkapanı, the Byzantine Monastery of the Pantocrator has been under restoration for so many years that most people have probably forgotten what it used to look like. That work looks as if it may finally be nearing its end, which means that visitors will once more be able to appreciate a basically 12th-century monastery that grew in increments to become one of the most important in the city and the burial place of some of the Komneni emperors. The monastery owed allegiance directly to the emperor rather than the patriarch and possessed a famously rich treasury until it was raided by Crusaders in 1204. Some of their booty now forms part of the altarpiece of St Mark's Basilica in Venice.


Küçük Ayasofya Cami

Church of Sts Sergius and Bacchus (Küçük Ayasofya Cami)

Why? Oldest intact Byzantine church in city

It would be easy to assume that Hagia Sophia was the oldest surviving intact church in İstanbul, an honor that actually falls to the much smaller Church of Sts Sergius and Bacchus, on the shore of the Sea of Marmara downhill from the Arasta Bazaar. Built in 527, the interior of the church featured a two-storey octagonal colonnade embellished with wonderful capitals and lengthy inscriptions that mention Sergius but not Bacchus. Some people object to recent restoration work inside what is now a mosque; others will be too stunned by the beauty of the colonnades to complain.

St Mary of the Mongols

Why? The only city church that never became a mosque

On the hilltop near what was once the vast redbrick Greek High School for Boys in Fener, St Mary of the Mongols is worth visiting not because it is the most beautiful of the city's surviving Byzantine churches, but because it was the only one that was never turned into a mosque, courtesy of Atık Sinan, the architect who worked on Fatih Cami for Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror; a copy of the decree permitting its survival hangs on the wall. The church is open on Sundays. At other times ring the doorbell for admission.

Great Palace Mosaics Museum

Why? A glimpse at the glory of the Byzantine Great Palace

While coachloads of tourists descend on beautiful Topkapı Palace it's hard to remember that an even bigger Byzantine palace, or collection of palaces, once stood in what is now Sultanahmet/Cankurtaran. Bits of it crop up whenever new building work is carried out but the single most stunning reminder of what has been lost can be seen in the Great Palace Mosaics Museum, beside the Arasta Bazaar. Not only do the mosaics shown off in situ suggest the lost splendor of the palace building, but they also hint at the way of the life of the Byzantines too with men shown hunting, fishing and farming, while children dressed in the colors of the most revered chariot teams play games.





Yerebatan Sarnıcı

Yerebetan Sarnıcı

Why? Most impressive reminder of the Byzantine water system

 Today it may be one of İstanbul's most atmospheric sights, but the popular Yerebatan Sarnıçı (Cistern) was once just a prosaic piece in the complex jigsaw of aqueducts and reservoirs required to bring water from the Thracian forests into the city. People may gawp in awe now at the upside-down carving of Medusa used as a column base, but its position shows that the builders saw it merely as reusable rubble for their latest project. The Aqueduct of Valens that straddles Atatürk Bulvarı was another piece in the same puzzle.

Land Walls

Why? Constantinople's protection until 1453

Coming in from Atatürk Airport visitors catch a passing glimpse of the great walls that once ringed the Byzantine city and protected it from its enemies right up until 1453 when Mehmet the Conqueror punched his way through them with the help of a Hungarian-built cannon. With time on your hands, you might like to walk the length of the walls from Mermerkule on the Sea of Marmara to the soaring towers at Ayvansaray on the Golden Horn. In doing so you will pass the renovated shell of Tekfur Sarayı, part of the lost Blachernae Palace to which the Byzantine emperors retreated after they recovered the city from the Crusaders in 1261. The walk is best done in company.

Church of St John the Baptist of Studion

Why? Battered remains of a once hugely productive monastery

Today only the outer walls survive in Samatya (Kocamustafapaşa) of what was once one of the most important monasteries in all of Byzantium, with a scriptorium in which monks produced some of the finest illuminated manuscripts. The church is slated for restoration. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it could be turned into a museum of Byzantine history?

Keywords: istanbul , iconic monuments , byzantium

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-343231-byzantine-istanbul-in-10-iconic-monuments.html 

Coasting 3: The Turkish Mediterranean

Alanya (Photo:Sunday's Zaman)

March 23, 2014, Sunday

Stretching from Datça in the west to Adana in the east, the Mediterranean shoreline is perhaps the most quintessentially Turkish part of the coast and certainly the most photographed.

 The western part of it from Marmaris to Antalya is the heartland of the Blue Cruise -- actually invented in Bodrum just round the corner in the Aegean -- the part of the coast picturesquely dubbed “the Turkish Riviera” or “the Turquoise Coast” in tourist brochures. It's an area of dramatic natural beauty with soaring mountains dropping sharply to an azure sea and with the awe-inspiring ruins of several different civilizations -- the Carians, Lycians and Romans in particular -- within easy reach of the beaches.

The Mediterranean coast splits naturally into two sections, with Antalya as the break point. West of Antalya tourism dominates everything in a string of resorts ranging from the big full-on offerings of Marmaris-İçmeler and Fethiye to the smaller holiday centers such as Dalyan and Kaş. East of Antalya, Side and Alanya are equally popular holiday resorts. After that the mountains soar ever higher, the coast road narrows and hotels virtually dry up until you near the big conurbation of Adana-Mersin-Tarsus.

The western side of this stretch of coast is served by airports at Bodrum, Dalaman and Antalya; the eastern side by the airport at Adana.


Knidos ancient theater


Datça, Bozburun

Reşadiye and Bozburun peninsulas

West of Marmaris an open jaw of land looks poised to swallow the isolated Greek island of Simi. Forming the northern part of the jaw is the Reşadiye Peninsula, which runs out to Datça, a mini-Marmaris of a port resort that makes the best base for visiting the wonderful Greco-Roman ruins at Knidos. The prettiest places to stay lie just inland from the sea in Eski (Old) Datça while the most unabashedly luxurious hotel is the Mehmet Ali Ağa Konağı, a gloriously restored Ottoman mansion also inland in the pinprick settlement of Reşadiye. In summer, boats cruise to Knidos and Simi and there's a ferry to carry you north to Bodrum without backtracking.

The southern part of the jaw forms the Bozburun Peninsula, which runs out to the isolated harbors of Bozburun and Söğüt via a string of small beach resorts at Hisarönü (great for watersports), Osmaniye and Selimiye, an almost circular bay that looks set to become the next big thing in tourism. The peninsula's largest resort is Turunç, another mini-Marmaris that is ideal for family holidays.


Marmaris

Marmaris and İçmeler

By far the biggest resort at the western end of the Turkish Mediterranean coast, Marmaris, glories in a reputation for brash and boozy holidays as typified by the night-time offerings of Barlar Sokak (Bar Street). Recently, however, it has smartened up its act, with some fine new waterside hotels replacing others that were definitely past their sell-by date. A small 16th-century castle forms the centerpiece of a picturesque quarter immediately behind the harbor.

In summer, water taxis skim across the bay to İçmeler, which is not much more than a resort extension of Marmaris without the large bazaar and residential quarter of the older town. Better beaches and bathing opportunities are available on daily cruises to the offshore islands and Cleopatra's Beach, or on excursions east to Dalyan and sandy İztuzu beach.

Dalyan and Sarıgerme

Midway between Marmaris and Fethiye, Dalyan has everything going for it with its tranquil riverside setting overlooked by picturesque, mini-temple-shaped Carian tombs signposting the way to the impressive ruins of ancient Kaunos and with a flotilla of boats waiting to ferry visitors upriver to the beach at İztuzu. It's a great place to take a holiday if your tastes run to something less frenetic than Marmaris.

East of Dalyan and accessible by minibus from Ortaca is Sarıgerme where a lovely stretch of sandy beach has been protected by pushing most of the hotel development inland.


Ölüdeniz

Fethiye

Fethiye is a marvelous place to stay with an excellent mix of hotels in all price ranges, a splendid harbor, slight archeological remains dating back to Lycian and Roman times and a rambling bazaar that incorporates a market where you pick your fish, sit down at one of the surrounding restaurants and wait to have it cooked for you.

Fethiye also makes the perfect base for visiting lots of nearby attractions including the long stretches of sandy beach at Ölüdeniz where hang-gliding off nearby Baba Dağı (Mt. Baba) is almost de rigueur. At Kayaköy you can explore the ruins of the abandoned Greek village of Levissi that provided the inspiration for Louis de Berniere's novel, "Birds Without Wings," while the ruins at Xanthos and the Letoon further east form one of Turkey's UNESCO-listed World Heritage Sites. Cruises from Fethiye will carry you to the Sunday market at Göcek, a favorite with the yachting fraternity, and to Butterfly Valley, which is more of a hit with backpackers.

Kaş and Kalkan

The twin resorts of Kaş and Kalkan, midway between Fethiye and Antalya, offer complimentary attractions. Kalkan is low on historical monuments but does have lots of charming cafes and restaurants in bougainvillea-draped houses overlooking the harbor. Kaş, on the other hand, boasts an ancient theater and impressive Lycian tombs scattered about town to supplement a range of hotels and pensions to suit all pockets alongside the upscale shops of pretty Uzun Çarşı.
Boat trips from Kaş cruise to Kaleköy, one of Turkey's prettiest villages, with a ruined castle sitting atop a hill running up from a glorious, fish-restaurant-ringed harbor overlooking the submerged remains of a Lycian settlement. Day cruises also take visitors to the attractive Greek island of Kastellorizo (Meis). Both Kaş and Kalkan make great bases for visiting the ruins of a basilican church at Demre (Kale) which claims to have been the last resting place of St. Nicholas -- the original Father Christmas -- and to Patara, which has one of the finest stretches of sand in all of Turkey, with Lycian and Roman ruins set back behind the dunes as a wonderful added extra.

Olympos, Çiralı and Adrasan

Olympos and Çiralı are non-identical twin resorts in the Beydağları National Park west of Antalya. Olympos, with its famous “treehouses” -- mainly cabins actually -- is super popular with backpackers while Çiralı finds favor with older travelers, especially those of an environmentally conscious frame of mind. Both resorts offer access to the mysterious, inextinguishable flames on the mountainside known since ancient times as the Chimaera and both offer access via a lovely beach to the ruins of ancient Olympos, still half-buried in thick undergrowth.

Adrasan is harder to get to and less developed although it does feature a fine line in restaurants where you eat at tables set up over a river. All three resorts are close to the Olympos Teleferik, a cable car that goes up the flanks of Tahtalı Dağı (Mt. Tahtalı) that is most easily reached if you have a private car.

Antalya

Like Fethiye, Antalya has everything going for it as a holiday resort. Action is mainly centered on the town's beaches of Lara and Konyaaltı, although many people prefer to stay in all-inclusive holiday-village developments in nearby satellites such as Kemer, Beldibi and Belek, the latter especially popular with golfers. Independent travelers tend to head straight for Kaleiçi, the walled inner city that features a fine choice of hotels and pensions in restored or imitation Ottoman mansions within easy reach of a lovely harbor.

The Antalya Museum showcases finds from many local archeological sites and is worth a visit either before or after touring the ruins at Perge, Side and Aspendos, the latter home to a restored ancient theater that forms the centerpiece of the annual Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival. Even more beautiful are the mountainside ruins of Termessos and the beachside ruins of Phaselis, currently threatened by a planned hotel development. From Antalya, many people also venture east to Köprülü Kanyon to join thousands of others in a flurry of whitewater rafting.

Side and Alanya

The last sizeable package-holiday resorts on the Mediterranean coast lie east of Antalya in Side, where the hotels and pensions wrap themselves round extensive and impressive Roman ruins and overlook a lovely stretch of sandy beach, and in Alanya, where beaches are severed from the hotels by the busy coast road but where impressive Selçuk ruins look out to sea from the hilltop and at shore level an old Selçuk shipyard has been beautifully restored. Recently work has begun on regenerating some of the crumbling Ottoman housing stock to provide Alanya with some unexpected boutique hotels.

Anamur

East of Alanya the motion-sickness-inducing coastal road winds its way to Anamur, a small beach resort more popular with Turks than foreigners but offering the best access to the ruins of the abandoned Byzantine site at Anamarium and to the remains of impressive Mamure Kalesi, both sites on beaches.

Kızkalesi

Nearing the Greater Adana conurbation, Kızkalesi is also more popular with Turkish tourists but dominates a fine stretch of sandy beach with the ruined “Maiden's Castle” floating picturesquely offshore. If you want to explore the many ruins in this area, including the dramatic remains of Kanlıdivane and the more delicate ruins of Uzuncaburç-Olba Kızkalesi probably makes the best base.

Adana

Turkey's fourth-largest city is an unlikely holiday destination for anyone, although some might want to use it as a base for visiting Tarsus, an increasingly attractive town with much more than its associations with St. Paul to offer. The small beach resort south of Adana at Yumurtalık boasts an offshore “Maiden's Castle” on a smaller scale than the one at Kızkalesi. It, too, might make a base for visiting Tarsus if you don't mind having to backtrack through Adana.

Keywords: turkish mediterranean , travel

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-342654-coasting-3-the-turkish-mediterranean.html 

Coasting (2): The Aegean

Ayvalık

March 16, 2014, Sunday

For sand and sea-lovers, Turkey’s Black Sea coast has one particular drawback, which is that even in summer the weather can be as unreliable as that of the northern European countries from which many of them have escaped.

In contrast, the Mediterranean coast can be overwhelmingly hot and humid in July and August. The Aegean -- or “Ege” in Turkish -- on the other hand can usually be relied upon to offer month after month of glorious summer sun with barely a drop of rain and not much humidity either.

The Aegean coast -- an overview: The Aegean coastline divides into two separate sections with İzmir, Turkey’s third largest city, as the breakpoint. North of İzmir the scenery is a little less dramatic and the architecture closer in style to that of the Greek Dodecanese islands frequently visible offshore. South of İzmir, the scenery gets increasingly dramatic, especially as it heads south from Bodrum. Happy beach hunting grounds can be found near Çanakkale and Assos, on Bozcaada Island, between Yeni and Eski Foça and around Bodrum. The Gulf of Edremit between Assos and Ayvalık is extremely built-up with holiday homes for domestic tourists although even here there is a particularly beautiful beach at Ören, near Burhaniye.

Çanakkale: Heading out of İstanbul the first big destination for visitors is usually the town of Çanakkale, the most obvious base for visiting the battlefield sites at Gallipoli and the ruins of Troy. Inland from the actual Aegean coast, Çanakkale is beautifully situated on the banks of the Dardanelles, also known as Hellespont, a strait that feels rather like İstanbul’s famous Bosporus and ensures lovely sea views only ever a short walk away from your hotel. Çanakkale is very popular with domestic tourists, which means that its lavish hotel stock comes under strain over summer weekends. That’s apart from the additional strain created by ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day on April 25, when it would be extremely unwise to show up without a reservation as Australians and New Zealanders pour in to attend dawn services at the battlefield sites. In 2015, the centenary of ANZAC’s Gallipoli Campaign will bring in yet more visitors, making 2014 a particularly good time for a visit.


Bozcaada

Bozcaada and Gökçeada: Only two of the inhabited Aegean islands belong to Turkey. Of them, Bozcaada is the more immediately bewitching with a huge castle looming over a picturesque harbor ringed with fish restaurants and backed by a small settlement full of attractive old Greek houses. To the north of the island, yet undeveloped sandy beaches are shielded by high dunes, while the vineyards in the center of the island and the stunning small boutique hotels dotted about it complete a picture that amounts to touristic paradise.


Assos

Assos: Lovely Assos is a two-part destination, with a tiny picture-postcard harbor lined with hotels in beautiful old stone warehouses at the bottom of a steep hill and the remains of ancient Assos straggling up the inland side of the road. At the top of the hill, the modern village of Behramkale is full of attractive old stone houses marching even further uphill to the remains of a fine Greek temple to Athena that presides over a stunning view across to Lesbos, or “Midilli” in Turkish. Like Çanakkale, Assos is an increasingly popular destination with domestic tourists and school parties choke its narrow streets in late May and early June. Most of the hotels require guests to take half-board which means few good stand-alone restaurants. Sandy beaches ramble out east around Kadırga.


Cunda

Ayvalık and Cunda: The untouristy small mainland town of Ayvalık once made a living from the cultivation of olives, and the chimneys of old olive-oil factories still loom above narrow streets filled with townhouses dating back to the period before the 1923 Greco-Turkish population exchange when it was an almost entirely Ottoman Greek settlement. The little offshore “island” of Cunda -- which is actually attached to the mainland by a causeway -- revels in more of a holidaymaking atmosphere. Narrow stretches of undeveloped beach fringe Cunda, or you can head south to Ayvalık’s rather overdeveloped resort suburb of Sarımsaklı, where large hotels gaze down on a wide swathe of sand.


Bergama

Bergama: Since the introduction of a funicular to painlessly convey guests uphill to the Acropolis, a visit to the extensive ruins of ancient Pergamum has become a great deal easier, with the remains of the Asclepion medical sanctuary, the brooding Kızıl Avlu (Red Basilica) and an excellent local museum all within reasonable walking distance of each other. There’s still a fairly limited choice of places to stay, let alone fancy places to eat, so you may prefer to visit on a day-trip from Ayvalık or from the small nearby beach resort of Dikili.

The Foças: North of İzmir, Eski (Old) and Yeni (New) Foça have become increasingly popular with Turkish tourists and the supply of accommodation is barely keeping pace with the growing numbers, especially at weekends. At Eski Foça, a fine Genoese castle on a headland between two harbors is being beautifully restored, while Yeni Foça offers street upon street of pretty little 19th-century townhouses backing onto a small stretch of shingle.

İzmir: On a tight schedule you might want to give İzmir a miss if only to avoid the big-city agro of having to get to grips with an unfamiliar public transport system. That said, the coming of the İzban light railway has made the town center much easier to navigate than it used to be and drops passengers within walking distance of the impressive remains of the Roman agora at Basmane. Restaurants strung out along the waterfront between Konak and Alsancak make pleasant places to watch the sun go down over the Gulf of İzmir.

Çeşme and Alaçatı: West of İzmir, Alaçatı is second only to Bodrum when it comes to the favored summer watering holes of İstanbul’s more moneyed set. The small-scale charms of what was until recently an abandoned settlement of small Greek houses with jutting wooden cumbas (bay windows) are best appreciated in the shoulder seasons, when the crowds thin out before the hotels shut up shop for winter. On a tight budget, you can forget staying in Alaçatı, in which case it’s good news that the town of Çeşme is only a short bus ride away. Çeşme’s hotels also charge over the odds to stay within easy reach of a huge Ottoman castle overlooking a harbor but there are also plenty of cheaper backstreet pensions to pick from as well as cafes and restaurants aimed at a non-plutocratic, non-gourmet clientele.

Selçuk, Kuşadası, Şirince and Ephesus: If Pergamum is the most impressive ancient site north of İzmir, Ephesus is by far the most impressive ruin to its south. Inevitably, the remains of what was once the biggest town in Asia Minor are swamped with visitors, especially when cruise ships are moored in İzmir, which they usually are throughout the summer. Make life easy for yourself and stay within walking distance of them in Selçuk, the small town that was its successor and comes with a fine selection of medieval monuments of its own. Selçuk is also within easy reach of decent beaches at Pamucak and Yoncaköy. In the hills above Selçuk, Şirince offers a fine choice of hotels in restored Ottoman houses with great views. Kuşadası is party central with small built-up beaches easily accessible to north and south, and quieter, more appealing coves hidden inside the Dilek Peninsula National Park to the southwest.

Bodrum and the Bodrum Peninsula: At the southern end of the Aegean coast, Bodrum is very popular with Turks, for whom an ever-growing selection of pricy hotels, restaurants and second homes are being built, rather overshadowing the erstwhile small-scale appeal of the old town center, where whitewashed houses trip down narrow streets to a glorious water-side promenade dominated by a giant 15th-century castle. It’s the same story out on the peninsula, where the separate resorts come closer to merging into each other with every passing year. Gümüşlük to the northwest has the prettiest setting, with the slight remains of ancient Mindos dotting the sandy beach and running out onto Tavşan Adası (Rabbit Island).

Keywords: aegean , mediterranean coast , travel

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-342081-coasting-2-the-aegean.html 

Coasting 1: The Black Sea

March 09, 2014, Sunday

Well-known for its magnificent ancient monuments and increasingly so for glitzy entertainment options like Alaçatı, Bodrum, İstanbul and a few other select hotspots, Turkey also boasts an enviable 7,000 kilometers of coastline, making it the perfect place for those in search of a holiday in sight of the sea.

 The beaches are not always the most exciting -- there are few swathes of unspoiled sand to match those of Australia, California or Polynesia, for example -- but there are plenty of erstwhile fishing villages-turned-holiday resorts and many hideaways where history wraps itself neatly around tourism development.

Turkey has three separate stretches of coastline -- the Aegean, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea -- each with their own particular attractions. This week we're kicking off our explorations with the Black Sea.

The Black Sea coast -- an overview

Turkey's Black Sea coastline stretches all the way from İğneada in western Thrace to Hopa/Sarp on the eastern border with Georgia. Few travelers bother with the Thracian stretch even though there are fine sands at Kıyıköy, near Vize, and at Kilyos, near İstanbul, where in summer a string of beach clubs a la Çeşme open their doors.

For most people the Black Sea coast really means the stretch that heads east from İstanbul, kicking off from what is effectively the beach suburb of Şile, then striking east through Ağva, Amasra, İnebolu, Sinop, Samsun, Ünye, Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon and Rize. From Şile to İnebolu the winding road makes for extremely slow traveling. From Samsun to Hopa, though, the Black Sea Highway carves a quick and busy path towards Georgia and the Caucasus.

Although there are plenty of small beaches along the coast, few are truly unspoiled and many feature black volcanic sand. Frequently wet weather even in summer also tends to militate against this being the best choice of destination for a pure beach holiday.

In terms of other attractions the most inviting places to stay are Ağva, Amasra, İnebolu, Sinop, Ünye, Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon and Rize. Beyond Rize the action moves inland from the coast to the Kaçkar Mountains and their foothills. The towns east of Rize are completely bereft of historic monuments.

Ağva

Once known only to a select few, Ağva is now an increasingly popular weekend retreat for "İstanbullus,” with a string of pleasant small hotels lined up along the banks of the slow-moving Göksu River. There's a beach here too, and attractive coastal scenery at nearby Kilimli Koyu. Do yourself a favor and visit midweek for cheaper prices and less of a party scene.

Amasra

Perched on a headland between two sizeable harbors, old Amasra hunkers down behind city walls dating back to Byzantine times, which were extensively rebuilt by Genoese traders whose coats of arms can still be seen above the entrances. From a distance, it's a picture-postcard setting. Close up, the architecture is something of a hodge-podge and there are surprisingly few really interesting hotels, this being predominantly still a Turkish family-holiday destination where cheap prices tend to be the most important consideration. From Amasra you can easily pop inland to visit the market at Bartın or to see the fine old Ottoman houses of Safranbolu, a World Heritage site.


İnebolu

İnebolu

Until recently the small town of İnebolu was not really somewhere you would have wanted to linger. Now, however, not only have many of its lovely maroon-and-white-painted wooden houses been restored, but the authorities have decided to make a great deal more of the role their citizens played in the Turkish War of Independence (1919-22) when they formed a crucial link in the supply chain that conveyed munitions inland to Ankara via Kastamonu. A way marked İstiklal Yolu (Independence Way) now commemorates the route taken by the heavy-laden ox carts.

Sinop

Like Amasra, Sinop sits on a headland, and it too retains extensive stretches of the old city walls that once ran right along the seashore. Sinop has a couple of fine museums, a Selçuk mosque and madrasah (school) and a string of pleasant fish restaurants, but its most intriguing “attraction” is probably the old prison that squats beside the walls as you come into town. This has been left largely as it was when it was decommissioned in 1979. Some will lament the lack of "interpretative" signboards. Others will find its unvarnished state peculiarly evocative.

Samsun

Like İnebolu, the port town of Samsun used to be somewhere to whip through as quickly as possible, preferably without stopping. Now, it too has been given a makeover to emphasize its role in the events leading up to the Turkish War of Independence, with a replica of the steamship Bandırma in which Atatürk arrived in town as just one of its new attractions. For those interested in more ancient history, the original settlement of Samsun was at Amisos, just west of the center, where a funicular from the shorefront Amazon Park now offers access to a pair of stone-cut tombs hidden inside matching burial mounds.


Ünye

Ünye

The speed of the Black Sea Highway makes it tempting just to whiz through Ünye, but actually this is one of the better places to break your journey with some lovely stretches of beach within easy reach of a town center where old Ottoman mansions are being given a much-needed makeover. Uzunkum to the west of town is said to be the longest stretch of sand along the coast, and a short drive out of town leads inland to the remains of the lofty Ünye Kalesi, a castle atop a plug of rock with tombs dating back to the first century B.C. carved into it.


Ordu

Ordu

A built-up modern town, Ordu has a waterfront that is dominated by a huge redundant 19th-century church now used by the local university for administrative purposes. There's a dusty small museum in the Paşaoğlu Konağı and fine views from Boztepe, accessible once again by a funicular. Café society is also alive and kicking in Ordu, although sometimes the musicians find themselves struggling to make themselves heard above the roar from the Black Sea Highway.

Giresun

In the heart of hazelnut-growing country, Giresun is home to another vast redundant church that, this time, has been turned into a fine local museum. High on a hilltop, the ruins of a castle make a fine lookout point. Otherwise, Giresun also makes a great base for a trip inland to see the spectacular remains of Şebinkarahisar Castle.

Trabzon

Of all the Black Sea towns, Trabzon probably has the most going for it. Most people come here to make a side trip inland to Sumela, where a much-photographed ruined monastery clings to the pine-tree-covered mountainside like a limpet. Those who linger will discover that the town is also home to a second Hagia Sophia, this time a 13th-century church built on an isolated headland and thickly covered with spectacular frescoes. After the Ottomans occupied what had been known as Trebizond, the last stronghold of the Byzantine emperors, the church was turned into a mosque. For most of the 20th century it served as a museum, but recently the controversial decision was made to turn it back into a mosque.

Trabzon is home to Trabzonspor, one of Turkey's most successful and popular football teams. It also has a great bazaar where you can buy some fine local styles of jewelry. The Atatürk Köşkü is worth visiting more for the beauty of the building and the surrounding garden than for its exhibits. Some might say the same for Trabzon Museum. Of the once-magnificent Byzantine palace, only the shattered walls survive.

Rize

Once you reach Rize you have arrived not only in the part of Turkey populated by a Laz-speaking minority group, but also in the area where much of the country's tea is grown. A visit to the Çay Araştırma Enstitüsü (Tea Research Institute) is therefore de rigueur, as is a visit to the Çaykur Tea Museum, sponsored by the company that owns almost all the local tea plantations.
East of Rize, a road heads inland from the town of Pazar to Çamlıhemşin following the wild course of the Fırtına River, a favorite of white-water rafters. Take this road and you find yourself heading for the Kaçkar Mountains, a beautiful world away from the concrete overdevelopment that mars the rest of the coast all the way to Hopa.

Keywords: black sea coast , inebolu , holiday

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-341419-coasting-1-the-black-sea.html 

Lokum - Turkish delight - How is it invented?

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