Thursday, 14 February 2008

2007_02_01_archive



THE TOPKAPI PALACE MUSEUM - ISTANBUL

Tura

Topkapi Palace was home to all the Ottoman sultans until the reign of

Abdulmecid I (1839-1860), a period of nearly four centuries. The order

for the construction of the Topkapi Palace on the Seraglio Point

overlooking both Marmara and Bosphorus was given by Mehmed II after

the conquest of Constantinapolis in 1453. The place was then an

ancient olive grove. The final form of the first palace covered an

area 700m�, and was enclosed with fortified walls 1400 meters in

length. [topkapi.jpeg] The walls were pierced by a number of gates,

namely the Otluk gate, the Demir gate and the Imperial gate (Bab-i

Humayun), and a number of minor angled gates between them. After the

reign of Mehmed II the Conqueror, the palace grew steadily to form a

city like complex of buildings and annexes, including a shore palace

known as the Topkapi shore palace, as it was situated near the cannon

gate -Topkapi- of the ancient walls of Istanbul. When the shore palace

was burned down in 1863, it lent its name to the great complex we now

know as Topkapi Palace. The main portal, the Bab-i Humayun, was suited

next to the mosque of Ayasofya (Haghia Sophia Church), and this led a

series of four courts surrounded by various structures. The courts,

chambers, pavilions and other sections can be viewed at the floor plan

of Topkapi Palace.

In this page, you can find pointers to the pictures of illuminated

manuscript pages in the museum sections and pictures of sections

illustrating the architecture of the palace. Please visit the pages at

the left frame to get more information on the Palace and Museum.

The museum director Prof. Ilber Ortayli writes in daily Milliyet once

a week. Here are some of his articles: Divan-i Humayun, Harem,

Enderun.

Click the following link to see the 360 panoramic pictures from the

Palace: http://www.360tr.com/topkapi/index.htm

[3x7swa]

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Etiketler: art, history, istanbul, istanbul-turkey, ottoman empire,

topkapi palace museum, turkey

Friday, February 9, 2007

UNESCO declared 2007 as "Mevlana Year"

"The Ministry of Culture and Tourism began extending support to

projects pertaining to Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, the great 13th-century

Islamic poet and mystic of Konya and the Mevlevi (one who follows

Mevlana) culture after UNESCO declared 2007 as "Mevlana Year." In

2005, the Ministry had approved the preparation of a documentary and a

photo album describing historical whirling dervish retreats," Divarci

noted. "We have visited whirling dervish retreats in Syria, Lebanon,

Palestine, Egypt, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Bulgaria,

Greece, Kosovo, Crimea, Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Preparations

for the project took nearly four years," Divarci said, adding that the

60-minute documentary will be released by the end of this month.

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, or zen.

Not any religionor cultural system.

I am not from the Eastor the West, not out of the ocean or upfrom the

ground, not natural or ethereal, notcomposed of elements at all.

I do not exist, am not an entity in this world or the next, did not

descend from Adam and Eve or any origin story.

My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless.

Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved, have seen the twow orlds as one and that one

call to and know,first, last, outer, inner, only thatbreath breathing

human being.

Mevlana Jelauddin RUMI

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Etiketler: book, mevlana jelaluddin rumi, unesco-2007-mevlana-year

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Underwater Turkish-Japanese cooperation

The Turkish frigate Ertugrul sank on the way back from Japan in 1890,

where it was serving on a goodwill trip 117 years ago. Last month a

conference and expedition named �Waking the History

Underwater� was held at the Kushimoto Royal Hotel at the

suggestion by the Japanese Diving Union. Turkish, U.S. and French

scientists attended the conference to commemorate the 550 Ertugrul

casualties and to find the remains of the sunken frigate.

Participants of the conference included two of the most important

figures of archeology: U.S. professor George Bass, who has worked in

Bodrum, Kas and Dat�a since 1955, and Claude Duthuit, the former

premier diver on Captain Cousteau's crew.

Marine Staff Colonel Murat Saka who was on duty at the Turkish Embassy

in Tokyo, President of the Archaeologists Union of the Wakeyama Region

Hiroshi Onomoto, Kushimoto Mayor Mustafa Shigeki Matsubara and many

archaeologists and divers participated in the conference. After the

exhibition a Japanese archaeologist decided to visit the Bodrum

Underwater Archaeology Museum with his diving team in March.

French archaeologist Dr. Claude Duthuit praised the Turkish

archaeology scene saying it was because of the efforts of Turkish

archaeologists that so many important shipwrecks have been found and

exhibited in the Bodrum museum. �The world's most important

archaeological research in the last half century was done at the

Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum. It's not only about exhibitions;

the museum is also working to educate many U.S., English, French and

German archaeology students.�

Bass pointed to the importance of archaeology and culture in tourism

and declared that Turkish archaeologists deserve all the credit.

�I've been working with Turkish archaeologists for 50 years.

I've witnessed how they protected the cultural heritage and how they

helped the Bodrum museum become the best underwater archaeology museum

in the world. Professor Cemal Pulak, who is the best underwater

archaeologist in the world, Oguz Alp�zen, Nergiz D�rsel, Yasar Yildiz,

Erhan �zcan, Sel�uk Kolay and Professor Hayat Erkanal have made many

achievements in their areas of study. I mention their names,

everywhere I go.�

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Etiketler: archeology, bodrum, ertugrul, frigate, japan, The

-Turkish-frigate- Ertugrul, turkish

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Chinese National Acrobatics Circus in Istanbul

Chinese National Acrobatics Circus, founded in 1950, it still the

biggest acrobatics group of China. Since its foundation, the circus

had thousands of performances held in more than 80 countries.

They have prepared 8 different performances in 1990, which blend

acrobatics culture, dance, opera and kung-fu arts of China, "China

Soul" being the most popular of them.

Chinese National Acrobatics Circus will be performing China Soul in


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