Known as a fierce hunter as well as protector, Artemis is one of the major Greek goddesses. Artemis is known as the goddess of the night, the huntress, the goddess of fruitfulness, the goddess of childbirth, Lady of the Beasts, the woodland goddess, the bull goddess, the personification of the moon, and the eternal virgin. Artemis was one of the few goddesses immune to the enchantments of Aphrodite. In some instances Artemis is linked closely to the Roman and Italian goddess, Diana. (more…)

The Temple of Artemis (Artemision) - A column and scanty fragments strewn on the ground are all that remains of the Seventh Wonder of the World. According to Strabo, the Temple of Artemis was destroyed at least seven times and rebuilt just as many times. Archaeological findings instead attest to at least four rebuilding of this temple, starting in the 7th century B.C. . Chersiphone and Metagene erected an Ionic dipteral temple in the 6th century B.C. and its building required was set on fire by Herostratus; the successive majestic structure, built entirely of marble, was begun in 334 and was finished in 250 B.C. : it aroused the admiration of even Alexander the Great who would have liked to have taken charge - at his own expense - of the continuation of the work. (more…)

Cyaneae is a Greek name meaning “dark blue” and also “clashing rocks”, though nobody knows why it was so named or which meaning it is supposed to have.  Cyaneae is famous for its many sarcophagi which surround the site.  There may be over 300 of them and this place has the most sarcophagi of any Lycian site.

Cyaneae is situated on a plateau with a rocky slope to the north descending very steeply to the plain of Yavu below.  Two chipped stone axes have been found on the site, but it was probably not continously inhabited until the 5th century BC and was perhaps part of a group of Dynasts’ residences in the Yavu mountain region during that time.  In the fourth century BC, during the Early Hellenistic period, Cyaneae became the center of the polis territory. (more…)

The House of the Virgin Mary is a Christian shrine located in the vicinity of Ephesus, Turkey (7 km from Selçuk). It is believed by many Christians and Muslims that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to this stone house by Saint John after the crucifixion of Jesus, and lived there until her assumption into Heaven according to Catholics and Orthodox.

Anne Catherine Emmerich, a German nun, claimed to have had a vision of the House of the Virgin Mary and described it in detail to the German writer Clemens Brentano who later published a book about it. In 1891 Paul, Superior of the Lazarists from Izmir read about her vision and found a little building which corresponded with Emmerich’s descriptions. (more…)

In 1451 the Ottoman possessions included most of the Balkans in Europe and western and central Anatolia in Asia. The sultans had set their residence in Adrianopolis (Edirne in today’’s European Turkey, next to the border with Greece and Bulgaria).
The Byzantine Empire was limited to the city of Constantinople and to the despotate of Mistrà in southern Greece. In that year Sultan Murat died of a stroke and was replaced by his son Mehmet II, a young man of 19. The new sultan was determined to conquer Constantinople overcoming the contrary advice of key members of the Ottoman court. (more…)

Gülhane Park, a famous excursion area and the oldest park of the city, lies between Topkapı Palace and Sarayburnu. This park is spread over a very large area and has very interesting and rare kinds of trees and bushes. However it was close for the last two years. Before renovation it was sheltering a neglected zoo, an old fashioned funfair and cheap entertainments addressing to lower income groups. Now the zoo, funfair and picnic grounds are no more existing. (more…)

Until the 17th century the area where Dolmabahçe Palace stands today was a small bay on the Bosphorus, claimed by some to be where the Argonauts anchored during their quest for the Golden Fleece, and where in 1453 Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror had his fleet hauled ashore and across the hills to be refloated in the Golden Horn

This natural harbour provided anchorage for the Ottoman fleet and for traditional naval ceremonies. From the 17th century the bay was gradually filled in and became one of the imperial parks on the Bosphourus known as Dolmabahçe, literally meaning “filled garden”. (more…)

Anadoluhisari is a fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey on the Anatolian (Asian) side of the Bosporus giving the name of the quarter around it. It was built in 1394 by Ottoman sultan Bayezid “The Thunderbolt” in order to prepare to lay siege at Constantinople.

Anadoluhisari, constructed on an area of 7,000 m², is situated at the narrowest point with 660 m of the Bosporus strait and next to a creek named Göksu (ancient name: Aretos). The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, the second bridge spanning Bosporus, is located just north of the fortress. Another fortress, Rumelihisari, was built in 1451 by Sultan Mehmed II opposite of Anadoluhisari on the European side to complete absolute control over the ship passage in the strait. (more…)

Turkish ANTAKYA, populous city of ancient Syria, since 1939 the chief town of the il (province) of Hatay in southern Turkey, near the mouth of the Orontes River (Turkish Asi Nehri). It was founded in 300 BC by the Greeks and was the centre of the Seleucid Kingdom until 64 BC, when the Romans made it the capital of their province of Syria. The city was one of the earliest centres of Christianity, serving as the headquarters of the missionary St. Paul in about AD 47-55. Antioch prospered in the 4th and 5th centuries from nearby olive plantations and in the 6th century developed a silk industry. That century also brought a series of earthquakes and fires. Antioch was captured temporarily by the Persians in 540 and 611 and was absorbed into the Arab caliphate in 637. Under the Arabs, it shrank to the status of a small town. The Byzantines recaptured the city in 969, and it served as a frontier fortification until taken by the Seljuq Turks in 1084. In 1098 it was captured by the crusaders and was taken by the Mamluks in 1268. It finally fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1517 and remained under Ottoman control until World War I. (more…)

The castle, which has guarded the city for centuries, is now a symbol of Ankara and its history is as old as the city itself. Although it is not exactly known when the castle was built, it is commonly believed to have been built by the Romans, then repaired and expanded by the Selcuks. It towers 110 meters above Bentdere Creek (Hatip Creek) which runs along its base.

There are two parts, an inner and an outer castle, with over 20 towers. The outer castle encloses the old city of Ankara within its heart-shaped walls. The four-level inner castle is made partly of Ankara stone and partly of stones gathered from other structures. The two large gates of the inner castle are called the Outer Gate and the Castle Gate. The towers within the castle vary between 14-16 metres in height. Today within the castle walls there are a number of Ottoman-style houses dating as far back as the 17th century.  (more…)