http://wowturkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52299

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenerbah%C3%A7e_feneri

http://www.denizcigunlugu.com/sikca-sorulan-sorular/926-osmanli-bogazici-deniz-fenerleri-kiz-kulesi.html

İstanbul’daki Deniz Fenerleri

Boğazın Marmara girişindeki Yeşilköy ve Ahırkapı fenerleri gibi, Karadeniz girişinde de Rumeli ve Şile fenerleri durmaksızın yanıp sönmektedir. Just like Yeşilköy and Ahırkapı do at the Marmara entrance of Bosphorus, Rumeli and Şile lighthouses continuously flash on and off at the Black Sea entrance.

There are 37 small and big lighthouses along the Bosphorus Strait. Look how they wink:

http://www.bekirdildar.com/denizfeneleri_net/istanbulda/istanbulda.htm

Historically the most interesting ones are Fenerbahçe, Yeşilköy, Ahırkapı, Rumeli and Şile. At times, Kız kulesi has also been used as a guide for sailors.

The story of Fenerbahçe dates back to the Byzantine period when a lighted castle was built over the cliffs to meet vessels at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus. The lighthouse was mentioned by the name Bağçe-i Fener in Ottoman documents as early as in the days of Suleiman the Magnificient. It was probably built again in the beginning of the 18^th century. Ahmed III, the Emperor of the reformative and humanist Tulip era, had his vizier’s head cut off and body thrown to the sea from the Fenerbahçe lighthouse. The present building has been standing there in Kadiköy since 1837.

İngiliz işgali sırasında İngiliz askerleri kuleye çıkmak isterler. Fenerci Mediha Hanım ve annesi, içkili askerleri ellerinde sopayla kovarlar. During the English occupation, English soldiers wanted to enter the tower. The lighthouse keeper Mediha Hanım and her mother drove the drunken soldiers away with sticks in their hands.

In 1755 a disasterous shipwreck took place in front of Kumkapı . While emperor Osman III was watching the resque work a sailor told him there is an urgent need for a lighthouse in the strait. Today Ahırkapı in the district of Fatih in is the second highest lighthouse in Turkey and its height is at 40 metres above sea level.

Ahırkapı Feneri, fenercilik geleneğinin son örneği olan fenerde bir ailenin yaşadığı son Fenerlerden.  The Ahırkapı lighthouse which represents the highest technics of lighthouses is one of the last lighthouses where a family lives.

The biggest lighthouse in Turkey is in the Black Sea side of Bosphorus. The 60-metre-high black and white Şile feneri was built by a French constructor in 1859 during the Crimean war in order to protect English and French ships passing through the strait. Şile lighthouse now functions as a museum.

http://www.e-tarih.org/sozluk.php?sd=sozlukdetay&id=331

http://www.isimsizsevda.com/ulufe-nedirulufe-ne-demektirulufe-dagitimihakkinda-bilgi.html

http://nedirler.com/nedir-ne-demek/9364-ulufe-nedir-ulufe-toreni-ulufe-merasimi-tevziati-.html

Ulûfe Nedir?

Janissaries had their payday once in every three months. Distributing the ulûfe took place in a carefully organized ceremony. Aghas and common soldiers stood side by side waiting for their two silver coins  -  that was the amount they were paid in the early days. Even Sultan himself attended the ulûfe ceremony incognito and received his wages from the sergeant major together with the Janissaries.

Each company was called in a numerical order to take their small red leather bags where the money had been placed. Some rituals were always repeated the same way:

Ancak altmış beşinci bölüğe sıra gelince bir ve ikinci seslenişte hiç ses çıkmaz, üçüncü seslenişe yoktur diye bir ses yükselirdi. Bunun üzerine başçavuş yok olsun der ve meydandaki bütün askerler yok olsun diye bağırırlardı. Bu bölük, Genç Osman´ı şehit ettiği ve Şehzade Murad bu bölüğe sığındığı halde bölüğün şehzadeyi III. Mehmed´e teslim edip, idam ettirmeleri olaylarından dolayı yok olsun diye anılırdı. When it was turn for the 65th company no one answered to the first and the second calls. After the third call “Not here” was said loud. The sergeant major answered “So be it” and all the soldiers in the square shouted “So be it”. This company was memorized with “So be it” because they killed Osman II and gave Crown Prince Murad to Mehmed III’s hands to be executed when he was taking shelter with them.

There was a tradition concerning the food that was served also:

Ulûfe dağıtımından önce yeniçerilere saray mutfağında hazırlanan çorba, pilav ve zerde verilirdi. Yeniçeriler bir şeye küskün oldukları zaman çorba içmezlerdi. Before the distribution of ulûfe the Janissaries were given soup, pilav and rice pudding which had been prepared in the kitchen of the palace. If for some reason the Janissaries felt offended for some reason whey wouldn’t eat the soup.

The ulûfe system rose together with the Janissary army, corrupted and came to its end with it.

Yeniçerilerin bozulmağa yüz tuttuğu devirlerde artık ulûfe de satın alınabilen bir mal haline geldi. At the times when the Janissary system was collapsing even ulûfe became a commodity.

Altından Ağacın Olsa Zümrütten Yaprak

Akıbet Gözünü Doyurur bir Avuç Toprak

The oldest cemetery of Istanbul is Karacaahmet Mezarlığı in Üsküdar. It covers an area of 3 square kilometres and retains in its tombs and stones the history of 700 years. Many learned men, religious scholars and other notables of the city  -  as well as a number of ordinary city dwellers which rises up to millions  -  were buried in Karacaahmet over the centuries.

Karacaahmet cemetery was named after a famous Muslim mystic and Bektashi of the 14^th century. The cemetery was first established to serve the Bektashi community and Janissaries which were closely connected. Karaca Ahmet Sultan himself was buried in Manisa, but he has a symbolic tomb in Üsküdar also.

There was a reason for the cemetery to be located far away from the city center. Üsküdar had a special meaning for believers and it was seen as a good place for a final resting place.

O zamanlar hacca gidenler, Üsküdar´a geçtikleri andan itibaren sanki Kâbe´deymiş gibi kemâl-i edeple davranmaya özen gösterirlerdi. On those days Muslim pilgrims became attentive to the perfection of behavior which is observed in Kaaba as soon as they passed the strait to Üsküdar.

The graves are of two types: stone-covered sepulchres and wood-covered graves which were dug straight to the ground. The oldest headstone in Karacaahmet dates back to 1520 but in general there are hardly any memorials left from the 16^th century. Most of the stones were placed there three hundred years later.

Başlıklar mezarda yatan kişinin cinsiyeti, mesleği, rütbesi, sosyal mevkii, ailesi, felsefi ve dünya görüşü, ölüm şekli ve yaşadığı dönemle ilgili bilgiler verir. The headstones give information such as the gender, profession, military rank, social position, family, view of life, cause of death and lifespan of the person who was buried in the grave.

While the city around has been modernized Karacaahmet like so many historical sights has also suffered serious damage and its cultural value has not always been understood. New roads have divided it into slices and the living demand space from the dead. Parts of Karacaahmet cemetery were needed for new graves.

Mezarlığın çok önemli bir bölümü olan Seyitahmet deresi ve buradaki İranlılar Tekkesi de son yıllarda Karacaahmet´in bütünlüğünden çıkarılmış, dere yatağı tahrip edilmiş ve yaklaşık 35.000 m2 lik bir alan nakliyat şirketlerinin ambarı haline getirilmiştir. Seyitahmet valley which was a very important part of the cemetery, including the Iranian dervish lodge, was also separated from the wholeness of the cemetery in recent years. The old stream bed was ruined and an area of approximately 35 000 square metres became the warehouse of transport companies.

Many bird species nest in the cemetery. Most of the trees are cypresses but planes, bays and hackberries as well as numerous different plants also shadow the city of the dead.

http://www.azizistanbul.com/mezar.asp

http://haber.mynet.com/istanbulda-bulunan-gayri-muslim-mezarliklari-613622-ilginc-haberler/

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karacaahmet_Mezarl%C4%B1%C4%9F%C4%B1

http://www.tarihbilinci.com/forum/mimari-eserler-68/karacaahmet-mezarligi-13107/

http://www.ihyaforum.com/tarih/28817-karacaahmet-mezarligi-tarihcesi-ve-onemi.html

Praying in this mosque behind a shia imam was an interesting experiment

The Iranian cemetery next to Karacaahmet..

So you did it? What kind of a dilemma is this?

Praying in this mosque behind a shia imam was an interesting experiment

In the absence of an imam of your own sect, is it allowable to follow an imam of a different recognized sect. My ignorant guess would be "yes".

I was there to perform a funeral prayer for a dead person who was the father of a friend of mine and I thought, instead of idling about in the mosque yard, it would be better to join the "cemaat" for the noon prayer and so did I In the mosque, behind the shia imam, I found myself a bit clumsy but it was okay

That means you are a man. How disappointing

Let´s hope abla´s next post will be about Köçek (male dancer disguised in female clothes)  

I dont like watching belly dancing men. Am I too old fashioned?

ağlama artık....