So you don´t celebrate Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Easter and all other Christian holidays? I hope so, otherwise you would disappoint me Lemon. As is clear, all Christian holidays are stuck on the dates of older non-Christian holidays, and some (like Easter) are decided by the moon calender. Otherwise Easter would be on the same day every year. This was done to make the conversion of non-Christians much easier. Easter is not about JC, but about the heathen spring celebrations.

And the whole thing about faith is that it is NOT verifiable. Otherwise it would be called "FACT" and not "FAITH". Claims are not proof. There is no proof that JC was alive, there are claims and witnesses that can be easily faked (aka the Bible). However, some people have FAITH and BELIEVE in JC.

http://haber.gazetevatan.com/kanuninin-degil-esasen-hurrem-sultanin-hayati-o-gafiller/351318/4/Haber

On Mothers’ Day

The reign of Suleiman the Magnificient (1520-66) was the greatest time in the history of Ottoman Empire. The Sultan ruled lands on three continents and had palaces, bridges, mosques and various social establishments built in Istanbul. After him a long period of decline began.

Osmanlı’nın en üst noktasıdır bu...Ama sonra...Sonrası Duraklama Devri’dir... This was the top point of the Ottoman Empire…But later…The time after it was an unproductive period.

Reha Muhtar describes in his article the role of Suleiman’s wife Hürrem Sultan who according to a  legend rose from the position of a captured harem woman into that of the legal wife of Suleiman. The role of Hürrem Sultan was central in the recently popular tv series “Muhteşem Yüzyıl” and even though the fictive story has been criticised there might be a seed of truth in it.

The great love of the Emperor turned out to be a bitchy woman what came to the privileges of her own children. She had Suleiman’s first-born son plus a group of other people murdered in order to give her own favourite son a great future. Unfortunately for the whole Empire Selim II was not the right man for the job. Like strong mothers’ sons often are, he was too flegmatic and chickenhearted to reign the country. They say he hardly ever bothered to leave Istanbul.

Kim bilir belki de Hürrem Sultan’ın şeytani planları bu uğursuzluğun nedeniydi... Who knows maybe the demonic plans of Hürrem Sultan were the reason of this  bad luck.

One of the reasons for the regression of Ottoman Empire after Suleiman the Magnificient’s reign was a mother’s blind and stubborn love for her son.

http://www.sizinti.com.tr/konular/ayrinti/kanuni-sultan-suleyman-ve-kulturumuz-agustos-2011.html

Friends of the Lawgiver

The article of Metin Reis introduces the official side of Suleiman the Magnificient (reign 1520-66): the great leader and the virtuous man who also had understanding for arts and science. The Sultan had a very warm relationship with many of the greatest masters of his time.

Ebussuud Efendi was the specialist who helped Suleiman to renew Ottoman laws. In addition, he was the Sultan’s lifelong friend who actually led his funeral prayer:

Sultan Süleyman ile Ebussuud Efendi arasında devlet vazifesinin ötesinde bir gönül bağı vardı. Bu, âdeta hoca talebe münasebeti gibiydi. In addition to state responsibilities which they shared there were also ties of affection between Sultan Suleiman and Ebussuud Efendi. It was almost like the relationship between a teacher and a disciple. 

Another close friend of his was Yahya Efendi, a mystic and a scholar who devoted his life to virtue. When Suleiman got fed up with his duties he went to visit his friend in Beşiktaş where he had founded a social complex. Maybe he also had an effect on Suleiman’s philosophy of life which shows in his poetry:

Dünyevî ihtiraslardan arınmış bir ruha sahip olan Yahya Efendi, sultana hâl ve sözleriyle saltanatının fânîliğini hatırlatan, gerektiğinde eksik yanlarını, yanlışlarını söyleyebilen beklentisiz bir dosttu. Yahya Efendi whose soul was purified from worldly ambitions was a disinterested friend of the Sultan who reminded him of the fleetingness of the Empire and could also say loud his deficiencies and mistakes when needed.

Among the Sultan’s friends were also Sinan the architect, Ahmed Karahisari the calligrapher and Bâkî, “Sultan of the Poets” about whom the Sultan said: showing favors to him was one of the best things I ever did in my life.

http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/Blog.aspx?BlogNo=134160

http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/Blog.aspx?BlogNo=134181

If there were tabloids in Istanbul some 450 years ago one day there might have been agitating news on the front page:

Osmanlı Hanedanı Kanuni Sultan Süleiman’la sona erdi. The Ottoman dynasty came to its end with Sultan Suleiman the Lawgiver.

The article of Aydın Sevinç reveals the news. Some historians say the 12th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Selim II, “the Blond”, “the Drunkard” was not the Emperor’s son. His mother Hürrem Sultan was a woman with an extremely strong will:

Kanuni Sultan Süleiman’ın özel haremine girmeyi başardıktan sonra akıl almaz bir iktidar mücadelesine başlamıştır. After managing to enter the private harem of Sultan Suleiman the Lawgiver she had begun an unbelievable fight for power.

Hürrem wasn’t too shy to use any means in order to reach her goal, including fingering the harem diaries. Some historians say it was all an intrigue of Karay Turks, a Jewish group, and poor Selim was a hundred per cent Jew.

Sarı Selim; orta boylu, açık alınlı, mavi gözlü, düzgün burunlu, ince kaşlı ve sarışın bir padişahtır. Selim the Blond is a fair haired, average-sized sultan with a broad forehead, blue eyes, straight nose and thin eyebrows.

Mummy arranged everything for Selim: chose his wife, had his competitors killed and gave him the throne. She had an important assistant in the palace, a Jew called Yasef Nasif. He became the adviser of the Magnificient who next to his wife looks a little bit smaller. 

I really don´t know what´s this is about.... but I know that Istanbul was called Constantinople 

I know that´s already mentioned, but I couldn´t stop myself from writing it. Lol, forgive me.

I really don´t know what´s this is about.... but I know that Istanbul was called Constantinople 

I know that´s already mentioned, but I couldn´t stop myself from writing it. Lol, forgive me.

Istanbul is one of the oldest names of Istanbul, tristerecuerdos.

well

Really?