http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/kultur-sanat/haber/20172589.asp

Sibel Ertürk Kurtoğlu / A.A

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I read an interesting article about the origin of the city name Istanbul. The views of Halin Dursun, the historian and director of Hagia Sofia museum were explained in the article.

During its 8500 year-old history Istanbul was known with so many names. The ancient Greek called it Byzantion. In 337 it was named Constantinople in order to honor the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The discussion about how the city should be called began only after it was conquered by the Ottomans. As the center of an Islamic Caliphate it was called “Darülhilafe” and as the center of the Empire the naming “Makarrı Saltanat” was preferred. The name Constantinople survived, though, until 1930 when Kemal Atatürk ordered the name Istanbul to be used internationally. During centuries, aside with the official names, local people chose their naming on a more practical basis: for instance, for those who lived further from the centre, Istanbul ment only the area which was inside the city walls.

In a charming way, Dursun explains the simultaneous coexistence of different names with the hospitality and self-esteem of the city which tolerated this colorful diversity.

The name Istanbul is no more Turkish origin than Constantinople. It is an old folksy name that probably originates from Greek words stan and polis, both of them from a root that means ‘city’:

“Tonguç, “Neden ´Stanpolis´ demişler? Çünkü buraya gelen insanlar, yolda şehri sorarlarmış, ´Şehre nasıl gidebiliriz?´ diye. O yüzden de şehrin adı ´Stanpolis´ olarak kalmış ve zamanla İstanbul´a dönüşmüş” dedi.” ‘Tonguç said: “Why did they use the word ‘Stanpolis’? Because people who were coming here used to ask about the city on the road saying: “How can we get to the city? That’s why the name of the city became Stanpolis and in the long run changed into Istanbul.’

Saffet Emre Tonguç, a writer and historian, reminds of the foreign roots of the name Constantinople also:

“…Saffet Emre Tonguç, Türk insanının, şehrin Rum ya da Yunan geçmişini hatırlattığı gerekçesiyle Konstantinopolis ismini sevmediğini ifade ederek, “Asıl Rumca´dan gelen isim İstanbul. İmparator Konstantin Roma´dan gelerek şehri kuruyor ve kendi adını veriyor. Aslında adam İtalyan ve Rumca tek kelime bilmiyor” diye konuştu.” ‘Saffet Emre Tonguç said, while explaining that Turks don’t like the name Constantinople on account of the fact that it reminds of the Roman and Greek past of the city: “Istanbul is a name that comes from ancient Greek. Emperor Constantine comes from Rome, establishes a city and gives it his own name. Actually the man is Italian and he doesn’t speak a word of Greek.”’

The article says there has been discussion on whether the Turkish name of Istanbul should be spelled with dotted or undotted initial letter. In Halin Dursun’s opinion, there are more important things to take care of:

“Doğrusunun hangi kelime olduğu üzerinde durmadığını vurgulayan Dursun, “Sadece şehrin, tarihi mekanın gereği gibi korunması, görüntüsünün, tarihi özelliğinin korunması ve en azından dünyanın belli bir bölgesinin merkezi olması düşüncesinin daha önemli olduğu kanaatini taşıyorum” dedi.” ‘Dursun, emphasizing that he doesn’t put stress on which word is the correct one, said: “My opinion is only that it is more important to protect the city, the historical site, its image, its historical characteristics as it is due and at least to understand that it is a center of a certain area of the world.”’

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My knowledge of history is not on a good level and the translations are My Tries. Feel free to correct me.

I disagree.

This name confusion makes me think of the great significance Istanbul has in the history of Europe. I don’t know if everyone is familiar with the doctrine of the Third Rome:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Rome

Europeans never really came to an agreement which city is the Third Rome, the holder of the legacy of the First and the Second Rome, that carries on the torch of pure Christianity and best European heritage lightening the rest of the world. Maybe the strongest claims came from Moscow. Even today right-wing populists say fight against the invasion of Islam is fight for the Third Rome.

No matter where the third Rome is, the Second will always be Nova Roma, the city that is located on the Bosphorus strait. Whether you Turks like it or not.

Complete nonsense to me. Claims, tales, legends, fantasies. 

Do you know what pure Christianity means? It is based on Bible and solely on Bible Called sola Scriptura). Bible regards Rome as Babylon, the fallen city. Fundamental Christians never wanted any city, any land, any enlightment, any heritage. Their home is Heaven. 

I as a fundamental Christian I do not think of earthly values. We only live here about 60-80 years. After that we never will need anything from this world, neither will be interested in things happening here. Our destination is Heaven.

So I cant understand why people use the term "pure Christianity" having no clue on it. Pure Christian is the one who only concentrates on Christ and Word along with relationships with other pure Christians. No any other addition, no any other tradition or rituals.

I understand what you mean, lemon. A believer is not after worldly power. But we are talking about rulers who want to justify their deeds with arguments like cultural heritage or religion.

My late teacher of Russian literature stressed that the doctrine of three Romes lived in Russia until the communist era and that the Orthodox symbols were as well used by bolsheviks. The names changed but the stories told were the same.

The reason I brought up the issue here was Istanbul which is one of the main scenes of European history.

http://www.haberturk.com/kultur-sanat/haber/729595-fatih-sultan-mehmetin-madalyonuna-servet-isteniyor

Fatih Sultan Mehmet´in madalyonuna servet isteniyor

On April 25 in a London auction a bronze medallion with a youth portrait of Mehmed II will be sold for a high price. The medallion has been molded by an Italian sculptor during the first ten years after the conquest or Istanbul, between 1453 and 1463.  Ottoman motifs were popular amongst Renaissance artists. “The Great Monarch and the Great Sultan Mehmet” is printed on the medallion in Latin language. The word Allah is hidden in the folds of his turban.

The writer and numismatist Necati Doğan says unfortunately the precious medallion is probably not going to return to the heirs of Ottomans:

“Bir Türkün almasını isterim, ama tahmini rakamlar Osmanlı dönemi eseri için oldukça yüksek. Avrupa´da kriz nedeniyle para yok, ama müzayedeye özellikle Arap şeyhlerinin ilgi göstereceğini tahmin ediyorum.´´ I wish a Turk would buy it but the ballpark estimates for the Ottoman era piece of work are relatively high. There is no money in Europe because of the crisis, but I guess especially Arab sheikhs will show interest against the auction.

http://www.haberturk.com/kultur-sanat/haber/729985-4-mehmed-ile-papa-7-alessandro-akrabaymis

4. Mehmed ile Papa 7. Alessandro akrabaymış

Rinaldo Marmara, the official historian of a Turkish Catholic organization, is the first Turk who entered secret archives of Vatican. A document that dates back to the 17th century reveals an interesting fact about Mehmed IV, Mehmed the Hunter, who was the 19th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and who reigned in 1648-1687.

Dr. Marmara stresses that Vatican secret archives have until now hidden very important facts about Turkish history. As an example he shows a document which says Pope Alexander VII and Mehmed IV had a kinship relation which dated back to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificient’s (1494-1566) wife’s mother Hanne Marsigli who also was the ancestress of Pope Alexander VII.

This document claims Sultan Suleiman’s wife, the famous Hürrem Sultan was actually not a poor girl from Ukraine who ended up in the Sultan’s harem as she was introduced before in history and fiction. Instead she came from a noble Italian family. Dr. Marmara tells:

“Burada yazılanlara göre Türk korsanları İtalya´nın Siena bölgesindeki Collecehio Şatosu´na saldırdı, şatoyu yakıp yıktı. Şato, Hanne Marsigli adındaki bir İtalyan asilzadeye aitti. Bu kadının iki de çocuğu vardı. Leonardo ve Margherita. Türk korsanları Leonardo´yu geride bırakıp güzel kızıl saçları olan bu genç kızı Osmanlı Sarayı´na vermek için İstanbul´a götürdü. Hareme konulan Margherita´yı, Sultan Süleyman çok beğendi ve Margherita´nm Sultan Süleyman´dan çocukları oldu.” According to what is written here Turkish pirates attacked, burned and destroyed the Castle of Collecehio which was located in Siena area. The castle belonged to an Italian patrician called Hanne Marsigli. This woman also had two children, Leonardo and Margherita. The Turkish pirates left Leonardo but brought the beautiful red-haired girl to Istanbul in order to give her to the Ottoman Palace. Sultan Suleiman liked Margherita who was imposed to the harem and Margherita had children from the Sultan. 

FOLLOWİNG MESSAGE IS INTENDED AS A REPLY TO "Abla" post with the same thread name

Whether the Western historians like to acknowledge it or not, Third Rome is the Ottoman Empire. That was the basis of agreement between the Catholic Pope in Rome and the Moslem Emperor Mehmet II. ORTHODOX BYZANTINE will go and Mehmet II will be recognized as the new Eastern Roman Emperor.

Pope did all he could to facilitate capture of Istanbul by Turks.

1. Pope did absolutely nothing to help his Christian brothers facing the Ottoman Empire.

2. While Turks at the time were not great architects, construction of Rumelihisarı took only 6 months, possibly by Pope´s assistance.

3. Renown gunmaster Urban was not a god´s gift to Mehmet II. He was a devout catholic, an agent of Pope, sent to Mehmet´s assistance..Without him, walls of İstanbul could not have been penetrated.

On the day Istanbul fell to the Ottomans, Mehmet II was already considering himself as the new Roman Emperor, and the defeated natives of Istanbul as part of his subjects.

1.No one was deliberately killed after the city fell,

2.Looting was allowed for one day only, agaist Ottoman traditions.

3.All Christian places of worship were protected.

4. A population planning was carried out for the city in which the number and origin of Muslim immigrants to the captured city were restricted. A new Roman capital was being planned, with mixed (international) population.

POPE-Ottoman secret arrangements however did not work out afterwards. So much that Mehmet II decided to capture Italy and teach Pope a lesson. Ottoman soldiers did embark on Italian soil and began advancing towards Vatican.

Mehmet II was poisoned and killed at a very young age (approx. 28) and this saga ended.

All above can be verified from historical references on the Internet.

AlphaF, thank you for adding this information. Little by little we are drawing a picture of the era. I never knew about secret agreements between the Ottomans and Vatican.

Istanbul has a great symbolic value for Muslims. A Prophetic hadith promises Paradise to the leader who conquers Istanbul.

Good treatment of minorities is ordered in Islam. In this Muslims differ from Jews and Christians. Another question is how well people understand the teachings of their religion.

I mean the story would have made perfect sense even without the agreement with Pope...

only symbolic? military, political, strategical, commercial, imperial

In order to understand what a central place Ottoman Istanbul was maybe it is interesting to take a look at it from the periphery of that time, Cairo:

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/cairo/history/ottoman/ottoman.html

It’s hard to imagine what an insignificant place Egypt was on those days. Everything important was in Istanbul, a thousand kilometres away.

The conqueror of Cairo, by the way, Sultan Selim I was the predecessor of Suleiman the Magnificient who was mentioned above.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT (I can not prove what is written below, those interested can check the references provided by the original writer)

 ANOTHER LOOK AT SULTAN SULEIMAN THE MAGNIFICENT

http://www.odatv.com/n.php?n=muhtesem-yuzyil-muhtesem-yalanlar-1004111200

MUHTEŞEM YAHUDİ

Kanuni dönemi´nin ailelerini ve kurmaylarını gelin birlikte inceleyelim.

İktidarındaki ihtişam ile birçok batı ülkesinde Muhteşem Süleyman olarak anılan Osmanlı halifesi Kanuni´nin aslında muhteşem bir Yahudi olduğunu belirtelim.

Kanuni Sultan Süleyman bildiğiniz gibi Yahudi bir anneden doğmuştur.

Padişah Yavuz Sultan Selim´in hanımı, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman´ın annesi Polonya Yahudisi Helga (Hafza Sultan)´dır.

(S. Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Vol. I, 1976. p.148)

Kanuni, Yahudi geleneğini evliliğinde de sürdürmüştür.

Kanuni´nin hanımı, Hürrem Haseki Sultan (Roxolena) Ukrayna sınırları içerisinde bulunan Rohatyn kentinde doğmuş bir yahudi asıllıydı.

(Andrée Aelion Brooks, The woman who defied kings, Michigan Universty, Paragon House, 2002, p.437)

Hürrem Sultan´ın kirası, Ester Handali ya da Ester Kira (ö. 159 adında Yahudi bir kadındı. Osmanlı´nın derin devletine hakim olan tek kadındı.

Önce Hürrem Sultan´ın sonra da Hürrem Sultan´ın gelini Nurbanu Sultan´ın sırdaşı ve sekreterlik görevini yaptı. Sarayda büyük bir güce sahipti.

( Canlarına tak eden Sipahiler tarafından parçalanarak öldürülüp köpeklere yedirilmiş )

(E.Nashim, A Journal of Jewish Women´s Studies and Gender Issues 13: p.49-67)
( Kira= Ekonomi Danışmanı. GOOGLE girin, ´´ Yahudi Kira ´´ yazın, Ara´yı tıklayın ve görün ! )

(Roxalana) Hürrem Sultan´ın kızı Mihrimah Sultan´ı, Yahudi asıllı olan Damat Rüstem Paşa ile evlendirmişti.

(Elli Kohen, History of the Turkish Jews and Sephardim, University Press of America, 2007. p.51)

Kanuni´nin göreve getirdiği 1550-1553 yılları arasında Osmanlı donanmasının Kaptanı Derya´sı Sinanüddin Yusuf Paşa, Damat Rüstem Paşa´nın da kardeşiydi.

(Sicil-i Osmani, Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri, Kültür Bakanlığı ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı, İstanbul.1996, Cilt:5, s.1515)

Sinan Paşa´nın Yahudiliğini, Türkiye Yahudi Cemaati´nin gazetesi Şalom´da şöyle anlatılmaktadır:

Kanuni´nin amirallerinden olan Sinan Paşa, ortaçağ kaynaklarınca "The Great Jew (Ulu/Büyük Yahudi)" olarak adlandırılır.

Açık denizlere yelken açtığında Osmanlılar tarafından ´Süleyman´ın Mührü´ adı verilen Davud yıldızı olan sancağı gemisinin gönderine çekerdi.

(Şalom - Melih Namer, Tarihe İz Bırakan Yahudi Korsanlar, 16 Aralık 200

Daha sonra Padişah II.Selim´in yerine eşi Nurbanu Sultan´dan olma oğlu III.Murat geçmişti.

Osmanlı tarihinde ilk olarak Valide Sultan unvanını alan Nurbanu Sultan bir Yahudi Dönmesidir. Bu dönemde Saray´da Yahudi nüfuzu artış göstermiştir.

(İ.Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, Osmanlı Devletinin Saray Teşkilatı, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1945, s.88)

Yahudiler´in kutsal kitabı Tora, Yahudi anneden doğan çocuğun Yahudi sayıldığını belirtmektedir.

Yahudi Ulusu´nun büyük kurtarıcı ve İsrail´in Kralı saydığı Kanuni´yi bugün A.B.D´de unutmamış ki Amerika Temsilciler Meclisi´nin salon duvarına Akasya içerisinde bir Kanuni portresi yer almaktadır.

Akasya ;masonik literatürde sonsuzluğu ve ihtişamı ifade eder.

Kanuni Sultan Süleyman bütün Yahudileri sarayda toplamış ve onlara çok büyük ayrıcalıklar tanımıştır. Yahudiler en çok onun döneminde güç ve refaha ulaştılar.

(Encyclopedia Judaica, Jerusalem, 1971. Vol. 18, s.26

Interesting. (Hmmm...they always knew how to infiltrate, didn´t they?)

This Catholic historian, Dr. Marmara claimed in the earlier article that Hürrem Sultan was actually Italian according to Vatican archives.

I am surprised that the information is so conflicting. It is not so ancient history, literal sources are available and everything and still.

Mihrimah Sultan Camisi restore ediliyor

http://www.haberturk.com/kultur-sanat/haber/731355-mihrimah-sultan-camisi-restore-ediliyor

Mihrimah Sultan mosque in Ûsküdar (above) is going through a two-year restoration. The mosque will be repaired, cleaned and fixed from the great domes and minarets to the smallest details of wall ornamentation and the gilt of the holy books.

Mihrimah Sultan is one of the works of Mimar Sinan and it was accomplished in 1548 during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificient like many other landmarks of Istanbul. It was dedicated to the daughter of Suleiman and Hürrem Sultan. They say the architect was hopelessly in love with Princess Mihrimah. Great men do great acts to prove their love: Sultan Mihrimah mosque got a twin in Edirnekapı (below).

´´Mimar Sinan, bu eserinden 14 yıl sonra o güne kadar ilk defa padişah fermanı olmaksızın Edirnekapı´da surların yakınına yine Mihrimah Sultan´a ithafen ikinci bir cami daha yapmaya başlar. Bu cami, Mihrimah Sultan´ın statüsü iki minareli cami yaptırmaya yetmesine rağmen yalnızlığını simgelemesi anlamında tek minareli olarak yapılmıştır. Fourteen years after this work  -  it was the first time until that day that he acted without the Sultan’s command  -  Architect Sinan begins to build the second mosque dedicated to Princess Mihrimah close to the walls in Edirnekapı. Even though Mihrimah Sultan was built with two minarets, this mosque was built with only one minaret as a symbol of loneliness.’

Gündüz ve gecenin eşit olduğu 21 Mart tarihinde gün batımında Edirnekapı Camisi´nin tek minaresinin arkasından güneş batarken Üsküdar´daki caminin minareleri arasından ay doğmaktadır. 21 Mart tarihi, aynı zamanda Mihrimah Sultan´ın doğum tarihidir. Ayrıca Mihrimah ismi ´güneş ve ay´ anlamına geliyor.´´ On March 21st when day and night are as long when the sun sets behind the only minaret of Edirnekapı mosque the moon is born between the minarets of Ûsküdar mosque. March 21^st was also the birthday of Princess Mihrimah. By the way, Mihrimah’s name means ‘the sun and the moon’.

See these also:

http://www.turkishclass.com/columns/thehandsom/2010/08/17/koca-mimar-sinan-aga-architect-sinan-i

http://www.turkishclass.com/columns/thehandsom/2010/10/15/architect-sinan-ii-some-works-of-sinan

Kızgın Tophaneliler padişahı da korkuttu

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/yazarlar/15869323.asp

Education and research were on a high level in the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of Istanbul. Learning institutions were under the Sultan’s special protection. Not only Islamic theology but also useful sciences like astronomy, geology, mathematics and medicine were favoured by Mehmed II the Conqueror.

A 2010 Hürriyet column by Soner Yalçın describes a serious setback of science in Ottoman Empire and shows how trivial renditions of religion may attract the common man to the extent that whole nations may be sent centuries back in time. What we see happening today in many countries also took place in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Murat III (1574-95), the grandson of Suleiman the Magnificient and Hürrem Sultan.

The tragic hero of the story is the astronomer Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma’ruf  who founded one of the largest observatories in the world in Istanbul in 1577. The scholarship of Taqi al-Din was diverse:

Takiyeddin bin Muhammed bin El-Maruf Efendi (1521-1585) Şam ve Kahire medreselerinde eğitim aldı…İstanbul’a geldiğinde Osmanlı Sarayı’nın gözde âlimlerinden biri oldu. Nasıl olmasın: Dünyada ilk olarak hem de Avrupa’dan 10 yıl kadar önce ilk trigonometri tablolarını yaptı. 10’lu sistemle çarpma, bölme, karekök alma yollarını ortaya koydu. ‘Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma’ruf Efendi (1521-85) was educated in Damascus and Cairo schools. When he came to Istanbul he became one of the favourite learned men of the Palace. And why not: he was the first one in the world to make trigonometric tables, 10 years earlier than they were introduced in Europe. He presented ways to multiply, divide and take square roots within the decimal system.’

The Tophane Observatory was very much the work of Taqi al-Din:

Rasathanedeki kum saati, mekanik saati, gönye, gök küreleri, pergel ve cetvel gibi araçların hemen hepsini Takiyeddin Efendi kendi elleriyle yaptı. Rasathanenin elinde o zamana göre hayli gelişmiş gözlem aletleri vardı. Bu aletler yapılırken Avrupa’daki örneklerden faydalanıldığını tahmin edebiliriz. ‘Taqi al-Din made the observatory equipment such as sandglass, mechanical clock, set square, celestial spheres, compass and ruler by his own hand. The observatory had quite sophisticated means of that time for observation. Is has been presumed that while this device was prepared European examples were taken advantage of.’

Taqi al-Din’s observatory was destroyed according to the order of Sultan Murat III only five years later. The city had been afflicted by plague and earthquakes, a scary comet had been seen in the sky. People were scared. The religious adviser of the Sultan claimed the city had been cursed because of the observatory from where angels’ legs were peeked. Murat III had to give up to the demonstrators and have the observatory bombed. Needless to say, European science during the next centuries got a head start compared with the Ottomans.

And what happened to Taqi al-Din?

Rasathane yıkıldıktan kısa bir süre sonra kahrından öldü. ´He died of broken heart a short time after the observatory was destroyed.´

You people even dont realize that you worship Sun and Moon. None of you even make an attempt to conduct a research why you have Sun and Moon symbols.

Faith must be verifiable. There are must be proofs and witnesses to claims made by people you choose to believe.

Oh really? You have a crucifix symbol. So according to your poor logic, does it mean you worship a crucifix?

Carefull lemon, christians are notoriouse for venerating religious relics and icons.  christianety in itself is a very pagen religion.

There is the communion waffer that represents jesus´s body and the wine, representing his blood.  The famouse or infamouse shroud of Turin which supposedly was used to wrap jesus after his death and so many more relics.

Relics of Jesus, Mary and the Apostles

• Jesus´ baby blanket - Aachen, Germany
• Jesus´ foreskin ("Holy Prepuce") - Coulombs Abbey, France
• Jesus´ loin cloth worn on the cross - Aachen, Germany
• Pieces of the true cross - many locations, but primarily Santo Toribio de Liébana, Spain
• Mary´s cloak - Aachen, Germany
• St. Peter´s remains - St. Peter´s Basilica, Vatican City
• St. Mark´s remains - St. Mark´s Basilica, Venice, Italy

Relics of Church Fathers

• St. Ignatius of Antioch (d. c.107) - St. Peter´s Baslica, Vatican City
• St. Augustine´s Elbow - Annaba(formerly Hippo Regius) Algeria
• St. Augustine - Pavia, Italy
• St. Athanasius (d. 373) - Santa Croce, Florence, Italy
• St. Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444) - Alexandria, Egypt
• St. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274)- Saint-Servin, Toulouse, France

Relics of Other Saints

• Venerable Bede - Durham Cathedral, Durham, England
• St. Cuthbert (d. 687) - Durham Cathedral, Durham, England
• St. Anthony of Egypt (d. 356) - near Vienne
• St. Francis of Assisi (d. 1226) - Assisi, Italy
• St. Teresa of Avila (d. 1582) - Alba de Tormes, Spain
• St. Gregory Thaumaturgus (c. 27 - Calabria

So before pointing out things about other religions, just remember, when you point at someone you have 3 fingers pointing back at you.

One last thing, when Constantinople fell to the hands of the Sultan, the defeated were not slaughtered, they were permitted to stay and keep practecing their religion.

Something to be said about that, seems tolerance and acceptance was much more prelevant back then than it is today.

Crusifix symbolizes a tool on which Jesus died as was prophesized. I dont worship a crusifix (many evangelical Christians dont). Crusifix is a dead object. It is not God. Only God must be worshipped.

According to your wonderful logic why do you worship Moon and Sun? 

Stumpy, darling sorry. I do not read your posts (I usually find nothing interesting in them). Dont get upset but I am not going to reply to you. 

it does not upset me sweet lemon, just remeber your religion was considered a sect at one time and the only reason it came to be was with the greed and money hungry men at the head of the "church" who fought, stole and killed in the name of it

1)There is a crescent symbol. And some people  believe it symbolises a moon god. Maybe before Islam it was symbolising it. But after Islam, it became a symbol of Muslim countries. Now it is not a symbol of moon God.

2)You should know this. People dont easily give up their cultures, symbols, rituals. They transform them. And they make them compitable with the new religion. You can find many parallel things in Christianity with paganism. http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa1.htm Look at this site and you will see.

3)We dont worship a moon God. We worship same God of Christians. God of Jesus, Moses, David and etc...

4)Knowledge is power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--Zztr6nhTE

Thank you for confirming my thoughts re: religions. As far as I remember you were not muslim. You seemed to be a seeker. 

Although you were right in your post above I dont think you know much of religions and their history. 

I dont know a single person here on TC who would match me in this regard. So I simply often give up on arguing. It makes me tired, it makes me feel talking to a bunch of pre-school children. 

Take care!

enlighten us sweet lemon by telling us what your religion is

http://gizlenentarihimiz.blogspot.com/2010/03/fatih-sultan-mehmed-ve-entelektuel.html

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/II._Mehmed

http://www.kimkimdir.gen.tr/kimkimdir.php?id=261

"Fatih Sultan Mehmed bir Rönesans entelektüeliydi"

Historians have called Mehmed II the Conqueror (reign 1444-46, 1451-81) a renaissance ruler and intellectual. The description of his skills and knowledge is impressive. In addition to Islamic education he was also taught science and military skills since his childhood. Mehmed II spoke seven languages: in addition to his native language Ottoman Turkish he mastered Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, Chaldean, Slavic, Italian, Greek and Latin.

In Istanbul Mehmed II had a library of thousands of volumes. He had a special interest against chronicles. He was a notable lyrist also. He attended philosophical discussions and was so curious about Christian dogmatism rumors began to spread in Europe:

Hatta bu durum Avrupa´da Fatih´in Hristiyanlığa meylettiği şeklinde yorumlanmış ve Papa II. Pius padişahı Hristiyanlığa davet eden bir mektup kaleme almıştı. Tarihçi İlber Ortaylı bu konuyla ilgili olarak Fatih´in şüphesiz itikadı olduğunu fakat sofu derecesinde koyu bir Müslüman olmadığını belirtmiştir. ´This situation was even interpreted in Europe as if the Conqueror was on the verge of Christianity, and Pope Pius II wrote a letter to the Sultan inviting him to Christianity. Concerning this issue historian İlber Ortaylı has stated that Mehmed II undoubtedly was a believer but his religious level was not extreme.´

It was part of the ruler´s wisdom to invite the best experts of different fields to serve the Empire:

Bilime büyük önem veren Fatih Sultan Mehmed yabancı ülkelerdeki büyük bilginleri İstanbul´a getirtirdi. Nitekim Astronomi bilgini Ali Kuşçu kendi döneminde İstanbul´a geldi. Ünlü Ressam Bellini´yi de İstanbul´a davet ederek kendi resmini yaptırdı. ´Mehmed II the Conqueror who considered knowledge important had great scholars from foreign countries brought to Istanbul. Thus the astronomer Ali Qushji eventually came to Istanbul. The Sultan also invited the famous artist Bellini to Istanbul and had his own portrait painted.´

Gokuyum, I read your post. I have no patience now. Not in mood to reply at the moment.

3)We dont worship a moon God. We worship same God of Christians. God of Jesus, Moses, David and etc...

gökuyum

There is little doubt that Islam, Christianity and Judaism agree that there is only one god; most also agree that the god mentioned in all three books are the same (Note: There are some who does not agree with the latter part).

That is, La ilahe illallah seems to be mutually shared, with no excessive problems. The problem starts when Islam adds Muhammeden Resulallah. While Quran recognizes, respects and honors Moses and Christ (and many others) as God´s ambassadors, the preceeding faiths find it hard to accept Muhammed as a prophet. which is a corner stone in Islamic faith.

Future for humanity will look much better if you can get Pope to agree that Muhammed is God´s prophet. I dont see see how any reconciliation between religions can otherwise come to life.

Bu ne sessizlik?

Cemaatdan kimse yok mu?

You are talking to yourself, Alpha?

As long as I have been married to a Muslim, I see very little similarities between our two faiths.  God must have a great sense of humor to send us 3 different books that are all the truth, the way, the ONLY PATH TO SALVATION (the Torah, the Bible and the Koran).  It makes it more confusing to believe they are the same...Just saying...So, about Istanbul...

http://istanbulungazetesi.com/haber_detay.asp?haberID=1504

Fatihin İstanbulu fethi

I thought I read a newspaper column. It turned out to be the exact Vikipedi text copy pasted to their site. No one even bothered to separate the headlines from the text. Maybe it’s better if they understand not to write themselves.

Anyway.

The article describes the crucial days and weeks before and after May 29, 1453 when the Ottomans finally conquered Istanbul. Constantinopole of Byzantine had lived under Ottoman pressure for a long time but with the support of Europe it had survived many attempts and many sultans. Until the 21-year-old Mehmed II.

The sultan spent months preparing for the conquest. Cannons were developed, roads were built strong enough to carry heavy armour. The Rumelian Castle was built on the shore of Bosphorus opposite to the Anatolian Castle in order to ensure the encirclement of Constantinople. At the same time a peaceful solution was searched. This was the Sultan’s message to Constantine XI Palaiologos:

“Padişahım Murad Han oğlu Mehmed Han, şehri kayıtsız şartsız teslim etmenizi ister. Şayet şehri teslim ederseniz kimsenin burnu kanamayacaktır. Bütün maiyetinizle dilediğiniz yere gitmekte serbest olacaksınız. Dinimiz, karşı koymayan düşmana iyi muamaele etmeyi emreder.” Sultan Murad’s son Mehmed wants the city to surrender unreserved and unconditionally. If you surrender the city no one will have even a nosebleed. You will be free to go to any place you wish with your escort. Our religion orders to treat well those enemies who don’t oppose.

(Rumelian Castle)

There was no way to avoid the war. The most difficult part for the Ottoman army was entering the Golden Horn. An innovative solution was used: 

Mehmed, donanmanın karadan yürütülüp Haliç´e indirilebileceğni belirtti. Mehmed told that the navy will be taken to the Golden Horn walking over dry land.

(painting by Fausto Zonaro)

The fighting was bloody. The city was circled with a wall and there were other horrors also:

“Sel gibi kan akıttık. Elbette bunun bedeli ağırdır. Şehir iyi korunuyor. Lağımlarımızı anında haber alıp patlatıyorlar. Büyük kulelerimizi yakıyorlar. Üstümüze kaynar katran döküyorlar. Macar ordusu ile Venedik donanmasının yolda olduğunu haber aldı. Üstümüze gelirler.” We have bled like a stream. Certainly the price of this is high. The city is well protected. They will make our mines explode as soon as they notice. They will destroy our great towers. They will pour boiling tar over us. They are told Hungarian army and Navy of Venice are on their way. They will come over us.

Preparing for the final fight was started by fasting and praying. Mehmed II personally took part in the war manouvres. Finally he rode into the city as “the Conqueror”.

Açılan gediklerin kapatılamaması ve Osmanlı ordusunun topyekün saldırısı karşısında Konstantinopolis, 29 Mayıs 1453 Salı günü II. Mehmed´in önderliğindeki Osmanlı birliklerine teslim oldu. Konstantinopolis´in alınması ile birlikte topların deldiği surlardan içeri giren II. Mehmed, halkın sevgi gösterisi ile karşılandı. Bu fetihten sonra II. Mehmed, Fatih unvanını aldı ve Fatih Sultan Mehmed olarak anılmaya başladı. In view of not being able to close the gaps that had been opened (in the city walls) and the total attack of the Ottoman army, on Tuesday May 29, 1453 Constantinopole surrendered to the Ottoman units which were led by Mehmed II. Sultan Mehmed entered through the walls which had been pierced by the cannons while Constantinopole was conquered. He met the people’s expressions of love. After this victory Mehmed II took the title Conqueror and from now on he was called Mehmed the Conqueror.

http://haber5.com/kultursanat/bati-onu-deccal-olarak-gorurdu

Batı onu Deccal olarak görürdü

Fetih 1453 is one of the most popular Turkish movies of all times. It has made the personality of Mehmed II more interesting to masses. The Conqueror’s problem is there are a lot of stories about him both in Turkey and in the West but less critical information is available.

Bizim tarafta Fatih, mitolojik bir karakter gibi algılanıyor, batı ise Deccal olarak nitelendiriliyor. From our side Mehmed II is perceived as a mythological character, as for in the West he as been labelled as the Antichrist.

In this article, researchers and writers straighten some of the false ideas that people have about the Sultan and his achievements.

Mehmed the Conqueror may not have led prayers or generally been as religious as he is described in some sources, Istanbul may not have been as strong an opponent as the legend of the conquest in 1453 makes us believe but rather a retarded rural area with decreasing population, and the Western leaders including Constatine XI and the Pope were not necessarily as incapable and stupid as they are described in the entertaining movie.

Unutmayalım ki, Konstantin’i küçültmek, Fatih’i büyütmez; aksine onun büyüklüğünden de bir şeyler eksiltir. Let’s not forget that belittling Constatine doesn’t make the Conqueror any greater but the opposite happens: it lacks something from his greatness.

But historians seem to agree about two things:

1) Mehmet II was a great statesman. This was apparent especially at the time of the 54-day blockade which tired both Ottoman leaders and the army. The Conqueror was strong enough to unite his men for one more military attempt which finally opened Istanbul for them.

2) Mehmed II reconstructed the city of Istanbul. Mosques, madrasas, baths, covered bazaars, castles and citadels were built during his reign.

But yes, he was poisoned on his journey to Italy:

                  Fatih hastaydı ama hastalıktan değil zehirlenerek öldurüldü. The Conqueror                                  was sick but he didn´t die from illness but was poisoned.

http://yasam.bugun.com.tr/suikast-yapilmak-istenen-padisah-153707-haberi.aspx

İkinci Bâyezid´e suikast teşebbüsü

Osmanlı tarihinde suikast yapılmak istenen padişah kim?

Sultan Bayezid II Veli (reign 1481-1512) had the difficult job to lead his country between two such brilliant sultans as his father Mehmed II the Conqueror and his son Selim I the Grim. He led the country through difficult times and he didn’t actually do so bad.

Bayezid II had to fight for the throne with his brother Cem Sultan. This overshadowed the first years of his reign. Cem looked for allies both from Egypt mamelukes and the Pope in order to dethrone his brother but eventually with no success. Revolts in the Empire, trouble with dervish groups and even attempted assassination all made Bayezid’s era a difficult one.

Padişahın ölmesi ise Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nu tam bir kaosa sürükleyebilirdi. İkinci Bâyezid’in birçok oğlu ve torunu olduğu için Osmanlı İmparatorluğu büyük bir taht kargaşasına  sürüklenecekti. Avrupa’da fırsat bekleyen Cem Sultan’ı kullanacak olan Hristiyanlar da bir Haçlı Seferi açabilirlerdi. The death of the Sultan would have driven Ottoman Empire into a chaos. The Ottoman Empire would have been dragged into a serious throne crisis because Bayezid II had many sons and grandsons. The Christians also might have started a Crusade using Cem Sultan, who was waiting for his chance in Europe.

But Bayezid II regularized the achievements of Mehmed II and even added to the Ottoman conquests. He is also remembered as the Sultan who saved the Muslim and Jewish population of Anladucia from inquisition. They say Bayezid was keen on scholarship and culture just like his father.

The end of the Sultan was not very glorious:

İkinci Bâyezid’in, Şehzade Ahmed’i tahta çıkarma teşebbüsü üzerine yeniçeriler isyan etti. Bu gelişme üzerine Şehzade Selim’i İstanbul’a çağıran İkinci Bâyezid, 24 Nisan 1512′de Osmanlı tahtından çekildi. Dimetoka’ya gitmek üzere yola çıkan İkinci Bâyezid yolda hastalanarak 21 Mayıs 1512′de öldü. The Janissary corps rose in rebellion because Bayezid tried to throne Prince Ahmed. As a result of this development Bayezid II was abdicated from the throne on April 24, 1512. He fell sick and died on the road after setting out on a journey to Didymoteicho on May 21, 1512.

http://historicalolaylar.blogcu.com/yavuz-sultan-selim-i-selim-1512-1520/2580374

The Sultan with the Earring

Selim I the Grim (1512-20 ) must have been a fascinating man. He was tall and broad-shouldered. He mastered swords, bow and arrow, horse-riding and wrestling. He was full of energy and knew how to inspire other people: even though he was known as a bad-tempered boss who often had his closest viziers killed the best forces of the country competed on the chance to work close to him.

Besides, there was also a humble side in Selim’s personality. He liked modest life. Maybe that’s why instead of resting in Istanbul palaces he spent his time on battle-fields and more than doubled the Ottoman land during his short reign:

Tarihçiler, Yavuz Sultan Selim´i sekiz yıla seksen yıllık iş sığdırmış büyük bir padişah olarak değerlendirdiler. Historians have valued Selim I the Grim as a great sultan who got the job of eighty years done in eight years.

During Sultan Selim’s reign the Ottoman empire spread from Anatolia to Egypt including the whole Middle East in between. Selim personally entered Cairo in a ceremony on January 24, 1517. He also called himself the Caliph of Islam and the Servant of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina.

No matter how great the Empire, how powerful the man, penicilline hadn’t been invented yet.

22 Eylül 1520´de "Aslan Pençesi" denilen bir çıban yüzünden henüz 50 yaşında iken vefat etti. On September 22, 1520 he died of an abscess called “Lion’s paw” at the age of 50 years only.

http://sehr-istanbul.blogspot.com/2011/07/fatihin-ayasofyada-kldrdg-ilk-namazda.html

http://gizlenentarihimiz.blogspot.com/2009/06/fatih-sultan-mehmedin-ayasofya.html

http://www.haberturk.com/kultur-sanat/haber/739491-ayasofyanin-sirri-ne-galeri

Ayasofya’nın sırrı ne?

(One of Allah´s names ya Fattah ´Opener´ is forged in the knockers of Hafia Sofia doors.)

Hagia Sofia (from the Greek words meaning ‘Holy Wisdom’ ) is one of the greatest examples of Byzantine Architecture. It was initiated in 532 and it served as an Orthodox basilika until the day Ottomans conquered Istanbul. Mehmed the Conqueror converted the chuch into a mosque and serious consequences were predicted for the one who ever was going to change this order.

Bu sebeple, bu vakfiyeyi kim değiştirirse, Allah’ın, Peygamber’in, meleklerin, bütün yöneticilerin ve dahi bütün Müslümanların ebediyen laneti onun ve onların üzerine olsun, azapları hafiflemesin onların, haşr gününde yüzlerine bakılmasın. For this reason, if someone changes this charter, let the curse of Allah, the Prophet, angels, all leaders and all Muslims be upon him and them for ever more, let their punishment not get easier, let their faces not be looked at on Doomsday. 

As a mosque needs minarets they were built during the reign of Bayezid II and Selim II the Grim. The building has suffered from earthquakes many times during its history: even the great dome has collapsed once.

There is a legend told about the first Friday prayer in Hagia Sofia on June 1^st 1453. Mehmed II personally led the prayer. He interrupted the prayer thrice after reciting Allahu Akbar. Later he told he wanted to see Kaaba in front of him while praying but didn’t succeed in the beginning. Meanwhile, a learned man told how he saw a spiritual creature change the direction of Hagia Sofia so that the prayers were facing qiblah. The fingerprints of this man can still be seen in the wall.

In 1934 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ordered Hagia Sofia to be changed into a museum.

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?

Istanbul is an old folksy name of Greek origin. The city was always called with more than one name, there were official and inofficial ways of talking about it. Read the first post in this thread and the article mentioned in it. Correct me if I am wrong, Adam25.

http://www.turkiyegazetesi.com/makaledetay.aspx?id=531426

Anadolu’nun has çiçeği: Lâle  

Light of Paradise, Nûr-i Adn, was the name of a tulip which won a prize in a tulip contest during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificient. It was grown by sheikh Ebussüüd Efendi who was the greatest religious scholar of the time and the Sultan’s personal friend. Tulips were the number one hobby of many important men of the era. The Ottomans were so keen on the beauty of these flowers that they cultivated different types of tulips and gave them pompouse names. Tulips symbolized the oneness of Allah. They were popular motifs in chinaware, textiles and mosaics.

Ottoman Empire was the homeland of tulips. Already in the 16^th century their onions were presented to Europeans:

İlk lâle soğanını, 1562‘de Alman diplomat Busbecq İstanbul’dan Viyana’ya götürdü. Avrupalılar bu çiçeğe hüsnü kabul gösterdiler. Adına da tulip dediler ki tülbentten gelir. Lâlenin seyahati Hollanda’ya uzandı. Çok renkli lâleler tutuldu. Amsterdam’da bir ev alabilecek paraya satıldı. The German diplomat Busbecq took the first tulip onions from Istanbul to Vienna. Europeans honored this flower. They called it ‘tulip’ after the name of a muslin cloth. The tulip’s journey reached Holland. Tulips with many colours came up. In Amsterdam they were sold for a price that could have bought a house.                                          

http://www.yeniasya.com.tr/2008/01/04/dizi/default.htm

Bir babanın yürek yangınları

Who knows what is on a man’s mind when he has his own son killed? This is what happened to Suleiman the Magnificient who fell into a trap set by his wife, his daugter and his son-in-law and ordered the 39-year-old crown prince Mustafa to be strangled on the plain of Ereğli in 1553.

Prince Mustafa was popular among the army and his death caused restlessness in the Empire. As a result prince Bayezid, the son of Suleiman and Hürrem and prince Selim’s only competitor left for the throne, made an action which by his father was interpreted as a betrayal. In spite of appealing to the Sultan it led him into exile and execution in Persia.

It was not the first time when Suleiman lost a child. Prince Mehmed had died of smallpox ten years earlier. They say his father took it hard. Șehzade Mosque in Istanbul was built in his memory. Prince Jihangir was born handicapped and he lost his life also at an early age.

Mehmet İpçioğlu, the writer of the article, describes the sorrow of the father after all these afflictions:

Topkapı Sarayının pencerelerden bakınca masal gibi bir hayat. Ah bir de içeriye girince, saadet denen şeyi yakalamaya hiçbir zaman gücü yetmemiş bir padişah görüyor insan, gerçekte. ‘It is a life that looks like a fairy tale when one looks at it through the windows of Topkapı Palace. But, oh, if you go inside you see a Sultan who in actual fact never was able to reach a thing called happiness.’

http://www.gazetekilis.com/tarih-2/sadrazam-sokullu-mehmet-pasanin-hayati-14605.html

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokollu_Mehmed_Pa%C5%9Fa

Yavuz Sultan Selim’in saltanatının son yıllarında Balkanlar’dan devşirilen bir grup çocuk Edirne’ye getirildi. Bunların arasında Bosna’nın Sokoloviç Kasabası’ndan küçük bir çocuk da bulunmaktaydı. Zekâsı ile hemen dikkatleri çeken bu çocuk, kısa sürede herkesin takdirini kazanmış ve kendisiyle özel ilgilenilmeye başlanmıştı. In the last years of Selim I a group of children collected from Balkan area was brought to Edirne. Among the children was also a small child from the Sokolovici village of Bosnia. This child who immediately attracted notice for his intelligence won everyone’s appreciation and began to be given special attention.

Man Behind Three Sultans

According to research tall people often succeed professionally. Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmet Pasha’s head wavered in the height of two metres. In addition it has been agreed by historians that he was the greatest sadrazam in the Ottoman Empire. His governmental career started in the service of Kanuni and lasted until the reign of Kanuni’s grandson Sultan Murad III. On many occasions he carried a huge responsibility. For instance, when Suleiman died from natural causes during the battle of Szigetvár in 1566 Sokollu kept the news a secret from the army for forty eight days until the late sultan’s follower Selim arrived to the scene. Suleiman’s offspring was not on his level of statesmanship which emphasized the role of the grand vizier during their reign. Sokollu Mehmet represented perpetuity in the empire.

Sokollu was originally a Serb. He was brought from a Bosnian village to Edirne to gain Janissary education. As a clever young man he soon gained attention and inavoidably moved upward in rank until the top of the state. At the same time he organized his income and became a very rich man. Even though born an orthodox the grand vizier was known as a righteous muslim. The article describes how Sokollu Mehmed died the way he had hoped for and gained martyrdom as a victim of assassination.

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha left many architecturally well known buildings both in Istanbul and elsewhere in Ottoman lands. Sokollu Mehmed Pasha mosque was planned by Mimar Sinan.

That is the life, fate and ethics of a "PRINCE".

When the issue is a question of the STATE, moral/ethical codes that a prince has to follow may differ considerably, from the ethical rules that your neighbor grocer has to follow in his daily life.

I wish this were my explanation of the problem; unfortunately it is not.

Anyone to guess who originally made a statement  very much like mine above ?

Greeks have given this city many names. One of them is "eis ten polin" in antique Greek which apparently evolved to "stin poli" in today´s Greek. Loosely translated, both mean "towards the cıty". The initial name for the city may have been EİSTENPOL, which later turned into İSTANBUL.

That the name İSTANBUL comes from İSLAMBOL is a city myth. That it may yet be changed from İstanbul to İslambol however, is unfortunalely a political reality today.

http://www.frmtr.com/tarih-ve-inkilap-tarihi/724275-sultan-ucuncu-murat-tarih.html

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/III._Murad

Ûçüncü Murad

When we look at Murad III’s (reign 1574-95) acchievements in the light of numbers it looks like a success. The empire was in constant war against Iran and Austria and gained more land in North Africa also.

Sokullu Mehmed Paşa´nın ağırlığını hissettirdiği III. Murad döneminde, Osmanlı toprakları en geniş sınırlarına ulaştı. During the reign of Murad III which clearly showed Sokollu Mehmed Pasha’s significance the Ottoman land reached its maximum expansion.

They say Murad was a learned man with a compassionate character. He played a role in the post-reformation Christian Europe taking clearly the side of protestants. But he was not much of a statesman. The Sultan was an alcohol addict and during his reign he never bothered to leave Istanbul. Huge amount of money was put to his harems. He would have been in real trouble if he didn’t have a competent and loyal grand vizier. 

Devlet işlerini Sokullu´ya devreden Sultan Üçüncü Murad zamanında, sarayda kadınlar devlet işlerine çokça karışmaya başladılar ve bu durum Sokullu´nun ölümünden sonra da artarak devam etti. At the time of Sultan Murad III who transferred governmental tasks to Sokollu the women in the palace began to interfere a lot in state affairs. This continued and even proliferated after Sokullu’s death.

Btw, in the light of numbers…some sources say that Murad III had 103 children. 

Those interested  in the basic principles of Turkish nationalizm should be familiar with the concept of "Kızıl elma". The initiated should also know the deeper meaning of the concept.

"Kızıl Elma" seems to represent the highest Turkish ideal at any given point in history. It changes in years, depending on needs and desires of Turkish people at that specific point in history.

The rumor is that it was once Anatolia, than İstanbul and nowadays some Turkish nationalist believe it is ROME; whether they mean the Italian capital city of Rome or EU in a symbolic way, is not clear.

Do we have any well informed nationalists within the crew who can offer an explanation ?

There seems to be an article about Kızıl elma in Vikipedi but it is a sketch and seems to miss the subject anyway.

They say Murad was a learned man with a compassionate character. He played a role in the post-reformation Christian Europe taking clearly the side of protestants.

You should also look up what Luther used to think about the Turks. You may find it amazing....Turks were one of Luther´s favorite subjects to write about.

Martin Luther was more pissed with the Pope than he ever was with Muslims. He didn´t see fighting the Ottoman empire  -  which was of course an important issue in 16th century Europe  -  as a holy war but secular self defence.

Many of the principles of protestant reformation were in line with Islam, like leaving the job of forgiving sins for God only. It´s not very surprising that a learned person was aware of these similarities.

Another thing is if Luther would accept the teachings of modern protestant churches which resemble self-service stores of faith more than believers´ communities.

Luther wrote many essays referencing Turks, the most widely known one being "THE WAR ON TURK".

You can find references to this essay thru Google, but I doubt if you can reach the actual text. Some old Protestant spirit seems to be blocking all associated web sites.

His grand comment and recommendation on the subject was " I would kill 1000 Turks a day;in a year that would amount to 350 000 Turks."

Very poor arithmetics for a highclass clergyman, no?     

The English translation of Vom Kriege wieder die Türken, 1528, seems to be here:

http://www.lutherdansk.dk/On%20war%20against%20Islamic%20reign%20of%20terror/On%20war%20against%20Islamic%20reign%20of%20terror1.htm

It´s quite amusing to read. Luther uses colorful language and sounds surprisingly modern. All the wicked get their share.

 Lovely man....I wish he did not have this fatal hang up on Turks !  

It is easier to read about Ottoman times in Turkish if you know the names of the most important people in the Palace:

Who Was Who in Ottoman Court?

♂ Padişah ‘sultan’

♀ Valide Sultan ‘the Sultan’s mother, Queen Mother, chief of the harem and a very powerful person in the empire’

♀ Sultan ‘queen, princess’. Attached before a name it was a title for a male member of the court, attached after a name it ment a female.

♂ Veliaht ‘crown prince’

♂ Șehzade ‘prince’

♀ Kadın ‘naming of the Sultan’s four official wives, among them was the crown prince’s mother’

♀ Haseki ´a concubine who had given birth to a son, mother of a prince´

♂ Sadrazam ‘grand vizier’

♂ Kızlar ağası, Harem ağası, Darüssaade ağası ‘The Chief Black Eunuch, the third highest official in the empire after the Sultan and the Grand Vizier, always castrated black African, often of Sudan origin, had a personal relationship with the Sultan and the Queen mother’

♂ Kapı ağası ‘The Chief White Eunuch, head of palace bureaucracy, headmaster of the Palace school’

♀ Cariye ‘concubine, a beautiful and intelligent slave girl, often captured in war’

♀ Usta, vekil usta, kethüda usta ´ranks of female servants´

♀ Gözde, ikbal ‘ranks of the Sultan’s favourite concubines’

♂ Hadım ‘castrated male slave’

♂ Acemi ağası, nöbet kalfası, ortanca, hasıllı, on ikinci hasıllı, yaylabaşı gulamı, yeni saray baş kapı gulamı ‘ranks of black eunuchs’

http://www.bizimsahife.org/Kutuphane/Osmanli_Tarihi_Ans/Osmanli_Tarihi_H/235_Haremi_Humayun.htm

http://tarihinbelgeleri.com/2011/08/13/osmanli-devleti%E2%80%99nde-harem-i-humayun-teskilati/

Enderun padişah, saray ve devlet hizmetinde erkeklerin,harem ise ikametgah görevinin yanında kadınların yetiştirilmesi için eğitim müessesesidir. Bu bakımdan hareme yüksek dereceli kadınlar akademisi de denilebilir. As the Palace school was ment for men who were in the service of the Sultan, the Palace and the state, the harem was not only a residence but also an educational establisment for women’s upbringing. In this regard the harem can be called a high level ladies’ academy.

HAREM-İ HÜMÂYUN

For a westerner the word harem often single-sidedly means a place for the Sultan’s amusement. Certainly the Emperors were well provided with women but there was much more to Ottoman harems. The articles describe Harem-i Hümayun of Topkapı Palace as a cultural centre of its own time.

The harem was a mysterious place. Entrance was forbidden for even the greatest statesmen. It was a women’s world where only eunuchs and small princes were let in under strict rules. Few people actually knew abot harem life. When the harem had to deal with the outside world it was with great consideration.

Harem girls were educated not only for the need of the court. They also often became wives of important statesmen and military officers.

There was a clear hierarchy between harem people. Education was considered important. It was possible to build up an ascending career. Both harem ladies and eunuchs who had succeeded in their work were highly respected. Religious rites and festivities were followed carefully. Poetry and music were cultivated in the harem. Small princes and princesses got their first education under the supervision of harem teachers.

Osmanlı Devletini Cihân Devleti Yapan Kurum: Mekteb-i Enderun

Osmanlı sarayı Birun, Enderun ve Harem olmak üzere üç bölümden meydana geliyordu. Ve Enderun; Harem ile beraber Harem–i Hümâyûn içerisindeydi . Osmanlı tarihçisi Halil İnalcık’ın söylediği gibi Enderun, Osmanlı devletinin erkek yöneticilerinin yetiştiği üst düzey bir okuldur.

Yeni Bir Kültür Çevresinin Mensubu: Devşirme

Osmanlı devlet geleneğinin oluşmasındaki en köklü kurum, şüphesiz Enderun’dur. Farsça bir kelime olan Enderun, “iç kısım” anlamına gelmektedir. Enderun’un kadınlara yönelik olan muadil eğitim alanı ise Harem’dir.

Slav dillerinden başlayıp da Yunanca ve Arnavutça konuşulan bölgelerden gelen insanların, bir sarayın dili, üslubu ve icraatı çevresinde kenetlendiği ve bir araya geldiği merkez Enderun’dur. Burada yetişen kişinin, eski dili, dini ve kabilesi ile olan bağlantısı zamanla mesafelenir. Çünkü o, artık yeni bir kültür çevresinin mensubu olma yolundadır.

Enderun’a alınan çocuklar, Osmanlı’ya özgü bir sistem olan “devşirme” denilen bir yöntem ile seçilir ve istihdam edilir. Ancak bu ergenlik dönemi gençler, Enderun’a kabul edilmeden önce alt bir eğitim safhasından geçmeleri gerekirdi.
Hıristiyan aile çocukları içinden seçilen bu çocuklar, saray okuluna girmeden önce, Müslüman Türk ailelerinin himayesinde Türkçe’yi, İslâm inanç ilkeleriyle âdâp ve muaşerete yönelik uygulamaları öğrenirler. Akabinde Edirne, Galatasaray, İbrahim Paşa saraylarında bedenî ve ruhî yeteneklerini ilerletecek dersler ve usulleri ikmâl ederlerdi. Acemi oğlanları, eğitim ve öğretim sonucunda “çıkma” ismiyle ayrılarak değişik yerlerdeki askerî birliklere gönderilirler; üstün kabiliyetli gençler ise yüksek derecede bir eğitimi alması amacıyla Enderun’a kabul edilirlerdi.

Osmanlı yönetim anlayışında, devşirme denilen usul, sistemli bir geleneğin işaretlerini verir. Devşirmeyi gerçekleştiren en önemli şahıs devşirme emini, bu seçimi yaparken, tek çocuklu ailelerin ve tek oğlan çocuğu olan ailelerin mensuplarını devşirmez. Hatta devşirme için, köy ahâlisinin rızasının alınması toplumsal bir sözleşmenin dumura uğramaması için bir zorunluluktur.

Devşirmenin gerçekleştirildiği bazı bölgeler, son derece fakir ve gelecekleri için çok iyi fırsatların gözükmediği köyler olabiliyordu. Kafkasya, Arnavutluk veya İşkodra’nın dağlık coğrafyasından gelen çocukların yeterli beslenme, eğitim ve iş bulma imkânları çok güç bir durumdu. Böyle bölgelerde yaşayan aileler, çocuklarının istikbalinin kurtulması için devşirme eminini beklerlerdi.

Gönüllülük esasına dayanan devşirme, ailelerin onayı ve rızasıyla gerçekleşir. Asla çocuklar ailelerinden zorla kopartılma yoluna gidilmezdi. Devşirilen çocukların bir kısmı yeniçeri neferi olabildiği gibi, bazıları da Sokullu Mehmet Paşa ve Mahmut Paşa gibi devletin yönetiminde söz sahibi olan başvezir olabilmekteydi.

Ulema ve özellikle çok yetenekli olan devşirme eminleri, devşirme için izin istedikleri aileleri “Çocuğunuzu verin. Müslüman olsun, bu sizin için de iyidir, bizim için de iyidir” diyerek ikna ederler. Meselâ devşirilmeden önce, Sokullu Mehmet Paşa, çok meşhur ve bilgili Hıristiyan bir ruhbanın çocuğudur, ancak sonraları çok iyi bir Müslüman olmuştur. Sistemin en dikkat çeken yönü de buradadır.

Her Türlü Eğitimin Verildiği Mektep

İçinde sınıf bulunan bir mektep gibi olmayan Enderun’da, çocuklar, bir tür hizmet içi eğitim alırlar, koğuştan koğuşa konumlarından terfi ederek mertebe kaydederler. Vasıf ve kabiliyetleri geliştikçe, padişaha daha yakın hizmetlere yükselirler. Sözlü ve yüz yüze bir eğitim alınan Enderun’da, spor, resim, hüsn-i hat ve edebiyat gibi yetenek geliştirici sahalarda nitelikli dersler verilirdi.

Bir hayat tarzı olan devşirme usûlü sayesinde, alınan çocuklar Türkçe öğrenirler. Enderun’a kabul edilmeyenler bile, İstanbul civarındaki köylerdeki köylülerin yanına geçici bir süre için verilirlerdi. Balkan dil ve kültürüyle belirli yaşlara gelen çocuklar, bir müddet sonra, Osmanlı lisanına ve yaşam biçimine aşina bir hale gelirlerdi. Yeniçeri adayı da olan bu çocuklar için, Türkçe öğrenmek ve din bilgisi almak önemlidir.

Devşirildikten sonra beden ve zeka bakımından kabiliyet ve yeteneklerinde gelişme olan çocuklar, yüksek derecedeki bir eğitim için Enderun’a gönderilirler. Diğerleri ise, çeşitli askerî sahalara dağıtılırdı. Endurun’a alınan devşirme çocuklar, çetin bir hayatın yaşandığı bu saray okulun’da, Osmanlı kültürü ve İslâmiyet konusunda yetkin ve donanımlı hocalar tarafından yetiştirilirlerdi.

Her Türlü Eğitimin Verildiği Mektep

İçinde sınıf bulunan bir mektep gibi olmayan Enderun’da, çocuklar, bir tür hizmet içi eğitim alırlar, koğuştan koğuşa konumlarından terfi ederek mertebe kaydederler. Vasıf ve kabiliyetleri geliştikçe, padişaha daha yakın hizmetlere yükselirler. Sözlü ve yüz yüze bir eğitim alınan Enderun’da, spor, resim, hüsn-i hat ve edebiyat gibi yetenek geliştirici sahalarda nitelikli dersler verilirdi.

Bir hayat tarzı olan devşirme usûlü sayesinde, alınan çocuklar Türkçe öğrenirler. Enderun’a kabul edilmeyenler bile, İstanbul civarındaki köylerdeki köylülerin yanına geçici bir süre için verilirlerdi. Balkan dil ve kültürüyle belirli yaşlara gelen çocuklar, bir müddet sonra, Osmanlı lisanına ve yaşam biçimine aşina bir hale gelirlerdi. Yeniçeri adayı da olan bu çocuklar için, Türkçe öğrenmek ve din bilgisi almak önemlidir.

Devşirildikten sonra beden ve zeka bakımından kabiliyet ve yeteneklerinde gelişme olan çocuklar, yüksek derecedeki bir eğitim için Enderun’a gönderilirler. Diğerleri ise, çeşitli askerî sahalara dağıtılırdı. Endurun’a alınan devşirme çocuklar, çetin bir hayatın yaşandığı bu saray okulun’da, Osmanlı kültürü ve İslâmiyet konusunda yetkin ve donanımlı hocalar tarafından yetiştirilirlerdi.

Kaynakça

• İlber Ortaylı, Osmanlı Yeniden Keşfetmek, XV. baskı, İstanbul 20006.
• Halil İnalcık, Devlet-i Aliyye Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Klâsik Çağ [1300-1600] IV. baskı, İstanbul 2004.
• 
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• Enderun School

  

  

  The Neo-classical Enderun library

  Enderun School (Turkish: Enderun, Ottoman Turkish: اندرون مکتب, Enderûn) which meant "inner most" was a free-boarding school for the Christian millet of the Ottoman Empire, which recruited students via Devshirme (Ottoman Turkish= Devşirme) - an enculturation system of the Christian youngsters for learning the characteristics of the Islamic society and the unique culture of the Ottoman palace.   Enderun was fairly successful in creating the multicultural bureaucracy, which is reflected in multicultural Ottoman Statesmen. Enderun School functioned for academic and military purposes, as well.   Ideally the graduates were permanently devoted to government service and had no interest in forming relations with lower social groups.   The Enderun School was not merely a building or a school but a system of education that became the pioneer educational institution in gifted education and was the first of its kind. The Enderun system was also significant as an early model of multiculturalism because students from different ethnic backgrounds were brought together and learned to live together under a common ideal. The multicultural environment of Enderun had a positive influence on the peace and harmony created in Ottoman States until the decline of the Empire. Enderun’s gifted education program is defined as the world’s first institutionalized education for the gifted

Exactly what was missing from this place. Thanks, tunci.

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safiye_Sultan

http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/safiye-sultan-in-sirri----/Blog/?BlogNo=136409

Safiye Sultan´ın Sırrı

Safiye Sultan, originally Venetian Sofia Baffo began her career in Manisa harem. She soon became the crown prince’s favourite. When Murat III inherited the throne after his father died in 1574 one of the first things he ordered was to bring Safiye to Istanbul.

Safiye is described as a relatively negative character in the Ottoman history. After controlling his husband she continued to rule the whole country as Valide Sultan during the reign of her son. Mehmed III had to face some hard times before he acquired the throne of Ottoman Empire. For instance some sources say his 19 brothers had to be murdered first.

Mehmed’s mum was a wealthy woman.

İmparatorun en güçlü insanı oluverdi Safiye…Ondan habersiz tek bir tayin yapılmıyor, her atama için ona hediye adı altında rüşvet veriliyordu…Sadrazam Koca Sinan Paşa öldüğü vakit mirası 600.000 altın lira, 3.000.000 gümüş akçe, 29 çekmece elmas, 62 çekmece inci, 30 iri elmas ve kilolarca kıymetli taş, altın sofra takımları, zırhlar ve benzeleriydi. Tabii ki bu, devlet soyularak edinilmiş bir servetti. Safiye became the most important person in the Empire. Nothing was initiated without informing her, for every step bribery was paid for her in the name of a gift. When Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha died her heritage was 600.000 gold lira, 3.000.000 silver coins, 29 trunks of diamonds, 62 trunks of pearls, 30 huge diamonds and kilos of jewels, golden dinner sets and corselets and the like. Of course, this was property which had been robbed from the state.

When talking about successful women historians often see their greed and outrage in a worse light than greed and outrage of great men. How many princes Sultans ordered to be killed just because harem women intrigued them to do so? If a former concubine has ambitions are they always selfish and low?

    (Malika Safiyya Mosque in Cairo)

A Western album offers a glimpse into outfits of Ottoman times

Palace musician - An Egyptian Arab woman

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6sem_Sultan

http://www.tarihim.org/yazarlar/56-tarihimorg/584-osmanlda-kadn-sultanlar-koesem-sultan.html

A Woman Has to Do

What a Woman Has to Do

Crown Prince Ibrahim has locked himself into his room. There is obviously something going on in the palace and since the weak-headed Ibrahim has been continuously afraid of assassination for the last few years the voices make him restless. He hides his face in a pillow and mummers unintelligible words. Someone knocks the door:

- Ibrahim honey, open up, don’t be stupid again.  -  It’s his mother, the highly respected Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan, and her voice sounds excited.  – Your brother is dead. Do you understand what it means? Ibrahim, listen to me, you are Sultan of the Empire.

Ibrahim feels dizzy. He rises up and sits down on his bed, rolls his eyes from side to side and then says:

- But I don’t want to be the Sultan, mum.

I don’t know if it actually was Kösem Sultan´s aim to be the undisputable ruler of the huge Empire longer than most of his male colleagues. She just had to. There were no capable men around. Even though her name is not on the list of Ottoman Sultans she was the one who stood behind her weak husband Ahmed I, her underaged son Murad IV, her mad son Ibrahim I and her grandson Mehmed IV who ascended to the throne at the early age of six.

Kösem Sultan ruled from behind the curtain, both figuratively and literally speaking. Her daughter-in-law Turhan Sultan finally won her in crookedness and had her strangled in 1651. She failed to acchieve her power, though, and the period of strong ladies in Ottoman was finished with Kösem Sultan.

Kösem managed to maintain a surprisingly good reputation in history:

Çok şefkatli olan Mahpeyker Sultan, çevresindeki fakirlere  bir daha kimseye muhtaç kalmayacak şekilde yardım etmiştir. Her sene Receb-i Şerif ayında kıyafet değiştirip araba ile hapishanelere gider, borç yüzünden hapse düşünlerin borçlarını ödeyerek onları hapisten kurtarmıştır. Katiller hariç bütün mahkûmlara yardım elini uzatmıştır. Mahpeyker Sultan who was a very compassionate person used to help the poor around her in a way that they never became needy again. Every year during the holy month of Rajab she changed her outfit and took a carriage to prisons. She paid the debts of those who had ended up in prison because of debts. She gave her helping hand to all prisoners except murderers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6pr%C3%BCl%C3%BC_era

http://www.turkvedunyatarihi.com/kategorisiz/koprululer-donemi-ve-bu-donemin-onemi.html

Köprülüler

When the Sultanate of Women was finished it was time for the Köprülü family to be at the helm of the Empire. The Albanian origin Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha and Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha exercised control in the country for fifty years.

It was during Köprülü era that the Ottomans had to turn back from the gates of Vienna in 1683.

Most of the Köprülü time the Sultan’s name was Mehmed IV. He got the nickname Avcu because he was busy with his outdoor activities. His greatest achievement was to nominate talented grand viziers and not to interfere too much in their work. “Why don’t you just move to Edirne to carry on your hobby in peace” the new grand vizier suggested to him and he answered in the affirmative.

The old Köprülü was in an excellent bargaining position when Valide Sultan Turhan Hatice asked him for the job. Köprülü Mehmet’s conditions were as follows:

1- Raporları geri çevrilmeyecek. His reports are not to be turned back.
2- Yapacağı atama, rütbe ve azillere hiç kimse karışmayacak. No one will interfere with his assignments, promotions or nominations.
3- Kendisi hakkında bir şikayet olduğu zaman padişah kendisini dinlemeden karar vermeyecek. When there was a complaint about him the Sultan makes no decisions without listening to him.
4- Sarayda hiç kimse devlet işlerine karışmayacaktı. No one in the Palace was to poke his or her nose into state affairs.

                                               Köprülü Mehmed Paşa (1656-61)

For the country, Köprülü era ment regaining vigor after a long dormancy. Ottoman Empire expanded its frontiers to their furthest reach.

http://derinsular.com/yakin-tarih-1-lale-devri/

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A2le_Devri

Hollandalılar sizin hiç Lale devriniz oldu mu?

I always felt there was something unusual about the naming Lale devrisi (1718-30 ). Nations as a rule use other kind of criteria when distinguishing their historical periods: names of rulers and politicians, status of state, war and peace, economic factors etc. Why tulips?

Zira Cumhuriyet döneminde yetişen nesiller, çok önemli gelişmelerin yaşandığı bu 12 yıllık dönemi, ülkenin içinde bulunduğu zor şartlara rağmen zevk ü sefa içinde yaşanılan, laleler konusunda tuhaf bir takıntının söz konusu olduğu bir dönem olarak tanıyorlar. That is because those generations which have been risen up during the Republic know these 12 years as a period which in spite of the hard conditions in the country ment leading life of pleasure and a period which had an odd connection with the tulip subject.

Tulip Era was a period during the long reign of Ahmed III. Grand Vizier Nevşehirli Damad Ibrahim Pasha was a central character in the Ottoman Court. Improving trade relations with Europe was in his interest.

Burada dikkat edilmesi gereken nokta, III. Ahmed ve Damad İbrahim Paşa’nın reform adına Batıya dönerek, herhangi bir zorlayıcı neden olmadan, kendi kararlarıyla çareyi Batıda aramış olmalarıdır. What we should pay attention to here is Ahmed III´s and Damad Ibrahim Pasha´s turning to the West, with their own decision, without being forced by anyone, and the fact that they began to look for solutions in the West.

There was an unusual internal peace and prosperity in the Empire. Instead of soldiers Ottomans began to send ambassadors to Europe. Big changes took place in the society, in the army and in people’s attitudes. Tulip period saw flowering of arts, poetry and architecture which was influenced by the European rococo. The first Ottoman printing press was established. Translated foreign literature was published. People began to ask for new products: paper and textile fabrics were built.

Now we come to the tulip question. Because the reforms of the Tulip era concerned so many fields of life and civilization in general, the only thing that symbolizes them all is the tulip:

Zira bu dönemde üretilen her eserde, resimlerde, kumaşlarda, çinilerde, ebrularda, tezhiplerde ve şiirlerde lale var. That is because during this era the tulip was there in every work of art, in paintings, fabrics, chinaware, marbling, ornamenting and poems.

Lale devrisi ended with a stupid revolt. Ahmed III was forced to abdicate. Later historians have not really done justice to the great achievements of this short period of time:

Laleyi çok sevdik ve sevdiğimiz çok şey gibi öldürdük. We loved the tulip a lot and we killed her just like many other things we have loved.

All these started from a simple queston as to where the name Instanbul come from? WOW. Here you go.

When pilgrims where asked - wher are you going? - the answer was

is-tin-poli = Istanbul

to the city

Now you know

Have fun kids and play nice

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/XII._Karl 

http://pelatros.blogspot.fi/2012/03/gecen-gun-blogun-facebook-sayfasndan-ne.html 

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalabaliken-i_Bender 

Demirbaş Şarl, the Troublesome Guest

Who was the foreign king who in 1709 after a lost war was granted an asylum by Sultan Ahmed III, who continued  to rule his country from the territory of Ottoman Empire for five years, who incited a war between the Turks and Russia and who was even called with a Turkish nickname? He was king Charles XII of Sweden.

Charles XII (1682-1718) was only fifteen when he assumed power. He spent half of his short life in battlefields. He was an exceptionally skilled military leader and a tactician. His player’s eye was very much needed during his exile in the Ottoman Empire where he had to escape after the disaster of Poltava in the Great Northern War where Sweden was badly beaten by Russia. While staying under the protection of the Ottomans Charles didn’t give up but continued causing disorder in the Russian border with his troups and used all his connections in order to turn Istanbul against Moscow as well.

The Sultan finally had enough of Charles’s solo performances in Bender, Moldova and ordered him a home arrest in Edirne. Charles did not leave voluntarily:

Bender Çatışması olayları 31 Ocak 1713´te Türk topçuların İsveç kampına ateş açmasıyla başladı. 1 Şubat günü ise Osmanlı güçleri kampa saldırdı. Kamptan yanında bir grup askerle kaçan Karl´ın saklandığı ev Türk askerler tarafından top ateşi ve ateşli oklar ile ablukaya alındı. Binayı terketmek zorunda kalan İsveç Kralı ve askerler Türkler tarafından yakalanarak esir alındı. The events of Skirmish at Bender began on the 31st of January 1713 when the Turkish bombardiers opened a fire against the Swedish camp. On February 1st Ottoman forces attacked the camp. Next to the camp the house where Charles had escaped with a group of soldiers was blockaded with gun fire and fire darts. The Swedish King and the soldiers who were forced to leave the building were caught and held captive.

In Swedish the historical event is called Kalabaliken i Bender. The soldiers took the word kalabalık as a souvenir from Ottoman lands and it is still used in Swedish and Finnish meaning ‘confusion, disorder’. During his stay in Edirne King Charles paid attention to Turkish naval vessels. They functioned as models for the Swedish ships Jilderim (< yıldırım) and Jarramas (< yaramaz).

The King’s nickname was not quite as flattering as it may sound. Charles was called “the Fixture” because his debts to the Ottomans were affirmed against immovable property. Demirbaş Şarl died before he payed his debts. Ottoman ambassadors were sent to exact the money from Sweden. This was the start of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeni%C3%A7eri_Oca%C4%9F%C4%B1

http://osmanli-devleti1299.tr.gg/osmanli-yeniceriler.htm

Kaşık kardeşliği

The Janissary system was as old as the Sultanate. Janissaries used to be the elite troops of Ottoman army. They were straight under the command and protection of the Sultan. They were not very active in military campaigns but they were regarded as protectors of the throne and the court.

The first Janissaries were brought from Balkan countries within the devşirme system:

Askere alınacak çocuklar, Osmanlı uyruğunda olan Hristiyan halktan alınacaktı…Bu çocuklar Türk ailelerin yanlarına verilerek İslamiyeti, Türkçe’yi, Türk örf ve adetlerini öğrendikten ve sünnet edildikten sonra acemi ocağına alınırdı. Burada belli bir süre eğitim gördükten sonra yeniçeri ocağına kayıt olurlardı. Bu devşirmelerin evlenmeleri ve askerlik sanatından başka bir işle meşgul olmaları yasaktı. The children who were to be taken into military service were brought from those Christian nations who were vasals to the Ottomans. These children were given to Turkish families and taken to beginner’s divisions after they had learned Islam, Turkish language, Turkish customs and habits and after they had been circumcised. Having been educated there for a certain time they were registered to the Janissary organization. It was forbidden for these devshirme men to get married or occupy themselves with any other profession than the army.

In the early years janissaries were real comerades-in-arms: they lived under severe discipline, shared the same fate, lived in barracks, slept side by side and ate from the same stewpot. The commander of the battalion was called çorbacı. There was a place for a spoon in the Janissary hat. It was practical but it also symbolized their mutual brotherhood.

But times they change  -  Janissary system corrupted and grew in power until in the end it became enemy of the state nr 1 and had to be rooted out.

Rejecting the original principles and turning towards unsoldierlike activities was the main reason for the Janissary system’s demise. Janissaries were allowed to marry, they had their own businesses. Their amount increased radically and many Janissaries had nothing to do with soldier life. Janissaries revolted several times, blackmailed Sultans to maintain their privileges. For instance, they killed the 18-year-old Osman II who wanted to reorganize the army.

Ayrıca yeniçerilerin değişiklik yapmak isteyen devlet adamları ve padişahları görevlerinden etmeleri yada onları öldürmeleri ve ya istedikleri her şeyi çıkardıkları isyanlar sonucu devlete kabul ettirmeleri yeniçerilerin devlet yönetiminde ne derece etkili olduğunu göstermektedir. The way Janissaries forced reformative statesmen and Sultans retire or killed them as well as well as the way they by rebelling made the state agree about everything they wanted   -  that shows how powerful the Janissaries were in the management of the country.

The once honourable Janissary movement, now more resembling an outlaw gang survived until the 19^th century when Sultan Mahmud II carefully planned its extinguisment as a part of important reforms in the country. People were tired of them anyway: the occasion was an important landmark in Ottoman history and it was called vaka-i hayriye, ‘the Auspicious Incident’. 

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/I._Petro_%28Rusya%29

http://vedat.akcayoz.net/yazilarim/tekilkonular/delipetronunvasiyeti.html

Rusya’nın Deli Petro´su

In every language the epithet of the Russian czar Peter I is “Great”. Peter the Great, who reigned forty two years at the turn of 18^th century. His most remarkable colleague in the Ottoman Empire of those days was Ahmed III (the tulip Sultan, remember?).

In Turkish, though, Peter I is called Deli Petro.

Peter the Great had a great vision. He wanted to open his country to both Baltic Sea and Black Sea. There were two obstacles: Sweden in the North and Ottoman Empire in the south. He established St. Petersburg on an impossible swamp at the head of the Gulf of Finland. He had a special interest for naval forces. He travelled in Western Europe in order to gather allies for the crucial fight against Ottoman Empire. During his 18-month trip he gained expertese in seamanship and sea battles. The czar returned to Russia full of enthusiasm, wanting to modernise his backward empire.

Russia and the Ottomans were in a series of wars during four centuries. The Pruth River Campaign in 1711 was a success for Turks but while Sultan Ahmet III was busy with other issues he didn’t take the chance of marching towards Moscow. Anyway, a fragile peace between the two countries lasted for 25 years.

In Europe, “Russia card” is often brought to the table in order to create enemy images. A great example of Russophobic texts is the so called will of Peter the Great which describes how the czar advices his followers to content themselves with nothing less than ruling the whole world. The Turkish article which I read also takes Peter’s will  -  probably a forgery  -  very seriously. Russia wants Istanbul, the author claims:

Şüphesiz ki İstanbul’a sahip olan Şah, dünyada ilahi şah olacaktır. Without doubt, the king who controls Istanbul will be the heavenly king on Earth.

A crazy emperor indeed, we say. But as a matter of fact the reason Peter I was called Deli by Turks was not his megalomany. Actually the opposite: those who saw him studying ship construction were amazed because the czar of all Russia accepted to work in such humble and unimportant positions on the vessels. 

http://www.ehlisunnetbuyukleri.com/Osmanli-Hikayeleri-Detay-III_OSMAN_HAN_VE_ISTANBULUN_YENIDEN_IMARI-351.aspx

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/III._Osman

http://www.boxerdergisi.tv/haberdetay.asp?news_id=4893

İstanbul’un Dehşet Yılı

Year 1755 was a hard one for Istanbul. The city was afflicted by both ice and fire.

Sultan Üçüncü Osman’ın tahta çıktığı 1755 kışı çok şiddetli geçti. Haliç dondu ve deniz yol oldu. The year 1755 when Sultan Osman III acceded to the thrown the winter was very harsh. The Golden Horn froze and the sea became a road.

(Searching the web reveals that at least freezing of the Bosphorus and people walking on ice in Istanbul belong to city legends and and even though hard winters have been documented historians have probably exaggerated them. Anyway, some say the last time the Bosphorus froze in Istanbul was in 1954, not so far away.)

Every respectable city has changed into smoking ruins at some point of its history, so has Istanbul:

Bu sırada İstanbul târihinin en büyük yangını oldu. 28 Eylül 1755’te Hocapaşa semtinde çıkan yangın, dört kola ayrılarak büyük bir âfet hâline geldi. At the same time the biggest fire of the history of Istanbul took place. The fire which started in Hocapaşa neighbourhood diverged into four sections and caused a disaster.

Only one year later, fire broke loose again, and three fourths of Istanbul burned into ashes.

Reconstruction after catastrophes often activates the community. Even though Osman III’s reign was very short he left some landmarks behind. He had the baroque style Nuruosmaniye Cami completed and initiated İhsaniye Cami in Ûsküdar. And of course building a mosque on those days also meant building many other services next to it  -  from libraries and schools to public soup kitchens.

http://artebru.blogcu.com/osmanli-resim-sanati-minyatur/5909277

http://www.felsefeekibi.com/sanat/sanatalanlari/sanat_alanlari_osmanli_minyaturu_klasik_sonrasi.html

http://yalpturk.blogcu.com/levni-abdulcelil-celebi/1150416

Nakkaş Levni 

Ottoman miniature art had its roots in the nomadic times. It was influenced by Persian and Chinese traditions. Artists didn’t always enjoy freedom of expression in the Empire:

İslam akidesinde insan sureti çizilmesi ve heykel yapmak Allah ile boy ölçüşmek gibi algılanmış ve ressamın kimliği çoğu zaman gizli kalmıştır. In the Islamic faith drawing a picture of a human being and making a statue is perceived as competing with Allah, and often the artist’s name was kept a secret.

Miniature painting took a step forward in Fatih Sultan Mehmet’s era. Its classical period can be dated to the reign of Suleiman the Magnificient. The most mature miniatures come from the period of Murad III and young Osman II. The last great miniatyrist, Levni alias Abdülcelil Çelebi, created his masterpieces during the Tulip era.

Çelebi was born in Edirne where he began his career. He was given the nickname Levni ‘colorful’. Levni was also known as a poet and a musician. He painted the portraits of 22 Sultans. Unfortunately the original works have not remained until today. Levni’s most important work, the series Surname-i Vehbi which tells the story of Palace circumcision festivals, is still kept in the library of Topkapi Palace. Levni is praised for his natural compositions, sensitive use of colors and special talent in describing joy of life.

Padişahın badem gözleri, kemerli burnu, koyu sakalı, uzun yüzü, zarif duruşu ve bakışı gerçekçi bir portre olduğunu gösterir. The Sultan’s (Ahmed III) almond eyes, Roman nose, his thick beards, long face, elegant pose and glance show that it is a realistic portrait.

Şehzade düğünlerine oyuncular, hünerli kişiler, fişek ustaları, yazarlar, ressamlar, alim ve şairler katılırdı. Actors, jugglers, firework masters, writers, painters, scholars and poets attended the circumcision festivals of the princes.

Levni´s woman figures broke the earlier tradition:

Levni’nin minyatüre getirdiği en önemli değişiklik kadını erkekler arasındaki silik yaşamın dışına taşıyarak kadını tek başına elinde çiçekle, otururken, uyurken, yatarken ve enstrüman çalarken minyatürleri ile eserlerinde işlemiştir. The biggest difference Levni brought to the miniatyr was taking the woman out of the faceless life among men and presenting her alone: a flower in her hand, sitting, sleeping, lying, playing musical instruments.

Receiving foreign ambassadors at the Ottoman court

The Ottomans used the ceremonial reception as a means of demonstrating the might and wealth of the Ottoman Empire

Because these ambassadorial receptions were so important at the Ottoman Empire, a Department of Ceremonies was set up during the reign of Kanuni Suleyman I from 1520 to 1566.

Today a foreign ambassador comes to Turkia and presents his credentials to the president. The ceremony, such as it is, is low key and quickly over. Not so among the Ottomans, who used the ceremonial reception as a means of demonstrating the might and wealth of the Ottoman Empire.

Because these ambassadorial receptions were so important, a Department of Ceremonies was set up during the reign of Kanuni Suleyman I from 1520 to 1566. Although there were rules laid down for the conduct of such ceremonies, these were expanded as the Empire grew. An official was appointed to take charge of the office and be responsible for the proper organization of the ceremonies. A number of assistants and junior officers made up the staff of the office. And we learn many of the details of these ceremonies because the Ottomans kept meticulously detailed registers that contain information about when the ceremony was held, who was presented to the sultan and who attended the occasion, what gifts were presented to the sultan or given by the sultan, fabrics purchased and banquet expenditures.

Of particular importance where foreign correspondence and foreign ambassadors were concerned were the interpreters. The latter were professionals that handled the translations of correspondence and petitions as well as speeches delivered at meetings. The chief translator was responsible for receiving foreign ambassadors when they arrived in addition to translating for the grand vizier and the sultan.

Showing power and wealth

Upon being notified that an ambassador would be received at Topkapı Palace, the ambassador and his retinue would be escorted to the palace and into the second courtyard. Such a reception was often scheduled on a day when the quarterly payment of wages to the Janissary corps was being held in order to show the foreigners how powerful and wealthy the Ottomans were.

Baron W. Wratislaw was part of the retinue of Austrian Ambassador Frederick von Kregwitz, who was sent in 1591 to the Ottoman court from Vienna to extend a treaty of peace between the two empires and to offer the annual tribute. Although very young, he was a keen observer of people and events while in Istanbul, including the reception for the ambassador.

“On December 8, His Excellency Ambassador Mr. von Kregwitz placed 4,500 gold pieces in coaches and sent them to the palace with the embassy’s translator. Towards ten on the same day, the two ambassadors [the resident ambassador and the ambassador leading the group from Vienna] mounted their horses and set out for the palace with men carrying silver trays and clocks in front and according to custom. When they reached the outer gate, it was seen that there were armed soldiers called bostancı lined up in a hundred rows. These soldiers were like the private security guards of the Empire,” Wratislaw wrote in an account of the day.

“When we entered the first courtyard of the palace, we found beautiful buildings. Among these were the workshops of the palace craftsmen just as it is in the palace in Prague. When we reached the other side of the courtyard, we saw a number of soldiers who resembled those at the gate were in a more respectful posture. Here one had to dismount because one is not permitted to enter the third courtyard where the sultan resides on horseback and even the greatest government official enters the palace on foot after dismounting in the second courtyard,” Wratislaw wrote.

Two pashas meet ambassadors

After the ambassadors dismounted, they were met by two pashas who welcomed them and directed them to the reception salon. Ambassador von Kregwitz then told the Council of State what he intended to say to the sultan. The two pashas then went off to tell the sultan, Sultan Murad III, that the ambassador had arrived.

There were, according to Wratislaw, hundreds and maybe thousands of soldiers waiting in the second courtyard. “In spite of there being thousands of men there, there was no conversation, nor any whispering and no movement such as coming and going. This condition astonished us. It seemed to show a greater and deeper respect than that shown to their commanders by the Janissaries who are rough and bad-tempered on the battlefield or by children towards their teachers. Each one of them was like a statue made of marble.”

While the Austrian group waited to be admitted, the Janissaries took the gifts that had been brought and took them to the Audience Chamber to show to the sultan. The ambassadors were asked whether or not they were carrying weapons and when they answered in the negative, the soldiers took hold of their arms and took them into the room where the sultan was seated. [A number of miniatures show how the arms of every foreign ambassador were secured. This was done because the guards around Sultan Murad I negligently allowed a Serbian captive to get close enough to stab the sultan to death.] The ambassadors then greeted the sultan and bowed so low as to almost touch the ground. They addressed the sultan and handed over their credentials before kissing his hand. Wratislaw admits that he was so fascinated by the sultan that he barely looked around the chamber; however, he did notice that it was beautiful and decorated with jewels.

The last step after seeing the sultan was eating with the grand vizier in a room especially set aside for such meetings, next to where the sultan’s council (divan) would hold its sessions. Wratislaw further notes that there were no knives and no wine served but he really liked what he calls Arab sherbet, which seemed to him to have been made with sugar and lemon. After about half an hour they then departed the same way they had come in.

Protocol differences

Protocol in general was quite strict, but it seems that there were some differences. For instance, the ambassador would be given a valuable robe and it was mandatory that he wear this or otherwise he would not be able to advance further. The gifts that he brought for the sultan would sometimes be put on display right inside the Audience Chamber. This small building, directly opposite the entrance to the Third Courtyard, was built during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmed as a meeting place. Not only were ambassadors received here, but the grand vizier and members of the Council of State and religious figures. Over the centuries the building suffered from earthquakes and fire so today, although it has been restored, it is no longer as magnificent as it once was.

The various sultans saw this as a portal between their private quarters and the outside world. The throne on which the sultan would sit is about half a meter in height and would have been covered with carpets and other draperies and pillows, which would have been decorated with valuable jewels. In a side note, it is said that the draperies would be changed in accordance with the importance of the ambassador.

Abla, Because your thread is mostly about Ottomans, I thought this post of mine would fit in here.

From Hürriyet Daily News - Niki Gamm

I do not own the thread and I very much liked what you added.

Look how important people translators have always been.

Yes, They have, are and will always be important people. Can you imagine the responsibility of the chief translator who was translating for the grand vizier and the Sultan. The job that required perfect attention and faultlessness.

"The chief translator was responsible for receiving foreign ambassadors when they arrived in addition to translating for the grand vizier and the sultan."

http://worldarchivetr.com/wp/sultan-ahmet-camiinin-bilinmeyen-hikayesi/

http://www.biristanbulhayali.com/sultanahmet-camii-kapisi-ve-evliya-celebi

http://www.gbg.bonet.se/osmanli/kultur/eserler/sultanahmet.htm

Dağ gibi yüce, kuş gibi hafif

Evliya Çelebi, the great Ottoman traveller and the writer of Seyahatname, was there when the building work of Sultanahmet Mosque (the Blue Mosque) was initiated in 1609. It was an impressive moment:

Evvela Sultan Ahmed Han, eteğine toprak doldurup, ´´Ya Rab! Ahmed kulunun hizmetidir, kabul eyle´´ deyüp, amelelerle birlikte temelden toprak taşıdı.´´  Sultan Ahmed I, gathering some soil to his lap, carried the soil from the foundation together with the workers and said: ”Lord, accept the service of your slave Ahmed.”

Sedefkar Mehmed Ağa, the architect of Sultanahmet Mosque was a man of many talents. He was a musician, poet and and an artist also. In his greatest work he was able to use all sides of his artistry.

Sultanahmet Mosque was the last great mosque of the classical Ottoman period. It had to compete in beauty and majesty with both Hagia Sofia and Suleimaniye Mosque which was the masterwork of Mimar Sinan, the teacher of Mehmed Ağa.

There is a legend which says that the six minarets of Sultanahmet are actually a misunderstanding: a confusion between the Turkish words altın ‘gold’ and altı ‘six’. Who knows. Anyway, the amount of minarets caused a small scandal in the Muslim world: is Sultanahmet competing Masjid-il-Haram of Mecca? Ahmed I solved the problem by having one more minaret built in Mecca.

The Sultan was a god-fearing man:

Avlunun batı girişinde, demirden ağır bir kordon bulunmaktadır. Bu kordon, avluya atıyla giren padişahın kafasını çarpmamak için eğmesini gerektiriyordu. There is a heavy iron cord in the western gate of the mosque yard. When the Sultan entered on horseback this cord forced him to bow in order not to hit his head.

Sultanahmet Mosque has a concrete link also to our hero traveller. Next time when you enter the building from the main entrance pay attention to the door. It has been elaborated by the dervish and silversmith master Mehmed Zilli who was Evliya Çelebi´s father.

http://www.byzantiumistanbul.com/detay.asp?detayid=216

http://ekonomi.haberturk.com/teknoloji/haber/757288-ayasofyanin-temeli-arsimete-mi-dayaniyor

Ayasofya´nın temeli Arşimet´e mi dayanıyor?

Ayasofya birçok açıdan hayranlık uyandıracak bir yapı ama buradaki önemli nokta diyagramlar ve sayılarla tasarlanmış olmasıydı. Bu kesinlikle matematikçilerin işiydi. Hagia Sophia is an awe-inspiring building in a lot of ways but what is important here is its being projected with graphs and calculations. It was certainly work of mathematicians.

When Emperor Justinianus I wanted to build the greatest building on earth he hired two scientists, the mathematician Tralles of Anthemius and the physicist Isidore of Miletus:

Antik dönem kaynaklarında Anthemius ve İsidoros için mimar yerine daha çok mühendis anlamına yakın olan mekhanikos veya mekhanipoioi kelimesi kullanılmıştır. Trallesli Anthemius çalışmalar başladıktan kısa bir süre sonra ölünce, Miletli İsidoros kiliseyi tek başına bitirmiştir. İsidoros’un hocası olduğu sanılan Anthemios mekanik cihazlar, hidrolik konular üzerinde çalışan bir matematikçi ve fizikçiydi. İsidoros’un parabol çizmeye yarayan bir pergel icat ettiği bilinmektedir. In the sources of ancient history instead of being called architects Anthemius and Isidoros are called ‘mekhanikos’ or ‘mekhanipoioi’ whose meaning is close to engineer. As Tralles of Anthemius and died shortly after the works had begun, Isidore of Miletus finished the chuch alone. Anthemius who is believed to have been Isidore’s teacher was a mathematician and physicist who worked on mechanic apparatus and questions of hydraulics. It is known that Isidoros invented a compass which could be used for drawing a parabole.

Isidore was a specialist of Archimedes´s mathematics and he probably made some corrections to the manuscricpts of the ancient master. His three codexes were kept in Istanbul, the last one until 1912, and recent research has proved their ideas are manifested in the engineering of Hagia Sophia. My layman thinking says it must have something to do with the greatness of the dome because Archimedes’s most important achievement was to count the volume of the sphere. On his own request a sphere and a cylinder were put in his tomb in Sicilia as a symbol of his life’s work.

"SACRIFICE" OF OTTOMAN SULTAN

In the first day morning of the muslim festival of sacrifices (Eid al Adha), while the Sultan returns to the seraglio from celebrations, after he gets off the state carriage (if before times from the horse) seven animals are sacrificed with ceremony. After the Sultan steps the steppingstone,the chamberlain of treasury who is waiting ready there, steps forward and sho

http://www.osmanli700.gen.tr/padisahlar/28index.html

http://www.bizimsahife.org/Kutuphane/Osmanli_Tarihi_Ans/Osmanli_Tarihi_K/274_Kabakci_Mustafa.htm

Kabakçı Mustafa İsyanı

Selim III (reign 1789-1807) was one of the most remarkable Ottoman rulers: a learned man, a humanist, a reformer, a Sultan who was greatly loved by his people. He was forced to resign and finally killed by reactionarists.

Selim was the first Sultan who made a noteworthy effort to renew Ottoman army. (Well, let’s not forget the ill-fated Osman II whom the corrupted Janissary gangs tortured to death because he also had similar intentions  -   the boy was only 18.) After Ottomans suffered serious losses in the war against Russia Selim founded a system called Nizam-ı Cedid, including military troops inspired by the modern Prussian army. These new army units successfully fighted Napoleon in Egypt.

A coup named after its leader Kabakçı Mustafa followed. It was agitated by the grand vizier and the religious leaders. They say France also used the anger of Janissaries for its own revenge. The main scene of these events was Atmeydanı (Sultanahmet Square) where several statesmen were executed. Maybe the gentle-hearted Sultan waited too long before he gave orders to subjugate the revolting Janissaries, maybe his trusted troops were occupied in the Russian front. In any case, in the end Selim III was forced to say these words:

"Böyle isyankar tebanın hükümdarı ve halifesi olmaktansa olmamak daha iyidir.” It is better not to be the emperor and the kaliph than to be the emperor and the kaliph of such rebellious people.”

The 1807 revolt cancelled Nizam-ı Cedid and put an end to reforms in the fields of administration, education and army.

Kabakçı Mustafa isyânı, Osmanlı Devleti’ne maddî ve manevî bir çok zararlar verdi. Devletin ilerlemesi için gerekli olan kabiliyetli devlet adamlarının öldürülmesi kayıpların en büyüğü idi. The rebel of Kabakçı Mustafa caused great material and moral damage to Ottoman Empire. The biggest loss was the killing of those skilful statesmen whose contribution was essential for the development of the country.

Anyway, countdown had begun for the Janissaries who were to be fully abolished in 1826.

Kentlerin Gerçek Yüzleri,

Köşelerinde Gizlidir

Daracık arka sokaklarında, çarşılarında, binalarında… Kentler, oralarda gösterir en mahrem yanlarını, çünkü ruhları oralarda dokunmuştur yıllar boyu o kentin insanının. In the narrow back streets, bazaars, buildings…that is where cities show their most intimate side, because the souls of the people of that city was woven there year in and year out.

The Spice Bazaar was originally part of the social complex built next to Yeni Cami. It was located in an ancient Jewish market place and just like the mosque itself, it had existed as a plan for a long time before it was actually completed by architect Mustafa Ağa in 1664. Rents of the shops were used for the upkeep of the mosque. The bazaar got its name from Egypt:

Mısır Çarşısı adını Mısır ülkesinden alır. Çünkü Osmanlı zamanında Mısır’dan gelen baharatlar, kuru yemişler, tahıllar ve yiyecekler burada İstanbullulara satılırdı. Ayrıca çarşının büyük bir kısmı Mısır’ın başkenti Kahire’den alınan vergiler ile yapılmıştır. The Spice Bazaar got its name from the country of Egypt. That is because in Ottoman times spices, dried fruit, grain and food products which were brought from Egypt were sold to Istanbul inhabitants here. Besides, a big part of the bazaar was built with the taxes collected from Cairo, the capital of Egypt.

The bazaar burned twice into ashes, in 1691 and 1940, but was restored afterwards. It has been built in the shape of L and the place where the short and the long wing meet is called ‘square of invocations’. It is symbolically an important place:

Burada bulunan ezan köşkü ile ezan saatlerinde ezan okunur ve bir din görevlisi esnaflara bereket için dua eder. The call to prayer is recitated in the adhan pavilion here at the times of prayers, and a religious official prays blessing for the shopkeepers.

The Bazaar has six doors. The second floor of the building originally functioned as a courtroom where disputes with customers or between sellers were solved.

Oriental perfumes and luxurious spices like black pepper came from India via Egypt to Venice. Istanbul also got its share because on those days the Medıterranean was like an inland lake for the Ottomans. The Spice Bazaar also became a center of herbalists’ trade and knowledge.

Bu çarşı, yıllarca her derde deva olmuş kurutulmuş bitkilerin, çeşit çeşit otların ve yüzlerce tür baharatın buluştuğu o eski dev günlerin kalıntılarını halen saklamakta. This bazaar is still saving the remnants of those great days when it brought together heal-all dried plants, various herbs and hundreds of different kinds of spices.

http://www.serenti.org/kiz-kulesi-tarihcesi-ve-efsaneleri/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24VEKG3TI-4

Kız Kulesinin Misafirleri

The best known legend of the Maiden’s Tower is an Istanbul version of the fairy tail about Sleeping Beauty. A sultan loved his little daughter dearly. Oracles saw in the stars that the princess will be bit by a poisonous snake on her 18^th birthday. As an attempt to save his daughter from this destiny, the sultan had a castle built on a small rock in the sea to keep the girl far away from snakes. But  -  auch!  -  an uninvited visitor sneaked to the rocky islet hidden a box of grapes and gave the princess a mighty sting.

In the reality Kız kulesi has had many functions since it has been standing there in the entrance of Bosphorus only 200 metres from the bank of Üsküdar  -  Its history dates back to the 5^th century B.C. even though it got its present shape as late as in 1832.

* It was used as a customs station in the Byzantion times. A long chain was adjusted between the tower and a fortress in the European side of Bosphorus.  The fee was worth one tenth of the cargo of the ship.

* During the Ottoman period artillery fire was shot in the Maiden’s Tower during feasts and celebrations.

* While being used as a lighthouse Kız kulesi burned into smoking ruins in 1721 after the lamp oil burst into flames.

* The Chief Harem Eunuch Morali Beşir Ağa who had fallen into disfavour was executed on the island in 1752.

* Infected patients were isolated on the island during the great plague epidemy which killed up to 30 000 people in İstanbul in the 1830’s.

* The island was a radar station of the navy until 1983.

* In 1995, the island was rented to a private company to be used as a tourist spot.

The Maiden’s Tower was always an excellent place to keep an eye on the Bosphorus:

Kulenin giriş kapısı Üsküdar tarafına bakmakta ve doğu tarafı hariç her üç tarafında da toplam yedi adet top mazgalı bulunmaktadır. Bu mazgallar Sarayburnu ve boğazı tarassut altına almak için, kuzey ve batıdaki altı tanesi duvarlara 90 derece, güneydeki bir tanesi ise daha eğik bir açı ile inşa edilmiştir. The entrance of the castle is facing Üsküdar and there is a  total of seven embrasures for cannons in every side except the east. In order to observe the strait and Sarayburnu, the northern and western embrasures have been built with a 90-degree angle against the walls while the southern one has a wider angle.

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....

That is what you will end up with, if you allow  people put a wall between you and your women. Funnier things are known to happen !  

Like this? I was shocked when I saw this Dancing Boys of Afghanistan...I wonder how widespread this is, is this true? Beware, this is a very shocking and upsetting video. 

it is said that when alexander the great captured afganistan area, this tradition passed from greeks/makedons (whoever the soldiers are) to that local area. origin is not much important but i am amazed when people comment like "muslims are like that..." etc over internet.

Hadiths from Muhammad (pbuh) shows the islamic point of view.

1631. Ibn ´Abbas said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, cursed effeminate men and masculine women."

In one variant, "The Messenger of Allah cursed men who made themselves look like women and women who made themselves look like men." [al-Bukhari]

1632. Abu Hurayra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, cursed any man who wears women´s clothes and any woman who wears men´s clothes." [Abu Dawud]

...

Source: Riyad as-Salihin by Imam Nawawi

Here comes another discussion.

discussions are good, we learn a lot from them, as long as it does not evolve to a furious fight. just keep your level.

While it is true, Greece was a pederastic society. Read about it here. This pracice appears to have been practiced to some degree in the Ottoman period, Köçek dancers. These practices appear to be very much related to the isolation and seclusion of women from society. 

Quoting Abla

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/kultur-sanat/haber/20172589.asp

 

´İstanbul´ ismi nereden geliyor

Sibel Ertürk Kurtoğlu / A.A

 

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I read an interesting article about the origin of the city name Istanbul. The views of Halin Dursun, the historian and director of Hagia Sofia museum were explained in the article.

 

During its 8500 year-old history Istanbul was known with so many names. The ancient Greek called it Byzantion. In 337 it was named Constantinople in order to honor the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The discussion about how the city should be called began only after it was conquered by the Ottomans. As the center of an Islamic Caliphate it was called “Darülhilafe” and as the center of the Empire the naming “Makarrı Saltanat” was preferred. The name Constantinople survived, though, until 1930 when Kemal Atatürk ordered the name Istanbul to be used internationally. During centuries, aside with the official names, local people chose their naming on a more practical basis: for instance, for those who lived further from the centre, Istanbul ment only the area which was inside the city walls.

 

In a charming way, Dursun explains the simultaneous coexistence of different names with the hospitality and self-esteem of the city which tolerated this colorful diversity.

 

The name Istanbul is no more Turkish origin than Constantinople. It is an old folksy name that probably originates from Greek words stan and polis, both of them from a root that means ‘city’:

 

“Tonguç, “Neden ´Stanpolis´ demişler? Çünkü buraya gelen insanlar, yolda şehri sorarlarmış, ´Şehre nasıl gidebiliriz?´ diye. O yüzden de şehrin adı ´Stanpolis´ olarak kalmış ve zamanla İstanbul´a dönüşmüş” dedi.” ‘Tonguç said: “Why did they use the word ‘Stanpolis’? Because people who were coming here used to ask about the city on the road saying: “How can we get to the city? That’s why the name of the city became Stanpolis and in the long run changed into Istanbul.’

 

Saffet Emre Tonguç, a writer and historian, reminds of the foreign roots of the name Constantinople also:

 

“…Saffet Emre Tonguç, Türk insanının, şehrin Rum ya da Yunan geçmişini hatırlattığı gerekçesiyle Konstantinopolis ismini sevmediğini ifade ederek, “Asıl Rumca´dan gelen isim İstanbul. İmparator Konstantin Roma´dan gelerek şehri kuruyor ve kendi adını veriyor. Aslında adam İtalyan ve Rumca tek kelime bilmiyor” diye konuştu.” ‘Saffet Emre Tonguç said, while explaining that Turks don’t like the name Constantinople on account of the fact that it reminds of the Roman and Greek past of the city: “Istanbul is a name that comes from ancient Greek. Emperor Constantine comes from Rome, establishes a city and gives it his own name. Actually the man is Italian and he doesn’t speak a word of Greek.”’

 

The article says there has been discussion on whether the Turkish name of Istanbul should be spelled with dotted or undotted initial letter. In Halin Dursun’s opinion, there are more important things to take care of:

 

“Doğrusunun hangi kelime olduğu üzerinde durmadığını vurgulayan Dursun, “Sadece şehrin, tarihi mekanın gereği gibi korunması, görüntüsünün, tarihi özelliğinin korunması ve en azından dünyanın belli bir bölgesinin merkezi olması düşüncesinin daha önemli olduğu kanaatini taşıyorum” dedi.” ‘Dursun, emphasizing that he doesn’t put stress on which word is the correct one, said: “My opinion is only that it is more important to protect the city, the historical site, its image, its historical characteristics as it is due and at least to understand that it is a center of a certain area of the world.”’

 

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My knowledge of history is not on a good level and the translations are My Tries. Feel free to correct me.

If I may correct, the two greek words from which the name "Istanbul" derives are not "stan" and "polis" but the phrase "εις την πόλιν" or "στην πόλιν" (is tin polin or stin polin). Both mean "to the city" and Constantine did speak Greek and Latin of course, not because he was raised in a greek-speaking family but because he received such an education.

We absorbed many greek traditions. We called turkey as "diyar-ı rûm" (land of greeks) before. But it was not a single nation´s phenomenon, it was existed in ancient history and in most part of the world.

But these strange practices was NOT connected to women issue. If it was, we would not seen it in societies where woman so called free. That is just an extremely common prejudiced theory based on nothing.

We in Serbian have word stan. It means apartment.

I beg to differ with you, why do you think they are dressed as females if there is nothing do do with females? Isolation of one part of society gives rise to warped views, expectations and practices in place or reality.

For me, the disturbing issue in that documentary is the violation and theft of a child´s freedome and innocence, not homosexuality which has existed in all cultures throughout all times. In fact, homosexulity is known to exist in the animal kingdom, as well.

A homosexual is not necessarily a pedofile.

What consenting adults do in private is their business, not mine. I really don´t want to know, and I´m not peeping in keyholes, and I´d rather not have it thrown in my face.

"Discretion is the better part of valour."

i was partially answering the claim in post number 101.

pederastry in an isuue
cross dressing another issue
homosexuality another issue
child abuse another issue
...
and sometimes they interwined each other.

i am very sorry for the children whose freedom taken away and abused by sick people.

”Ormanımdan Ağaç Kesenin Başı Kesile”

(Fatih Sultan Mehmed 1451-1481)

“If someone cuts a tree from my forest may his head be cut.”

Old Turks used to have their cult of tree worship. Beech, oak, cypress, juniper and plane were holy trees for them. Their favourite trees seemed to be fruitless, massive, light in color, coarse and shadowing. Maybe as a result of this cultural tradition trees have been planted for centuries in Istanbul. There are certain trees which are prominent in Istanbul until today.

ÇINAR ‘plane’ symbolizes greatness and permanence. It often appears next to a mosque, a tomb or a fountain. Parents often plant planes in the name of their newborn children to wish them long and successful life. The oldest and most magnificient planes in Istanbul are in Bahçeköy area.

The evergreen SERVİ ‘cypress’ guarantees that the ancestors are in the paradise and their offspring is living happily. The greatest cypresses of Istanbul grow in the old cemeteries like Karacaahmet.

ERGUVAN ‘Judas tree’, the symbol of Byzantine, grows everywhere in Istanbul.

MANOLYA ‘magnolia’ grows especially in the manorhouse gardens on the shores of Bosphorus.

 .

ÇİTLEMBİK ‘nettle tree’ grows in many spiritual and historical places of Istanbul.

In a proverb, ÇAM ‘pine’ is compared with müftü, a religious teacher. In Istanbul pompous oaks spread like huge umbrellas typically on hills.

MEŞE ‘oak’ often gets nicnames like baba or dede. Oaks are often used as wish trees. You can find great oaks for instance in the surroundings of Hagia Sophia and at Sultanahmet square.

MİMOZA ‘acacia’ trees are the mark of spring. Go to the islands to enjoy them.

Source: http://www.istanbulkulturenvanteri.gov.tr/halk-kulturu/detay/envanter_id/197

1631. Ibn ´Abbas said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, cursed effeminate men and masculine women."

I honestly doubt if Ibn Abbas is authorized and qualified to make such a comment, considering both effeminate men and masculine women are god´s own creation.

We are supposed to love each and every creation of god, because we love their creator; says our Priminister.

If that is true, we may have to conclude Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi was Greek. 

http://www.unyeses.net/cellatmezarlari.htm

Cellat mezarlığı 

There is a corner in Eyüp graveyard where the simple square shaped stones have no name or any identification of the deceased written on them. It used to be a cursed place which no one wanted to visit and which out of fear has almost been destroyed by now. This is where the executioners of Ottoman Empire were buried. Ordinary people did not want to get mixed with these merciless men even after death. That is why they got their anonymous final address in the furthest corner of the city.

Executing was a successful craftmanship in the Empire. Cellat Çesmesi (‘the hangmen’s well’ ) in the garden of Topkapi Palace was where the executioners used to wash their bloody hands after finishing their work. There was often an exhibition of chopped heads at the entrance of the palace.

Cellatlar, Müslüman olan kişilerin infazdan sonra başlarını, cesedi sırt üstü yatırarak koltuğunun altına, Müslüman olmayanları ise yüzü koyun yatırarak, başlarını kıçlarının üzerine koyardı. The hatchet men laid the bodies of executed Muslims on their back and placed their head under their armpit, while the non-Muslims were laid on their bellies and their head was placed over their buttocks.

Sometimes the condemned got two graves: one for their body somewhere in Anatolia and another one for their head in Istanbul. That was because the Emperor wanted to be sure the poor provincial vizier or government officer who had fallen into disgrace had really been decapitated. Usually the head was preserved in honey, put into a leather bag, brought to the capital and carried in front of the Sultan on a silver plate.

One of the easiest ways to get executed in the Ottoman Empire was to be born as the son of the Emperor. The executioners often had the final word in battles for the throne. Royalties were never killed by a bladed weapon though: instead, according to an old tradition they had the privilege of getting strangled of hanged.

The executors were often of Croatian origin, later Gypsies. They were deaf and dumb. Usually their tongue was cut in the beginning of their career.

The post above looks like a scary movie scene!

Hangman´s Curse

1509, 1766 ve 1894 İstanbul depremleri

http://avnidincer.8m.com/1894depremi.html

http://www.angelfire.com/de2/zelzele/istanbul2.html

https://eksisozluk.com/22-mayis-1766-buyuk-istanbul-depremi--614416?nr=true&rf=22%20mayis%201766%20buyuk%20istanbul%20depremi

In the view of seismic investigations the biggest earthquake in Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire took place on September 10th 1509. Its epicentre was on the islands and it measured more than 7.4 in the Richter scale. 5000-6000 people lost their lives, huge material damage was suffered. The earthquake caused a tsunami which brought the waves up to the streets of the city. People called the incident Küçük kıyamet ‘a small doomsday’.

The 1766 earthquake befell early in the morning on the third day of eid-al-adha. The death toll was about 4000, among many other public buildings big parts of the Topkapı sarayı were damaged so that the Sultan had to dwell in a tent in the palace garden for quite a long time.

The last powerful earthquake happened in Istanbul in the summer 1894. The disaster was widely described in the newspapers as follows:

Kapalıçarşı kelimenin tam manasıyla "bir facia yeri" idi. Öğle vaktinin halk ve esnaf kalabalığı, çarşının sokaklarından dışarı fırlamaya çalıştı. Fakat sarsıntılardan kapılar kapanmış ve Kapalıçarşı´nın duvarları, içeride kalanların üzerine çökmeye başlamıştı. Sonunda, Kapalıçarşı´nın kubbeleri de çöktü! The Grand Bazaar was a scene of disaster in the full meaning of the word. The midday crowd, public and salesmen, tried to rush out from he streets of the bazaar. But the doors were closed by the quakes and the walls of the Grand Bazaar began to fall down over those who were inside. In the end even the domes of the Grand Bazaar collapsed!

"En yüksek sınıftan kadınların, saç baş dağınık, ürküntü içinde veya üstlerine yalnızca bir sabahlık, bir kombinezon veya jüponla kaçtıkları görülebiliyordu. Her yerde çığlıklar, gözyaşları, ağlamalar, sinir krizleri, bayılmalar, Allah´a, Meryem´e yakarmalar duyuluyordu." Noblewomen were seen escaping with their hair disheveled, only wearing a robe or a petticoat. Screams, tears, crying, nervous breakdowns, faintings, invocations to Allah and St. Mary were heard everywhere.

Denizdekiler mavnalardan, balıkçı teknelerinden, Şirket-i Hayriye vapurlarından kente baktıklarında, çöken binalardan yükselen toz bulutlarını görmüşlerdi. When those at sea looked at the city from their barges, fishing boats, vessels of the steamship company, what they saw was clouds of dust rising from the collapsing buildings.

Thanks for this..

I dont want to think what will happen when ´the expected earthquake´ strikes. The latest estimation was around 80.000 dead by the Institution of Civil Engineers. South part of Istanbul in European part specially would take the most serious hit.

It might be a huge disaster!

Yes it makes one think. Actually about two things:

1. How old is the earth and how short is our life on it. I mean, if Istanbul shakes again after forty years geologically it is almost like today but in the human lifespan it makes a huge difference.

2. How effectively the human brain protects itself against the thought of disaster and death. We may think about the danger for fifteen minutes but no one loses his night´s sleep because probably one day in the future an earthquake will strike and kill thousands. Before I used to think it is living on the bedrock that gives this peace of mind but it is not: it is written in our brain.

Kulaksız

I was going on foot from Taksim to Hasköy and I got lost somewhere in the hills of Beyoğlu (no navigator in my ancient phone) until all of a sudden I found myself in a place where there was a graveyard on both sides of the street. Kulaksız mezarlığı! I was on the map again but the funny name of that neighborhood (‘earless’ ) began to bother me.

While searching for Kulaksız I found this article based on a book by Mustafa Duman:

http://www.posta.com.tr/PostaKarnaval/HaberDetay/Istanbul-semtlerinin-adi-nereden-geliyor-.htm?ArticleID=137617

It introduces the origin of certain placenames in Istanbul. Such as

Üsküdar, a Persian word meaning ‘a post, a halting place’ which the area really was for the many occupants in history. In the ancient times Üsküdar was also called Hrisopolis (‘the Golden town’ ) for its beauty and Scütari after a military unit that was placed there.

Beyoğlu got its name from one of its powerful inhabitants, possibly Luigi Gritti, the son of the ambassador of Venice who had his mansion in Taksim suburbs of today and on whom Mehmet the Conqueror often bestowed favors. Mr. Gritti established gardens in the area and introduced new vegetables to Istanbul dwellers.

Beşiktaş was either named after a Bysantine time church which had the stone cradle of Jesus in it or after the five stones which Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa had his vessels anchored to when returning from his trips.

Galata used to be a strong Genovean fortress surrounded with high walls. Galata Tower was first built in 507 and it has since functioned as a lighthouse and a fire tower for example. Galata originally got its name from Gallian immigrants who settled at this area as early as 270 years B.C. Galata was also known as Sykea (‘fig’ ) and ‘the Napoli of Justinian’.

Kandilli means ‘the place with oil lamps’ and it probably refers to a real event, a celebration that took place in this area.

Kadıköy was named after Celalettin Efendi, the first muslim judge of Istanbul after the conquest of the city. He was the offspring of Nasreddin Hoca. The Byzantine name of Kadıköy way Chalcedon (‘city of the blind’ ) which referred to the obvious blindness of its habitants to see the value of the opposite peninsula’ ).

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I still did not learn where the placename Kulaksız comes from. Google obviously does not give answers to every question.

perhaps at one time it was a longer name to explain the 2 graveyards

kulakı tıkalı - 

people who do not listen