´I Am Not Afraid of Death´

INTERVIEW WITH ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,496003-4,00.html

Islam has shrouded me with a magic that I will never be freed from," Julien Viaud alias Pierre Loti wrote in his 1892 novel Fantômes de l`Orient ("Phantoms of the Orient"), thereby describing his lifelong fascination with the Orient as he saw it: as inscrutable, sensual, and unchanging.

An eccentric personality

Under the pen name Pierre Loti, Frenchman Julien Viaud brought us the zeitgeist of Orientalism in literary form. His autobiographically inspired novels paint a romantic picture of the "mysterious" Orient and manifest a longing for the exotic.

His heart was attached in particular to one city, which became the muse to whom he devoted many of his literary works and where his fame still lives on as the namesake of a hotel, a café, and a school: Istanbul.

http://www.quantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-591/_nr-17/_p-1/i.html?PHPSESSID=133099

The Turkish city of Istanbul has beaten the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, for the third nomination as European capital of culture for 2010. The other two chosen capitals are regional centres in EU countries - Pecs, in south-eastern Hungary and Essen in Germany´s industrialised Ruhr Valley. The nominations, made by a jury of European experts, are expected to be confirmed by EU culture ministers next November. The significance of the choice is more than cultural.

There were gasps, applause and even some tears from the Turkish delegation when Sir Jeremy Isaacs, the chairman of the selection panel, made his announcement. The reason for the panel´s choice, he explained, was not only the well-known fact that Istanbul lies at a geographical cross-roads with Europe and has interacted with European civilisations for centuries.

The city´s bid, he said, was well prepared and highly effective. "Interestingly, the Istanbul application, the bid, did not begin either with the government of Turkey or with the government of the city of Istanbul, but with groups of public-spirited citizens, who took into their own hands the initiatives of leading their city towards this bid," he said.

Mavi Boncuk

Historical circumstances forced Luther to deal with Islam in two respects. During his early controversies over indulgences, he had attacked the idea of Christian crusades in his 95 Theses. Following Wycliff and Erasmus, Luther looked upon the visitation of Turks as the well-deserved rod of God for the punishment of Christian transgressions.

With the fall of Belgrade in 1521 and Hungary in 1526 to Sultan Suleiman II, Luther felt compelled not only to clarify his earlier views on the Turkish war but also to undertake an analysis of the Turkish religion in order to educate his fellow German Christians. He now explicitly advocated war against Turks under the leadership of the Emperor.

Luther wrote six different pieces of literature on the subject between 1528 through 1542: On War Against Turk (1529); A Sermon Against the Turks (1529); A Book on Life and Customs of the Turks (1530, originally compiled by one George von Muhlbach between 1475 and 1481, with a preface by Luther); Appeal to Prayer Against the Turks (1541); Refutation of the Qur´an (1542, originally published by Recaldo da Montecroce in 1320 with Luther�s preface and additional refutation); and finally, his Preface to Theodor Bibliander�s (1504-1564) revised Latin translation of Peter the Venerable´s Qur´an, published in Basel in 1543. The publication of the Latin translation of the Qur´an was made possible by the direct intervention of Luther.

These writings of Luther on Turks and Islam, together with numerous references in his other writings, provide us with an astonishing amount of information on Luther´s attitude toward Islam.

Mavi Boncuk

Emirates take delivery of Airbus A380

Turkey battles fire near tourist hubs
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http://www.france24.com/en/20080803-turkey-battles-fire-near-tourist-hubs

is the fire now under control or not?

Turkiye from 1000 feet

http://www.alpalper.com:80/kitap/kitap.html

The old city of Hasankeyf, built besides the old mosque of the fortress, also lies in ruins. Some 30 years ago its inhabitants were forced by the government to abandon their centuries old houses, many of which were carved in the limestone, to come down and settle in the valley. The bitter irony of the story is that now the new city of Hasankeyf is under threat, doomed to disappear under water in 5 or 6 years after the new Ilisu dam is built farther down the valley within the framework of the Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP)

http://www.ajans21.com/

I visited Mugla 3 months ago.

Incorporated into the Ottoman lands by Sultan Bayezid I in 1391 and liberated in 1921 in Turkey’s War of Independence, Muğla is a unique city 670 meters above sea level, nestled in the foothills of Mt. Hisar, an interesting looking mountain with a flat top. Its uniqueness derives as well from the preservation of its historic texture. Unlike the luxury touristic centers that surround it, Muğla has not compromised its traditional fabric, and although it embarked on a rush to ‘urbanize’ with the founding of Muğla University, it still boasts a large number of streets that preserve their original appearance. For the designs of Muğla houses continue to constitute a unique model for Turkish traditional architecture with their elaborate wood workmanship, decorative ceilings, and the chimneys that have become an icon for the city. These old Muğla houses are concentrated in the city center, especially in the foothills of Mt. Hisar, between the district of Karabağlar in the highland of the same name, and Dügerek on the slopes of Mt. Yılanlı.

“SABURHANE: HEART OF MUĞLA”
If you’d like to take a journey through the history of Muğla, you must definitely go to Saburhane. In this district, located in the city’s eastern sector in the southern foothills of Mt. Asar - another mountain with a broad, flat top that you can reach by following the old riverbed - have a seat if you like in one of the coffeehouses covered with grapevines in the center of the square, and lose yourself in the mists of time among the old Greek and Turkish houses.

The first settlement in the area in the 4th millennium B.C. began during the migrations back and forth between eastern Greece and the coast of Asia Minor. Although several colonies were founded on the Achaean, Carian and Ionian shores, the Persians wrested control of all of them in 546 B.C. Coming later under the rule of Alexander the Great, the region remained within the boundaries of the Kingdom of Rhodes and the Eastern Roman Empire. When the Ottomans appeared on the scene they decided to settle both Greeks and Turks here. While the Greeks operated mills, carpentry shops, bakeries, baths and tailoring establishments, the Turks engaged in farming and raised livestock.
Although the Greeks emigrated in the population exchange that followed the founding of the Republic of Turkey, the homes they left behind have been preserved intact. Settling at Saburhane and Konakaltı, the Greeks built stone houses in a style befitting their own culture. A fundamental characteristic that distinguishes them from Turkish houses is that they stand in solid rows, their facades flush with the street without courtyards. Another distinguishing feature is that they are built of cut stone. The clock tower that you can see in the Arasta, the center of manufacturing and trade in the old city, is a marvelous memento built by the the Greek master Filivari in 1895.

If you see double-doored, double-chimneyed houses as you stroll through this district, remember, these are the Turkish houses. Extending especially in the direction of the foothills of Mt. Hisar, these houses constitute the essence of the traditional fabric, a trio of red tile roofs and white walls overhung with greenery that creates the urban skyline. The typical features of these houses, which represent a certain style with the outbuildings in their courtyards, include an open front hall called a ‘hayat’, courtyard entrances known as ‘kuzulu kapı’, hearths, chimneys, long wide eaves, ceiling decorations, intricately carved wooden verandas, and bathrooms embedded in the walls. Built to be inward-looking like all Turkish houses as a result of the concept of family privacy, they are generally made of stone or, secondarily, of timber. All the weight-bearing walls, courtyard walls, and the ground floors especially are constructed of broken, unhewn stones held together with limestone mortar; their roofs are covered alaturca-style with tiles. The key feature of the chimneys that are a virtual symbol of Muğla is that they are made of exactly 52 of these local tiles. Their interesting doors are another distinguishing characteristic of Muğla houses. Houses are entered through wide, double-panelled ‘kuzulu’ doors which are high in keeping with the 2.3 meter-high courtyards walls. If you proceed from Saburhane to the Arasta, you’ll encounter Muğla’s old market and shops where a handful of saddlers, blacksmiths, ironsmiths and tinkers are struggling to keep their crafts alive today. If you want to buy a gift, be sure to stop at the newly restored Yağcılar Khan.

http://www.thy.com/kk-KZ/corporate/skylife/article.aspx?mkl=338

I hope this show encourges Saudi women to stand up for their rights.