http://www.videosofturkey.com/video_details.asp?id=166

http://www.emalecdesign.com/kapadokya_balloon_adventure.htm

TERMESSOS

Termesos is one of the best preserved of the ancient cities of Turkey. It lies 30 kilometres to the north-west of Antalya. It was founded on a natural platform on top of Güllük Dağı, soaring to a height of 1.665 metres from among the surroundig travertine mountains of Antalya, which average only 200 metres above sea level. Concealed by a multitude of wild plants and bounded by dense pine forests, the side, with its peaceful and untouched appearance, has a more distinct and impressive atmosphere than other ancient cities. Because of its natural and historical riches, the city has been included in a National Park bearing its name.

The double "s" in Termessos provides linguistic evidence that the city was founded by an Anatolian people Acording to Strabo, the inhabitants of Termessos called themselves the Slymi and were a Pisidian people. Their name, as well as that given to the mountain on which they lived, was derived from Solymeus, an Anatolian god who in later times became identified with Zeus, giving rise here to the cult of Zeus Solymeus. The coins of Termessos often depict this god and give his name.

My first encounter with this city on the stage of history is in connection with the famous siege of Alexander the Great. Arrianos, one of the ancient historians who dealt with this event and recorded the strategic importance of Termessos, notes that even a small force could easily defend it due to the insurmountable natural barriers surrounding the city. Alexander wanted to go to Phrygia from Pamphylia, and according to Arrianos the road passed by Termessos. Actually, there are other passes much lower and easier of access, so why Alexander chose to ascend the steep Yenice pass is still a matter of dispute. It is even said that his hosts in Perge sent Alexander up the wrong path. Alexander wasted a lot of time and effort trying to force the pass which had been closed by the Termessians, and so, in anger he turned toward Termessos and surrounded it. Probably because he knew he could not capture the city, Alexander did not undertake an assault, but instead marched north and vented his fury on Sagalassos.

The historian Diodors has recorded in full detail another unforgettable incident in the history of Termessos. In 319 B.C., after the death of Alexander, one of his generals, a certain Antigonos Monophtalmos, proclaimed himself master of Asia Minor and set out to do battle with his rival Alcetas, whose base of support was Pisidia. His forces were made up of some 40,000 infantry, 7,000 cavalry, and included numerous elephants as well. Unable to vanquish these superior forces. Alcetas and his friends sought refuge in Termessos. The Termessians gave their word that they would help him. At this time, Antigonos came and set up camp in front of the city, seeking delivery of his rival. Not wanting their city to be dragged into disaster for the sake of a Macedonian foreigner, the elders of the city decided to hand Alcetas over, but the youths of Termessos wanted to keep their word and refused to go along with the plan. The elders sent Antigonos an envoy to inform him of their intent to surrender Alcetas. According to a secret plan to continue the fight, the youth of Termessos managed to leave the city. Learning of his imminent capture and preferring death to being handed over to his enemy, Alcetas killed himself. The elders delivered his corpse to Antigonos. After subjecting the corps to all manner of abuse for three days, Antigonos departed Pisidia leaving the corpse unburied. The youth, greatly resenting what had happened, recovered Alceas'corpse, buried it with full honours, and erected a beautiful monument to his, memory.

Termessos was obviously not a port city, but its lands stretched south-east all the way to the Gulf of Attaleia (Alanya). Because the city possessed this link to the sea it was taken by the Ptolemies. It is very surprising that a city which had stood up to the mighty aries of Alexander not forty years before would now accept the sovereignty of the Egyptians.

An inscription found in the Lycian city of Araxa yielde important information about Termessos. According to this inscription, in the 200's B.C. Termessos was at war for unknown reasons with the league of Lycian cities, and again in 189 B.C. found itself battling its Pisidian neighbour Isinda. At this same time we find the colony of Termessos Minor being founded near the city in the second century B.C., Termessos entered into friendly relations with Attalos II, king of Pergamum, the better to combat its ancient enemy Serge. Attalos II commemorated this friendship by building a two-storeyed stoa in Termessos.

Termessos was an ally of Rome, and so in 71 B.C. was granted independent status by the Roman Senate; according to this law its freedom and rights were guaranteed. This independence was maintained continuously for a long time, the only exception being an alliance with Amyntas king of Galatia (reigned 36-25 B.C.). this independence is documented also by the coins of Termessos, which bear the title "Autonomous".

From the main road, a steep road leads up to the city. From this road once can see the famous Yenice pass, through which wound ancient road that the Termessians called "King Street" as well as Hellenistic period fortification walls, cisterns and many other remains. King Street, built in the second century A.D. by contributions from the people of Termessos, passes through the city walls higher up and stretches in a straight line all the way to the centre of the city. In the walls to the east of the city gate are some extremely interesting inscriptions with augury by dice. Throughout the history of the Roman Empire, beliefs of this sort-in sorcery, magic, and superstition-were widespread. The Termessians were probably very interested in fortune telling. Inscriptions of this kind are usually four to five lines long and include numbers to be thrown with the dice, the name of the god wanted for soothsaying, and the nature of the prediction given in the counsels of that god.

The city Termessians where the principal official buildings are located lies on a flat area a little beyond the inner walls. The most striking of these structures is the agora, which has very special architectural characteristics. The ground floor of this open-air market place has been raised on stone blocks, and to its north-west five big cisterns have been hollowed out. The agora is surrounded on three sides by stoas. According to the inscription found on the two-storey stoa on the north-west, it was presented to Termessos by Attalos II, king of Pergamum (reigned 150-138 B.C) as proof of his friendship. As for the north-eastern stoa, it was built by a wealthy Termessian named Osbaras, probably in imitation of the stoa of Attalos. The ruins Iying to the north-east of the agora must belong to the gymnasium, but they are hard to make out among all the trees. The two-storey building consisted of an internal courtyard surrounde by vaulted rooms. The exterior is decorated with niches and other ornamentation of the Doric order. This structure dates from the first century A.D.

Immediately to the aest of the agora lies the theatre. Commanding a view out over the Pamphylian plain, this building is no doubt the most eyecatching in all the Termessos plain. It displays most clearly the features of the Roman theatre, which preserved the Hellenistic period theatre plan. The Hellenistic cavea, or semicircular seating area, is divided in two by a diazoma. Above the diazoma rise eight tiers of seats, below it are sixteen, allowing for a seating capacity of some 4-5,000 spectators. A large arched entrance way connects the cavea with the agora. The southern parados was vaulted at some later time, the northern has been left in its original open-air state. The stage building exhibits features characteristic of the second century A.D. A long narrow room is all that lies behind it. This is connected with the podium where the play took place, by five doors piercing the richly ornamented facade or scaenae frons. Under the stage lie five small rooms where wild animals were kept before being taken into the orchestra for combat. As in other classical cities, an odeon lies about 100 metres from the theatre. This building, which looks like a small theatre, can be dated to the first century B.C. It is well preserved all the way to roof level and exhibits the finest quality ashlar masonry. The upper storey is ornamented in the Doric order and coursed with square-cut blocks of stone, while the lower storey is unornamented and pierced by two doors. It is certain that the building was originally roofed, since it received its light from eleven large windows in the east and west walls. Just how this roof, which spanned 25 metres, was housed, has not yet been determined. Because the interior is full of earth and rubble at present, it is not possible to gauge either the building's seating arrangement or its capacity. Seating capacity was probably not larger than 600-700. Amid the rubble, pieces of coloured marble have been unearthed, giving rise to the possibility that the interior walls were decorated with mosaic. It is also possible that this elegant building served as the bouleuterion or council chamber.

Six temples of varying sizes and types have been accounted for at Termessos. Four of these are found near the odeon in an area that must have been sacred. The first of these temples is located directly at the back of the odeon and is constructed of truly splendid masonry. It has been proposed that this was temple of the city's chief god, Zeus Solymeus. What a pity, then, that apart from its five metre-high cella walls, very little remains of this temple.

The second temple lies near the south-west corner of the odeon. It possesses a 5.50x5.50 metre cella and is of the prostylos type. According to an inscription found on the still complete entrance, this temple was dedicated to Artemis, and both the building and the cult statue inside were paid for by a woman named Aurelia Armasta and her husband using their own funds. To the other side of this entrance, a statue of this woman's uncle stands on an inscribed base. The temple can be dated on stylistic grounds to the end of the second century A.D.

To the east of the Artemis temple are the remains of a Doric temple. It is of the peripteral type, with six or eleven columns to a side; judging from the size of it, it must have been the largest temple in Termessos. From surviving reliefs and inscriptions, it too, is understood to have been dedicated to Artemis.

Further to the east, the ruins of another smaller temple lie on a rock-hewn terrace. The temple rose on a high podium, but to what god it was dedicated is not known at present. However, contrary to general rules of classical temple architecture, the entrance to this temple lies to the right, indicating that it may have belonged to a demi-god or hero. It can be dated to the beginning of the third century A.D.

As for the other two temples, they are located near the stoa of Attalos belong to the Corinthian order, and are of the prostylos type. Also dedicated to deities who are as yet unknown, these temples can be dated to the second or third century A.D.

Of all the official and cult buildings to be found in this broad central area, one of the most interesting is in the form of a typical Roman period house. An inscription can be seen above the Doric order doorway along the west wall, which rises to a height of six metres. In this inscription the owner of the house is praised as the founder of the city. Doubtless, this house was not really that of the founder of Termessos. Maybe it was a little gift awarded the owner for extraordinary service rendered to the city. This type of house generally belonged to nobles and plutocrats. The main entrance gives onto a hall which leads through a second entrance to a central courtyard, or atrium. An impluvium or pool designed to catch rainwater lies in the middle of the courtyard. The atrium held an important place in the daily activities of houses such as this, and was also used as a reception room for guests. As such it was often ostentatiously decorated. The other rooms of the house were arranged around the atrium.

A street with wide, shop-lined porticoes ran north-south through the city. The space between the columns of the porticoes was often filled with statues of successful athletes, most of them wrestlers. The inscribed bases for these statues are still in place, and by reading them we can recreate the ancient splendour of this street.

To the south, west and north of the city, mostly within the city walls, there are large cemeteries containing rock-cut tombs, one is supposed to have belonged to Alcetas himself. Unfortunately the tomb has been despoiled by treasure hunters. In the tomb itself a kind of lattice work was carved between the columns behind the kline; at the top there was probably an ornamental frieze. The left part of the tomb is decorated with the depiction of a mounted warrior dateable to the fourth century B.C. ıt is known that the youth of Termessos, much affected by the tragic death of General Alcetas, built a magnificent tomb for him, and the historian Diodoros records that Alcetas did battle with Antigonos while mounted on a horse. These coincidences suggest that this is indeed the tomb of Alcetas and that it is he who is depicted in the relief.

The sarcophagi, hidden for centuries among a dense growth of trees south-west of the city, transports one in an instant to the depths of history ceremony, the dead were placed in these sarcophagi along with their clothing, jewellery, and other rich accoutrements. The bodies of the poor were buried in simple stone, clay, or wooden sarcophagi. Dateable to the second and third centuries A.D., these sarcophagi generally rest on a high pedestal. In the family tombs of the weatlthy on the other hand, the sarcophagi were placed inside a richly ornamented structure built in the shape of the deceased together with his lineage, or the names of those given permission to be buried alongside him. Thus the right of usage was officially guaranteed. In this manner the history of one specific tomb can be asertained. In addition, one finds inscriptins calling on the fury of the gods to prevent the sarcophagi from being opened and to scare away grave robbers. The inscriptions also state the fines meted out to those who did not conform to these rules. These fines, ranging from 300-100,000 denarii and generally paid to the city treasury in the name of Zeus Solymeus, took the place of legal judgements.

OMAR FARUK'S MUSIC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmvKQ0fmBdU&mode=related&search=

OMAR FARUK TEKBILEK was a musical prodigy, noteworthy even in Adana, the city in which he grew up in southern Turkey near the Gulf of Iskenderun. Adana is situated on what was once the boundary between the Byzantine and Islamic worlds. "Because it was a border town," Faruk recalls, "Philosophers, artists, actors and all other members of the cultural intelligensia were attracted there. This explains why so many great musicians have come from my town. My city was rich with cultural opportunities, so I was very lucky."

At the age of eight Faruk developed proficiency on the kaval, a small diatonic flute which had been long ago dismissed as primitive by local musicians. His musical interests were nurtured by his older brother Hajahmed (also a gifted musician) and by a sympathetic uncle who owned a music store and who provided lessons. By the age of twelve Faruk began performing professionally. Fellow musicians would smuggle him into nightclubs where he would play brief but electrifying sets prior to a hasty exit, a club owner invariably chasing the underage flutist from the premises.

Istanbul beckoned to the young Faruk, as it did to all of his contemporaries. Upon turning sixteen in 1967, he moved to the metropolis, where he and his brother spent the following decade as in-demand session musicians. Faruk stayed true to his folkloric roots, attempting unsuccessfully to integrate his indigenous instruments within the framework of Turkish jazz, instruments such as the ney flute, the double-reed zurna with its buzzing oboe-like tone or the classic lute of Persia, the oud. A peripatetic figure on Istanbul's music scene, Faruk gained proficiency on several other instruments, both Turkish and Western, and during this period of frenetic session work he explored the compositional potential of the recording studio. Faruk carved out his singular and defining identity as a musician known for his skilled playing of arcane folk instruments, while functioning comfortably within contemporary recording studios.

Since the mid-60s, Omar Faruk Tekbilek has since established himself as one of the world's foremost exponents of Middle Eastern music. Subsequent to his emigration to America, he has appeared with jazz musicians Don Cherry and Karl Berger, and has worked on numerous film and TV scores. He developed overdubbing techniques which allowed him to simulate a Persian orchestra on solo albums such as Suleyman the Magnificent and Fire Dance, which he recorded in collaboration with the noted producer and guitarist BRIAN KEANE. One Truth represents Faruk's hybrid of old and new technologies at its most refined and passionate.
http://www.hos.com/artist.lasso?ID=168



One Truth

Turkish virtuoso OMAR FARUK TEKBILEK opens a window into the divine passion and poetry of Sufism, the mystical sect of Islam. Burning performances on the full spectrum of Middle Eastern instruments and intense devotional songs of slowly unfolding magnificence create an ideal world where old and new cultures comingle, and time is suspended in the One Truth of music.

"Looking at the world through the eyes of a Sufi, wherever you look you see the Creator, not the creation." So the Turkish musician OMAR FARUK TEKBILEK explains both the title of his album One Truth and its unifying concept born of Sufism, the mystical sect of Islam to which he belongs. "Wherever a Sufi looks, he sees God's manifestation. Love, as it appears in the lyrics of Sufi music, is not materialistic love. It is divine love. This relates to what Sufism is fundamentally about: the oneness of everything."

Faruk was a musical prodigy, noteworthy even in Adana, the city in which he grew up in southern Turkey near the Gulf of Iskenderun. Adana is situated on what was once the boundary between the Byzantine and Islamic worlds. Because it was a border town, philosophers, artists, actors and all other members of the cultural intelligensia were attracted there. "This explains why so many great musicians have come from my town. My city was rich with cultural opportunities, so I was very lucky."

At the age of eight Faruk developed proficiency on the kaval, a small diatonic flute which had been long ago dismissed as primitive by local musicians. His musical interests were nurtured by his older brother Hajahmed (also a gifted musician) and by a sympathetic uncle who owned a music store and who provided lessons. By the age of twelve Faruk began performing professionally. Fellow musicians would smuggle him into nightclubs where he would play brief but electrifying sets prior to a hasty exit, a club owner invariably chasing the underage flutist from the premises.

Istanbul beckoned to the young Faruk, as it did to all of his contemporaries. Upon turning sixteen in 1967, he moved to the metropolis, where he and his brother spent the following decade as in-demand session musicians. Faruk stayed true to his folkloric roots, attempting unsuccessfully to integrate his indigenous instruments within the framework of Turkish jazz, instruments such as the ney flute, the double-reed zurna with its buzzing oboe-like tone or the classic lute of Persia, the oud. A peripatetic figure on Istanbul's music scene, Faruk gained proficiency on several other instruments, both Turkish and Western, and during this period of frenetic session work he explored the compositional potential of the recording studio. Faruk carved out his singular and defining identity as a musician known for his skilled playing of arcane folk instruments, while functioning comfortably within contemporary recording studios.

Since the mid-'60s, Omar Faruk Tekbilek has since established himself as one of the world's foremost exponents of Middle Eastern music. Subsequent to his emigration to America, he has appeared with jazz musicians Don Cherry and Karl Berger, and has worked on numerous film and TV scores. He developed overdubbing techniques which allowed him to simulate a Turkish ensemble on solo albums such as Suleyman the Magnificent and Fire Dance, which he recorded in collaboration with the noted producer and guitarist Brian Keane. One Truth represents Faruk's hybrid of old and new technologies at its most refined and passionate.
http://www.hos.com/onesheet.lasso?shortcatno=309

Mehmet Ruhi Su (born 1912 - died September 20, 1985) was a Turkish folk singer and saz virtuoso. Ruhi Su born in Van in 1912. He never knew his parents. With his words, “He who is one of the children who World War I desolated.” He was gotten to Adana from Van at a very young age and given a poor familiy which had no child. He started playing violin at the age of ten. In 1936 he graduated from the Teacher's School of Music and in 1942 from the Opera Department of State Conservatory in Ankara. The following ten years he performed at the State Opera in Ankara as a celebrated bass baritone, appearing in operas such as Madame Butterfly, Fidelio, Tosca and Rigoletto. During his contemporary music education he also studied Turkish folk music and consequently made regular radio programs, playing saz and singing folk songs, while he worked at the opera. A politically motivated arrest in 1952 and imprisonment for five years ended his career in the opera. After serving his "sentence for thought," he dedicated himself to folk music in his unique way.

While he roamed all over Anatolia from one village to another he started compiling numerous folk songs. Then he rearranged and performed them using western techniques. His western music career formed the basis of his approach to interpreting and performing traditional Turkish music. He argued that the authentic music should not be imitated as it is found locally but rather elabrorated into a national music with the enriching support of the international music, perceiving it as a contemporary of Atahualpa Yupanqui and Pete Seeger.

Ruhi Su combined his efforts of creating a national awareness of the rich Anatolian culture with his compositions based on texts of Sufi poets Yunus Emre and Pir Sultan Abdal and other Anatolian poets like Köroğlu, Karacaoğlan, and Dadaloğlu. He also established and trained a choir in the 70's and conducted them in many concerts and recordings. His approach in bringing forth the ignored suffering of the oppressed and his love of humankind in his musical work has gained a great respect and support from his audience and had a deep effect on many musicians who paved the path to a more open-minded society.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASQeXUb-c90

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASQeXUb-c90

Thanks for your referral THE INDEPENT - amazing and interesting indeed:


Unearthed: a monument to the might of Hadrian
By Amol Rajan
Published: 11 August 2007
As ruler of the Roman Empire in a time of relative peace and prosperity, he was lauded for his military nous and patronage of the arts. Now, after one of the most exhilarating archaeological discoveries of recent times, Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus - popularly known as Hadrian - new life has been breathed into his reputation through a discovery made on a mountaintop in south-central Turkey.

Excavators have unearthed a head, foot, and part of a leg from a statue that, pieced together, might have stood up to 5 metres tall. Elegantly carved, the parts offer tantalising clues about the completed statue of the man who gave his name to Hadrian's Wall. Intricate details on a sandal carved on to the foot suggest that the main body may be dressed in military garb.

Aside from a broken nose, the head of the statue is almost completely intact, measuring 70cm (27in) long. The piece of leg, which extends from above the knee to the top of the ankle, also measures 70cm (27in) long. The foot is 80cm (31.5in) long.

The hunt is now on for other body parts. Thought to date from the early part of Hadrian's reign, archaeologists believe the statue was originally composed of separate pieces, which were welded together to create an imposing monument of the ruling emperor intended to symbolise his military dominance in the region.

Buried about 5 metres underground, the remains were found among ruins of a bathhouse in the ancient town of Sagalassos, in southern Turkey. The region is thought to have suffered a major earthquake between the late sixth and early seventh centuries, during which the bathhouse fell. Archaeologists believe the statue may have split into its constituent parts, which they hope will be deeper in the soil.

Hadrian was emperor from AD117 until AD138, ruling over one of the more peaceful periods in the turbulent history of Roman imperialism. Born AD76 into a wealthy family in Italica, close to the city of Seville in today's Spain, he was the third of "five good emperors", so-called by 18th century historian Edward Gibbon because they "governed by absolute power, under the guidance of wisdom and virtue".

The emperor often consolidated Rome's power by erecting permanent fortifications along the Empire's border. One such was Hadrian's Wall, built AD122 to prevent incursions from Caledonian tribes. Built across northern England, it extended west from Segedunum at Wallsend on the river Tyne to the Solway Firth, for a length of 73.5 miles.

The discovery was made by archaeologists from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, who have been excavating the area around Sagalassos from 1990.

Marc Waelkens, director of the excavation, said: "As a kind of thanks to the emperor, there were private and public monuments to Hadrian erected throughout the city".

His team also found a segment from a gilded bronze statue of the emperor, almost certainly paid for by one of Sagalassos's

Thank you Müjde for your kind reply