Tag Archives: must see

Hagia Sophia, Ottoman Palace, Baklava, hhmmmmn, Bosphorus…hmmmmmn mezze…the bazaars… All done. Well done! What else now?”Belly dance…okay…how about full blown Turkish cultural program…at Hodga Pasha” I proposed to my friends. “Well, we could consider it,” was the response. The truth I already knew. The final decision was going to be mine. But I was the one who thought longest and hardest about spending 60 Turkish Lira for a dance that could turn out touristy, tacky, badly coordinated. It was a game of ‘should I?’ or ‘should I not?’ I played around with the idea and kept the decision for later not committing to either going or not going. After miles of walk around the historical lanes of Istanbul our spirits were more energized. The museums are closed, the bazaars have shut, the sun is down. Two drinks and many food plates later, what do we do now? “How about the dance show you mentioned?” on in the company said. “Oh okay. Let’s go.” And that’s how I went along with my party to Hodga Pasha Cultural Center for the Turkish Dance show.Watch this little clip about the dances and my review on it.Do I recommend one of the cultural dance shows that get advertised online or in the tourist quarters of Istanbul. Yes! Yes! Yes! I highly recommend the show that I have been to – The Hodga Pasha Dance Show. It is phenomenal! Turkish dance, soulful music, great musicians – you will not believe the value you will get from this one. In fact, you will forget all about money – you will be lost in the dance and music. My only regret is that life is not as colorful, joyful and soulful as was this dance and music show. It was my last evening in Sunday and now very …

The Istanbul Archaeological museums consist of three buildings with three museums – Archaeological Museum, Ancient Orient Museum, Tiled Kiosk Museum. The former two were built in 1891. The tiled kiosk however dates back to 1473. Here are a seven items in Archaeological Museum and Ancient Orient Museum of Istanbul to look out for: 1. Treaty of Kadesh – It is the oldest peace treaty dating to 13th century BC a copy of which hangs at the UN headquarters. The treaty was agreed upon between Egyptian and the Hittite dynasty after the battle of Kadesh known to be the biggest wars of 2. Lions of Ishtar Gate – The Istanbul Archaeology Museum houses lions, bulls and dragons from the Ishtar gate of Babylon dedicated to Goddess of Ishtar. It was the 9th gate in the ancient city of Babylon constructed in about 575 BC by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II. Through the gate ran the Processional Way which was 180 m long and on each side were placed 60 lions each made of glazed bricks. Some of these lions are now in the museum of Istanbul. But most of them are in Berlin where the Ishtar gate has been reconstructed in the Pergamon museum. The Lions of Ishtar gate 3. Oldest Love Poem – 8th Century BC inscription on a tablet from the ancient Babylonian times. The king was required to marry a priestess every year for the fertility of soil and women. The poem is said to have been written by a bride for the king. Shuu Sinn. A cuneiform Tablet Here is the translation of the poem from Istanbul Archaeological Museum: “Bridegroom, dear to my heart, Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet, Lion, dear to my heart, Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet. ………………… Bridegroom, let me caress you, My precious …

Istanbul stands in the center of the two continents and in the center of Istanbul stands the grand Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophias has been described as the ‘architectural wonder’ – the gem of the Byzantine empire, later the proud possession of the Ottomans and now the symbol of secular Turkey. The building has stood at the heart of the empire that laid claim on it. Justinian’s word still ring in the columns of Hagia Sophia, “My Lord, thank you for giving me chance to create such a worshipping place.” Pleased of his finest creation, he said proudly, “Süleyman, I beat you.” At the spot where two previous churches each ravaged by riots and fire, the Emperor ordered the building of Hagia Sophia in 532 AD. Completed within 6 years, Hagia Sophia was the crowning glory of Byzantine empire.  Such was the allure of Hagia Sophia that when Mehmet, the conqueror entered victorious into the city of Constantinople his first stop was the church of Hagia Sophia. A muslim priest was called in to read to Shahada and the Eastern Orthodox Cathedral that stood for 1000 years was now a mosque. There onwards, the grand structure of Sophia Hagia inspired the many other mosques built in Istanbul during the Ottoman rein, all looking like the prodigies of Hagia Sophia. When Kemal Ataturk secularized Turkey, he converted Aya Sophia into a museum opening its doors to all sending out the message that Hagia Sophia was indeed a heritage of the world. Even though the building is not an official place of worship, it continues to be contested upon by the Islamists and the Greek Orthodox Christians. For a traveler, like myself, the building is an awe-inspiring grandeur that has a spirit of its own – unfallen, untarnished, unbeaten. We are the privileged ones who can see the images of Virgin Mary at the …