A natural forck formation on the southwest edge of the city of Manisa is identified with the legend of Niobe, the mother who must weep for all eternity because Apollo and Artemis killed her twelwe children. The profile of her face can be imagined from the road, but from close up her features become only large, rough stones. Two stone reliefs in the Manisa area are Hittite work, evidence of their infuence on the Aegean coast. One, the Taş Suret, probably the seated Mother Goddess,...Read More

Efforts to establish a museum in Şanlıurfa started in 1948, initially gathering museum artifacts and storing them at Atatürk Elementary School. These artifacts were later moved to Şehit Nusret Elementary School. The museum’s construction commenced in 1965, and it officially opened to the public in 1969. However, by 2014, the original location in the Şehitlik neighborhood could no longer accommodate the growing collection of artifacts. Thus, in 2015, the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum was relocated to a new, larger building in the Haleplibahçe neighborhood. Today, the...Read More

The Blue Mosque, or Sultanahmet Camii as it’s known in Turkish, stands as a monument of historical significance in the heart of Istanbul. This architectural masterpiece owes its nickname to the intricate blue tiles adorning its interior walls. Constructed between 1609 and 1616 under the patronage of Ahmed I, the mosque is not only an active place of worship but also a site where history, art, and spirituality converge. At the Blue Mosque, visitors can explore the resting place of its founder, as well as...Read More

Demre is the village between Kaş and Finike which identifies the site of the ancient Myra. In Roman times Myra was on the sea. It was the port where Paul and his companions Luke and Aristarchus changed ships on their way to Rome in about 60 AD. St. Nicholas is supposed to have been born in Patara about 300 AD; as an adult he became the Bishop of Myra. While his name is still a familiar household word, his fame does not rest on his great theological wisdom (as did many of his contemporaries’...Read More