Türkiye Sen Çok Güzelsin
Izmir: clock tower. Again: I made photographs of Izmir myself, but not on a digital camera.
On July 14 I arrived – for the second time – in Turkey. Turkey has become somewhat of a second fatherland for me. I feel right at home, comfortable and at ease. In fact, when I visited Turkey for the first time back in April I fell in love with the country immediately. The city I visited back then: Izmir.
Izmir is in my opinion one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Not only does Izmir have the most beautiful girls in Turkey (or so they say), its surroundings are brilliant as well. It lies at the coast – a beautiful blue sea, and is surrounded by hills (or to Dutch people: mountains).
As if the surroundings are not enough, the city itself is beautifully built as well, especially the neighborhoods Alsancak and Karşıyaka. Alsancak (pronounced as Alsandjak) is more crowded than Karşıyaka (pronounced as Karshaka), it has more shops, businesses and especially hotels, whereas Karşıyaka is probably the better place to live (especially with children).
At nights we (meaning my girlfriend and me) always walked to the sea, and walked for several hours at the coast. Other couples did the same: the coast is something of a meeting place for lovers.
When I first saw Izmir I said that I could live there after I graduate. Now we have decided that we will live there.
The people in Izmir are like the surroundings: beautiful, warm, hospitable. One of the best things of Turkey is…
…
The food.
If you ever visit Turkey, be sure to make some Turkish friends. They will treat you with an amazing kindness and generosity. It did not surprise me that the German Kaiser (emperor) visited Istanbul around 1900 and was so pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome he received and the kindness he was treated with, that he decided to build a big fountain in Istanbul, as a way to say thank-you.
Istanbul. Same as with Izmir: I took photos but not with a digital camera.
That bridge takes me to Istanbul: Istanbul is a real metropolis. Istanbul is the Turkish New York City. It has a population of circa 15 million. There are taxis (and road jams) everywhere. People are constantly in a hurry. Shops are open 24/7 (or just about). Although Turks are always kind, Istanbularians are less warm and friendly than Izmirians.
The result is that Istanbul is incredibly energetic. One cannot possibly call it a peaceful or relaxing city, but it does give one an incredible amount of energy to go out and do something. Somehow, one cannot sit still in Istanbul (presumably because nobody else does).
Of course, Istanbul is most famous for the fact that it is the only city in the world that exists on two continents (Asia and Europe). I am more in the European part of Istanbul than in the Asian part, but both parts are great. The main difference is that, or so I have read, the Asian side is more of a residential area, whereas the European side is more of a business area and has a lot of great places to visit for tourists.
What kind of places you ask? Well, the Hagia Sofia for one.
The Hagia Sofia is (or was) a Church, built at the order of the Roman emperor Justinian. He gave the order in 532 AD, it was finished five years later. It served as a Church until 1453. In that year, the Ottomans conquered Constantinople (as Istanbul was called by the Romans – and by the Greek up to this day) and turned the Hagia Sofia into a mosque. It served as a mosque until 1934: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk turned it into a museum.
I obviously visited the Hagia Sofia and made some great photos. I hope to scan them into the computer when I am back home. For now, photos I have found on the Internet will have to do.
Beautiful huh?
Truly very impressive
Besides the Hagia Sofia, there are many more breathtaking buildings one can visit. One example is the Dolmabahçe Palace Museum.
It took the Ottomans 13 years to build this palace. Sultan Abdülmecit I gave the order to build the palace in 1843, it was finished in 1856. If you wonder why it took the Ottomans so long, I’d say: visit Istanbul. The Dolmabahçe palace is very impressive.
Again, I took many photos myself: I will try to scan them when I am back. The photos I could find on the internet don’t do this magnificent building much justice.
After the Turkish revolution, Atatürk used this palace is his Istanbul residence. He died here (I took a photo of the bed in which he died).
Lastly, for this post: when one visits Istanbul one should also visit the Blue (or Sultan Ahmet) Mosque. This mosque was built in 1609 (well, finished in 1616) and is one of the most beautiful mosques in the entire world. To say that this mosque is breathtaking, impressive or overwhelming would be an understatement. It truly blew me away.
Also look at this one:
More to follow later.
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10 Responses to “Türkiye Sen Çok Güzelsin”
Wonderful post, Michael. I lived in Turkey for three years…Ankara and Sinop (up on the Black Sea coast) and I’ve been to most of the places in your photos. I can vouch for the scenery, the architecture, the food…and most of all…the people.
I envy you and your decision to live in Izmir. Perhaps I’ll get back. Someday.
Who Really…Was, Mustafa Kemal and the Ataturk surname :
Kemal Ataturk was born in 1881 in Thessaloniki, Greece which was at that time a Muslim nation. His full name was Mustafa Kemal and the Ataturk surname, meaning the Father of Turks was given to him by the Turkish people in accordance with the reforms he introduced to destroy the Islamic state and convert it to a “Turkey” state. He was a “doenmeh”. Meaning, of Jewish descent. The “doenmehs” never inter-married with Muslims and celebrated their version of Islam indoors. The doenmehs were known to be false converts who were planted in the Muslim Empire to destroy it. One must admit that Kemal Ataturk performed his task well. Makes you Think !
Gorgeous photos- Mvdg_ thanks for sharing with us!
Well, now we know who (or at least what) NPWJ is!
Moderator:
The comment from “No peace without justice” states that Ataturk was a Jew who converted to Islam. While the sentence does not carry any negative emotions with it, (so what if he were a Jew?) it is meant as an insult. I also do not believe it is substantiated. My thoughts are that the comment does not belong in the “moderate” blog.
I totally disagree with the comments of ‘No Peace Without Justice’.
This was a totally a biased and one-sided comment about Ataturk. I’m a modern, well educated Turkish women who does not want an Islamic country and therefore there are some people who are not happy with my ideas and behaviors and they can judge me as a “doenmeh”.
I totally think this is unfair.
No one can judge my ideas. I’m muslim and the religion is between me and the God. No one can tell me what to do and how to pray. This was what Ataturk has believed as a Muslim Turkish man. And I admire him for that.
He has been attacked by many different groups because they weren’t happy with what he did.
But we Turkish people love and admire him and we are greateful to him for all he has done for us.
And you ‘No Peace Without Justice’, who are you to judge Ataturk and give such a wrong information about him to many people???
What is you aim? I know it’s not something positive.
I conveniently ignored that comment. I read a lot about Atatürk and I have to say that I would not rule it out that he might have had Jewish ancestors. Who knows? You all might have had Jewish ancestors as well, perhaps I even had them, I do not know.
Anyway, the comment was obviously meant as an insult: as a way to discredit Atatürk and thus his heritage. He gave Turkey a secular system, and quite some people dislike him for that (Erdogan for instance).
What is relevant about Atatürk is that he was a great man – in my opinion one of the greatest men in history – who helped Turkey a lot. He saved Turkey – both from other countries and from fundamentalists. He brought Turkey into the 20th century.
I could write a long post about him: I am quite a fan so to speak (with key holders, books, photos, etc.).
A brilliant man.
The US should have looked at what Atatürk did in Turkey (for Iraq).
O: and his full name was not Mustafa Kemal. His name was Mustafa. A teacher – according to some sources at least – gave him the name Kemal to differentiate between himself and Atatürk.
The comment is meant as an insult to both Ataturk and to Jews. As Michael says, many of us may have Jewish ancestory. Certainly, if we go far enough back, we find that every one has an ancestor from a different belief system. How can that be used against a man who has served a nation so unselfishly and with such devotion? If mistakes were made, certainly they may be addressed without condemnation and slander.
I would like to thank you guys for your great comments.
I’m also a fan of Ataturk. It’s so wonderful to know that even people out of my country can understand and appreciate him.
Unfortunately there is a big campaign against him (it’s crazy to even have people who might not like him) and as Michael has mentioned one of those people who is working against what Ataturk has established is Erdogan. And by the way, we should not disregard that he is getting a lot of help from some other countries to achieve his mission.