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Turkey
Fatih Sultan Mehmed conquered Constantinople in 1453. The Ottoman sultanate was finally abolished in 1922. For 469 years, the city now known as Istanbul remained under Ottoman rule. Unsurprisingly, the Ottoman heritage in Istanbul is immense, spanning centuries from the conquest to the establishment of the modern Turkish Republic. Among the most visible and enduring legacies are the Ottoman imperial ...
Among the Ottoman heritage sites in Istanbul, the monumental Ottoman imperial mosques are the most prominent and enduring symbols of the empire’s architectural and cultural legacy.
The largest and most impressive mosque complexes were constructed in the 16th and 17th centuries. Although, those built in the 18th and 19th centuries remain equally significant in terms of style and representation.
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Ottoman fountains are among the most distinctive features of Istanbul's Ottoman heritage. While imperial mosques dominate the skyline, fountains are no less significant, both historically and artistically.
In Islam, water is regarded as the source of life, created by God. It cleanses the body and purifies the spirit, making its presence essential not only in daily life, but also in religious and cultural ...
One of the main reasons I like Istanbul is its extraordinary history. Originally known as Byzantium, later Constantinople and finally Istanbul, this city was the centre of power for the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires for nearly 16 centuries. While remarkable Byzantine monuments such as Hagia Sophia and the Theodosian Walls still stand, it is the Ottoman heritage that most visibly defines the city today - ...
Why do I like Istanbul? I’ve been asking myself this question for weeks. My first trip to Istanbul was in December 2002. My memories of that visit are vague, but I remember being fascinated and wanting to return. Since then, I’ve visited nine times, each visit as enjoyable as the last. And every time I leave, I feel like I haven’t seen or done enough.
My most recent trip was in July 2025, the starting ...
I first published this post on Istanbul in 2019, after spending five weeks traveling across Turkey. I returned in June 2024 for another week and, in July 2025, I began a three-week journey through Turkey once again in this incredible city.
So, I decided it was time to refresh the post and give it more prominence, a homage to a place that continues to captivate me. Of course, no single article can truly ...
In my post “Food for Healthy Life” I shared my dietary habits, what I choose to eat and what I avoid, to maintain good health. Sticking to my routine is relatively easy when I’m at home, where I control the food that I buy, prepare and cook. But is it still possible to maintain healthy nutrition when we travel? Let’s take a look at my past travel experiences. Back then, I didn’t pay much attention to my ...
When we talk about the Byzantine heritage in modern-day Istanbul, certainly magnificent Hagia Sophia immediately comes to mind. But there are also former Christian Orthodox churches that you can see in the city, which are all mosques now. However, the Byzantine legacy doesn't end there. The Theodosian Walls protected the city for 1000 years, while the only remaining Byzantine imperial palace is the Tekfur ...
In this post, I'd like to reflect on my travel around Turkey. I was there for 5 weeks and visited 8 different cities - Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, Kusadasi, Aydin, Antalya, Konya and Ankara. I spent two weeks in two of Turkey's most popular summer resorts. Additionally, I explored Ottoman and Seljuk heritage and saw many wonderful historical sites that I've written about in my previous posts. I travelled by bus ...
Is Turkish food healthy? Perhaps, the right question to ask should be whether the food that I had in Turkey was healthy and whether I made healthy choices. Truthfully, the same as everywhere else, it's not really the food in a particular country that's good or bad. It's what we choose to eat that's either good for us or not.
But first, let's once again have a look at my nutritional ideology. I've written ...
