Happy New Year from Turkey

A great surprise from my Turkish friend who writes to me from Van, Turkey.

I met Cigdem the first time I went to Istanbul in 2013! The second time I went in

2014 we could not meet because she had a big exam to study for and the  coolest

bit are the stamps that show the city Erzurum which I visited in 2014 on my

Silk Road trip. Thank you Cigdem!

Sent: 5 January 2016   Received: 2 February 2016   Travelled: 28 days

Painting from Turkey

A lovely art card sent by Evrim via Postcrossing. 

Can't make out the name of the artist since it's covered by a nice

butterfly nazar, one of the typical Turkish charms. Thank you!

Sent: 7 Ekim 2015   Received: 22 October 2015   Travelled: 15 days

Ephesus, Turkey

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, three kilometres southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of the former Arzawan capital by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era it was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League. 

The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In 268 AD, the Temple was destroyed or damaged in a raid by the Goths. It may have been rebuilt or repaired but this is uncertain, as its later history is not clear. Emperor Constantine the Great rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths. Following the Edict of Thessalonica from Emperor Theodosius I, what remained of the temple was destroyed in 401 AD by a mob led by St. John Chrysostom. The town was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614 AD. The city's importance as a commercial center declined as the harbor was slowly silted up by the Küçükmenderes River.

Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation. The Gospel of John may have been written here. The city was the site of several 5th century Christian Councils (see Council of Ephesus). It is also the site of a large gladiators' graveyard. The ruins of Ephesus are a favourite international and local tourist attraction, partly owing to their easy access from Adnan Menderes Airport.

Thanks to Martina for this most wonderful surprise from her travels.

 I love ancient Greek history and the cat is an uber addition :D

Sent: 14 August 2015   Received: 3 September 2015   Travelled: 20 days

Balloons in Cappadocia

Balloons! This fantastic card reminds me of my very own 

balloon flight over Cappadocia. The amazing valley of limestones

and wind erosion creates such beauty that you cannot miss the

chance to see it from air!

Sent: 24 July 2015   Received: 17 August 2015   Travelled: 24 days

Ships

Lovely Ship art postcard sent by Gizem from Turkey

Sent: 24 April 2015   Received: 18 May 2015   Travelled: 24 days

Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops  which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it is listed No.1 among world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors.

 Thanks to Simona for this grand surprise from her Istanbul trip.
I really enjoyed walking through the bazaar but oddly enough
I never bought anything in here.
Sent: 2 July 2014   Received: 31 July 2014   Travelled: 29 days

Turkish man

A swashbuckler in traditional clothes

 (yes the caption says so on the card!)

Hehe thank you Cigdem for the handsome man from Turkey :)

Received: 26 November 2013

Meow!

Whoever the photographer was he caught this

perfectly timed when the cat yawned, so it looks like

a singing kitty instead! In Istanbul there were many stray

cats! Some good Samaritans always feed them as you'd see

bowls of food and water in the corners outside the shop. There

also one cat lying on top of a display case in the bazaar.

Thank you Cigdem for the great time and memories we had in Istanbul!

Received" 26 November 2013

Camels

Hahaha received a funny card from Cigdem!

Details are a little fuzzy for me but Cigdem asked if I remembered

the frogs similar to these camels,which we saw in Istanbul, I probably

found that funny too haha, thank you for the smiles!

Received: 26 November 2013

 

Ankara meetup

 

Thank Cigdem for this Postcrossing meetup card! I hope you guys had fun :)

 Sent: 14 September 2013   Received: 3 October 2013   Travelled: 20 days

Istanbul at night

Thank you Ahmed for the awesome night view of Istanbul ,

hope you enjoyed your trip there!

Sent: 27 March 2013,   Received: 9 April 2013,   Travelled: 13 days

Pamukkale

Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley, which has a temperate climate for most of the year.
The ancient Greco-Roman and Byzantine city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle" which is in total about 2,700 metres (8,860 ft) long, 600 m (1,970 ft) wide and 160 m (525 ft) high. It can be seen from the hills on the opposite side of the valley in the town of Denizli, 20 km away.
Tourism is and has been a major industry. People have bathed in its pools for thousands of years. As recently as the mid-20th century, hotels were built over the ruins of Hierapolis, causing considerable damage. An approach road was built from the valley over the terraces, and motor bikes were allowed to go up and down the slopes. When the area was declared a World Heritage Site, the hotels were demolished and the road removed and replaced with artificial pools. Wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thank you Rachel for this beautiful card from Turkey

Received: 26 March 2013

Miletus

Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria. Its ruins are located near the modern town of Balat in Aydin Province, Turkey. Before the Persian invasion in the middle of the 6th century BC, Miletus was considered the greatest and wealthiest of Greek cities.In other sources however it is mentioned that the city was much more modest up until the Peloponnesian War (431 BCE-404 BCE), when the city state of Samos for example on the island of Samos opposite Miletus was considered a larger and more important city and harbor at the time. Miletus's greatest wealth and splendor was reached during the Hellenistic era (323 BCE-30 BCE) and later Roman times.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yay! So happy to have an ancient Greek ruin from Turkey.

The closest to seeing an ancient city was my trip to Rome and Pompeii

last year with my sister. I hope one day to be able to see Turkey in depth

for its ancient history. Thank you Aysin for this amazing card!

Sent: 28 February 2013   Received: 14 March 2013   Travelled: 14 days

Karagöz and Haciva

Karagöz (meaning blackeye in Turkish) and Hacivat ( shortened in time from "Hacı İvaz" meaning "İvaz the Pilgrim", and also sometimes written as Hacivad) are the lead characters of the traditional Turkish shadow play, popularized during the Ottoman period. The central theme of the plays are the contrasting interaction between the two main characters.

Thank you Filiz for this great cultural postcard!

Sent:25 February 2013   Received: 12 March 2013   Travelled: 15 days

Hagia Sophia

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky

Thank you Esra for the beautiful card from Turkey

Sent: 27 February 2013   Received: 12 March 2013   Travelled: 13 days

Trojan Horse

Çanakkale

The city is the nearest major town to the site of ancient Troy. The "wooden horse" from the 2004 movie Troy is exhibited on the seafront. Çanakkale is the second city to be situated on two continents after Istanbul. However Çanakkale is closer to mid-division than Istanbul.
The Greek Byzantine name for Çanakkale was Δαρδανέλλια, Dardanellia, from which the English name Dardanelles is derived.

Çanakkale was an Ottoman fortress called Kale-i Sultaniye (Ottoman Turkish: قلعة سلطانيه) or Sultaniye kalesi (Fortress of the Sultan). It later became known for its pottery, hence the later name Çanak kalesi 'pot fortress'

Thank you Filiz for this wonderful Trojan Horse card!

Sent: 25 February 2013   Received: 12 March 2013   Travelled: 15 days

Ankara, Turkey

 

Just like Sydney is often thought to be the capital of Australia, most

people think Istanbul is the capital but it is actually Ankara which is the capital

of Turkey. Thank you Aysin for this postcard!

Sent : 2 January 2013   Received: 12 January 2013   Travelled: 10 days

Sumela Monastery

The Sumela Monastery is a Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Panagia, meaning "All Holy" in Greek) at Melá Mountain ( Greek name Ouros Melá, meaning Black Mountain) within the Pontic Mountains range, in the Maçka district of Trabzon Province in modern Turkey.
The monastery was founded in 386 AD during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius I (375 - 395). Legend has it that two priests undertook its creation after discovering a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave on the mountain.

The monastery was seized by the Russian Empire during the 1916-18 occupation of Trabzon.
The site was abandoned in 1923, following forced population exchanges between Greece and Turkey. The departing monks were not allowed to take any property with them, so they buried Sumela's famous icon under the floor of the monastery's St. Barbara chapel. In 1930, a monk secretly returned to Sumela and retrieved the icon, transferring it to the new Panagia Soumela Monastery, on the slopes of Mount Vermion, near the town of Naousa, in Macedonia, Greece.
Today the monastery's primary function is as a tourist attraction. It overlooks forests and streams, making it extremely popular for its aesthetic attraction as well as for its cultural and religious significance.
As of 2012, the Turkish government is funding restoration work, and the monastery is enjoying a revival in pilgrimage from Greece and Russia.

 

Monasteries always have an other wordly appeal to me, mostly I wonder at the

the serenity of life the monks and nuns have in a monastery, far from the daily concerns

of our capitalistic world. Thank you Furkan for this great card! I enjoy it very much

Received: 21 December 2012

Istiklal Street, Istanbul

 

1935

A view of Istanbul's famous street from 1935. Look at the old cars and

people in hats and suits, not a sight you would see in this day and age

Thank you Selen for this great card!

Sent: 10 December 2012   Received: 21 December 2012   Travelled: 11 days