Turkey in images

Geography

Turkey is at the northeast end of the Mediterranean Sea in southeast Europe and southwest Asia. To the north is the Black Sea and to the west is the Aegean Sea. Its neighbors are Greece and Bulgaria to the west, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania to the north and northwest (through the Black Sea), Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east, and Syria and Iraq to the south. The Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus divide the country. Turkey in Europe comprises an area about equal to the state of Massachusetts. Turkey in Asia is about the size of Texas. Its center is a treeless plateau rimmed by mountains. 

History

Anatolia (Turkey in Asia) was occupied in about 1900 B.C. by the Indo-European Hittites and, after the Hittite empire's collapse in 1200 B.C. , by Phrygians and Lydians. The Persian Empire occupied the area in the 6th century B.C. , giving way to the Roman Empire, then later the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Turks first appeared in the early 13th century, subjugating Turkish and Mongol bands pressing against the eastern borders of Byzantium and making the Christian Balkan states their vassals. They gradually spread through the Near East and Balkans, capturing Constantinople in 1453 and storming the gates of Vienna two centuries later. At its height, the Ottoman Empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to western Algeria. Lasting for 600 years, the Ottoman Empire was not only one of the most powerful empires in the history of the Mediterranean region, but it generated a great cultural outpouring of Islamic art, architecture, and literature.

After the reign of Sultan Süleyman I the Magnificent (1494–1566), the Ottoman Empire began to decline politically, administratively, and economically. By the 18th century, Russia was seeking to establish itself as the protector of Christians in Turkey's Balkan territories. Russian ambitions were checked by Britain and France in the Crimean War (1854–1856), but the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) gave Bulgaria virtual independence and Romania and Serbia liberation from their nominal allegiance to the sultan. Turkish weakness stimulated a revolt of young liberals known as the Young Turks in 1909. They forced Sultan Abdul Hamid to grant a constitution and install a liberal government. However, reforms were no barrier to further defeats in a war with Italy (1911–1912) and the Balkan Wars (1912–1913). Turkey sided with Germany in World War I, and, as a result, lost territory at the conclusion of the war.

Cities of Turkey

ISTANBUL

Istanbul historically Byzantium and Constantinople; is the largest city in Turkey, largest city proper and second largest metropolitan area in Europe, and fourth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a mega city, as well as the cultural and financial center of turkey. The city covers 27 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosporus strait and encompasses the natural harbor known as the golden horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) sides of the Bosporus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents.

In its long history, Istanbul has served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330–395), the (Byzantine) East Roman Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). The city was chosen as joint European Capital of culture for 2010. The historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO world heritage list in 1985.

Istanbul is an old city; you can see the remains of many ancient civilizations and their culture in harmony with Turkish culture. The old versus the new, the traditional versus the modern is a conflict a visitor often observes. The city is full of contrasts, and colorful views.

ANKARA

Very familiar to most people as the capital of Turkey, Ankara is actually only the country's second-biggest city, being considerably smaller than Istanbul. However, Ankara is actually a very large and presentable Turkish city, constantly expanding and offering a rather sophisticated and modern character. Many wide streets are now lined with coffee shops and eateries, particularly around the energetic Kizilay area.

Various tourist hotspots present themselves around the city of Ankara and in particular, along the Ataturk Bulvari, which serves as a prominent artery. The Ulus Meydani, known simply as 'Ulus', is another important tourism hub in the city and this central square is close to a number of leading museums, while also offering a choice of accommodation and inexpensive restaurants. Nearby, the Ankara Tourist Information Office is easy to find and stands directly opposite the Maltepe Akaray Train Station, on the Gazi Mustafa Kemal Bulvari.

Although Ankara is somewhat overshadowed by the enormous Turkish city of Istanbul, but really does compete well in the way of quality tourist attractions. The city's Citadel walls are positively ancient and comprise a mixture of different architectural styles through the ages. Also of a great age and much visited are the Roman Baths of Ankara, which remain is a good state of repair, considering that they are more than 1,700 years old. The Ataturk Mausoleum is yet another major sight, while for families, the attractions within the Ataturk Forest Farm and Zoo and Aquapark Club Watercity comes highly recommended.

ANTALYA Antalya (formerly known as Adalia; from Pamphylian Greek: Αττ?λεια Attália) is a large town and tourist destination, situated on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. It is the capital city of Antalya Province. The population of the city is 603,190 (2000 census) but reaches up to two million in summers at the height of tourism season. Situated on a steep cliff over the Mediterranean, Antalya is a picturesque city surrounded by mountains. Developments in tourism, starting in the 1970s, have transformed the city into an international resort. With its airport and central location, Antalya is "the capital of Turkish tourism", a gateway for the Turkish riviera and many historical sites. Furthermore, with its palm-lined boulevards, its prize-winning marina, the unspoilt historical neighbourhood of Kaleiçi, and the modern developments along the coast, the city of Antalya is a major attraction in its own right. Antalya and its surroundings are a very important part of Turkish tourism.

Antalya city corresponds to the lands of ancient Pamphylia to the east and Lycia to the west. Antalya has plenty of accommodation, a very hot climate and many places to visit both in and around the city, including traces of Lycian,Pamphylian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman architecture and cultures.

 

The city as a whole has grown huge now and the infrastructure such as roads and drains are struggling to catch up, but there are still areas that are very attractive indeed: Kaleiçi, with its narrow cobbled streets of historic Turkish and Greek houses is the old center of Antalya, now mainly hotels, gift shops, and many, many bars. The big new hotels such as the Sheraton are along the coast above the Konyaalti and Lara beaches, and indeed spread along the coast in both directions far beyond the city of Antalya itself.

  

KUSADASI

Early settlements in Kusadasi were by the Lelegians and Carians who moved from the central Anatolia around the year 3000BC. They established of a colony on the outskirts of Pilav Mountain in Kusadasi, and founded the cities Ania and Melia. Mild climate allowed the inhabitants to grow essential products such as olive, grape and figs for extracting oil or making wine and sweets on the fertile lands around the city.

In the 10th century BC "12 Ionian Cities "-Samos, Khios, Miletos, Priene, Ephesus, Teos, Erythrai, Priena, Klazonemi, Lebedos, Phokaia, Colophon, Smyrna, were established and were known for the most developed cities of the age. The annual meeting place of the Ionian League, Panionian, was founded around Kusadasi; and the cities of Phygale, Marathesion and Neopolis were established within the borders of the city. 

Kusadasi was ruled by the Ottoman Empire after the invasion of Sultan Mehmet Celebi in the year 1413. During the reign of Ottomans, glorious new structures were built in Kusadasi Okuz Mehmet Pasa Caravanserai is the principal legacy of the Ottoman architecture in the city, and was built by the man of the same name, who was the vizier during the reigns of Sultan Ahmet1 and Osman2. The fortress is gates and walls and many mosques in the centre of Kusadasi, as well as the citadel of the castle in Pigeon Island, were built in the Ottoman period, reflecting the architectural style of the era. "Kusadasi " that means "bird island" and took its name from Pigeon Island.

Today, Kusadasi is one of Turkey's most sophisticated holiday centres; it is a perfect place for vacation with its sandy beaches and glassy water. The contrast between the lively holiday life and the quietness of the ancient ruins create the special atmosphere of the city.

Botany: The History of a Science

The idea came from my friend, Elena... Thanx Elena :)

The very first ancient documents about plants (Babylonian souces, the Old Testament, HOMER's works) that came down on us regarded plants mainly under the aspects of utility and medicinal use. The interest of the old Greek philosophers focused more on the comparison of animal and man on one hand and plants on the other. EMPEDOCLES FROM AGRIENT, for example, dwelt on the question whether plants have a soul while ARISTOTLE ranks them in the middle between the inanimate and the animate. THEOPHRASTUS wrote two works of a general nature on plants: The Natural History of Plants and About the Reasons of Vegetable Growth . Both had a formative influence on the botanical research of following scientists. An estimated 1300-1400 different plant species were known under Roman reign.

The interest of the Romans concentrated more on practical problems: PLINY THE OLDER reviewed plants mainly under aspects of utility while the work of DIOSKORIDE on pharmacology gained him the reputation as the superior authority on this subject for more than sixteen centuries to come. He describes more than 500 different plant species. No further knowledge was gained during the Middle Ages though Europe was confronted with the works and thoughts of antiquity through the Arab reign. The first original observations were made by HILDEGARD von BINGEN, but it is ALBERT THE GREAT who is regarded as the rediscoverer of scientific botany. His work had a large influence on Western scientific literature. New knowledge was also gained by the travellers and discoverers of the time, MARCO POLO, for example, and the crusades. The ideas of antiquity became popular again during the Renaissance, while the 17th and 18th century was the time of the beginning specialization. The attempt to find a natural system for the great variety of plant species led to decisive contributions to botany. At about the same time another field of modern biology, cell biology, took its beginning with the invention of the microscope. Since the 16th century physiology became a botanical topic, too.

Botany is the science of plants. What does this mean? Is science what is worked on in laboratories or what is found out in field studies or is it something you can find in big libraries? All these are certainly aspects of science, but they do not present the whole picture. Science might be defined as an intellectual analysis of a given subject. It is the attempt to conclude from single observations to a general validity, to extrapolate from known to unknown and to have a look at different arguments. Plant science has a long history. It has -just like all human cultural science- no straight course, nor a declared aim: phases of profound gain of knowledge alternate with periods of ignorance. Especially during the last centuries, opinions have often been expressed with utter harshness, with polemics or even with personal defamation of people having different views, peaking maybe in G.GALILEI´s inquisition. 

By somehow, this subject is related to another one... Ancient Egyptian Papyrus...

The Egyptians produced paper out of the pith of papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), but papyrus was not only used for the production of paper. It was needed for the wreathes of kings and gods, too. Beside this, it served as a model for the columns of the temples in Upper Egypt and was often seen to decorate their reliefs.

The Egyptians knew initially only spring wheat; winter wheat being cultivated from spring wheat only much later. They knew also olive trees, grapevines and fig trees, the latter giving tasty fruit, but only bad building timber.

Plants were not only looked at from the point of view of utility. Special powers were attributed to them and some were even considered holy. Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), for example, was sacred to the ancient Egyptians, to the Hindus and to other people of the east. They did nevertheless eat the lotus fruits: these were forbidden only to Egyptian priests. 

In many ancient tales, plants were seen as symbols of gentle and delicate feelings and in all cultures the beauty and transitory nature of flowers was noticed and attributed emotional values. Only few depictions of plants by the Greeks or the Romans were handed down on us, but plants were very often subjects of their mythology. The creation of plants was connected to the myths of gods. The Spartan HYACINTHOS, for example, was loved by APPOLON and, when accidentally killed by the god, was turned into a flower with the same name. This happened to NARCISSOS, too, who committed suicide after falling in love with his own reflection. The Heliads, daughters of the sun, were transformed into electron (amber)-excreting poplars.  

And not just this... in the Arab world, Botany had a special place...

The influence of the Arabs on the culture of the Occident had but little stimulating effects on botany, though they confronted Europe with the literature of antiquity. One of their most important inventions, destillation, was introduced to botanical research only centuries later. Among the opinions that prevailed in Arab culture was the following (cited from F. DIETERIER: Die Naturanschauung und Naturphilosophie der Araber im 10. Jahrhundert, Berlin 1861):

"On the lowest level is the ruin«s green (i.e. lichens and moss) that is merely dust pressed together. On the highest level is the palm tree. It is an animal plant, that does not resemble other plants in some actions and conditions, although its body stays plant-like. With the palm tree the acting (male) force is separated from the suffering (female) force. With other plants these forces are not detached."

The observation that the female and the male genders of the palm are separated goes back to antiquity. Both ARISTOTLE and THEOPHRASTUS were aware of this fact, but they were not able to draw any conclusions or to examine whether this feature could be found with other plants, too.

The beginning of science in the West was arduous and dragged on for centuries. Plants were for the first time catalogued in the capitularies of CHARLEMAGNE (771 - 814). These records are regulations concerning the instruction of the youth, the improvement of agriculture and the lay-out of gardens. English Benedictines made an inventory of the plants grown in imperial gardens of Lower Palatine. The inventories contain 6-7 different cereals, 17-18 varieties of fruits, 38 varieties of vegetables and herbs, 35-37 different medicinal plants and 5 plant species used for dyeing and the production of fabrics. Although the influence of the Arab culture as represented by the Arabs ruling in Spain till the beginning of the 14th century on Western science was but small that on the attitude of the minds was considerably larger. Monks, priests and scholars went on pilgrimages to Spain to visit its large libraries (that of Cordoba had since 755 660,000 volumes) and to study the works of antiquity there. Many works were translated into Latin. In the course of this - and in that of the numerous copies made - a lot of mistakes and distortions slipped in. Confusion was especially generated by the way plants' names were used. The knowledge that the flora of Central Europe is of a fundamentally different nature than that of the Mediterranean common to us today was missing. It was expected, and for many centuries to come, that the plants reviewed by PLINY and, after works of ARISTOTLE and THEOPHRASTUS became known, the plants reviewed by them, too, had also to exist in Central Europe. It was further assumed that the lists made in antiquity of plants and the descriptions given of them were complete. First signs of original observations go back to the abbess HILDEGARD VON BINGEN (1099 - 1179). She gave descriptions of more than 300 different plants and put German names on them, though she was writing, as was usual, in Latin. Some of these names have been used in the local dialect (Rhineland) up until the last century. 

More knowledge was gathered by the numerous travellers. The crusades made the cause. In the second half of the 13th century, the Venetian MARCO POLO travelled through large parts of Central Asia and China and thus increased the knowledge of plants, countries, people and animals: bamboo, clove, ginger, cotton, sugar cane, indigo, rhubarb, camphor, pepper and nutmeg got to Venice. During the 14th century, monks and merchands travelled often to the Orient, but they gained only little knowledge. Partly because they had no exact powers of observation and lacked the necessary previous knowledge, partly because the travels were often badly prepared.  

Scientific literature was far more and far easier spread after the invention of letterpress by J. GUTENBERG (Mainz, 1446). The number of reviewed plant species increased rapidly:

1532: BRUNFELS, 800 species
1551: LONICER, 879 species
1552: BOCK, 240 species
1552: DODONAEUS, 884 species
1586: DALECHAMP, more than 3,000 species
1623: BAUHIN, over 6,000 species 

The position of the first scientist to use flower properties as features of classification is due to the British researcher J. RAY (lat.: RAJUS, 1628 - 1705). He drew a clear line between mono- and dicotyledons after closely examining plant embryos. He did adopt the terminology from J. JUNGIUS and he additionally did influence C. V. LINNÉ. RAY established six rules (1703) which belong to the fundamental principels of plant systematics till today:

1. Names have not to be changed to avoid confusion and errors.
2. Characteristics have to be exactly and distinctively defined which means that those basing on relative relations like heights are not to be used.
3. Characteristics have to be easily detected by everybody.
4. Groups that are accepted by almost all botanists have to be kept.
5. It has to be taken care that related plants will not be seperated, unnatural ones and those that are different are not to be united.
6. Characteristics shall not without necessity be increased in number, but only as many shall be used as are necessary to make a reliable classification.

Based on these rules, he did try to deduce wider relationships (families, genera), introduced definitions for several genera and developed a key for the determination of plants that was founded on the principles mentioned above. Despite many positive ideas, he did, too, still adhere to the separation of wooden plants and herbs. 

Although the drawing up of botanical systematics was one of the main aims of botanical research of this time, all attempts to deduce natural relations failed due to the premises which were still partly wrong. It was believed that natural relations could be come to by a number of easily perceived features whose value for systematics was still a priori set in a subjective choice. The change came with CARL v. LINNÉ. 

After the guidelines for systematics had been developed, the classification of plants made speedily headway. A. L. DE JUSSIEU (1748 - 1836) designed familiy diagnoses, in which the features of the flower, the fruit and the vegetative organs were all taken into account. Instead of merely enumerating small groups and place them next to each other, he did introduce a conception of the plant kingdom as devided into bigger and gradually subordinated groups. LINNÉ had explicitly found this to be beyond his limits.

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.  Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. " ~John Muir