Islamic Hotels and Travel Guide
Islamic Hotels and Travel Guide
Archive for May, 2009
May 28, 2009 at 10:52 pm · Filed under Turkey Travel Guide
“Summer had cooked the sea into a warm blue soup. The hot beach pebbles scorched the soles of my feet, and the withered pines along the sand dunes were rustling with a maddening uproar of cicada.
I looked up to where a patch of snow was twinkling on a Taurus peak and decided I could stand the sea no longer. Up in the mountains … were brisk air and cold nights, grass and snow-fed runnels, and the thrill of journeying from one high saddle to the other.” Read the rest of this entry »
May 28, 2009 at 10:49 pm · Filed under Turkey Travel Guide
As we enjoy the last few days of spring, the days where one can enjoy nature along with mild weather are numbered.
It’s never very difficult to find spots throughout Turkey where you feet can really get re-acquainted with the earth and where your lungs can load up on oxygen. Everyday, interest in the environment and sensitivity about how we should treat the land increases here. Some of the most important signs of this are the projects that are aimed at protecting the environment. About a year ago, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry started up the “One Nature Park for Every Province” project, and now this particular project is beginning to show its first fruits. Almost 10 different forests and state-held lands have been declared nature parks. One of the last plots of forested land to fall into the official nature park category was the Kap?cam Nature Park, which opened at the end of last year in Kahramanmara?. But what conditions does a “nature park” need to meet in Turkey in order to be able to earn that title? Professor Dr. Mustafa Kemal Yal?nk?l?ç, general manager of the nature protection and national parks department of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry notes the importance of the blend of water, plants and animals that constitute these geographies. Read the rest of this entry »
May 16, 2009 at 3:19 pm · Filed under Turkey Travel Guide
People who board ferries to travel from ?stanbul to Bursa run into an old ?stanbul veteran on the Güzelyal? shores — the veteran Turan Emeksiz ferryboat.
Looking at the smoke rising from its chimney stacks, this ferryboat appears ready to carry people to various destinations. But in fact, this veteran ferry is anchored on the shoreline and now serves as a hotel-restaurant, the Turan Emeksiz Hotel. Read the rest of this entry »
May 9, 2009 at 10:49 am · Filed under Turkey Travel Guide
Isabella Bird reached Persia (Iran) by way of Baghdad in the winter of 1890. Although she was already 60 years old and had suffered from spinal problems, depression and insomnia most of her life, Bird took hardship in her stride.
She warmed-up for her journey through the remote and unstable easternmost fringes of the declining Ottoman Empire by spending three months living and traveling with the nomadic Bakhtiari tribe. Then, having purchased a fine horse she affectionately named Boy, Bird crossed the vaguely defined frontier onto Ottoman Turkish soil somewhere on the plain of Gawar (modern Yüksekova, in the very southeast of modern Turkey, and still a major transit route to Iran). Read the rest of this entry »
May 4, 2009 at 11:02 pm · Filed under Turkey Travel Guide
I don’t know when the last time you headed over toward the Galata area was, but you definitely get a feeling for how much more popular these back streets are now and how full they are with cafes, restaurants and people when you ascend to the top of the magnificent Galata Tower and look down.
In fact, the narrow streets that wind around the tower are home to plenty of shopping places frequented by both locals and foreign visitors. The most significant signs of the restoration going on here are the buildings being renovated, the increase in the number of stores and the cafeterias popping up like mushrooms. When this transformation is complete, it seems that Galata will be getting much of its energy simply from the crowds of visitors coming to see it. Read the rest of this entry »
May 4, 2009 at 11:00 pm · Filed under Brazil Travel Guide
SAO PAULO — Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world both in terms of population and land area. It is 11 times bigger than Turkey and covers almost half of South America. It has a strong economy and a vast expanse of territory.
This developed country has a population of 190 million people, including immigrants from Europe and Africa. Caucasians comprise 65 percent of the population. The main religion in Brazil is Roman Catholicism, followed by Protestantism. Around a thousand Brazilian soccer players are transferred to other teams around the world each year. In 2007 alone, Brazil, which has some of the best soccer players, generated $17 million in revenue from soccer player transfers. There are currently about 40 Brazilian soccer players on Turkish teams. Read the rest of this entry »
May 4, 2009 at 10:56 pm · Filed under Turkey Travel Guide
On K?nal?ada absolute silence reigns. There’s not a car on the road and barely a human being stirring. Just weeks before the tourist season kicks in on the Princes’ Islands, the streets belong to the cats and dogs, but every now and then a curious plopping noise emanates from near the seashore.
Wandering down to investigate, I find that it’s being caused by the seagulls and crows who are plucking purple mussels from the water’s edge, flying up into the air, then hurling them onto the promenade below to crack the shells and obtain access to the defenseless creatures inside them. Read the rest of this entry »
May 1, 2009 at 3:30 pm · Filed under Argentina Travel Guide
BUENOS AIRES — Argentina is a beautiful and modern South American country. It takes about 16 hours, including flight transfer time, to get from ?stanbul to the Argentinean capital of Buenos Aires.
This is a journey that brings you across the equator and into the southern hemisphere. Argentina lies in the southern portion of Latin America. In terms of sheer land mass, it comes only second to Brazil on the South American continent. In the very south of Argentina, where there are icebergs and ice caps, you can find penguins and whales swimming in the ocean. In terms of time difference, Argentina is six hours behind Turkey. Read the rest of this entry »
