Turkey

An old-fashioned mapcard came from Mina! It's a lovely map of the Bosphorus, the boundary between Europe and Asia. The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, the Bosporus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara (which is connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea, and thereby to the Mediterranean Sea).  Its maximum width is 3,420 m between Umuryeri and Büyükdere Limanı, and minimum width 700 m between Kandilli Point and Aşiyan. 

Most of the shores of the strait are heavily populated, straddled as it is by the city of Istanbul (with a metropolitan area population in excess of 12 million inhabitants) which extends inland from both coasts.

Although the left stamp and the one in the middle bring the oriental charm that I absolutely love, my favourite is the right stamp, Europa CEPT from 2011 (Forests). Thank you, Mina! 

Turkey

Turkey has so many hidden gems; this time I learn about the city of Şanlıurfa, often simply known as Urfa in daily language (in ancient times Edessa). Urfa is located in the very south-east of Turkey, near the border with Syria, and has a population of about 500 000. 

According to Turkish Muslim traditions Urfa is the biblical city of Ur of the Chaldees, due to its proximity to the biblical village of Harran. However, based on historical and archaeological evidence, the city of Ur is today generally known to have been in southern Iraq, and the true birthplace of Abraham is still in question. For the Armenians, Urfa is considered a holy place since it is believed that the Armenian alphabet was invented there.

The postcard shows Balıklıgöl, or Fish Pool.... According to tradition, Nimrod had Abraham immolated on a funeral pyre, but God turned the fire into water and the burning coals into fish. The pool of sacred fish remains to this day.

Thank you, Mina :D

Turkey

Summer break has finally begun and I will finally be able to spend some more time blogging and doing swaps - my missing country list is totally not shortening. For today, I've chosen an appropriate card for a sunny day we have here in Rovinj. Mina sent this picturesque aerial view of Kaputaş Beach, which is located in southwestern Turkey.  The beach is quite popular among visitors to the region due to its untouched natural beauty commanded by a view from the heights traversed by the State road D400 between Kaş and Kalkan. Even though I don't like the way the road was built and how it changed the landscape, the colours of the sea are amazing... so many shades of blue. Would surely like to take a swim there! 

Turkey

My very first card from a stamp museum! This card with adorable bug stamps depicted on it came all way from Stamp and mail museum in Ankara, Turkey, sent by Mina. 

Turkey

Absolutely the card of the month... From Mina, of course :) I love both the saying and the design. Mina writes that the guy who designed this postcard set won an award. You can find other cards from the set here

Here are some other Turkish proverbs with English translation:

• Dost kara günde belli olur.  A friend is known on black (i. e bad days).
• Sabır acıdır, meyvesi tatlıdır.  Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
• Baban nasila oğlu da öyledir.  Like father, like son.
• Çıkmayan candan umit kesilmez.  As long as there is life, there is hope.

Turkey

Hello, fellow Postcrossers and bloggers! Yes, I am alive... Due to many many school things I had had to do and other circumstances, I decided to take a little break from Postcrossing and blogging, but luckily I have much more spare time now. Shall we begin?

The pile of postcards on my desk has been getting bigger and bigger in last couple of months... Anyway, I will start with two beautiful Turkish postcards that Mina sent me. The first one is a map-card showing all Turkish provinces. Turkey is divided into 81 provinces, and provinces are divided into districts. There are 923 districts in total. Quite a number, huh? 

Turkey

Turkey has so many hidden gems, I'm so grateful to Mina for sharing them with me! This time it's ancient city called Pergamon, located 26 kilometres from the Aegean Sea. Some ancient authors regarded it as a colony of the Arcadians, but the various origin stories all belong to legend. The Greek historians reconstructed a complete history for it due to confusion with the distant Teuthrania. It became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC.

Under the rule of Eumenes II, Pergamum was a wealthy, developing city with a population of over 200,000 people. Culturally it was rivaled only by the cities of Alexandria and Antioch. Many important works of sculpture and architecture were produced at this time, including the Great Altar of Pergamon (that can be seen in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin). Upon the death of Attalus III, son of Eumenes II, in 133 BC, Pergamum was bequeathed to the Roman Republic. After the fall of Constantinople, Pergamum became part of the Ottoman Empire. Pergmon, according to Plutarch, was home to a library said to house approximately 200,000 volumes, making it one of the biggest libraries of the ancient world. 

Turkey

I found another postcard from Mina the other day! It's a fascinating view of Mount Nemrut (Nemrud), a mountain in South-east Turkey, notable for the summit where a number of large statues are erected around what is assumed to be a royal tomb from the 1st century BC. The mountain is a part of the East Taurus Mountain range.

King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene built on the mountain top a tomb-sanctuary flanked by gigantic statues (8–9 m high) of himself, two lions, two eagles and various Greek, Armenian, and Iranian gods. These statues were once seated, with names of each god inscribed on them. The heads of the statues have at some stage been removed from their bodies, and they are now scattered throughout the site. Mount Nemrut has been a UNESCO WHS site since 1987 and is regarded by many as the "8th Wonder of the World".  

And the food stamps are so yummy :) Thanks a bunch, Mina!

Turkey

Mina always sends me so nice postcards; as soon as I see a Turkish view in my mailbox with many colorful stamps attached, I know it's from her! This particular one shows Datça, a district  in south-west Turkey, by the Aegean Sea. The center is situated midway through the peninsula which carries the same name as the district and the town (Datça Peninsula). The ancient cities of Burgaz and Knidos are located there as well. The population of whole Datça District is about 15,000. Seems like a charming coastal town! 

The stamp on the right is from a set launched in 2010 showing various objects that represent ancient Anatolian civilizations. If you're visiting Ankara, you can also visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. I couldn't find the official page of the museum in English, so you can click here to read more about the museum and what you can see there. 

Turkey

Another card from dear Mina that I received quite some time ago. It's a detail of Eşrefoğlu Mosque, a 13th-century mosque in Beyşehir, Turkey. It is the largest and the most beautiful surviving example of wooden columned mosques. So beautiful! Many thanks to Mina!  

Turkey

My mailbox has been quite empty lately as I reduced swaps a bit, so this wonderful postcard I received from dear Mina was a real refreshment. It's from a cardbook named "Vanishing Anatolian Crafts: Fading Faces". Unfortunately, although they are a very important part of each country's culture and tradition, crafts are slowly becoming just a part of history. This problem has been discussed rather often in the media lately, so maybe there's some hope left to see craftsmen such as this leather worker in the future, too. The photo was taken in Istanbul back in 1989. 

Mina, as always, used nice brand-new stamps. First one is a Europa CEPT stamp (as you may know, the 2013 theme is "the postman van"). The other one commemorates the 500th anniversary of the Piri Reis map.  Piri Reis was an Ottoman admiral and cartographer. The map he made shows the coasts of Europe, North Africa and Brazil. It also reveals some of the earliest mappings of the New World.

Many many thanks to Mina for this great addition to my collection ;)

Turkey

Who wouldn't like to get a postcard from the Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı, as Turks call it) in Istanbul? If you're collecting market cards, like me, it really draws a smile at your face. The grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world that consists of 61 covered streets and over 3000 shops. Its construction started during the winter of 1455/56, shortly after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. The Grand Bazaar is one one the landmarks of Istanbul which attracts between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. Mina writes that it has become a place for tourists mostly, but locals still visit Grand Bazaar for jewellery shopping because it's the place where the oldest jewellers of Istanbul are located. If you ever plan a trip to Istanbul, it's useful to know that the market is opened each day except Sundays and bank holidays from 9:00 until 19:00. 

All the stamps are from 2010. First one (looking from the left) was issued to celebrate Istanbul as European Capital of Culture in 2010. It's a stamp for the set of two sheets, each consisting of 8 stamps. The second one also represents a lighthouse, issued to commemorate 150th Anniversary of Şıle Lighthouse. The last one is from a set of 4 that represent the ancient Anatolian civilisation. The set was launched on May 31, 2010. Mina always finds something to make my day brighter!

Turkey

Dear Mina suprises me with each card! This time, she sent me an amazing Ottoman miniature. Ottoman(Turkish) miniature was  art form in the Ottoman Empire, which can be linked to the Persian miniature tradition, as well as strong Chinese artistic influences.he miniatures were not signed. This is partly because of the world view of the tradition that rejected individualism. Another reason is that the works were not created entirely by one person: The head painter designed the composition of the scene and his apprentices drew the contours (which is called tahrir) with black or colored ink and then painted the miniature without creating an illusion of third dimension. The head painter, and much more often the scribe of the text were named and depicted in some of the manuscripts.

The miniature Mina sent me, originally dating back to the 17th century, show masked clown-players while in a show .

And the stamps are beautiful. Although I highly cherish and love every card I get, I have to admit this one is among my favourites ;) Thank you, Mina!

Turkey, again ;)

And the second, and the last for today, shows the beauties of  Çeşme, a town located on the Aegean Sea, pretty close to Izmir. Mina says it has all the beauties Aegean Sea has to offer - beautiful beaches, nice weather and good food (love this one!)

More nice stamps! The right one is from the set of round bird stamps, I guess, like the one on the last card. Many many thanks go to Mina gain! Hopefully my card will reach you soon as well ;)

Istanbul, Turkey

For today's update I've chosen two beautiful cards with even cuter stamps that my dear postcard-pal sent me during last couple of weeks. Firs one, the view of the Mosque of Ortakeuy (Bosporus) in 1925, reached me a few days after New Year with some nice wishes on the back! 

I find the round bird stamps very beautiful. I wish Croatian post issued more odd-shaped stamps such as this one. Thanks, Mina!

Turkey

A beautiful map of Turkey sent by Agi and Nataša which they sent me while staying in Istanbul! And the stamps are just amazing! Thanks, girls!

Turkey

Me and a friend of mine are looking for a theme from local history for a history competition project, and, as we haven't chosen the final theme yet, this card is a real motivation. And other thing important to mention, it's the first card that I've ever received as a part of my new RR on the Postcrossing forum. 

The reprint shows Istanbul in 1899, just few decades from a very turbulent part of Turkish history. Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Latin and the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in AD 330, at ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine I , after whom it was named. It has a quiet interesting history of changing its name, so few words about that... The city was originally founded as a Greek colony under the name of Byzantium. It took on the name of Konstantinoupolis after its re-foundation under Roman emperor Constantine I, who designated it as his new Roman capital. The modern Turkish name İstanbul derives from the Greek phrase eis tin polin, meaning "in the City". After the creation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the Turkish government began to formally object to the use of Constantinople in other languages and ask that others use the more common name for the city. Thanks, Murat!

Turkey

Another card from Turkey sent by my dear postcard pal Mina from Turkey! This time she sent me a multiview showing two UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Pamukkale and Truva. Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli in southwestern Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travetines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. Mina says it is forbidden to swim and sit there   now because since it damages the mineral terraces. And other World Heritage Site is Troy, in fact... Truva is just Turkish name for it. Mina says that card is a bit weird because these two sites are actually many kilometers apart from each other, but I agree with her that the card is quiet nice, with the wooden horse of Troy overlooking at the swimming people. 

The first stamps represents the Turkish bagels and the other one shows traditional oil wrestling! Thanks, Mina ;)

Turkey

These are views of Mardm in Southeastern Turkey. The sender says it's a magical city with a beautiful sights, sounds and FOOD :D I like that last one! Thanks!

Turkey

Here comes a viewcard from Ankara, the capital, but not the biggest,city of Turkey! Ankara officially replaced Constantinople as the new Turkish capital city, on 13 October 1923 and ever since has been the center of the Turkish Goverment. Ankara is also an important crossroads of trade, strategically located at the centre of Turkey's highway and railway networks, and serves as the marketing centre for the surrounding agricultural area. 

Mina haven't used one, nor 2, nor 3, nor 4, but 5 different stamps. I am always delighted when I see that much stamps on a postcard. I like the gastronomy one the most! Thanks, Mina!