Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Hello everyone, and welcome back. Today I'm going to talk about Turkey and a little bit of an Islamic story in Jordan. Let's start with the country Turkey, shall we? Turkey is a transcontinental country located in Southeastern
Europe and Southwestern Asia bordering the Black Sea. Turkey is famous for being mixing pot of cultures that has
brought European and Asian influences together into one amazing country. It’s
also geographically diverse thanks to its high mountains and an expansive
coastline that spans both the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
My experience in Turkey is quite chill-ing (See what I did there? No? Okay...), as you all know by now, I used to live in Egypt during my young and early days and during holidays like 'Musim Perayaan', we would return back to Malaysia to celebrate, as all Malaysian loves to celebrate 'Hari Raya'. 'Hari Raya' is an event where all the Muslims celebrate after a month of fasting in Ramadhan. In Malaysia, there will be lots and lots of open houses, cuisines and gatherings. It's a beautiful event with lots of fireworks, traditional clothes, traditional foods and it's a must-see and celebrate event for us Malaysians.
The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, also known by its official name,
the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultan Ahmet Camii), is an Ottoman-era
historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A functioning mosque,
it also attracts large numbers of tourist visitors. It is the main mosque in Istanbul. Blue tiles, stained
glasses, domes, square, calligraphy; they are all amazing. This combination
makes the Sultanahmet Camii (Sultanahmet Mosque) so famous. Additionally,
the Suleymaniye Mosque can be thought as second best.
Suleymaniye Mosque
Miniatürk is a miniature park at the northeastern shore of
Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. It opened on May 2, 2003. It is one of the
world's largest miniature parks, with a 15,000 m² model area and total area of
60,000 square metres. It contains 135 models, in 1:25 scale, of structures from
in and around Turkey, and interpretations of historic structures.
A miniature of the Blue Mosque
Checklist: Landing and making a star shape snow. DONE
In front of the Blue Mosque
It's just too cold to move
Topkapi Palace Museum
One
the famous Museums in Turkey, the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul was once a
home to Ottoman Sultans. This colossal museum exhibits a majestic collection of
the heirlooms of the Ottoman Empire and embraces a large collection of books
and manuscripts of the ancient era in its library. The imperial architecture of
the museum is a conspicuous one that showcases the life of Ottomans that used to
live here in the ancient times. It consists of 4 courtyards that were made for
different purposes: First as a public hall for ceremonies, second as the
administrative place, third was the private residence of sultan and fourth as
the gardens and pavilions.
This is the third time coming to Turkey, but this time we went here during the summer season instead of winter.
Sunny Day
Looks like some place that came out from Disney
Private residence of the sultans
Gardens and Pavilions
Hagia Sophia is famous for the light that reflects
everywhere in the interior of the nave, giving the dome the appearance of
hovering above. This effect was achieved by inserting forty windows around the
base of the original structure.
One of the most iconic places in Turkey to watch for
Time to go to Jordan with Turkish Airlines
Al Khazneh in the city of Petra, Jordan
Jordan is home to the ancient city of Petra. Known as “The
Rose City” it is famous for its unique architecture carved directly into the
rock face. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New 7 Wonders
of the World.
As one of the oldest cities in the world, Petra is an
archaeological wonder in Jordan. It is believed to have been the site where
Moses struck a rock and water flowed forth.
Later on, in 300 BC, it was
established by the Nabataean Arabs. During this time, Petra thrived, and it
became an essential trade hub, particularly for spices.
The buildings in Petra
are carved from sandstone, and the city contains many rock-cut temples, tombs,
and other structures. The structures are designed to let the light shine into
the interiors of the buildings.
Jordan Archaeological Museum
The Jordan Archaeological Museum is located in the Citadel
of Amman, Jordan. Built in 1951, it presents artifacts from archaeological
sites in Jordan, dating from prehistoric times to the 15th century.
The
collections are arranged in chronological order and include items of everyday
life such as flint, glass, metal and pottery objects, as well as more artistic
items such as jewellery and statues.
The Cave of the Seven Sleepers is a historical and religious
site in al-Rajib, a village to the east of Amman. It is claimed that this cave
housed the Seven Sleepers a group of young men who, according to Byzantine and
Islamic sources, fled the religious persecution of Roman emperor Decius. Legend
has it that these men hid in a cave around 250 AD, emerging miraculously about
200 or 300 years later.
A view from the outside
A view from the insides, and these stones are actually their beds
Our tourist guider explaining the interior of the caves
Turkey and Jordan are a must-to-travel to, I highly recommend going during winter seasons to experience the 3 to 4-foot-deep snow in Turkey, while the perk of travelling to Jordan is Petra, where one of the Seven Wonders of Ancient World lies. Thank you for taking the time to read, I hope you guys enjoy it, and have a nice day.
Peace out.
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