istanbulside

Sabiha Gokcen Airport is getting ready to open new horizons for Turkey, just like the first woman combat pilot of Turkey that it is named after. The Airport which is the first step towards the “Advanced Technology Industry Park” project, which shall serve the country in numerous fields such as transportation, foreign trade, aviation and technology, shall act as a leader for conversion of the region into a technology base in the future. Just like Sabiha Gökçen leading the way to Turkish women in undertaking equal roles with men in all fields of business, years ago. 
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NAZIM HİKMET-1901-1963

THE WALNUT TREE

My head is a foaming cloud, inside and outside I’m the sea.
I am a walnut tree in Gülhane park in Istanbul,
an old walnut tree with knots and scars.
You don’t know this and the police don’t either.

I am a walnut tree in Gülhane Park,
My leaves sparkle like fish in water,
my leaves flutter like silk handkerchiefs.
Break one off, my darling, and wipe your tears.
My leaves are my eyes, and I am shocked at what I see.

I look at you, Istanbul, with a hundred thousand eyes
and my leaves beat, beat with a hundred thousand heards.
I am a walnut tree in Gülhane Park.
You don’t know this and the police don’t either.

(July 1, 1957)

NECİP FAZIL KISAKÜREK-1905-1983

MY DEAR ISTANBUL

They have melted my soul and frozen it in a mould;
They have named it Istanbul, and put it on earth.
There’s something smoking inside me; air, colour, grace, and climate;
That’s my beloved who came from beyond time and place.
Its flowers are golden stars, its water is sweet;
The moon and the sun have always been Istanbullian.
The sea and the earth have reached their union in her
And the dreams have turned to reality in her.
Istanbul is my life;
my motherland…
Istanbul,
Istanbul…
History has eyes, the riddles on ancient walls;
Cypresses, cypresses are of fine stature, they’re the curtains
Of two worlds…
A steed rears up on the clouds;
Diamond domes, perhaps there are billions of steeds…
The minarets are index fingers pointing to the sky.
In every embroidery a meaning: we must die.
Death is more alive than life mercy is greater than sin;
When Beyoğlu is drowing in worldly pleasures,
Karcaahmet weeps…
Seek the meaning, find it!
Find it in Istanbul!
Istanbul,
Istanbul…
The Bosphorus, the silver brazier of the Bosphorus, boils the coolness;
The depths of heaven on earth are in Çamlıca.
Playful waters are the guests in the basement of the sea-side house;
A photo of the sad face of a former diplomat hangs on the wall.
Every evening flames on the windows in Üsküdar,
A haunded house, big as the city…
A song from the Ud or the Tanbour?
It sings “Katibim” behind the bay-windows…
Its women are like sharp knives,
Warm like fresh blood,
Istanbul,
Istanbul…
Time on the seven hills embroiders
Seven colours, seven voices, endless manifestation…!
Eyüp is an orphan, Kadiköy is dressed up, Moda is haughty,
Wind in the Island plays tricks with the girls.
Each dawn, the arrows fly from their bows.
Cries come from Topkapi Palace still.
The mothers are the best of sweethearts, Istanbul is the best of places;
Never mind the cheerful crowd, those who cry are happier.
Its night smells hyacinth,
Its Turkish the nightingale’s voice.
Istanbul,
Istanbul…

YAHYA KEMAL BEYATLI -1884-1958

End Of September

The days are brief. old folks of Kanlica
Remember all the autumns of the past.

Life is too short to love this district only..
I wish summers to last and days to be longer…

That rare drink quenched our thirst for years…
Ah! Life is too short for such a joy.

Death is our end, we’re not afraid of it.
But it’s hard to be away from the motherland.

Not to return from death’s night to this shore.
Is worse than death, this is the heart’s desire.

St. Esprit Cathedral, alternatively known as the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Cattedrale di Santo Spirito, or Cattedrale dello Spirito Santo, located on Cumhuriyet Avenue, 205/B, Harbiye, between Taksim Square and Nişantaşı, is one of the main cathedrals of the Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul, Turkey.

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It is in Fatih - Carsamba quarter of İstanbul. It is Pammakaristos monastery church constructed in Byzantine Period. A grave chapel has been added with the end of the Latin invasion in 13th century.

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The Fatih Mosque Complex is a large mosque with its many dependencies in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. Fatih Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror had the complex constructed by the architect Atik Sinan in 1463-1470, on the site of the former Church of the Holy Apostles, which was demolished in favor of it. It was the largest example of Turkish-Islamic architecture to that date and represented an important stage in the development of classic Turkish architecture. The original mosque was destroyed by the earthquake of 1766; the current mosque dates from 1767.

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Dolmabahce Palace was constructed between 1843 and 1856, mixing different European artistic influences and built by Abdulmecit’s architect, Karabet Balya. It was built over three levels, and symmetrically planned, with 285 chambers and 43 halls. It has a 600m long pier along the river, with two huge monumental gates.

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Kariye is located at Edirnekapı section of İstanbul. The dictionary meaning of Kariye (Chora) is “outside of the city”, or “rural” in old Greek. The existence of a chapel outside the city walls in very old is mentioned in some sources.

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