An obelisk a long way from home
When pharaoh Thutmose III commissioned a special obelisk for his temple to Amon-Ra at Karnak 3400 years ago, he little imagined where it would end up. Carved from a pink […]
When pharaoh Thutmose III commissioned a special obelisk for his temple to Amon-Ra at Karnak 3400 years ago, he little imagined where it would end up. Carved from a pink […]
One of Istanbul’s most venerable monuments is the Column of Constantine. It’s called the Hooped Column locally, for obvious reasons, and this in Turkish (Cemberlitas – Chem-ber-lee-tash) gives its name […]
I was thrilled, after taking the old train along the Marmara shore to Yedikule (Seven Towers), to find myself standing before the legendary Golden Gate of Byzantium. It looks sadly […]
One of the most attractive aspects of Istanbul is the sheer number and variety of monumental fountains in the city. Each of them is a real work of art, encapsulating […]
This summer I dropped in to the Sakip Sabanci Museum in Istanbul to see an exhibition which is the first of its kind in Turkey. It included a rare and […]
Istanbul is the capital of the exquisitely fine art of Islamic calligraphy. In Ottoman times there were hundreds of libraries here, but the city was and still is a library […]
I’m standing between two prize fighters in the middle of Istanbul. They’re staring each other down like Sumo wrestlers preparing to clash in an earth-shattering explosion of salt and dust. […]
The Princes Islands in the Sea of Marmara – in ancient times called the Propontis – lie close to the Asian coastline of Turkey just off Istanbul, and to the […]
The former Greek Orthodox church of St Saviour in Chora, now the Kariye Museum, in Istanbul, always makes me think of a chocolate gateau for some reason. Every time I […]
Seraglio Point in Istanbul is dominated by the magnificent, sprawling structures of two of the world’s architectural masterpieces. These are Haghia Sophia, the Byzantine Church of the Holy Wisdom, and […]