Topkapi Palace
This photo is of some of the detail along the interior friezes.
From 1460 to 1856, Topkapi Palace was the main residence of the Ottoman sultans and primary administrative center of the empire. This was also the location of the (in)famous harem.
Originally named the “Imperial New Palace” (Saray-i Cedid-i Amire or سرای جديد عامره in Ottoman Turkish), the name was changed to Topkapi in the mid-1700s.
The palace overlooks the Golden Horn where the Bosphorus Strait enters the Marmara Sea; the Golden Horn being the location where the Moslem Turks finally captured the Byzantine capital of Constantinople.
The palace was transformed into a museum by the new Turkish Republic after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1920s. The palace is now a primary tourist destination and is heavily guarded by Turkish troops.
It is crowded and since it contains artifacts of Mohammed – as Constantinople was the seat of the Islamic Caliphate until 1924, one needs to deal with the not-pleasant looks of the faithful when passing by the exhibits.
There will be more images coming of the western Turkey as the muse strikes.
We in the West really, really want to hang on to our separation between Church and State, and I think that that is the correct approach. When we get into conflicts,, we bend ourselves over backwards to avoid saying that the conflict is of a religious nature.
But at some point, we’re going to have to accept that despite not wanting it to be the case, we are in a religious war, and then decide if we’re interested in living life on our terms instead of theirs.
Come to the edge. We might fall. Come to the edge. It’s too high! COME TO THE EDGE And they came. and he pushed. and they flew
More than likely I’ll probably never set foot in another country during the rest of my life. I have seen the writing on the wall for a long time, and I don’t like it, but that’s the way it is.
This adaptation of mine probably started sometime after 1980 when the law prevented me from protecting myself as I see fit while on a commercial jet. If I must travel to any place where I believe there is a heightened threat level I will prepare myself accordingly, or avoid going altogether. Who needs the problems, right?
There’s a lot of “we”‘s in your comment and they don’t include me. I stopped being a generalized we when I got out of the army. I have been a we thousands of times in business ventures when all parties understand all of the parameters.
Religion? Another silly concept that no one gets to force on anyone else. I’ll come right out and say it. When it comes to believing something, you can’t force someone else to do so. Either the person believes or they don’t. If person A tells person B, “If you don’t believe in my religion I will kill you.”, and a terrified B says, “Ok, if you put it that way, I believe in your religion.”, he is lying. My bet is that A is going to kill B anyway.
Knowing that outcome, I will not knowingly put myself in a position to where A has that advantage over me. IOW, I will never go where I am not wanted. Such as the place DT mentioned above.
Think about all the trillions of words that have been bantered about over the past 2 years pertaining to Israel and Palestine, each, apparently of different beliefs, and in my opinion, all utter bullshit. Thousands of people killing thousands of people because supposedly 1 group (we’s) of people doesn’t share the same belief as another group (more we’s) of people.
I find all this religious stuff unbearingly silly and it proves once again that in many ways man is still a very primitive animal. I’ll continue to search for my solace here on the homestead.
Whoa!
Is that a choppin’ block or what?
Never seen one like that before.
Down in Lockhart, TX
https://tinyurl.com/2rju3h3z