Thursday, August 5, 2010

Divriği Great Mosque | Sivas

Divriği Great Mosque in Sivas:
"Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital (TurkishDivriği Ulu Cami ve Darüşşifa) is an ornately decorated mosque and medical complex built in 1299 in the small eastern Anatolian mountain town of Divriği, now in Sivas Province in Turkey. The architect was Hürremshah of Ahlat and the mosque was built on the order of Ahmet Shah, ruler of the Beylik of Mengücek. The inscriptions contain words of praise to the Anatolian Seljuk sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I. The adjoining medical center (darüşşifa) was built simultaneously with the mosque on the order of Turan Melek Sultan, daughter of the Mengücek ruler of Erzincan, Fahreddin Behram Shah." Wikipedia


201km from Erc city center.







Included on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1985.


The shadow of the man praying.




The building is famous for being symmetrical. There are 3D carvings on the doors which form shapes of a man reading Quran and praying (3 different shadows) on the male entrance and a woman again praying on the female entrance on the East.


The female entrance door bears the carvings of the Heaven and it is known as the Textile Door due to the magnificient details of the reliefs.     


There are many symbols of Islamic Mysticism describing the Other World, and the conditions to be accepted in Heaven.


Lots to tell. More soon.











Adıyaman - Nemrut

Adıyaman:
Adıyaman (the ancient Perre or PordonniumAncient GreekΠερρηKurdishSemsûr) is city in southeastern Turkey, capital of theAdıyaman Province. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Turkey. The population rose from 100,045 (1990) to 198,433 [1](2009 census figures).


425 km from Erc city center.






Mount Nemrut:










Sunset:


Sunrise:
Note: Please make sure you get layers and layers of warm clothes on you plus 2 blankets. We were frozen in August, 2009! (no kidding!)

Trabzon

Trabzon:
"Trabzon (GreekΤραπεζούνταTrapezounta), historically known as Trapezus and Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast, Russia and the Caucasus to the northeast.[1] TheVenetian and Genoese merchants paid visits to Trebizond during the medieval period and sold silklinen and woolen fabric; with the latterhaving an important merchant colony within the city that was similar to Galata near Constantinople (across the Golden Horn) in present-day Istanbul.[2] Trabzon formed the basis of several states in its long history and was the capital city of the Empire of Trebizond between1204 and 1461. During the Ottoman period, Trabzon, because of the importance of its port, became a focal point of trade to Iran, Indiaand the Caucasus. The population of the city is 1,230,399 (2009 census)."


Uzungöl:
"The lake is at a distance of 99 km from Trabzon and 19 km from Çaykara district.[1] It was formed by landslide making the stream bed to become a natural dam in the valley of Haldizen Stream.[2]"


Zigana Pass:








Hagia Sophia Museum:





Rize

Rize:


237 km from Erc city center.




A typical bridge: