ISTANBUL TRAVEL GUIDE

Plan Your Istanbul Vacation

 
The only city in the world that can lay claim to straddling two continents,

Istanbul—once known as Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine and then the Ottoman Empire—has for centuries been a bustling metropolis with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia. Istanbul embraces this enviable position with both a certain chaos and inventiveness, ever evolving as one of the world’s most cosmopolitan crossroads.

Top Reasons to Go to Istanbul

Change continents: Spend the morning in Europe and the afternoon in Asia, with just a ferry ride in between; how cosmopolitan is that?

Cruise the Bosphorus: Taking a boat ride up the strait, past scenic waterfront neighborhoods and forested slopes topped with fortresses, is quintessentially Istanbul.

Haggle in the bazaars: Bargain like the locals do as you make your way through the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar—it may be a bit touristy, but it’s fun.

Marvel at ancient domes: From the stunning Aya Sofya to the graceful Süleymaniye Mosque, the city’s greatest works of imperial architecture never cease to impress, especially from the inside as you look up.

Ogle at opulence: With their sumptuous decor and fascinating harem quarters, the Topkapı and Dolmabahçe palaces offer a glimpse of the splendor of the Ottoman Empire.

History in Architecture

Byzantium was already 1,000 years old when, in AD 326, Emperor Constantine the Great began to rebuild it as the new capital of the Roman Empire. On May 11, 330, the city was officially renamed "New Rome," though it soon became known as Constantinople, the city of Constantine. Constantine's successors expanded the city and gave it new walls, aqueducts, and churches.

Under the emperor Justinian (ruled 527–65) Constantine's capital reached its apogee, with the construction of the magnificent Hagia Sophia, or Church of the Holy Wisdom (known as Aya Sofya in Turkish) on the site of a church originally built for Constantine. This awe-inspiring architectural wonder still dominates Istanbul's skyline. Constantinople became the largest, wealthiest metropolis the Western world had ever seen.

The Byzantine Empire began to decline toward the end of the 11th century and a devastating blow came in 1204, when the Western Europeans of the Fourth Crusade, who were supposed to be on their way to recapture Jerusalem, decided that instead of going another thousand miles to fight a load of Muslims, they'd instead sack and occupy the Eastern Orthodox Christian city of Constantinople. The members of the Byzantine dynasty were forced to flee to Trabzon on the Black Sea coast, and although they eventually regained control of Constantinople, in 1261, neither the city nor the Byzantine Empire recovered.

Constantinople in the late Byzantine period was more a collection of villages set among ruins than a city. Byzantine artists set to work, however, to restore and redecorate the damaged churches, and in their work in the mosaics and frescoes of the Church of the Holy Savior in Chora, we can see the first breath of the Renaissance that would later be carried west to Italy by artists and intellectuals fleeing the arrival of the Turks.

The Ottoman sultan Mehmet II, known as Fatih (the Conqueror), conquered the much-diminished Constantinople in 1453, rebuilt it, and made the city once again the capital of an empire. The Turks named the new city Konstantiniyye, but in time Constantinople seems to have been shortened to "Stanbul" by the Greeks and Westerners, and to "Istanbul" by the Turks. Another explanation says the name Istanbul is derived from the Greek eis tin polin, meaning "in the city" or "to the city"—for the Byzantines, "The City" was truly one and only.

       In 1459 Mehmet II began building a palace on the hill at the tip of land where the Golden Horn meets the Bosphorus. Later sultans embellished and extended the complex until it grew into the fabulous Topkapı Palace. Most of
the finest Ottoman buildings in Istanbul, however, date from the time of Süleyman the Magnificent (ruled 1520–66), who led the Ottoman Empire to its highest achievements in art and architecture, literature, and law. Süleyman and his court commissioned the architect Sinan (circa 1491–1588) to design buildings that are now recognized as some of the greatest examples of Islamic architecture in the world, including the magnificent Süleymaniye Mosque, the intimate Sokollu Mehmet Paşa Mosque, and the exquisitely tiled Rüstem Paşa Mosque

Polo at the peak

        Passion for Polo will be the highest on the world’s highest Polo ground. Every year, Shandur (3,734 meters) invites visitors to experience a traditional polo tournament between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit from 7th to 9th July. The festival also includes folk music, folk dance, traditional sports and a camping village is be set up on the Pass.

Polo is an equestrian sport with its origin embedded in Central Asia dating back to 6th century BC. At first it was a training game for cavalry units for the King’s guards or other elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen who played polo with as many as 100 players to a side, it was a miniature battle. It became a Persian national game in the 6th century AD. From Persia, the game spread to Arabia, then to

Islamic History of Pakistan

The light of Islam penetrated in this part of the world as early as 712 A.D from the west with the Arab General Muhammad bin Qasim and during the 10th century A.D from the north with the Turk Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznah ( better known as Mahmud Ghaznavi).

Islam replaced the early way of life of worshipping idols and introduced new philosophy of faith in one God. With Islam in came a new culture in this land from Arabia and Central Asia. Hence, a new type of architecture, hitherto unknown in this area, was introduced. Tens of thousands of Mosques, Madrasahs, tombs and gardens were created by the Muslim rulers all over the Sub-Continent. The new style of Islamic architecture prevailed and matured in this land for over a

Culture of Pakistan

         The society and culture of Pakistan (Pronounced shmeg-mah) (Urdu: ثقافت پاکستان ) comprises numerous diverse cultures and ethnic groups from the Punjabis, Kashmiri and Sindhis in the east to the tribal cultures of the Baloch and Pashtun in the west and the ancient Dardic and Tajik communities in the north. These Pakistani cultures have been greatly influenced by many of the surrounding countries' cultures, such as those of Turkish, Persian, Afghan, and  South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.

In ancient times, Pakistan was a major cultural hub and the home of an ancient civilizations, known as the Indus Valley Civilization - one of the first 'settled' peoples and urban centres in the world. Many cultural practices and great monuments have been inherited from the time of the ancient rulers of the region. One of the greatest cultural influences was that of the Persian Empire to which Pakistan

Karachi-- The capital of Sindh.

        With the population of eleven million, Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan. The founder of Pakistan Mohammad ali jinnah was born in this city at a time when Karachi was an isolated city having no reputation in late 18th century. The British made it a city of modern age and also the capital of Sindh. Since than Karachi has prospered to a international port as well as the largest trade center of Pakistan. It is a comparatively new and modern city thus it is not as histories as Lahore and Multan and some other cities are so it has no Mughal mosques or tombs rather it boasts modern sky scrappers. The attractions of this city are its color full bazaars and the sea.

Explore Kalash Valley in Pakistan

       The Kalash (Nuristani: Kasivo) or Kalasha, are indigenous people of the Hindu Kush mountain range, residing in the Chitral district of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. They speak the Kalash language, from the Dardic family of the Indo-Iranian languages, and are considered a unique tribe among the Indo-Aryan stock. They are primitive Pagan tribe whose origin is uncertain, it is said that when Alexander the Great passed through this region in 327 B.C. some of the soldiers from his army settled here and are the progenitors of the Kalash.

Culture

The culture of Kalash people is unique and differs drastically from the various ethnic groups surrounding them. They are polytheists and nature

Geography of Pakistan

     Located in the northwestern part of the South Asian subcontinent, Pakistan became a state as a result of the partition of British India on August 14, 1947. Pakistan annexed Azad (Free) Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-48. Initially, Pakistan also included the northeastern sector of the subcontinent, where Muslims are also in the majority. The East Wing and West Wing of Pakistan were, however, separated by 1,600 kilometers of hostile Indian territory. The country's East Wing, or East Pakistan, became the independent state of Bangladesh in December 1971

.Pakistan occupies a position of great geostrategic importance, bordered by

The Sufi Rockers

      Junoon started their singing career in early 90s. Their vocalist Ali Azmat came from a band whose name was Jupiters and who was one of those bands who introduced pop music in Pakistan and also they together gave a very hit song which is still a favorite song of lot of people that is Dosti (friendship).

The most important member of this rock group is Salman Ahmad, who left his old band that is Vital signs when it was on it’s peak, in search of rock music. Brian is a lead guitarist and an American national, is the third and last member of the Sufi rockers.

Junoon are rightly famous as the Sufi rockers, Sufi if translated in English means mystic. Lyrics of Junoon`s every song are mystic and mostly these lyrics are of some famous mystic poet like Baba Bulle Shah (Junoon`s second last album was also dedicated to Baba Bulle Shah). Junoon`s basic concept is to convey the message of God in their own mode.

Lok Virsa - Folk Festival

    The largest cultural activity in Pakistan is the annual National Folk Festival (Lok Mela), held in October each year. Over the past two decades, this festival has taken on an international flavour and more than 20 different countries have sent their artisans and performers to participate in the festival. Nationally, the festival has become a thing of pride for artisans and performers, who come on their own to participate. Most important of all, the Provinces of Pakistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir put up beautifully decorated pavilions and visitors have the unique opportunity to see an assortment of Pakistan's traditionally rich culture in the federal capital of Islamabad for an exciting ten days.

Zaid Hamid's Mission Takmeel e Pakistan

  Mr. Zaid Hamid is a security consultant and strategic defense analyst. He is the founder of BrassTacks, a unique Pakistani Think Tank devoted to the study of regional and global political events and their implications for Pakistan's security and interests. As an expert on the subject, he is frequently invited to speak on national television networks, and runs his own dedicated program on the News1 channel, named "BrassTacks with Zaid Hamid". This program has pioneered a new trend in currents affairs programming in Pakistan, where he skillfully knits together the undercurrents of apparently disconnected global events, and builds a bigger perspective on the threats that we face and where our true national interests lie. Owing to the tremendous appreciation received by these educational program series, a number of people have expressed interest in learning more about Mr. Zaid. We present below a brief overview of his personal life, interests and expertise.

Languages of Pakistan

         Language is that part of human life, which has been created by the social loving attitude of man. Basically man has created it to fulfil his own social needs making communication possible and to understand the feelings and experience of others. Language is a very important part of culture rather language plays a massive role in creating and polishing a culture.

Pakistan is a totally different country as far as its languages are concerned from rest of the world. Because it has got so much different languages spoken within its boundaries. There are only a few countries with such diversity of medium of communication. It's also an interesting point that a person belonging to an area hardly understands the language spoken in neighbouring area or province.