At one time a cathedral, later a mosque, and now the chief museum of the Turkish Republic, Hagia Sophia, in the ancient Byzantine imperial capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul), was a world-famous...
For all large capital cities in ancient and modern history, protection was one of the major survival strategies. And what historical capital was bigger than legendary Constantinople ? Known as...
Archaeologists in Turkey have found what they believe to be a Viking mercenary district near Istanbul . The area dates back to the Middle Ages when Istanbul was known as Constantinople, the capital...
On July 12, 2020, Pope Francis stood silently in a pulpit placed in the large window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in Rome. He had just delivered the weekly Angelus prayer given each...
The government of Turkey has announced that the world-famous Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul will be turned back into a mosque . This former cathedral and mosque is widely considered to be one of the...
Kosem Sultan was a woman who refused to be just another widow on the Ottoman court - instead she became a real ruler of the empire. Her decisions made such an impact, that after her death noblemen in...
Excavations around a historic Istanbul train station have exposed a spread of tombs loaded with artifacts, including the remains of 28 human skeletons and 10,000 gold coins. Exploring the Land of the...
For a moment, if one could conjure up in one’s mind's eye Istanbul, a city of magic, mystery, strategic geographical importance, and historic consequence: Standing on the Galata Bridge, facing north...
Egeria was a young woman who decided to make the trip of a lifetime and go to the Holy Land. But what inspired her to make that journey and walk half of the world all alone? She was born in beautiful...
Hayreddin Barbarossa was one of the most notorious pirates of his day. Together with his older brothers, Ishak and Aruj, they conquered the North African city of Algiers, and submitted it to the...
Hürrem Sultan appeared in Topkapi Palace as a slave, but in a very short time she became one the most influential women of the Ottoman Empire . The name Hürrem was given her by the Sultan Suleiman I...
Archaeologists doing an underwater survey in the Aegean Sea in Greek territorial waters have found an amazing 22 shipwrecks of merchant vessels that sank between 700 BC and the 16th century AD. The...
The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has a very long history. It has survived earthquakes, religious power struggles, and has been a church (basilica), a mosque and is now a museum. It is known as the...
An ancient, three-headed snake will return to Delphi, where it originated nearly 2,500 years ago. The Serpent Column is a bronze pillar built in the ancient city of Delphi, Greece, to commemorate...
For over a thousand years until its fall to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the city of Constantinople was one of the greatest urban centres in the Christian world. At the heart of this city was the Hagia...
Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of ancient surgery among the remains of people who lived in a settlement near Istanbul, Turkey, between the 11 th and 6 th centuries B.C. A skull, buried among...