During the 16th century a Christian slave, captured when only 15-years-old, shattered the traditional rules of the Ottoman Empire and through her intelligence and charm became its first Empress,...
The Iraqi city of Erbil is truly magnificent - and in many ways. With the settlement origins dating back at least 8,000 years, it is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities in the...
The imperial harem of the Ottoman era was the collection of wives, servants, and concubines of the Sultan, who sometimes numbered in the hundreds. Some were mere playthings or used for the production...
Our understanding and treatment of mental illness has come a long way over the centuries – and it’s just as well! In medieval times, people suffering a bout of ‘melancholia’ or those deemed ‘mad’...
Constantinople stood against sieges and attacks for many centuries, until finally new technology—the big cannons of the Ottoman Empire —brought down the Byzantine Empire’s capital. The fall of...
Marine archaeologists have found a large number of shipwrecks in a deep body of water known as the Levantine Basin in the Eastern Mediterranean. Experts have been looking for these wrecks for many...
Archaeologists have found a coin hoard in Slovakia . The silver treasure was uncovered in the foundations of an old church. No one is sure who owned the coins and they are somewhat mysterious, but it...
The history of our world has always been a bloody and difficult affair, full of struggles, wars and conquests. And in the centuries before our own, tribes and chieftains, kingdoms and empires, all...
In the world of nobility, aristocracy, and famous ruling dynasties, the issue of succession was always a problem. When several sons seek the prospect of a vacant throne, the greed and desire can...
Moldova may be the least visited country in Europe , but it has the largest wine cellar in the world, and a history that stretches back for millennia. Because of its incredible past, it has been home...
The Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic Bridge in Visegrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is considered to be one of the most remarkable in the world. It is one of the most important heritage sites in Bosnia and a...
The palace of Topkapi near the Bosphorus strait witnessed the greatest glories and the most heartbreaking tragedies in the history of the Ottoman Empire . Currently the Topkapi palace is a museum but...
St. Daniel was completely devoted in his quest to contemplate spiritual and religious issues through a life of solitary contemplation. He really did not want to be disturbed in this endeavour and...
The bloody Battle of Ankara was fought on 20 July 1402. The Ottomans were led by Bayezid I, who brought his troops against the Turkic Mongols (Timurids), led by Timur, also known as Tamerlane. Two...
What happens when two great conquerors of the ancient world and their mighty forces go head to head? A successful but unpredictable Ottoman Sultan was matched against a charismatic Mongol leader of...
There is a famous tomb located on Mount Zion in the ancient city of Jerusalem. A part of the Diaspora Yeshiva, this tomb receives thousands of visitors every year. Many of them go to the site with...