Istanbul-Memoir of the Last Islamic Empire-Part 1

Archeology Museum Archeology Museum

Our first destination in Istanbul was the Archeology Museum located near the Topkapi Palace. This museum display the ancient artifacts belonging from different cultures mostly from Roman era. At first I wonder why all these artifacts are displayed in Istanbul rather than their own country of origin. Did you know that during the Ottoman Empires reign from 14th Century, the Sultans were very powerful with successful conquest of the Balkan and Afrika, from Anatolian to Mesopotamia, Arabian Peninsular, Afghanistan and also part of the greater Europe. The break-up of this empire produced 62 different nation to this day, thats close to a third of the world's countries. I am very impressed, don't you? That is why all the collections from Greek, Rome and even from Egypt are kept in Istanbul as these things are send over from the respective ruler of each county as gifts to the Sultan. Here are some pictures at the Archeology Museum.

Trojan Horse at the children museum. The original Trojan Horse is in the city of Troy, famous for the legendary story from the times of Helen, Queen of Sparta and Paris, the Trojan Prince.

Statue of Cleopatra -Ummi striking the pose...hehe Statue of Alexander the Great Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great Pillar of a woman from the Greek temple- they are called Caryatid Porch (that's what Abi said anyway...hmmm, i wonder why)Sarcophagus of Sidonian King Thabit

What is a sarcophagus you may asked.....well, it is actually the stone or timber coffin that hold the remains of kings, queens or important people during their reign. The ancient people believed this is a way to preserve the mummia before they are brought back to life... what a scary thought that was.

We also visited The Tiled Pavillion located in the courtyard of the Archeology Museum. This place displayed different types of Turkish-Islamic and Ottoman tiles. ceramics and porcelains between 14th and 16th century that were produced from Iznik tile with its distinctive bluish feature (hence the name given to Blue Mosque)

Entrance gate of The Tiled Pavilion. This was one of the first pavillions erected by Sultan Mehmed II after his conquest of Istanbul.Inside the Pavillion Window Pediment

Ummi, I am tired already, let's go back On our way back, we stopped by at the park outside the museum. It is such a nice place to relax and enjoy the summer breeze. The trees are tall and shady with the fountain in the middle creating a cool feeling to all the visitors. Lucky I am one of them :)

Luqman and his New Friends in Istanbul

Turk Hava Yollari!!!

Hi everyone. This is what the Turkish people called their National Airlines. I just got back from Istanbul for our summer holiday between 17 July to 21 July and what fun we had. Turkish Airlines are really cheap but it was not as good as Etihad Airways. Why you ask? Well, for starters they did not provide basinet for baby like me..(no wonder their fare is cheaper compared to Etihad, so all mommies out there please take note). The stewardess were not friendly as well. In Istanbul, we stayed at Aladdin Hotel in Sultanahmet which is part of the old town. This is a very good hotel and don't forget check out Ummi's review for this hotel at TripAdvisor.

My Ummi and Abi spend most of the time walking to all the tourist attractions as they are really close to the hotel, with me in tow in my ever peberet buggy/stroller.

In this entry I only want to post my pictures with all my new friends I've met in Istanbul.. I really enjoy meeting people from all walks of life...just like you!

This is Nesrin, she really likes me. She kissed me a lot..:) I met her at Topkapi Palace and she is a guard in one of the rooms in Harem.

We were heading towards a park in Topkapi Palace and suddenly this beautiful girl looked at me and she asked permission from Abi to take a picture with me.. I am very tired that's why I did not smile. Look at her nose.. so mancung one...

Here Nesrin and her friend again

I met my new friend in Archeology Museum. He gave me a fruit because I was so cranky when Umi and Abi were enjoying their time checking out all the Roman Statue..This is a cat, I met him at the Sulamaniye Camii. I was so excited.. the cat? buat donno jer
This boy came to me and want to play with me. I met him at the Blue Mosque
Hah.. this is the girl that kissed me in the Blue Mosque. And me? What can a boy do, except Smile :)
This is Alaaddin Hotel Manager
This is Ibrahim and a nice lady from our hotel
This is Mr Mohamad from Alaadin Hotel. He is a nice guy and he can also speak Malay fluently as he worked in Madinah before and have met a lot of Malaysian Jemaah Haji.
This is the video of the lil' gurl trying to kiss me....make me so shy only..

That's all folks.

The Land of the Pharoah - Finale

Grapes, as far as the eye can see.....

Fayoum Orchard

Looks yummy..and cheap tooo (5 Genih or egyptian pound per kilo, equivalent to RM 3.50/kg)

Can I have one Ummi, they look delicious....

Qarun Lake, Ummi managed to capture the sunset with such panache :) Our last destination in Egypt is Fayoum, the largest oasis in Egypt. There are a lot of agriculture activities here. In the story of Prophet Yusuf, he interpreted the king's dream (seven weak cows devouring seven fat ones, seven green ears of corn being replaced by seven dry ones). This was believed to be the place where the farmers grew their crops in the seven years of prosperity before the seven years of severe and dreadful famine.

Ever heard the story of Qarun? We were lucky to have visited the temple of Qarun which is located near Fayoum. From the outside it is a very simple form with complete rectangular box shape and slightly tilted walls. Its interior is easily distinguished by a maze of rooms and staircases, all leading to the roof. This is the main part of the attraction, since only few of Egyptian temples have roofs and only few are accessible to the top. There is not much to see inside the temple, since all the interior are gone, except for a few remaining scriptures above the doors. On the way to this temple, we met with TV3 crews and the famous Jejak Rasul host, Ahmad Noor Sulaiman. Everybody were so excited, because it was not easy to meet them face to face. They were shooting for Jejak Rasul and they interviewed Abi and Tok. Don't forget to watch Jejak Rasul this Ramadhan ok.

The most popular story is that the lake and the temple take their name from an individual who's supposed to have lived in the area and duly mentioned in the Quran (al-Qasas 76). In the Quran, Qarun was appears as a man “too absorbed with his own richness”. He was being ungrateful to Allah. Qarun said the all the richness and wealth he accumulated was because of the knowledge he possessed. Qarun finally meets the wrath of Allah, again by being swallowed up by the earth. It is a well known story in Egypt. Some believe that his treasure is still hidden somewhere under the water of the lake. So, anybody game for bouts of treasure hunt just gimme a holler....hehe

Qarun Lake also situated in Fayoum area where you can see different kinds of birds...(no Lochness monster or the likes...sigh). Qarun lake is considered the oldest natural lake in the world, the third largest lake in Egypt. It is considered an interior lake that is not related to any sea or and rivers and an area of around 53 thousands acres in Fayoum Down. We had our seafood dinner at one of the restaurants nearby the lake and really enjoyed the sunset view.

The temple of Qarun

With Ahmad Noor, Jejak Rasul host

With Abi at the rooftop of Qarun Temple

Gateway within the temple Inside Qarun temple Back in Cairo, we also visited the Asfour Gallery. As all Mommies and my lady friends would already know, Asfour is a very famous brand for crystal throughout the world. There were a lot of chandeliers and I must say it was very interesting gallery. I did not bought anything because it was too expensive....although Ummi managed to coerce Abi into parting with stacks of Egyptian pound notes to take home some small souvenier...just brooch and the likes.

Asfour Gallery

The Land of the Pharoah - Part 4

Sultan Hassan Mosque

On Friday, we had the opportunity to perform Friday prayer in Sultan Hassan Mosque also known as Masjid 4 mazhab, one of the famous mosques in Cairo. There are many interesting stories about this mosque, which is considered to be Cairo's finest example of early Mamluk architecture. In fact, many guide books refer to it as the finest ancient mosque in Cairo, and has been praised as one of the major monuments of the Islamic world.

This mosque is also considered one of the largest, not only in Cairo but in the whole Islamic world. It is a massive structure measuring some 150 meters long and 36 meters high. It's tallest minaret is 68 meters tall. It was meant to house some four hundred students. Work was begun on the Mosque in 1356. About five years into its construction, one of the minaret collapsed killing more than three hundred people. This was thought to be a bad omen and to make matters worse, in 1361, Sultan Hassan was murdered, two years before the mosque was actually completed in 1363.

Ablution fountain at the courtyard

On each side of the sahn are recesses with arched supports known as iwans, which open upon the courtyard. They are of unequal size, and so great in size that they leave no space for the cells to overlook the courtyard. Each of the four iwans represents one school (or legal rite) of Sunni Islam, consisting of Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanafi and Hanbali. The walls of the sahn and the Iwans are marvelously ornate, with lamps hanging from lines looming far above.



The Minbar

In front of the mosque

Citadel of Salehuddin on the other side of the road
Sulaiman Pasha Mosque

The Land of the Pharoah- Part 3

Pyramids and Sphinx

There are a lot of places to visit around Cairo. The most amazing place that everybody have to visit in Egypt are the Pyramids, the greatest man-made structures on Earth. They are very huge and beautifully built!! There are 3 pyramids named Cheop, Khepren and Menkaure located at Giza just outside Cairo. The biggest is Cheop also known as Khufu and there is a tomb of the pharoah inside this pyramid. Near to pyramids there is the Sphinx (the guide of the pyramids), the largest statue in the world made from a single stone. But compared to Pyramids the Sphinx is so small.

My family at the pyramids

Peace
Happy faces

A visit to Egypt is not complete if Egyptian Museum is not in the tour list. We went to the museum and spent almost 3 hours there. The museum is so big and displayed more than 120,000 items from The Pharoah era's. The most remarkable item is Tutankhamen's famed god-like golden mask.

Inside the Museum
This is Tutankhamun Gold Mask
In front of the Museum
Outside the Museum

I am already 9 months old

Today I am already 9 months old. I already know ny name and and can understand a few words such as ball and eat. Now, I already had 1 tooth. I am getting closer and closer to full-fledged walking. I can move around upright while holding onto furniture and may even take a few steps -- with support.

I know how to clap my hands and move to the music especially Barney songs and Thomas and Friends music. I am also an expert babbler but Umi and Abi still cannot understand what I am trying to say..

That's all about my progress.. bye