Multiview of Istanbul - Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul was the 2010 European Capital of Culture. The city has surpassed London and Dubai to become the most visited city in the world, with more than 20 million foreign visitors in 2023. The historical centre of Istanbul is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city hosts the headquarters of numerous Turkish companies, accounting for more than thirty per cent of the country's economy.

 

Samerberg viewing chapel - Denizli, Turkey

The chapel with its octagonal building dates from the 19th century. In the chapel itself, you will find a rather small gothic altar from the 16th century and a gothic altarpiece with the 14 Holy Helpers.

In front of the chapel, visitors have a fantastic view over the Rosenheimer Land with Bad Aibling and Rosenheim to the Simssee and Chiemsee.

EUROPA stamp 2018 - "Bridges"

 

The Evil Eye - Istanbul, Turkey

Many cultures believe that receiving the evil eye will cause misfortune or injury, while others believe it to be a kind of supernatural force that casts or reflects a malevolent gaze back-upon those who wish harm upon others (especially innocents). 

Talismans or amulets created to protect against the evil eye are also frequently called "evil eyes". Older iterations of the symbol were often made by ceramic or clay, however, proceeding the production of glass beads in the Mediterranean in approximately 1500 B.C., evil eye beads popularised with the Phonecians, Greeks, Romans, and Ottomans.

 

Koran lectern Ottoman, 17th century - Istanbul, Turkey

The Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum - constructed in 1524, the building was formerly the palace of Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, who was the second grand vizier to Suleiman the Magnificent. The collection includes notable examples of Islamic calligraphy, tiles, and rugs as well as ethnographic displays on various cultures in Turkey, particularly nomad groups. 

 

#31 GF - Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is seen as the most connecting East and West. Its commercial and historical center lies on the website, about a third of the population on the Asian side. There are 3,113 local mosques in Istanbul. The Main Bazaar attracts from 250 thousand. up to 400,000 people a day.

 

Mediterranean view - Izmir, Turkey

The beginnings of settlement in Izmir date back to 3000 BC. The times of Alexander the Great brought the city to prosper. He had a fortress built on the Pagus hill and at its foot a new city, to which he relocated the inhabitants of the former Smyrna.   

Winter view - Çanakkale, Turkey

Çanakkale a city in northwestern Turkey, above the Dardanelles Strait (in its narrowest place).

Although the area around Canakkale has been inhabited since deep antiquity (the archaeological site of Troja is nearby), the modern city owes its beginning to the fortress built in this place by Sultan Mehmed II in the 15th century.