Türkiye’s Wonders: The History

 

Türkiye sits on an astonishingly rich history of ancient civilizations, witnessing not only the very first steps of settlements but also the ascendance of some of the greatest empires of the world. Göbeklitepe, which is in the eastern part of Türkiye, dates back to 12,000 years ago. It is older than Stonehenge and considered the “zero point” of the entire history. The settlement in Gobeklitepe hints at the dawn of village life, a transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture.

Türkiye is abundantly rich in terms of prehistoric sites that can be dated to thousands of years ago. One of them is Alacahöyük, situated in the central part of the country. Belonging to the great Hittite Empire, which reigned over great parts of Anatolia during the Neolithic Age. Artifacts found here suggest that the settlers started to use copper tools alongside stone tools. Excavations show that the town was progressing towards a flourishing community with a substantial network of roads and trade routes.

Konya, a central city in Türkiye, boasts a wide array of historic monuments from nearly all ages of history. Greeks, Persians, Romans, and Seljuk Turks inhabited the city during different times and all contributed to the city’s historic heritage, respectively. Mevlana, who is a renowned religious philosopher, practiced his teaching here. His resting place is now a museum, demonstrating the mystic way of life his dervishes lived.

One cannot skip İstanbul when talking about history in Türkiye. Being a former capital of both the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, İstanbul possesses more historical places than any other city in the country. Hagia Sophia can easily be the oldest of these. Built by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian in 537 AD, this monument changed the history of architecture. Although built as a church, it was converted to a mosque by Fatih Sultan Mehmed, the great Turkish conqueror of Constantinople, nowadays called İstanbul. Opposite to Hagia Sophia lies the Blue Mosque, named after its wonderful blue tiles.

Türkiye’s historic heritage is vast and widely diversified, a sight to behold and admire.

Türkiye’s Wonders: The Nature

 

Located on a unique geographic crossroad, Türkiye enjoys all four seasons. Summers are not too dry unlike its neighbours in the South. Winters are also no colder than its northern neighbors. You may feel an occasional breeze cooling you when the weather is too hot.

You can always take a swim in the turquoise waters of beautiful beaches spread out all around the country’s coastal regions if you still swelter. Türkiye boasts some of the best beaches out of all Mediterranean countries.

 The north of the country harbors the Black Sea and is famous for its humid climate. Rainfalls are so common in these parts that they let the trees flourish.  The green forests meet the clear blues of the sea, creating a view that is so picturesque you will want to visit it again.

The east of the country is mountainous. As the elevation gets steeper, you can witness some eye-candy scenery there. The famous Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağı) attracts climbers from all around the world.

One of the natural wonders of Türkiye is the Peribacaları, or Fairy Chimneys. Situated right at the middle of the country, these are interestingly-shaped rock formations caused by natural forces eroding the rocks.

And there is İstanbul, a city that serves as a bridge to both European and Asian side of Türkiye. A large canal called Bosphorus divides these two continents while providing a passageway for the ships traveling between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Türkiye’s natural wonders are not limited to this essay. One must visit the country to truly dig for the other hidden gems.

Drones Find New Uses

 

A Quadcopter Drone

Drones have divulged into more aspects of our modern life as they get technologically more complicated. Their versatile use comes as no surprise as they find new fields of implementation over time. The latest place where drones are starting to excel is the combat arena.

Drones had a limited use in the field of conflicts up until now. They were used as a means of surveillance, monitoring the situation on the battlefield. Equipped with the cutting-edge use of optics, drones surveyed and gathered intelligence about the other party in a conflict.

However, the latest developments around the conflict zones assigned drones new duties with additional capabilities. They now can be controlled by virtual reality goggles from a distance, which is called “First Person View.” This way it is much easier for the drone operator to steer and pinpoint the drones to any location.

Additionally, they have been installed with some explosive ordnance with which they can strike the enemy. A drone can now take out an enemy tank single-handedly.

The use of drones as a weapon brought about important tactical implications that must be taken into account by all sides of any conflict. Because drones are cheap to produce and capable of destroying expensive equipment, they changed the military doctrine forever.

First introduced to fulfill non-combat duties such as aerial photography, drones have come a long way. Their job on combat operations is well-consolidated now and is expected to continue in the future with a greater scope.

Economics of Football

Football has been at the forefront of the entertainment sector for the last 50 years. Masses of people gather around to watch their favorite team play. Not only do they fill the stadia, but also they use televisions or their phones to follow their teams’ performance on the pitch.

Because it has been so popular all over the world, football generates an insane amount of income for the clubs. Tickets, sponsorships, and advertisements bring in cash to the clubs. With such a steady source of income, clubs invest in bigger stadiums, which in turn lead to more income through sales of more tickets than before. Clubs also buy young talents who have the potential to grow into robust players, who could be sold to richer clubs for a considerable profit. This is the business cycle that we see surrounding the triangle formed by clubs, players, and fans.

Yet, football cannot always be profitable as one would expect. Ill-decisions given by clubs as to the transfer policies might be a step backwards. Make too many of such transfers and you will end up with an income loss. If clubs do not behave professionally in managing the team, they might also lose their competitiveness in the sports arena, which might deprive them of a valuable fan base. Without a reliable fan base, the club will not be able to sell tickets or merchandise, which poses as another loss-incurring reality.

Clubs getting poorer in such a fashion experience a downward spiral that can see the team off, making them struggle for years in lower leagues.

No matter how dependent on money football is nowadays, it still is beautiful.

How to Spark An Interest on Aviation

The quickest technological progress that human-beings has ever accomplished might be considered as advancements on aviation. In less than 100 years after Wright-Brothers’ attempt at flying with the most basic airplane, we transport millions around the globe by air through state-of-the art airplanes, which weigh tons. Such an improvement would not have been concieved if it was not for the passion of persons on aviation.

Such a passion would only be lived on by helping kids develop a love for flying and everything that makes us move in the air. The next generation should take aviation to the next level and they must be exposed to jets, helicopters and all flying machines throughout their educational career.

One way to install such a passion is to take them to museums wih aviation themes. Getting up close and personal with some of the historic aircraft can be quite helpful. Quoting on how these operated on the real life and telling stories about these flying wings might capture the little ones’ attention.

They can also be taken to the nearest air show where people can get up close and personal with various aircraft. Unlike museums, these are not static displays. You can watch them fly by and even perform some aerobatics, which might spark an interest in these machines. Feeling the vibrations that the jet engines produce always gets one into an excitement and awe.

The love for flying starts at the childhood. Pilots are often the ones who kept dreaming on flying when they were young. We should encourage young people to pursue aviation-related careers.

As the great Turkish Leader Ataturk says: “The future is in the skies.”

When Audio Becomes an Obsession

 

Music takes up a good part of our lives since it is conceived as a form of entertainment which you can enjoy on the go. With the advent of portable devices that are able to play music anywhere, music has become more accessible and easily available. Gone are the days when one can only access music through radiotapes which were bulky and heavy.

People now listen to music through their mobile phones, which is always available to them wherever they go. Using earphones, there is no interference between us and the music, enabling a whole new listening experience. Every note, every instrument and every subtle detail in music is now discernible by listeners.

Such an experience has created a new phenomenon called “audiophly”. People who claim to enjoy only the best-sounding music call themselves audiophils. They are known to tell all the characteristics of good-sounding music, and to them any crack at the sound would take away the joy of listening.

Audiophils yearn for the ultimate music experience that money can buy. Thus, they are always on the lookout for technology that has the potential to enhance this experience. To them, people should steer clear of the sound equipment that is technologically inferior-it steals from the joy of music.

Making the most of the listening experience, it might be a good idea to pick the right equipment. However, spending way more than you can afford to pursue that dream is not sensible. We can still have fun listening to music while setting our expectations according to our budget.

No More Outdoor Fun?

 

Recreational activities stand at the very center of the newly established concept of “having fun” in today’s modern life. People prefer going out to a park or a natural setting and spending their time moving around.

These activities are mostly popular among people because they can be done on a limited budget. You only need to pay for the equipment; a tent, or hiking shoes, depending on what you plan to do.

However, the number of people who are actually spending their day outside doing what they love is gradually declining. People are getting tight on their schedule that they no longer have spare time to fill in with these leisurely activities.

Working long hours while having to take care of children already sucks up valuable time and energy from one’s life. Thus, they are forced to employ what is left of them to best use. They choose to watch Netflix or play video games as a form of entertainment over those that are done outdoors.

Such circumstances that push us to idly entertain ourselves at home are not bound to change so quickly. Some of us still have to work double jobs, some take care of three small children. However, we should never stop altering our busy schedule in favor of some outdoor activities. We can always carve out some of our time to go out and do some exercises, even for a couple of hours.

We must take it seriously as it can determine your health status too. No one can maintain a healthy lifestyle without adding some exercise to their leisurely activity list.