Historic Cities

Istanbul

The Historical Peninsula is surrounded by the Golden Horn on the north, the Marmara Sea on the south, the Bosphorus on the east and Fatih on the west.

The Golden Horn district is on the southern-east end of the Qatalca peninsula. It is a natural port right at the entrance to the Bosphorus. It separates the Historical Peninsula and Beyoglu part; it divides the part of the city on Europe into two. It extends to Sarayburnu on the south, from Kaglthane to Tophane on the north. Today, "the Golden Horn" is used to define not only the natural port, but also the area covering the districts around it.

Taken into World Heritage List by UNESCO, Fener is within the borders of the province of Fatih, on the western coast of the Golden Horn. The neighbor of the district of Balat, Fener has a history as old as Istanbul's.

Known as "Fanarion" even before the Ottoman, era due to the existence of the most important lighthouse of the coasts of the Golden Horn here, the district was named "Fener" in the Ottoman era. Today, Feneris one of the most special and must-be-discovered areas of istanbul with it's old historical Turkish houses, mosques, and historical churches at every step. It is generally chosen by Rum families for settlement. In 1601, a rapid increase in the Rum population in the area was observed with the settlement of Rum Patriarchate to the Aya Yorgi Church. Today, the district is still the centre of the Orthodox sect because of the patriarchate. Balat Like Fener, the district of Balat is on the World Heritage List of UNESCO and has similar characteristics with Fener. But, Balat is slightly different from Fener. It has been chosen by Jewish families since the Byzantine era. Especially with Jews migrating from Spain to the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century to Balat by the empire, the population in the district increased. Sultan Bayezid II stated his great happiness for inviting Jews in his letter to Ferdinand II The King Spain, mentioning his belief in the richness ~ they could add to the cultural texture of the Ottoman Empire.

Dubai

There can be few world-class cities with a history as short as Dubai's. Just a century ago, it was a pearl-diving, Bedouin village where the Dubai creek meets the Gulf of Arabia. Now (thanks to the billions of dollars which flowed in after oil was struck in the 1960s), it is known as the 'City of Gold'.

Sightseeing comes a poor second for most visitors, lured by its reputation as a shopping paradise. The city's many souks (Perfume, Gold, Electronics, Spice and Covered Souk) attract millions each year since quality is high, choice is great and prices generally low.

But shopping and money is not the be-all-and-end-all. Though non-Muslims cannot enter UAE mosques, the Iranian mosque has beautiful Persian-style tiling on the outside, while the Dubai Museum offers a fascinating insight into how quickly this vibrant city has come to prominence. To appreciate quite how far Dubai has come, take a boat up Dubai Creek to the Al-Maktoum bridge for excellent views of the skyscrapers.

NEWS FROM EGYPT Wednesday 22 February 2006 - Egyptian Gazette More mummies found in Luxor cache Hassan Saadallah Special to The Gazette As has been widely reported in the local dailies, five mummies were discovered a few days ago in a catacomb in Luxor's Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of the Nile. But now the number has risen to eight, as three more have since been found in the same cache. The discovery of the catacomb, very near to Tutankhamun's tomb, was announced almost a fortnight ago. At first, it was found to contain five mummies with coloured funerary masks enclosed in sarcophagi. A number of large sealed storage jars were also discovered. The head of the Upper Egyptian Antiquities Department, Atef Abul Dahab told this newspaper that his staff have started work on investigating the first intact cache to have been located since 1922. "There are various indications that the catacomb dates back to the 18th Dynasty [1570-1320 BC], but still we are trying to find something that helps us establish the exact date," said Abul Dahab, adding that they will eventually remove the 21 jars found in the cache and then the mummies, some of which are in poor condition.

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