The City of Civilizations
Sunday, May 23, 2010
It is Istanbul, one of the cities in Turkey. Istanbul embraces two continents with one arm reaching out to Asia and the other to Europe. The two continents are connected by the Bosphorus Bridge. Its history dates back to the earliest ages and is one of the most distinguished cities of the world. Through the city’s heart, the Bosphorus, course the water of the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn. It is Istanbul’s endless variety that fascinates its visitors. The museums, churches, palaces, grand mosques, bazaars and sights of natural beauty seem innumerable.
Topkapi Palace
The Topkapi Palace was constructed between the 15th and 19th centuries during the reign of Sultan Mehmet II, the Conqueror and was used as the management center of the Ottoman Empire and primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans. Now it has been used as a museum. Visiting the museum is a must for many reasons, for instance, some of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. belongings like His swords and beards are placed here.
Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque has a special place among the various Ottoman buildings constructed in the Sultanahmet Square. This building was constructed by Sedefkar Mehmet Aga, which is in the true meaning of the world, a masterpiece of architecture is the culmination of two centuries, Ottoman mosque and Byzantine church development. Sedefkar Mehmet Aga took classical Ottoman architecture and the Hagia Sophia into consideration in designing and construction of the Blue Mosque and created an interior space which is more spacious and well lighted and airy than the others. The mosque is known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. In addition to these blue tiles, wood works enriched with inlays of mother-of-pearl, stonemasonry and handwritten calligraphies contribute to the beauty of the building.
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia after serving 916 years as a church, 481 years as a mosque now maintains its historical function as a museum since 1935 and is the most important monument of the architectural history. Byzantine historians Theophanes, Nikepheros and Leon, the Grammar teacher of Byzantine wrote that construction of Hagia Sophia started during the reign of Constantinius I (324-337) and completed in 360 during the reign of Constantinius II. Its first name was Megali Eklesia (The Great Church) and it was changed to Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) after the 5th century.
Kapali Carsi (Grand Bazaar)
The history of the Grand Bazaar, which is in the historical peninsula between Nuruosmaniye and Beyazit, goes back as far as old ages. In Ottoman period Mehmet the Conqueror (1451-1481) built two covered bazaar side by side for the first time, and in time, top of other open bazaars that settled around were closed and a complex market was formed by the roads between them. Grand Bazaar has three main sections. Interior Covered Bazaar forms the core. It is also known as Cevahir Covered Bazaar and Old Covered Bazaar. Sandal Covered Bazaar is the second main section of the Grand Bazaar.
Taksim Square
Taksim Square is surrounded by the Istiklal Avenue, Siraselviler Avenue, Tarlabasi Boulevard, Ayaspasa-Gumusuyu Avenue, Mete Avenue and Cumhuriyet Avenue. The first building in Classical Ottoman style at this area of Istanbul after the Frank and Levantine settlement was a water tank. Water was brought from dense forests on the northern part of the city by water pipes during the reign of Sultan Mahmut in 1732-1733. Taksim Water Tank was built to store waters in a stone tank here. Therefore it gave its name to the square (the word ‘taksim’ means ‘share, distribution’).
Next Destination
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The place is a paradise of sun, sea, mountains, and lakes that offers a dramatic change from the ordinary. From April to October it boasts an ideal climate, perfect for relaxing near sandy beaches, mountains or lakes. It also has a magnificent past, a land rich in remarkable treasures, the remnants of 13 successive civilizations spanning 10 000 years. The capital is the only city in the world located on two continents, Europe and Asia. Also, the city is the former capital of three successive empires, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. The city today honors and preserves the legacy of its past while looking forward to a modern future. As the locations and sights change, one thing remains the same, the friendly people of this unique country, where the art of warm hospitality has been a cultural tradition for centuries. The magnificent place is Turkey, a unique country with plenty of historical sites, beautiful places, distinctive culture, delicious cuisine and many more. These fascinations have attracted me to sightsee this country, even once. Turkiye, iste geldim!
There is A Way How to Control Them
Friday, May 07, 2010
Control is an elusive phenomenon. Leadership is more than just barking out orders ; it takes subtlety. Often, the harder you tug at people, the less control you have on them. The problem in leading any group is that people inevitably have their own agendas. If you are too authoritarian, they will resent you and rebel in silent ways. If you are too easy-going, they will revert to their natural selfishness and you will lose control. You have to create a chain of command in which people do not feel constrained by your influence yet follow your lead. Put the right people in place-people who will enact the spirit of your ideas without being authomatons. Make your commands clear and inspiring, focusing attention on the team, not the leader. Create a sense of participation, but do not fall into Groupthink-the irrationality of collective decision making. Make yourself look like a paragon of fairness, but never relinquish unity of command.
Image : The reins. A horse with no bridle is useless, but equally bad is the horse whose reins you pull at every turn, in a vain effort at control. Control comes from almost letting go, holding the reins so lightly that the horse feels no tug but senses the slightest change in tension and responds as you desire. Not everyone can master such an art.
source : The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene
A Wonderful Place
Friday, April 30, 2010
Peace be upon all readers. I’m glad that finally I have a chance to update this site after weeks I didn't do it. I have been busy lately since many things need to be managed. For now, half of them were cleared up. I already got the residence and registered for the learning session at an institute not far from my residence. The classes have started three weeks ago, five days a week, morning and night.
A good news is my life here has not been so isolated since two of my college mates came here couple days ago. I brought them to some interesting places in Damascus, the capital city of Syria and I realized that this country is a wonderful place to visit because of its plenty historical sites and tombs of Allah’s prophet. The city is also a place that Rasulullah s.a.w. used to trade goods a long time ago, known as Syam in Arabic term.
One of the historical places is Umayyad Mosque. Located in Damascus city, the mosque was a church before it was conquered by Caliph Khalid al-Walid from the infidels and then was made as a mosque. It can be seen in the mosque some patterns which are usually decorated at church’s walls. Beside this mosque there is the tomb of Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, one of the Muslim war champions. Moreover, there are also The Tomb of the head Prophet Yahya a.s. who was decapitated by the infidels and the first baitulmal(bank) of Muslims inside the mosque. Not far from the mosque, there is another historical place where the first murder happened on this earth(Maqam Arba'in). The story was Qabil, a son of Prophet Adam a.s. killed his brother Habil because of envy towards him. About 70 kilometres from Damascus there is a village where we can find structures like theatre and public bathroom which were constructed during the emperor of Roman. The structures are very interesting, wonderful and strong. Also, there are the tombs of Prophet Ayyub a.s. and Imam Nawawai r.a. nearby the village.
As I said earlier, Syria is a great place to visit especially for Muslims. We as Muslims need to know the histories in Muslim calendar, about the prophets, the warriors, the leaders and everything that can be imitated or make as an instruction. If compared, the Muslim histories are far greater than any other history in this world. Believe it or not, explore it by yourself!
The Arrival
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Alhamdulillah, setelah hampir 20 jam berada dalam perjalanan(termasuk transit), penulis telah selamat tiba di Syria pada 6 April 2010 sekitar jam 4 petang(waktu tempatan). Syria merupakan sebuah negara Arab yang masyhur dengan keaslian Bahasa Arabnya dan juga kelazatan manisannya. Penulis datang ke negara ini bertujuan untuk mengkayakan skill Bahasa Arab yang sedia ada, mempelajari sedikit sebanyak ilmu agama, menziarahi tempat-tempat bersejarah, dan juga membuat sedikit kajian tentang kehidupan masyarakat Arab di negara ini. Setakat ini semua proses berjalan dengan lancar kecuali tempat kediaman yang masih dalam proses pencarian. Cuaca di negara ini pula boleh dikatakan agak sejuk, iaitu sekitar 20 darjah celcius. Manakala pada sebelah malam pula ia boleh mencecah sehingga 10 darjah celcius. Keadaan ini dijangka akan berterusan hingga hujung bulan ini sebelum musim panas tiba pada Jun nanti. Berkenaan dengan masyarakat Arab di sini pula boleh dikatakan agak memuaskan. Masyarakat Arab disini agak peramah walaupun pada zahirnya mereka kelihatan kasar ; memang asalnya mereka ini kasar daripada beberapa aspek.
Seterusnya, perkara yang mengecewakan penulis disini ialah beberapa laman web sosial popular seperti Facebook, Youtube dan Blogspot disekat dan diharamkan di negara ini. Laman-laman web ini diharamkan oleh Kerajaan Syria atas beberapa sebab - setahu penulis ianya bagi melindungi rakyat negara ini daripada pengaruh Israel. Pengharaman ini agak menyedihkan penulis kerana mungkin agak susah bagi penulis untuk berhubung dengan teman-teman dan juga keluarga yang berada di Malaysia. Namun begitu, atas sedikit pengetahuan dan kepakaran penulis tentang proksi untuk mengakses laman-laman yang disekat, akhirnya penulis berjaya mengakses laman Facebook, Blogspot dan lain-lain laman web yang disekat. Akibat dari itu, penulis boleh menulis entri ini untuk tatapan para pembaca budiman yang ingin mengetahui perkembangan dan keadaan semasa penulis sepanjang berada disini. 
Penulis ingin mengundurkan diri dulu memandangkan masa tidak mengizinkan, Insyaallah, penulis akan kembali menulis entri baru bila mana masa mengizinkannya. Setakat ini sahaja buat masa kini, kepada teman-teman yang penulis tidak sempat mengkhabarkan berita kedatangan ke negara ini, harap maaf. Semoga kalian semua berada dalam keadaan sihat seadanya. Ila lliqa'.
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