Architecture, Aleppo

The Great Ummayyad Mosque remains one of the great symbols of the glorious period of Muslim civilisation and its pride. It is a master piece of architectural ingenuity having a decisive influence on the maturity of mosque architecture all over the Muslim World. http://www.muslimheritage.com/article/great-ummayad-mosque

One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Aleppo preserves remnants of more than four millennia of Near Eastern history. The Citadel of Aleppo is a densely layered microcosm of this long and complex history. https://www.wmf.org/project/citadel-aleppo

It is the oldest mosque of Gaziantep, and constructed by Boyacı Yusuf and Kadı kemalettin in 1357. Mosque, which belongs to Turkish Memluks, is very rich in connection with marble and tile adornments. Wooden balcony, which is the oldest sample of wooden craft of Gaziantep, has twelve branched stars, which are adorned with pelmet, rosette and geometric motifs. http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN,99267/gaziantep.html

The Greek castle, which is in the Kasaba village of Yavuzeli province of city of Gaziantep, is at the intersection point of Fırat River and Merzimen stream. It is thought that it is constructed in 840 B. C. during late Hittite period. http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN,99267/gaziantep.html

The Ulu (Grand) Mosque dating back to the 15th century is an important remains of the area. http://www.allaboutturkey.com/maras.htm

In the city of Kahramanmaras Important remains in the area is Hatuniye Mosque of the Ottoman period. http://www.allaboutturkey.com/maras.htm

The cathedral of St. Nicholas / Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque is the largest medieval building in Famagusta and was commenced in 1300 AD. It must be noted that the great cathedrals of the Middle Ages often took more than 100 years to complete, so was St. Nicholas was completed about 1400. http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/city/famagusta/lala/index.html

It is known that Zeynel Abidin, one of the prominent of the Rufai Sect, built a lodge, mosque and fountain in the environment where the tomb is today. Known as Imam Sultan in Kayseri, Zeynel Abidin died in Kayseri in 1414 and a modest mausoleum was built on the grave at the present place. II. In the time of Abdulhamit, in 1886, the existing tomb was built in the place where Zeynel Abidin's grave was located. The tomb is a square planned structure and is covered with a dome. There are two lines of couplets on all the windows of the building with three windows on each side. There is a sarcophagus of Zeynel Abidin in the middle of the tomb. In the building inscription on the entrance door of the building, it is engraved on an oval medallion. https://www.kayseri.bel.tr/kesfet-listeleme/zeynel-abidin-turbesi

Clock tower II. It was built in 1906 by Tavlusunlu Salih Usta with the order of Abdülhamit and the support of Kayseri Governor Haydar Bey. The rectangular space next to it was built as a clock room. The 15-meter high tower can be reached by spiral stairs. During the National Struggle period, Anadolu and Rumeli Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemlığı were used as Kayseri Branch. There is a rectangular opening in the pointed pyramidal cone section covering the tower and a clock bell inside it. Constructed of cut stone, the structure is divided into three sections with transversely arranged mouldings. There are circular openings arranged for the clock on each side of the upper section. https://www.kayseri.bel.tr/kesfet-listeleme/saat-kulesi

The Monastery of St. Barnabas is at the opposite side of the Salamis-Famagusta road, by the Royal Tombs. You can easily tell it by its two fairly large domes. It was built to commemorate the foremost saint of Cyprus, whose life was so intertwined with the spread of the Christian message in the years immediately following the death of Christ. http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/city/famagusta/stbarnabas/index.html

This historic mosque is located 3km west of Larnaka on the road to Kiti, on the main Salt Lake. After the Arab armies successfully landed in Larnaka in 648AD, the Holy Helper and aunt of Mohamed - Umm Haram - died at the site when she fell off her mule. http://larnakaregion.com/directory/product/hala-sultan-tekke-mosque

Bellapais Abbey is located in the hillside, 6 miles South East of Kyrenia. The Abbey is the best example of Gothic architecture in Cyprus, as well as being ones of the finest in the Middle East. Built by the Lusignans, the first settlers in Bellapais Abbey were the Agustinas Monks, who escaped from Jerusalem in late Twelth century. http://www.kyreniacastle.com/kyrenia.php

Kyrenia Castle is located near the harbour, which is horse shoe shaped. It was originally built by the Romans in the Third century to defend the city, which was located up on the hillside. In the Tenth century, the Byzantines then further enhanced the shape of the castle in order to protect the people of the city from Arab pirates. http://www.kyreniacastle.com/kyrenia.php

Conservation works to the Archangelos Michael Church in Turkish occupied Lefkoniko have been completed. On the October 12, a project completion ceremony of consolidation and conservation works will take place, the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, the European Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have announced. Archangelos Michael Church was included as a conservation project among the very first priorities of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage in 2009 together with Arnavut Mosque in Limassol in recognition of the importance of both monuments. http://cyprus-mail.com/2017/10/11/archangelos-michael-church-project-completed/

The Kyrenia Gate in the North Cyprus is one of the three gates on the walls surrounding the old city of Nicosia. This gate was one of the most important entry-exit points of the city. It is also known as the "Del Providetore Gate" after the architecture Proveditore Francesco Barbaro. http://www.northcyprusonline.com/North-Cyprus-Online-Sightseeing-Nicosia-Kyrenia-Gate.php

This was originally a church built in 1359 with funds donated by a successful merchant called Simon Nostrano during the reign of Pierre I. http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/city/famagusta/mq-sinanpasha.htm

The magnificent Lefkara Church is dedicated to the Holy Cross and dates back to the 14th century. According to the byzantinologist Athanasios Papageorgiou, the eastern part of the Church dates back to the 14th century, named after considering rescued frescoes behind the church’s iconostasis. This date is also confirmed by the metrical “Olivianos’ inscription”, which appears at the bottom of the Lefkara Golden Cross. There is written evidence that Olivianos was a Lefkara Bishop in 1307 during the occupation period by the Franks. This fact is also confirmed undeniably by the founder’s note on a manuscript dating back to the 14th century, which is kept in the Church’s safe. At the end of this manuscript, which is a precious Evangeliary it is noted that it was written in 1345/46 and that the monk Gabriel who was the abbot and the founder of the “Holy and Life-giver Revealed Cross” monastery paid all the expenses. In 1740 the church was restored and the wooden sculptured iconostasis was then made by the Rhodian sculptor Hadjikyriacos who was called in by the church-warden Lourentzos to this end. n 1867 important works were carried out in the church and it was, therefore, expanded in order to have a greater congregation capacity. In 1909 common repair works in the church were deemed necessary and then the entrance was constructed as it appears today. The south door was also built. In 1953 the dome was covered with paintings. The style of the eastern part of the church is cruciform with a cupola, while the style of its more recent part is Cypriot dating back to the 19th century. Furthermore, there are six internal pillars ranged in two rows per three pillars. http://www.lefkaravillage.com/churches.html

Sultan Han Caravanserai is located in the Sultan Hani District of Bünyan District, located on the 46th km of Kayseri-Sivas road. The neighbourhood got its name from this work. It was built between 1232-1236 during the reign of Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat I. It is one of the best examples of the Seljuk architect style. Very smooth cut stone was used on the body walls. The joints are very uniform and show a structure called "not to flow". The arch built with the alternating use of beige and brownstone attracts attention at the crown gate of the courtyard. Depending on the stone material, decorations with relief and carving techniques can be seen in the crown doors, two corner towers and Köşk Mescit. https://www.kayseri.bel.tr/kesfet-listeleme/sultan-hani-kervansarayi

Limassol's historical centre is located around its medieval Limassol Castle and the Old Port. Today the city spreads along the Mediterranean coast and has extended much farther than the castle and port, with its suburbs stretching along the coast to Amathus. http://www.limassoltourism.com/en/things-to-do/local-experience/nightlife/1-limassol-city-center

The Limassol Castle is situated in the centre of old Limassol, is a remnant from the presence of Crusaders on the island. It was built in the 13th century on the site of an earlier Byzantine castle and has been converted today into the Cyprus Medieval Museum. http://www.limassoltourism.com/en/things-to-do/local-experience/nightlife/2-limassol-castle

Located in the mountainous region of Marathasa Valley, the Monastery of Kykkos is the wealthiest and most lavish on the island, and stands on a mountain peak, at an altitude of 1.318 metres. http://www.visitcyprus.com/index.php/en/discovercyprus/culture-religion/sites-monuments/item/263-kykkos-monastery

One of the most beautiful and interesting for visiting amphitheatres is located in Kourion. It will amaze travellers with its majestic appearance, the beauty of the preserved antique mosaics and the magnificent panoramic view that opens from spectators’ seats. http://www.orangesmile.com/extreme/en/operational-amphitheaters/ourion-ancient-amphitheater.htm#object-gallery

The Haifa City Museum is located in the Haifa’s German Colony, at the foot of the famous Baha’i Gardens. Celebrating Haifa’s rich cinematic past, the museum was created within an old Templar Community House originally built in 1869 and recently restored in 2000. Within the museum’s old walls visitors can be taken back to the the age of the silver screen and the years that followed. The Haifa City Museum can be enjoyed by anyone, from film buffs to wide-eyed toddlers with no understanding of the cinematic legends such as Clark Gable, Alfred Hitchcock and Marilyn Monroe. With full blueprints of Haifa’s historical movie-houses, letters on official movie-house letterheads and even opening night invitations in “The Palaces of Haifa” exhibition, you too can be transported back to the time where glamour and fame cycled around the movie industry. A special curtained-off area of the museum’s first floor holds a screen and projector where you can sit and watch old film trailers and old Israeli pre-movie advertisements. Also on display are old film reels and a photo collection donated by a local resident featuring Hollywood’s stars of yesteryear such as Gregory Peck, James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich. Largely featured in the Armon Theatre which was established in the Haifa’s Downtown area, not far from the German Colony, in the year 1935. The original theatre had 1800 seats and an electric removable roof for pleasant summer evenings. On opening night, the Armon Theatre showed “The Merry Widow”, an Oscar-winning musical comedy. The theatre met its demise with its closing in the late 80s and was eventually torn down. https://www.touristisrael.com/haifa-city-museum/5537/

Haifa’s German Colony is probably the culture and tourism centre of this beautiful city. Located just beneath the Bahai Gardens, Haifa’s largest tourist attraction, the German Colony has been beautifully restored in recent years and is now lined with trendy cafes, restaurants, and boutiques. A visit to Haifa is not complete without exploring the German Colony, and those who do visit take away great memories. A visit is definitely one of THE things to do in Haifa. The German Colony of Haifa is a small area located at the foot of the Baha’i Gardens and reaching the Port of Haifa. It was founded in the late 1860s by German Templars (not to be confused with the Templar Knights of the Crusaders who also settled in Northern Israel) and throughout the two world wars in the early 21st century was inhabited on-and-off by the German Protestants who built the area up. Today, Ben Gurion Avenue, the main road in the German Colony, is lined with distinct red-roofed cafés, restaurants and boutiques. Tourists flock to the German Colony for relaxation, culinary experiences and even the nightlife. In the German Colony, close to the port, is Haifa’s City Museum as well as the old City Center, a small mall. For those wishing to stay in the German Colony, the Colony Hotel Haifa can be found on Ben Gurion Avenue just minutes away from the Baha’i Gardens. https://www.touristisrael.com/haifas-german-colony/4998/

The Madatech National Science, Technology and Space Museum in Haifa, is a large museum crammed with hands-on activities that will please both adults and children. Not far from the Bahai Gardens, in the Hadar neighbourhood of Haifa, the museum is housed in the large edifice which is the old Technion building. The Madatech building was built in the early 1910s, visited by Albert Einstein in 1923 and then made into a museum in 1984. Today the museum hosts some 200,000 visitors annually, many of them children on school trips. The Madatech National Science, Technology and Space Museum can be broken up into five parts for mapping out. The ground floor of the main building contains the front desk, a café, a children’s play area, a gift store and several exhibits such as the history of the printing press and The Road to Safety Exhibition. In the Road to Safety Exhibition children and adults can sit side-by-side on crash simulator, operated only by a museum guide, which proves the need for seatbelts while driving. Be prepared, the crash is quite a jolt! Continuing up a narrow staircase (elevators are also on-site), the first floor comes to view. On the first floor are exhibitions such as the Natural Science Room with over 100 stuffed animals and birds all found in the Haifa area including eagles, mongooses and jungle cats. Other exhibitions include Puzzles & Games, Green Energy and Acoustics & Waves, all going into depths with hands-on displays and tools for everybody to benefit from. In the Green Energy exhibition children can learn about combustion, solar power and light power, many of the displays featuring little lights that illuminate with the power generated at the display. Children can also race sailboats on a table with fans, mapping out wind currents with guided lines on the table. Also on the first floor is the Einstein Hall where an exhibition was made in honour of Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first and only astronaut. Included in the exhibit are some of his personal belongings found at the crash site of the Columbia space shuttle that tragically crashed on descent over Texas. https://www.touristisrael.com/madatech-science-technology-museum-haifa/5294/

Mevlevi Derhgahı (Dervish Lodge) and the mausoleum started to function as a museum in 1926 under the name of Konya Museum of Historical Works. In 1954 the display pattern of the museum was once more taken up and it was renamed as the Mevlevi Museum. http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN,113978/konya---mevlana-museum.html

One of the known Mosque in Konya. http://turkeytourism.com.my/destinations/konya/

The archaeological excavations carried out by Turkish Historical Society in 1941 showed that the first settlement on the hill goes back to 3000 BC, Early Bronze Age. [1] Later on, the hill had also been used as a settlement area during Phrygian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman eras. http://konya.com.tr/en/portfolio-item/alaeddin-tepesi/

Located in the village of Geroskipou, this interesting 9th century Byzantine church is a five-domed, three-aisled, barrel-vaulted basilica, making it one of only two such churches on the whole island, and a significant example of Byzantine architecture. The beautiful interior wall paintings date to various periods, from the 8th-15th centuries. A monochrome reddish cross, painted directly on the stone, is of an earlier type and was revealed during restoration works. This type of cross is usually dated to the Early Christian period, up until the 8th-9th century. Apart from its frescoes, the church also contains a rather significant portable, double-sided icon, dating to the 15th century. The Virgin Mary is depicted on one side, and the scene of the Crucifixion on the other. According to tradition, the name Geroskipou (‘sacred garden’ in Greek) derives from the sacred gardens of the Goddess Aphrodite, which were located to the south of the village towards the sea, at the point where the ancient pilgrims began their journey to the sanctuary of Palaipafos (old Pafos). As such, the church may stand on the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to Aphrodite, although it could also originally have been dedicated to Timios Stavros (the Holy Cross). Today, it is dedicated to the Christian martyr Agia Paraskevi. https://www.visitcyprus.com/index.php/en/discovercyprus/rural/sites-monuments/item/700-agia-paraskevi-byzantine-church-geroskipou-village

The famous ‘Tombs of the Kings’ form part of the Archaeological Park of Kato Pafos (Paphos) - one of the most important archaeological sites of Cyprus that has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list since 1980. The monumental underground tombs are carved out of solid rock and date back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Rather than kings, it is actually high ranking officials and aristocracy that were buried here, but the size and splendour of the tombs – some decorated with Doric pillars - gave the locality its grand name. Some of the tombs imitate the houses of the living, with the burial chambers opening onto a peristyle atrium. They are similar to tombs found in Alexandria, demonstrating the close relations between the two cities during the Hellenistic period. http://www.visitcyprus.com/index.php/en/discovercyprus/culture-religion/sites-monuments/item/253-tombs-of-the-kings

The Archaeological Park of Kato Pafos (Paphos) is one of the most important archaeological sites of Cyprus and has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list since 1980. Nicocles, the last King of Palaipafos moved the city from the previous location to its present location near the harbour at the end of the 4th century BC. Between the 2nd century BC and 4th century AD, Pafos was the capital city of Cyprus. The Park includes sites and monuments from the 4th century BC to the Middle Ages, while most remains date to the Roman period. The intricate mosaic floors of four Roman villas (the houses of Dionysos, Theseus, Aion and Orpheus) form the impressive epicentre of the finds, and depict various scenes from Greek Mythology. The complex also includes other important monuments, such as the Asklepieion, the Odeon, the Agora, the Saranta Kolones (Forty Columns) Castle, the Limeniotissa ruins of an Early Christian Basilica, and the Tombs of the Kings. http://www.visitcyprus.com/index.php/en/discovercyprus/culture-religion/sites-monuments/item/239-archaeological-park-of-kato-pafos-paphos

Standing grandly at the west end of the town’s harbour, Pafos (Paphos) Castle (Medieval Fort) was originally a Byzantine fort built to protect the harbour, and was rebuilt by the Lusignans in the 13th century, but then dismantled by the Venetians. The Ottomans rebuilt it in the 16th century when they conquered the island. What survives today is the 1592 Ottoman restoration of the western Frankish tower with its Venetian additions. An inscription above the only entrance of the castle bears witness to this restoration. The main part of the castle is a big square tower that has an enclosed courtyard in the middle. The ground floor consists of a central hall with small rooms on each of its two long sides, which were used as prison cells during Ottoman Rule. There are 12 battlements on the roof, which received a corresponding number of cannons. The Ottomans removed the cannons in 1878, when they handed over the administration of the island to the British, who used the castle as a salt store until 1935, when it was declared an Ancient Monument under the Antiquities Law. http://www.visitcyprus.com/index.php/en/discovercyprus/culture-religion/sites-monuments/item/245-pafos-paphos-castle

As you eat or walk along the seafront, you will enjoy the view of the medieval castle that adorns the port of Pafos. Pafos Castle was originally a Byzantine fortress, built in 965 AD for the protection of the port. It was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1222 AD. The castle was rebuilt by the Lusignans around the end of the 12th century to replace the fort of "Forty Columns" for the defence of the island, especially during the Medieval Period (1192-1489). It was destroyed shortly before 1570 by the Venetians, to stop it from being used by the Ottoman Turks, whose invasion of Cyprus was expected. The Turks did indeed invade the island and restored the castle in 1592. They even strengthened it with new fortifications as stated in a Turkish inscription above the entrance. The ground floor consists of a central hall which opened to several small spaces. Under Turkish rule, these were used as prisons. Pafos (Paphos) Castle served as a fortress, as a prison and also as a salt storage area during the period in which the island was a British colony. In 1935 it was declared an ancient monument. https://www.cyprusalive.com/en/medieval-castle-of-paphos-pafos