Turkish Odyssey, Discover Istanbul and Turkey with Serif Yenen Serif Yenen
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- Society & Culture
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Turkish Odyssey focuses primarily on travel destinations and the best places to visit in Istanbul, Cappadocia and Turkey. From cultural to practical information with a focus on food.
Serif Yenen is a lecturer guide, international speaker, part-time university instructor and author of many guidebooks.
Serif is a Smithsonian lecturer. He guided Pope Benedict XVI and Oprah Winfrey.
Serif’s videos are on his YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/serifyenen
Most of his publications: http://www.quickguides.info
His tours and travel services: http://www.serifyenen.com
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Episode 5: Topkapi Palace of the Ottomans
—Sections of the Topkapi Palace
—What was the Divan?
—Imperial Kitchens
—Ascension to throne ceremony
—Who ascended the throne when a sultan died?
—Funeral services of the sultans
—Difference between a sultan and a caliph
—Ceremony of Janissaries’ salaries
—Palace school (Enderun)
—Topkapi movie of Melina Mercouri and Peter Ustinov
—What are Islamic Holy Relics?
—Various skills of Ottoman sultans
—Who were Tressed Halberdiers?
—Forbidden section of the palace
—Who were black eunuchs?
—Were Concubines slave girls kept for the pleasure of the sultan? -
Episode 4: Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya), Top Must-See Place in Turkey
Episode 4: Hagia Sophia - Ayasofya
—Is it Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya? How is it pronounced?
—How many other 1500-year-old intact and still functioning monuments can you show from around the world?
—A typical Byzantine monument? No.
—How many times was it built?
—Who killed 30.000 people?
—World's largest temple for a minimum of 1000 years.
—How was it converted into a mosque?
—Mosaics of Ayasofya
—Marble techniques
—Prior knowledge of flying buttresses
—Where to eat when you are there -
Episode 3: History of Istanbul, Turkish Period
Episode 3: History of Istanbul, Turkish Period
-Turks, their arrival in Anatolia, the foundation of the Selçuk and Ottoman empires, and how Ottomans converted the Mediterranean Sea into a Turkish lake.
-What religion were Turks before?
-Who were Seljuks?
-When and where was the Ottoman Empire established?
-Who captured Constantinople, and how?
-Who was Sick Man of Europe?
-Who was the Hero of Gallipoli?
-Lausanne Treaty and proclamation of Turkish Republic.
-Reforms of Atatürk.
-Women were made eligible to vote in elections and to become members of Parliament in 1934.
-Peace at home, peace abroad. -
Episode 2: History of Istanbul, Early Times & Byzantine Period
History of Istanbul, Early Times & Byzantine Period
Neolithic finds in Istanbul
Opposite the blind people’s land
The city of Byzas: Byzantion
World’s largest medieval shipwreck collection
Constantine becomes the sole emperor of the Roman Empire
Roman version of Alexander the Great
Believer of Christianity or used Christianity for his political propaganda?
Council of Nicaea
From a small town to the Roman capital
Roman, Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire?
Nika Revolt of 532 AD
Walls of Constantinople
Fourth Crusade
Partitioning of the Byzantine Empire
Genoese merchants -
Episode 1: Basics & Orientation about Turkey
In this episode, Serif gives you the basics and an orientation about Turkey. He answers questions like below. If you have the opportunity, you may like to take a look at a Turkey map while listening to the podcast.
Where is Turkey located?
What does Turkey mean?
Geography of Turkey.
Biblical Mountains and Rivers
Largest Cities in Turkey
Population of cities and the country
How to visit Turkey?
From where to start?
Which cities to visit?
How is Turkish Cuisine? -
Trailer: Turkish Odyssey, Discover Istanbul and Turkey with Serif Yenen
Turkish Odyssey
Discover Istanbul and Turkey with Serif Yenen
Turkish Odyssey focuses primarily on travel destinations and the best places to visit in Istanbul, Cappadocia, Kusadasi, Ephesus, Troy, Göbekli Tepe and many other places in Turkey. It covers everything from cultural information about places of interest to practical information like how to travel or what to eat in these places.
Serif Yenen is a lecturer guide, international speaker, part-time university instructor and author of tens of guidebooks.
Serif is a Smithsonian lecturer with more than ten lectures at the Smithsonian Associates in Washington DC. He guided Pope Benedict XVI and Oprah Winfrey.
Serif’s videos are on his YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/serifyenen
Most of his publications are available at http://www.quickguides.info
His tours and travel services are at http://www.serifyenen.com
Customer Reviews
Perfect for trip preparation!
I’ve been to Türkiye few times before and realised I didn’t fully appreciate my sightseeing without knowing the history. So now I’m much more excited to go back again! Thank you
Exactly what I was looking for!
I've been searching for podcasts that have a beginner's-guide-to-Turkey approach and was only finding snippets of BBC shows or podcasts that went far deeper into the culture than I was able to follow without background knowledge. This one was exactly what I was looking for and it is so wonderfully done. Extremely refreshing to hear it told by someone who is actually Turkish, too, rather than another stuffy British classicist. Serif's passion and knowledge really shines through in the narration and I wish there were more episodes! Thank you!