Istanbul's history is a catalogue of change, not least of name, yet it has managed to retain its own unique identity. John Freely captures the flavour of daily life as well as court ceremonial and intrigue. The book also includes a comprehensive gazetteer of all major monuments and museums. An in-depth study of this legendary city through its many ...
In the Eastern world carpets and rugs have traditionally been used for prayer, shelter, the transportation of goods, and of course for comfort and decoration. The aim of this book is to enable readers to understand the decorative and technical features of oriental carpets by helping them to identify and classify carpets via their geographic ...
The story of a mythical messiah named Sabbatai Sevi who in the 1600s proclaimed he would lead the Jews back to the Holy Land. He was known for his unusual practices of the Jewish faith.
The Cyclades are the quintessential Greek isles, renowned for the beauty of their seascapes, their historical monuments and a unique way of life deeply rooted in the remote past of the Aegean. Over the course of more than 7,000 years the Cyclades have seen a succession of civilizations, the earliest of them perpetuated in legends such as that of ...
This volume takes us behind the doors of Topkapi Sarayi and the other palaces of the Ottoman sultans who for more than six centuries ruled one of the world's most powerful empires. The heart of the palace was the Harem, the women's quarters, ruled by the Valide, or Queen Mother. Here the Sultan took his ease surrounded by his wives and concubines ...
Who are the Turks and where did they come from? The successive empires that they created in a whirlwind of conquests from China to North Africa led one chronicler to call the waves of mounted Turkic warriors a 'storm on horseback.' This is the story of the Seljuk Turks of Anatolia who created the first Turkish state. The Seljuk period - when ...
Freely tells the fascinating story of how ancient Greek philosophy and science began in the sixth century B.C., producing the remarkable discoveries and theories of Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, and others, which through the centuries spread across the Greco-Roman world.
Long acknowledged to be the ' best travel guide to Istanbul (Times of London) this classic of travel literature is now available in a larger format in hardback binding. The work is both a useful and informative guide to the city with major useful monuments described in detail in terms of the history and architecture.
Part of a series of architecture guides which set out to give an informative introduction to architectural styles in many different parts of the world. Each guide focuses on a distinctive type of architecture within a country or a particular region, giving a detailed, well-illustrated survey of the buildings most likely to excite the traveller's ...
Crete, the 'Great Island' of Greece, has been home to such figures as the legendary King Minos, El Greco and Nikos Kazantzakis. In myth, it is associated with Daedalus and Icarus and the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Today it is one of the most popular destinations in Greece, its visitors lured by the promise of spectacular beaches and the ...
There is perhaps no other European city quite as romantic, as exquisitely beautiful or as enigmatic as Venice. John Freely here brings her past and her present vividly to life. Practical and informative, richly coloured and bursting with history, myth and legend, "Strolling Through Veniceis" the indispensable guide for anyone who has fallen under ...
Istanbul is the only city in the world that stands astride two continents, spreading across from Europe into Asia at the southern end of the Bosphorus, the incomparably beautiful strait linking the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara in northwestern Turkey. This Companion Guide to Istanbul goes as far as the region around Marmara from the Bosphorus ...
"The Lost Messiah" is the astonishing story of Sabbatai Sevi, a 17th-century rabbi who through the mysticism of the kabbalah convinced vast numbers of Jews throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa that he was the long-awaited Messiah. Many of his followers were disappointed when he embraced Islam on threat of execution from the Turkish ...
A guide, a history, and a tribute to a place the author particularly loves, including the ruins, churches, beaches, resorts, museums, local customs, culture, and terrain.
Rising from the waters between Greece and Italy, the Ionians - peaks of an underwater mountain range - are some of the most culturally, historically and mythologically rich in all Greece. Consisting of Corfu, Paxos, Ithaka, Lefkas, Cephalonia, Zakynthos and Kythera, they have been variously invaded and occupied by the Goths, Arabs, Normans, ...
In this guide, John Freely brings Venice to life in a series of walks over mysterious bridges, through labyrinthine streets and into strange, almost inaccessible squares. Along with a topographical account of the lagoon, a summary history, visits to the islands, detailed descriptions of the Piazza San Marco, Basilica and Ducal Palace, he visits ...
The Western coast of Turkey has captivated travellers for centuries. With its dramatic mountains and idyllic bays and promontories, scattered with ancient ruins, it is not only one of the most beautiful parts of the country, but is also of great historical interest. The Western Shores of Turkey is the distillation of a succession of journeys that ...
An illustrated history of the ancient city of Constantinople, founded in the 4th century as the Eastern capital of the declining Roman Empire and rebuilt over the centuries by the succession of emperors, sultans, and warlords who ruled over it.
A remarkable tale of empire and exile, restoring to vivid life one of the most extraordinary and colourful figures of medieval history. Jem Sultan, born in December 1459, was one of the wonders of his age. A Turkish prince held captive in Europe at a time when the Ottoman Empire was at its peak, he was renowned throughout the continent as a ...
This guide to Athens covers the entire city on foot looking at the city of Athena, the south slope of the Acropolis, the Acropolis, from the Acropolis to the Agora, from the Agora through the Kerameikos, around the wall of ancient Athens, Roman Athens and Byzantine Athens.
The most comprehensive sourcebook, a detailed description of Boston and Cambridge packed with history and the personalities that have shaped it. Walks and tours, with photographs, ground plans of major museums, and a full color atlas. Detailed practical information, including hotel and restaurant listings.
Sultan Mehmet II, the Grand Turk, known to his countrymen as Fatih, 'the Conqueror', and to much of Europe as 'the present Terror of the World', was once the most feared and powerful ruler in the world. The seventh of his line to rule the Ottoman Turks, Mehmet was barely 21 when he conquered Byzantine Constantinople, which became Istanbul and the ...
A remarkable tale of empire and exile, restoring to vivid life one of the most extraordinary and colourful figures of medieval history. Jem Sultan, born in 1459, was one of the wonders of his age. A Turkish prince held captive in Europe at a time when the Ottoman Empire was at its peak, he was renowned throughout the continent as a romantic, ...
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Ancient civilizations and ruins of Turkey from prehistoric times until the end of the Roman Empire
