The people think of wealth and power as the greatest fate,
But in this world a spell of health is the best state.
What men call sovereignty is a worldly strife and constant war;
Worship of God is the highest throne, the happiest of all estates.
-Suleiman the Magnificent

We returned to Turkey often through our travels, as we continued to find new connections to explore. Turkey offers a modern-day fusion of Eastern and Western cultures, offering a pastiche of both the familiar and the unknown. The capital exemplifies this fusion: As Constantinople in medieval times, it carried on the legacy of Rome and served as both a trading center and the Orthodox Christian gateway to the West; as Istanbul, the city elevated Islamic culture to new heights under the Ottomans and serves as a modern day metropolis on par with the world’s greatest cities. Turkey’s historical synergies and cultural vibrancy combine to make for an unforgettable travel experience.

TRAVEL. DRAW CONNECTIONS.

Hagia Sophia and its Islamic Architectural Legacy

The most influential church of all time?  Hagia Sophia, which stands regally atop the first hill of Constantinople, was the religious center of the Byzantine Empire and has come to define the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Orthodox Christian architectural style. Built under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 532-537, its innovative design has served as a model for future religious buildings, both Christian and Muslim.  Read more

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Ancient Mediterranean Mosaics: Connecting the Dots

Mosaic art began as a long-lasting (not to mention an easy-to-clean) floor covering in Mediterranean cultures. The first evidence we have of the use of mosaics is in the 10th century BCE in Mesopotamia (Turkey), but the art form was quickly passed to the Greeks who created gorgeous, highly realistic mosaics (in an attempt to imitate paintings). The Byzantines were the masters of the mosaics craft; their handiwork is omnipresent throughout the Mediterranean, including Turkey (Istanbul), Egypt (Mount Sinai), Jordan (King’s Highway), Syria (Damascus) and Italy. This travel guide reviews the stylistic development of mosaics in the Mediterranean over a 1000-year period (400 BCE to 1453 CE) and gives detailed review key mosaics sites throughout the Mediterranean.  Read more

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Historical East-West Trade Connections

Much as modern day Istanbul, Constantinople was Europe’s gateway to the East, as well as Asia’s window to the West.  This ApproachGuide explores historical East-West trade networks, both overland and maritime, from the Silk Road to the Spice Trade, respectively. Although fundamentally economic in orientation, this worldwide trade network spawned vast cultural, artistic and religious exchanges. Use this ApproachGuide to discover these exchanges, which served as the underlying (and often overlooked) inspiration for many of the world’s greatest cultural landmarks.  Read more

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The Evolution of Christian Architecture

This ApproachGuide gives travelers a quick reference guide that complements their travel guidebooks. Now, when a writer identifies a church as the perfect example of, for example, Gothic architecture, the reader can quickly flip through this guide to find the defining characteristics of that style and how it relates to other architectural styles.  Read more

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Note that free previews reveal only a small, yet representative, portion of the content available in the complete Approach Guides document. All images and photos in these Approach Guides and on www.approachguides.com were taken on location by David and Jennifer Raezer.

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Italy – China – India – Middle East – Southeast Asia – Turkey