December 14 2015 St James Municipal Center City Council: Fill & Download for Free

http://english.gov.cn/archive/publications/2016/04/14/content_281475327578479.htmThe State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China published a report titled “Human Rights Record of the United States in 2015” on April 14.Following is the full text of the report:Human Rights Record of the United States in 2015State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of ChinaApril 2016ForewordOn April 13 local time, the State Department of the United States released its country reports on human rights practices. It made comments on the human rights situation in many countries once again while being tight-lipped about its own terrible human rights record and showing not a bit of intention to reflect on it. In 2015, the United States saw no improvement in its existent human rights issues, but reported numerous new problems. Since the U.S. government refuses to hold up a mirror to look at itself, it has to be done with other people’s help.The following facts about the U.S. human rights situation in 2015 are supported by irrefutable records.-- The use of guns was out of control in the United States, which severely threatened citizens’ right of life. The frequent occurrence of shooting incidents was the deepest impression left to the world concerning the United States in 2015. There were a total of 51,675 gun violence incidents in the United States in 2015 as of December 28, leaving 13,136 killed and 26,493 injured.-- Citizens’ personal security could not be guaranteed with the excessive use of violence by police. Police shot dead 965 people last year as of December 24, and the abuse of power by the police did not result in discipline. “Justice for Freddie” protests were staged in Baltimore, demonstrators in Chicago took to the street to demand justice in the death of Laquan MacDonald, and protesters in Minneapolis camped outside a police precinct after Jamar Clark was shot dead by police.-- The prison system in the United States was plagued by corruption and severely violated inmates’ human rights. The guards in a prison in Florida scalded a mentally-ill inmate Darren Rainey to death in hot shower. The guards in Lowell Correctional Institution, the nation’s largest women’s prison, pressured hundreds of female inmates to barter sex for basic necessities and a shield from abuse, and 57 inmates have died in this prison over the past 10 years.-- Money politics and clan politics were prevailing and the political rights of the citizens were not safeguarded effectively. Companies and individuals were able to donate an unlimited size to super Political Action Committees (super PACs) to influence the presidential election. In this way, corporations could use money to sway politics and reap tremendous returns. There were comments that the political system of the United States had been subverted to be a tool that provided returns to major political donors. Family pedigree had become a primary factor for U.S. politics, with a few families and behind-the-scenes interest groups influencing the election using funds. The popular will was abducted by factionalism in the United States, because the interests involved in election made it unable for the Democratic Party and the Republican Party to coordinate on and work out policies that were in line with the popular will.-- The lingering problems in U.S. society posed challenges for the country to fulfill its duty of safeguarding the economic and social rights of U.S. citizens. In 2014, there were 46.7 million people in poverty in the United States. Every year, at least 48.1 million people were classed as “food insecure.” In 2015, more than 560,000 people nationwide were homeless. Seventy-nine percent of Americans believed it was more common for people to fall out of the middle class than rise up to it. There were still 33 million people in the United States with no healthcare insurance, and 44 million private-sector workers, about 40 percent of the total, did not have access to paid sick leaves.-- Racial conflict was severe in the United States, with race relations at their worst in nearly two decades. Sixty-one percent of Americans characterized race relations in the United States as “bad.” Law enforcement and justice fields were heavily affected by racial discrimination, with 88 percent of African-Americans believing they were treated unfairly by police, and 68 percent of African-Americans believing the American criminal justice system was racially biased. Whites had 12 times the wealth of blacks and nearly 10 times more than Hispanics. It was said that the American dream remained out of reach for many African-American and Hispanic families.-- The situation for American women was deteriorating and children were living in worrisome environment. In 2014, women in the United States were paid 79 cents for every dollar paid to men. The percentage of women in poverty increased from 12.1 percent to 14.5 percent over the past decade. The United Nations’ International Labor Organization said that the United States was the only industrialized nation with no overall law for cash benefits provided to women during maternity leave. A total of 23 percent of undergraduate women said they were victims of non-consensual sexual contact. There were at least two school shootings a month in 2015 and almost two children were killed every week in unintentional shootings. About a quarter of the teenagers above 15 years old who died of injuries in the United States were killed in gun-related incidents. About 17.4 million children under the age of 18 were being raised without a father and 45 percent lived below the poverty line. About one fifth of all U.S. children lived in food-insecure households.-- The United States still brazenly and brutally violated human rights in other countries, treating citizens from other countries like dirt. Air strikes launched by the United States in Iraq and Syria killed thousands of civilians. The United States also conducted drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen indiscriminately, causing hundreds of civilian deaths. On October 3, 2015, the U.S. military bombed a hospital operated by “Doctors Without Borders” in the city of Kunduz in Afghanistan, in which 42 people were killed. Defying international condemnation, the United States still did not close the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, which had been running for 14 years and still locked up nearly 100 people who had been under arbitrary detention for years without trial.I. Wanton Infringement on Civil RightsCivil rights were wantonly infringed upon in the United States in 2015 with rampant gun-related crimes, excessive use of force by police, severe corruption in prisons and frequent occurrence of illegal eavesdropping on personal information.Citizen’s life and property security were threatened by violent crimes. According to the report “Crime in the United States” released by the FBI in 2015, an estimated 1,165,383 violent crimes occurred nationwide in 2014, of which 14,249 were murders, 84,041 were rapes, 325,802 robberies and 741,291 aggravated assaults. Nationwide, there were an estimated 8,277,829 property crimes, with the victims of such crimes suffering losses calculated at an estimated 14.3 billion U.S. dollars. The statistics showed the estimated rate of violent crime was 365.5 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the property crime rate was 2,596.1 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants (Welcome to FBI.gov). Many cities in the United States saw large jumps in crime during the first half of 2015: the murder rate rose 48 percent and 59 percent compared to the same period of the previous year in Baltimore and St. Louis, respectively, said an article carried by the Economist website on December 1, 2015 (www.economist.com, December 1, 2015). James Howell of the U.S. National Gang Center pointed out that in the past five years the United States had seen an 8 percent increase in the number of gangs, an 11 percent increase in members and a 23 percent increase in gang-related homicides (http://www.usnews.com, March 6, 2015).Citizen’s right of life could not be guaranteed with the rampant use of guns. Statistics showed that there were more than 300 million guns in the United States which had a population of more than 300 million. Over the past decade, more than 4 million U.S. citizens became victims of assaults, robberies and other gun-related crimes. According to a toll report by the Gun Violence Archive, there were a total of 51,675 gun violence incidents in the United States last year as of December 28, including 329 mass shootings. Altogether 13,136 were killed and 26,493 injured (Gun Violence Archive, December 28, 2015). According to the report “Crime in the United States” released by the FBI in 2015, firearms were used in 67.9 percent of the nation’s murders, 40.3 percent of robberies, and 22.5 percent of aggravated assaults in 2014 (Welcome to FBI.gov).Excessive use of violence by police gravely violated human rights. Excessive use of violence by police during law enforcement had resulted in a large number of civilian casualties. Police shot dead 965 people last year as of December 24, according to data posted on The Washington Post website (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, December 24, 2015). Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African-American man, died while in police custody in Baltimore. His death, reportedly a result of violence by the police, sparked “Justice for Freddie” protests (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, December 22, 2015). Outraged that it took too long to charge a Chicago police officer in African-American Laquan MacDonald’s shooting death, demonstrators took to the street to demand justice in his death. The police officer had a history of 20 complaints before he gunned down the 17-year-old, but none resulted in discipline (CNN - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News, November 26, 2015). According to a report by the NBC News on November 19, 2015, protesters camped outside a police precinct in Minneapolis after African-American Jamar Clark, 24, was shot dead when he was already under police control. The demonstrations turned violent later (NBC TV Network - Shows, Episodes, Schedule, November 19, 2015).The government infringed on citizens’ privacy by illegally eavesdropping personal information. According to a report carried by the website of The Washington Post on December 1, 2015, the FBI used special authority to compel Internet firms to hand over user information, including full browsing histories, without court approvals (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, December 1, 2015). According to a report released by the Pew Research Center on May 29, 2015, a majority of Americans opposed the government collecting bulk data on its citizens, two-thirds believed there weren’t adequate limits on what types of data could be collected, 61 percent said they had become less confident that the programs were serving the public interests, 54 percent of Americans disapproved of the U.S. government’s collection of telephone and Internet data as part of anti-terrorism efforts, and 74 percent said they should not give up privacy and freedom for the sake of safety. Most said it was important to control who could get their information (93 percent), as well as what information about them was collected (90 percent) (Nonpartisan, non-advocacy public opinion polling and demographic research, May 29, 2015).Prison guards wantonly trampled on prisoners’ human rights. According to a serial report on the website of the Miami Herald in December 2015, Lowell Correctional Institution, the nation’s largest women’s prison, was haunted by corruption, torment and sex abuse. The guards took hundreds of female inmates as whores and pressured them to barter sex for basic necessities, a shield from abuse or awards. In the past 10 years 57 inmates died in the prison, not accounting those who make it to hospital (South Florida Breaking News, Sports & Crime, December 12, 13 and 16, 2015). The Washington Post reported on its website on May 13, 2015 that a guard in the Fairfax County jail killed a mentally ill woman, Natasha McKenna, with a Taser stun gun (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, May 13, 2015). The Fox News reported on its website on April 9, 2015 that guards in a prison in Florida was accused of abusing and even killing inmates. In one case, a mentally-ill inmate Darren Rainey was forced to take a shower for two hours with the water reportedly rigged to a scalding 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite his calls for help, no one came. He reportedly died after his skin was partially burned off his body (http://www.foxnews.com, April 9, 2015).II. Political Rights Not SafeguardedIn 2015, money politics and clan politics went from bad to worse in the nation where voters found it hard to express their real volition and there was discrimination against belief in political life. In addition, citizens’ right to information was further suppressed. Unsurprisingly, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said that “the U.S. is no longer a democracy” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com, August 3, 2015).Money politics revealed the hypocrisy in democracy. Although the laws of the United States put a lid on the size of individual donations to presidential candidates, there is no limit for such contributions to super PACs by individuals and corporations. The USA Today reported on April 10, 2015 that the allies of at least 11 White House hopefuls had launched committees to raise unlimited money to back their campaigns (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, April 10, 2015). The presidential candidates and the super PACs raised about $ 380 million in only half a year. More than 60 donations were worth more than 1 million U.S. dollars each, accounting for about one third of the total contributions. Half of the amount came from those who donated more than $100,000 and the combined fund of the top 67 donors was more than three times that of 508,000 donors with least contributions (http://www.aol.com, August 1; http://www.politico.com, August 1). According to a report of the Zerohedge, between 2007 and 2012, 200 of America’s most politically active corporations spent a combined $5.8 billion on federal lobbying and campaign contributions. What they gave paled compared to what those same corporations got: $4.4 trillion in federal business and support. Put that in context, the sum represented two thirds of what individual taxpayers paid into the federal treasury. For every dollar spent on influencing politics, the nation’s most politically active corporations received 760 U.S. dollars from the government (http://www.zerohedge.com, March 16, 2015). Jimmy Carter said that with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or being elected president, the U.S. political system was subverted to be a payoff to major contributors (http://www.huffingtonpost.com, August 3, 2015). The role money played in politics was also indicated in the U.S. President’s State of the Union Address for 2016, which said a handful of families and hidden interests were exercising influence on elections via their funds.Clan politics was driving U.S. government elections. Among the candidates for the 2016 presidential election, more than one candidate was obviously related to clan politics. The New York Times concluded through big data analysis that advantages from father generation played a role in politics obviously. The chance for the son of a U.S. president to become president was 1.4 million times higher than his peers. Meanwhile the chance for a governor’s son to be elected governor was 6,000 times higher than ordinary people. In addition, the chance for the son of a senator to be a senator like his father was also 8,500 times higher than ordinary U.S. men (http://www.nytimes.com, March 22, 2015). The Washington Post reported on January 16, 2015 that since the beginning of the Republic, 8.7 percent of its members of Congress were closely related to someone who had served in the body. The report continued to point out that a smell of heirship could be detected in the U.S. presidential election since the possible slate of candidates would include the son of a governor and presidential candidate, the son of a congressman and presidential candidate, the wife of a president and the brother of a president, son of a president and grandson of a senator (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, January 16, 2015).Discrimination against beliefs led to unfairness in political life. Not believing in God could be the biggest disadvantage while running for a post in public office. It was difficult for those who were not Christians to win elections and for those who did not have a religious belief, the chance to win elections was slimmer. In a May 2014 Pew Research survey, atheism was the most disqualifying factor for a potential presidential candidate, according to a report posted on the website of The Washington Post on September 22, 2015. More than half of those surveyed said they would be less likely to vote for someone who did not believe in God. And another Pew poll in July 2014 found that of all religion-related groups, atheists and Muslims were viewed the most negatively by Americans (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, September 22, 2015).Citizens’ electoral rights were further limited. According to an article on the website of the U.S. News and World Report on August 4, 2015, since 2010, a total of 21 states had adopted new laws to limit the exercise of suffrage. Some states shortened the time for early voting, while others limited the number of documents identifying one as a lawful voter. A total of 14 states will carry out fresh measures to limit the exercise of suffrage for the first time in 2016 presidential election. The voting rights were hit by the vicious competition between the two parties. One Democratic candidate accused GOP presidential candidates of having “systematically and deliberately” tried to keep millions of Americans from voting so as to win the election (http://www.usnews.com, August 4, 2015). A USA Today report, which was published on its website on March 20, 2015, said the nation had its lowest midterm-election voter turnout in 2014 since the early 1940s. The average turnout across the United States was 37 percent, with a low of 28.8 percent recorded in Indiana (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, March 20, 2015).It was difficult for voters to express their real will. The Christian Science Monitor carried a report on its website on December 13, 2015 that the two-party system forced the voters to take side. Most voters cast ballots for a party not because they supported the party but out of fear and worry over the other one (http://www.csmonitor.com, December 13, 2015). It was said in the U.S. President’s State of the Union Address for 2016 that the practice of drawing congressional districts led to the situation where “politicians can pick their voters, and not the other way around.” It went on to say that “the rancor and suspicion between parties has gotten worse instead of better.”Citizens’ right to information was hampered by the government. According to a report by The Associated Press on March 13, 2015, authorities were undermining the laws that were supposed to guarantee citizens’ right to information and the systems created to give citizens information about their government. In addition, it was getting harder to use public records to hold government officials accountable (http://www.ap.org, March 13, 2015). An article on the website of the CNN reported on February 13, 2015 that journalists and news supervision authorities had continually slammed the current U.S. administration as one of the least transparent. At least 15 journalists were arrested in Ferguson protests (CNN - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News, February 13, 2015).III. Economic and Social Rights under ChallengeIn 2015, no substantial progress concerning the economic and social rights of U.S. citizens were made. Workers carried out mass strikes to claim their rights at work. Food-insecure and homeless populations remained huge. Many U.S. people suffered from poor health.The rights of laborers at work were not effectively protected. On October 6, 2015, Al Jazeera America reported that about 40 percent of private-sector workers, or 44 million people in America, did not have access to paid sick leave. Large scale strikes in many industries were reported. In February 2015, workers at nine oil refineries in California, Texas, Kentucky and Washington states carried out strikes, protesting onerous overtime, unsafe staffing levels and dangerous conditions (http://america.aljazeera.com, February 2, October 6, 2015). In April, the same year, fast food workers walked off the job in 230 cities, staging a strike aimed at a minimum wage of 15 U.S. dollars. In November, they walked out in hundreds of cities for the same reason. About 2,000 workers at seven major U.S. airports went on strike in November to protest low wages (http://thinkprogress.org, April 15, 2015; USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, November 10, November 19, 2015).There was huge income gap between the rich and the poor. In the United States, 3.1 percent of income earned annually went to the poorest 20 percent of people, while 51.4 percent was earned by the richest 20 percent (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, October 10, 2015). Official data showed that 46.7 million people were living in poverty in 2014. (http://www.census.gov). In Delaware, the percentage of people living below the federal poverty line in 2014 was 12.5 percent, creeping up from 11.7 percent in 2013. Nearly a quarter of residents of Wilmington, Delaware lived below the poverty line. The poverty rate for children was around 20 percent. U.S. people were pessimistic about the prospects of social and economic instability. Seventy-nine percent of Americans believed it was more common for people to fall out of the middle class than rise up to it (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, June 9, November 23, 2015).There was a large food-insecure population in the United States. According to a report published on the Guardian website on November 26, 2015, government statistics suggested that between 2008 and 2014 at least 48.1 million people a year were classed as “food insecure”, including 19.2 percent of all households with children, meaning they could not always afford to eat balanced meals (http://www.theguardian.com, November 26, 2015). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that each year, 48 million people suffered from a foodborne illness, resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths (http://www.pewtrusts.org, December 4, 2015). Approximately one fifth of all U.S. children lived in food-insecure households, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (http://america.aljazeera.com, October 8, 2015).Hundreds of thousands of U.S. people were homeless. A report published on the USA Today website on June 9, 2015 said housing prices had skyrocketed in the United States in recent years, while income levels remained stagnant. Fifty-five percent of Americans had made more financial sacrifice to afford their housing. According to a report by the National Association of Realtors, the gap between rental costs and household income had been widening to unsustainable levels (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, June 9, July 31, 2015). A study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found that more than 560,000 people were homeless in the United States as of November 18, 2015. About one fourth of them were children under the age of 18 (http://www.hud.gov). In New York City, there were 59,568 homeless people, including 14,361 homeless families with 23,858 homeless children, sleeping each night in municipal shelters in October 2015, 86 percent higher than the number in 2005. People living on streets had no access to toilets or showers (http://www.pewtrusts.org, November 11, 2015). In recent years, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and the state of Hawaii have all recently declared emergencies over the rise of homelessness (http://www.presstv.ir, November 20, 2015).Human right to health of U.S. people was not fully protected. According to a report of the Institute for Policy Innovation released on September 18, 2015, there were still 33 million people in the United States uninsured, although U.S. Congress had passed the healthcare reform bill in 2010, promising to establish a universal healthcare system (http://www.ipi.org, September 18, 2015). The United States was reported to have the worst medical care system and the highest number of infant mortalities out of 11 developed countries (http://borgenproject.org, August 23, 2015). There were more than 6,200 places nationwide with a shortage of primary care physicians (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, December 12, 2015). Today, more than 1.2 million people in the United States were HIV-positive. About one in eight of those infected were unaware of their status (CNN - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News, December 9, 2015). There was a significant difference between the health conditions of the rich and the poor. According to an AFP report on October 14, 2015, in Brooklyn’s poorest neighborhood of Brownsville, New York City, nearly 40 percent of its citizens lived below the federal poverty level. Brownsville suffered more than twice the rates of new HIV diagnoses in New York City. Its people died 11 years earlier than those living around Manhattan’s financial district. (AFP, October 14, 2015).Case fatality rate due to drug overdose set new record high. According to a CDC report, drug overdose was the leading cause of diseases in the United States. The death rate from drug overdose more than doubled from 6.0 per 100,000 population in 1999 to 13.8 in 2013. More than 47,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2014, an increase of 3,018 from 2013. Heroin poses the biggest issue among all forms of drug overdose. In 2013, deaths from heroin-related overdose exceeded 8,200, nearly quadrupling that of 2002. In 2014, the number surged to 10,574. Increasing number of young people and females took heroin. Compared with figures in the period from 2002 to 2004, the number of young heroin addicts aged between 18 and 25 in 2011-2013 period increased by 109 percent, while female users doubled (http://www.cdc.gov, October 16, December 29, 2015; http://www.usnews.com, December 18, 2015).IV. Racial Discrimination Worse Than EverIn 2015, racial relations in the United States kept deteriorating. Law enforcement and justice fields were heavily influenced by racial discrimination, and race-based hate crimes occurred occasionally. Anti-Muslim remarks caused a great clamor, and minority races were unable to change their vulnerable status in economic and social lives.Americans’ view of race relations was at a two-decade low. A poll jointly released by the CBS News and The New York Times on May 4, 2015 showed that 61 percent of Americans characterized race relations in the United States as “bad,” including a majority of white and black respondents. The figure was the highest since 1992 (http://newyork.cbslocal.com, May 4, 2015). A Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll in December 2015 showed that only 34 percent of Americans believe race relations in the United States were fairly good or very good, down from a high of 77 percent in January 2009 (http://blogs.wsj.com, December 16, 2015). A survey released in November 2015 by the Public Religion Research Institute in the United States showed that 35 percent of Americans believed racial tensions were a major concern in their own communities, jumping 18 percentage points from 2012 (public http://religion.org, November 17, 2015). Figures released in August 2015 by Pew Research Center showed that 50 percent of Americans said that racism was a big problem in the U.S. society; 60 percent Americans said the country needed to continue making changes to achieve racial equality, up 14 percentage points from a year ago (http://www.people-press.org, August 5, 2015).Cases of African-Americans being killed by police occurred repeatedly. On November 15, 2015, the 24-year-old African-American Jamar Clark was shot dead by white police officers. The fatal shooting occurred when two police officers were trying to arrest him. Witnesses said that Clark was handcuffed when he was shot in the head. The civil rights organization “Black Lives Matter” organized protests in multiple cities across the country. In a Facebook post, Black Lives Matter activists noted “the era of white supremacist terrorism against people of color across the U.S.,” (http://www.theatlantic.com, November 18, 2015; http://www.mprnews.org, November 20, 2015; http://www.huffingtonpost.com, November 24, 2015) On April 12, 2015, as 25-year-old African-American Freddie Gray was being arrested, police handcuffed him and had knees on his back and his head. Gray was dragged and thrown into the back of a police van with his face down. Gray requested medical attention while being transported in the van but the request was denied. Gray lapsed into a coma following the journey on April 12 and died a week later in a hospital. He died of a severe spinal cord injury. The incident sparked large-scale protests in Baltimore. The protests turned violent on April 27, and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. It was the second time in six months that a state called out the National Guard to enforce order after a white police officer killed a black teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson in 2014. The New York Times said that Gray had become the nation’s latest symbol of police brutality in an April 28 story. (CNN - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News, April 29, 2015; http://www.bbc.com, May 5, 2015; http://baltimore.cbslocal.com, April 27, 2015; http://www.nytimes.com, April 27 and 28, 2015) According to The Washington Post website, police fatally shot 965 people in 2015 as of December 24, 2015, including 36 unarmed African-Americans (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, December 24, 2015). The CBS News-New York Times poll released on May 4, 2015 showed that 79 percent of African-Americans believed police were more likely to use deadly force against a black person than against a white person, and black respondents were more likely than white respondents to believe their local police made them feel anxious rather than safe (http://newyork.cbslocal.com, May 4, 2015). According to a poll released by the National Bar Association in the United States, 88 percent of blacks believed black people were treated unfairly by police, compared with 59 percent of whites who shared that view (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, September 9, 2015).Racial discrimination in the criminal justice system was severe. A Gallup survey in 2015 showed that 68 percent of African-Americans believed the American criminal justice system was racially biased, while 37 percent of whites said the same (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, June 18, 2015). According to a survey released by the Public Religion Research Institute, 51 percent of Americans disagreed that blacks and other minorities received equal treatment as whites in the criminal justice system, and 78 percent of black Americans disagreed that blacks and other minorities received equal treatment to whites in the criminal justice system (http://publicreligion.org, May 7, 2015). Prosecutors intentionally struck black people from juries in trials of black defendants. In the South, the practice for prosecutors to strike jurors based on race remained common (http://www.newyorker.com, June 5, 2015).Race-related hate crimes occurred occasionally. Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, shot dead three Muslim students near the University of North Carolina on February 10, 2015. Hicks had frequently posted messages critical of various religions on the Internet (http://indianexpress.com, June 5, 2015). On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white man, opened fire and killed nine people, including a pastor, at an African-American church in Charleston in South Carolina. According to witnesses, Roof told the victims, “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country, and you have to go (http://www.cbsnews.com, June 17, 2015; http://www.bbc.com, June 19, 2015).”Anti-Muslim remarks caused a great clamor. The Guardian reported on November 19, 2015 that a Republican presidential candidate made public comments, saying that he would consider warrantless searches of Muslims and increased surveillance of mosques, and that he would not rule out tracking Muslim Americans in a database or giving them “a special form of identification that noted their religion (http://www.theguardian.com, November 19, 2015).” On December 7, the presidential candidate made a statement calling for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States (The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance, December 8, 2015).” In recent years, Americans’ view on Islam became more and more negative. According to a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, 56 percent of Americans said that the values of Islam were “at odds” with America’s values and way of life, and 76 percent of Republicans were especially likely to have the same opinion (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, November 17, 2015). The Human Rights Committee remained concerned about the practice of racial profiling and surveillance by law enforcement officials targeting certain ethnic minorities, notably Muslims (http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org).Minority races were in a dire situation. According to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rates in November 2015 were 4.3 percent for whites, 9.4 percent for blacks and 6.4 percent for Hispanics. The unemployment rate for blacks more than doubled that for whites, and the figure for Hispanics was 50 percent higher than that for whites (http://www.bls.gov). The unemployment rate for black college graduates was roughly equal to the rate for white Americans with associate degrees (http://huffingtonpost.com, December 18, 2015). A third of Iowa’s black households earned less than 20,000 U.S. dollars annually, compared with 8 percent of white households. More than one fifth of white households in Iowa earned 100,000 U.S. dollars or more in a year, but only eight percent of black households did (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, October 31, 2015). Approximately 57 percent of New York City homeless shelter residents were African-American, 31 percent were Latino, 8 percent were white (http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org, March 18, 2015). According to a CNN report on February 18, 2015, financial inequality was pervading the country and it was getting worse. Whites had 12 times the wealth of blacks and nearly 10 times more than Hispanics. “The American dream remains out of reach for many African-American and Hispanic families.” (http://money.cnn.com, February 18, 2015) The documentary Seeking Asylum by African-American Darnell Walker triggered heated responses after debuting online, chronicling the plight of black Americans who no longer felt safe in the United States due to rampant police brutality and were looking to settle elsewhere. Miles Marshall Lewis, who moved to France in 2004 from the United States, published his book “No Country for Black Men” in 2014, a response to the wave of police killings targeting blacks (http://www.thedailybeast.com, November 11, 2015).V. Missing Rights for Women and ChildrenRights of women and children were grossly violated in the United States in 2015. Women were facing serious workplace discrimination, domestic violence and sexual violation and children were under the threats of arms, abuse, poverty and police violence.Women were facing worsening situation of inferior social status. On December 11, 2015, the United Nations Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice delivered a statement after a mission to the United States and pointed out the missing rights and protections such as universal paid maternity leave, accessible reproductive healthcare and equal opportunity in standing for political election for the country’s women. In the United States, women fell behind international standards as regards their public and political representation, their economic and social rights and their health and safety protections. Women’s average representation in state legislatures was 24.9 percent. This rate placed the country at only the 72nd in global ranking. The gender wage gap was 21 percent. The percentage of women in poverty increased over the past decade, from 12.1 percent to 14.5 percent, with a higher rate of poverty than men. Poor and immigrant women faced severe barriers in accessing sexual and reproductive health services. Women faced fatal consequences of lack of gun control, in particular in cases of domestic violence. The statement also expressed concerns over violence against women in detention as well as the alarming high rates of violence against Native-American women (http://www.ohchr.org, December 11, 2015).Women were suffering workplace discrimination. A report released by the U.S. Census Bureau in September 2015 revealed that women in the U.S. were paid 79 cents for every dollar paid to men in 2014, amounting to a yearly wage gap of 10,762 U.S. dollars between full-time working men and women (http://www.census.gov). The United Nations’ International Labour Organization said in 2014 that out of the 185 countries and territories with available data, the United States was the only industrialized nation with no overall law for cash benefits provided to women during maternity leave (http://abcnews.go.com, May 6, 2015). A report at the website of the Los Angeles Times on May 6, 2015 said that white men had a 42 percent advantage over white women when it came to being promoted to the executive level in U.S. tech companies, but that paled in comparison to the 260 percent advantage they had to Asian women (http://www.latimes.com, May 6, 2015).Women fell victim to various forms of sex harassments and sex assaults. A survey released by the Association of American Universities in September 2015 indicated that 23 percent of undergraduate women said they were victims of non-consensual sexual contact and that 20 percent of students said sexual assault and misconduct was very or extremely problematic on their own campus (http://www.latimes.com, September 21, 2015; Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, September 1/September 21, 2015). According to a report at the USA Today website on August 17, 2015, a total of 37 percent of women said they had experienced some kind of online harassment. A total of 54 percent of Hispanics and 51 percent of African Americans said they had experienced online harassment. Also, women were more likely to be targets of serious cases in which they were stalked and sexually harassed (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, August 17, 2015). Another article at the USA Today website on December 11, 2015 reported that Daniel Holtzclaw, a former Oklahoma City police officer, was convicted of sexually assaulting women he preyed upon in a low-income neighborhood he patrolled. He was convicted of 18 counts connected to eight women, all of whom were black (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, December 11, 2015).Children were under the threats of guns. According to statistics from the Gun Violence Archive website, as of December 28, 2015, gun-related incidents that year left 682 children under the age of 11 and 2,640 children aged between 12 and 17 killed or injured (Gun Violence Archive, December 28, 2015). The RT America reported at its website on October 10, 2015 that the number of U.S. school shootings that year climbed to 52. There were at least two school shootings a month in 2015 (http://www.rt.com, October 10, 2015). A report at the website of the USA Today on January 21, 2015 said that almost two children were killed every week in unintentional shootings, and nearly two thirds of these unintended deaths took place in a home or vehicle that belonged to the victim’s family (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, January 22, 2015). More than a quarter of the teenagers -- 15 years old and up -- who died of injuries in the United States were killed in gun-related incidents, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (http://www.theatlantic.com, January 12, 2015).Poor health and living conditions for children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the rate of newborns with syphilis jumped 38 percent between 2012 and 2014 to its highest level in more than a decade (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, November 12, 2015). A survey said that one in five drug abusers in some treatment programs in the United States received their first taste of these illegal substances from their parents, usually before the age of 18 (http://abcnews.go.com, August 24, 2015). According to U.S. Census Bureau, about 17.4 million children under the age of 18 were being raised without a father and 45 percent lived below the poverty line (http://singlemotherguide.com, June 1, 2015). About 6 percent of New York City’s African-American population under 18 years old and nearly 3 percent Latino children utilized New York City shelters because of homelessness (http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org, March 19, 2015). The USA Today website reported on August 15, 2015 that 47 percent of rural Hispanic babies were born poor, compared to 41 percent of Hispanic babies in urban areas. Hispanics babies born in rural enclaves were more likely to be impoverished and it was harder for them to receive help from federal and state programs, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. “These babies are starting behind the starting line.” (USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com, August 15, 2015)Children were suffering abuse. A report at the website of The Washington Post on January 1, 2015 said that among the young children killed in the D.C. region, the majority was killed by a parent or guardian (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, January 1, 2015). The Miami Herald website on March 10, 2015 reported that one in three girls and one in five boys would become a victim of child sexual abuse in Florida before they turned 18. Such experience would have serious negative impact on their future lives. On average, each victim of child sexual abuse would lose 250,000 U.S. dollars in earnings throughout his or her lifetime because of the abuse. Fifty percent of victims had below-average grades (South Florida Breaking News, Sports & Crime, March 10, 2015).African-American children fell victim to police violence. The CNN website on June 10, 2015 reported that a video went viral online showing violence by a white police officer of the Police Department in McKinney, Texas, against a 14-year-old African-American girl. The officer, called to a community swimming pool party after complaints, cursed at several black teenagers and yanked the girl wearing only a bikini to the ground. He also pointed his gun at the teenagers. The white witness who shot the video said there was no doubt race was a factor in how police responded. This incident triggered some public protests (CNN - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News, June 10, 2015). On October 26, 2015, a video that showed Ben Fields, a white school resource officer at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina, manhandling an African-American school girl drew intense criticism. The officer grabbed the girl, who used her cell phone during class, by the neck, flipped her over and dragged her across the floor. Fields in 2013 was named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit that claimed he “unfairly and recklessly targets African-American students.” The U.S. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People criticized that such violence “doesn’t affect white students”. Victoria Middleton, the executive director for the South Carolina branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, said that regardless of the reason for the officer’s actions, such egregious use of force - against young people who were sitting in their classrooms - was outrageous. “School should be a place to learn and grow, not a place to be brutalized.” (http://abcnews.go.com, October 28, 2015)VI. Gross Violations of Human Rights in Other CountriesIn 2015, the United States continued to trample on human rights in other countries, causing tremendous civilian casualties. Its overseas monitoring projects infringed on the privacy of citizens of other countries while torture scandals at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp continued. Up to date, the United States has not ratified some core human rights conventions of the United Nations and voted against some important human rights resolutions.Air strikes caused a large number of civilian casualties. According to Airwars, a project aimed at tracking air strikes in the Middle East, the United States had repeatedly organized coalition forces to launch air strikes against military forces in Iraq and Syria since August 8, 2014. As of December 6, 2015, the United States launched 3,965 air strikes in Iraq and 2,823 in Syria, causing an estimated number of civilian deaths between 1,695 and 2,239 (http://www.airwars.org). The Syrian government called U.S.-led coalition air strikes an “act of aggression” (http://www.independent.co.uk, December 7, 2015). On October 3, 2015, a hospital run by aid group “Doctors Without Borders” in the city of Kunduz in Afghanistan was under a bombing that continued for half an hour. Many patients who were unable to move were killed on site, while some staff of the aid group were shot at from the air while fleeing the hospital. A total of 42 people were killed in the air strike, with some bodies charred beyond recognition (http://www.sputniknews.com, December 12, 2015; http://www.abcnews.go.com, October 5, 2015).A frequent use of drones claimed many innocent lives. According to an October 15, 2015 report run by Daily Mail website, when carrying out drone assassinations, the U.S. military used “phone data alone” -- a limited way of guaranteeing a kill. During Operation Haymaker, a campaign in northeastern Afghanistan which ran between January 2012 and February 2013, some 219 people were killed by drones but just 35 were the intended targets. During another five-month stretch of the operation, a staggering 90 percent of those killed were not the intended target. Despite this all the deaths were labeled EKIA, or “enemy killed in action.” (http://www.dailymail.co.uk, October 15, 2015). A report posted on April 24, 2015 by The Washington Post on its website said a study, which documented 415 strikes in Pakistan and Yemen since the September 11, 2001 attacks, put the total number of killed civilians between 423 and 962 (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, April 24, 2015). The abuse of drone strikes not only drew widespread criticism from international community, but also incurred strong doubt from U.S. scholars. The Washington Post posted an article on March 20, 2015, introducing to its readers two books on drones - Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins, by Andrew Cockburn, and A Theory of the Drones, by Gregoire Chamayou. Cockburn sees America’s killer drone policy as “the culmination of a historical pattern of lies, deception and greed in the deployment of lethal military force around the world” and as “a continuation of previous U.S. assassination policy.” Failing miserably to achieve the country’s stated goal of enhanced security, the policy simultaneously undermined the democratic process, Cockburn writes, noting that “assassination by robot is bound to inspire rather than curtail extremism.” According to Chamayou and Cockburn, killer drone exposes the trend toward a new -- and “inhumane form of warfare.” “With drone warfare, there is no victory, just perpetual elimination.” (Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines, March 20, 2015).Abuse of cruel torture trampled on human rights. A report by the U.S. Senate on the study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s detention and interrogation program found that the CIA’s use of brutal interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, long-term solitary confinement, slamming prisoners’ heads into walls, lashing and death threat, were in serious violation of U.S. law (http://www.intelligence.senate.gov). While according to some witnesses, the CIA torture went far beyond the Senate report had disclosed. Majid Khan, a Guantánamo Bay detainee-turned government cooperating witness, said interrogators poured ice water on his genitals, twice videotaped him naked and repeatedly touched his “private parts”. At one point, Khan said, his feet and lower legs were placed in tall boot-like metal cuffs that dug into his flesh and immobilized his legs. The guards also stripped him naked, hung him from a wooden beam for three days and provided him with water but no food. All the above torture details that Khan had undergone were not included in the Senate report (http://www.theguardian.com, June 2, 2015). On January 11, 2016, human rights experts, including the UN special rapporteurs on torture Juan E. Mendez; on human rights and counterterrorism, Ben Emmerson; on independence of the judiciary, Monica Pinto; Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Seong-Phil Hong; and the director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Michael Georg Link, together called on the U.S. Government to promptly close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility, 14 years after the detention center became operational. The experts recalled in the letter that close to 100 detainees still languished in Guantánamo after years of arbitrary detention without trial (http://www.un.org, January 11, 2016).The United States spied on leaders from other countries. The BBC reported on April 30, 2015 that the U.S. National Security Agency, by working with other secret services, has long monitored on European leaders (http://www.bbc.com, April 30, 2015). The Independent reported on June 24, 2015 that the United States had bugged the phones of three French presidents and many other senior French officials, for which a French government spokesman said was “unacceptable” (http://www.independent.co.uk, June 24, 2015). Facing criticism from its allies, the U.S. government continued to monitor some leaders in the name of “national security purpose” (http://www.theguardian.com, December 30, 2015).Though the United States repeatedly vowed to defend “human rights,” it still has not ratified core human rights conventions of the UN, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The United States is the only country that is yet to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United States also takes an uncooperative attitude towards international human rights issues. It often kept stalling or turned a deaf ear to criticisms leveled by the UN Human Rights Council special sessions and High Commissioners for Human Rights. On September 28, 2015 when the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution related to development right, the United States, as always, voted against it (http://www.un.org).

No it is not weird. Turkey is one of the most amazing countries in the world!!!This article is divided into 7 sections: 1) Christian Holy Sites 2) Byzantine Empire 3) Ottoman Empire 4) Cats in Turkey 5) Istanbul 6) Other Cities 7) ConclusionTURKEY HAS MANY CHRISTIAN HOLY SITESTurkey is considered the “other Holy Land” for Christians. (After Israel). 2/3 of the New Testament of the Bible was written to or from churches in Turkey where Peter, Paul, and John either ministered in or lived in.In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul traveled extensively throughout Turkey. He wrote 3 New Testament books to churches in Turkey – Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians.Meander Travel offers a “Footsteps of St Paul in Turkey” Tour:Footsteps of St Paul TourOn Paul’s First Missionary Journey he planted several churches in Galatia, Turkey. (Acts 13:13, 14:25). He visited Galatia twice on both his Second and Third Missionary Journeys. (Acts 15:41- 18:21. Acts 18:23-21:1)In 53 A.D. Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians. It is now the 9th book of the New Testament of the Bible.Most scholars believe that Galatians was written to several Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in southern Anatolia, which is modern day Turkey. I wish they knew the exact location, because it is one of the few cities in the Bible that I have not been to!!During his Second Missionary Journey the apostle Paul spent a brief time in Ephesus (Acts 18:19-21). And during Paul’s Third Missionary Journey he spent 3 years in Ephesus (Acts 19:1 to 20:31)In 61 A.D. Paul wrote his epistle to the Ephesians, which is now the 4th book of the New Testament in the Bible.Ephesus has some of the best preserved ruins in the world:This includes the Temple of Artemis, which is one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - WikipediaThis is a recreation of the Artemis Temple at Miniatürk Model Park in Istanbul:The locals worshiped Artemis (Diana), the goddess of Fertility and Wildlife. When the apostle Paul tried to preach to the Ephesians about Jesus it caused an uproar.Acts 19:34-35 says, “But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ ”“The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: ‘Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?’ ”The remains of the Library of Celsus has become a recognizable symbol of the Ephesus ruins.It was built between 115-117 A.D. during the time of the Roman Empire. Handwritten manuscripts were rolled up and stored in wall niches located in the galleries of the upper levels.The grave of John the Baptist (one of the 12 Disciples of Jesus) is located in Ephesus:Scholars believe that John spent his old age in Ephesus.In the 4th or 5th century a Christian church was built over John’s simple grave. In the 6th century Byzantine Emperor Justinian had an impressive domed basilica built to replace the earlier church.I did not know that we were going to see John’s grave. As soon as I saw it I felt really emotional.I’m sure John would have been happy to know that there are angelic kittens watching over his grave site:Close to John’s grave site is the House of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.According to John 19:26-27, when Jesus was hanging on the cross he asked John to watch after Mary as if she was his own mother. Then Mary moved into John’s home.Scholars believe that John moved Mary to Ephesus to live out her old age. The Catholic Church has never pronounced in favor or against the authenticity of the house.In 61 A.D. Paul wrote an Epistle to the church in Colossae, Turkey which is located near Ephesus. It is now the 12th book of the New Testament of the Bible.Scholars do not think that Paul went to Colossae. Colossians 2:1 says, “I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.”In addition, Paul did not send any personal greetings to members of the church at Colossae, as he did in his other epistles.However, Paul’s work in the area probably led to a church getting planted there. Acts 19:10 says, “All the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”Between 61-63 A.D. Paul wrote the New Testament books of I and II Timothy to his disciple Timothywas pastoring the church in Ephesus, Turkey.According to Acts 16:1, Paul had met Timothy on his Second Missionary Journey in Lystra, Turkey (19 miles south of Konya).In 61 A.D. Paul wrote a letter to Philemon, a leader in the church in Colossae, Turkey. It is now the 18th book of the New Testament of the Bible.According to Acts 16:8, Paul was in Troas (which is located on the Asian side of Turkey) when he received the “Macedonian Call.”Acts 16:9 says, “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ ”I am a Greek-American. My family is from the Macedonia region of Greece. When I was growing up I heard all about Macedonia. My grandparents (who I called Yiyia and Papou which means grandmother and grandfather in Greek) belonged to a club in San Francisco called “The Macedonian Club.”I did not start reading the Bible until I was 28 years old. When I read Acts 16:9 I was shocked to learn that “Macedonia” was in the Bible!!!Before Paul received the Macedonian Call, he was on his way to Asia. After he received the call he crossed the water and arrived in Neopolis, which is modern day Kavala, Greece. (Acts 16:11).Here is a picture of Kavala:Kavala was the first place that Paul set foot in Europe, and therefore was the first place that Christianity was preached in Europe. (Kavala is in Greece, but my point is that Paul was in Turkey when he received the call to build the church in Europe).In Revelation Chapters 2-3 Jesus wrote letters to the 7 Churches of “Asia Minor”, which was what the Romans called modern day Turkey.7 Churches: Turkey Often Considered ‘the other Holy Land’1) Ephesus - Present day Ephesus, Turkey2) Smyrna - Present day Izmir, Turkey3) Pergamum - Present day Bergama Izmir Province, Turkey4) Thyatira - Present day Akhisar, Turkey5) Sardis - Present day Sartmustafa Manisa Province, Turkey6) Philadelphia (Lydia) - Present day Alaşehir, a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey7) Laodicea (Phrygia) - Present day Denizli, TurkeyMy tour went to Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum. And drove by Laodicea. 4 down, 3 to go!Meander Travel offers a “Seven Churches in Revelation” Turkey Tour. They have amazing information and pictures about the 7 cities on their website:Seven Churches TourIn Revelation 2:1-6 Jesus told the church in Ephesus that they do not “tolerate wicked people.”In the early days there were people who falsely claimed to have known and seen Jesus. Those people were put on trial and found guilty of lying.Jesus also told the church in Ephesus, “You have forsaken the love you had at first.”Some members of the church had started to forsake their original commitment to Jesus. They began to backslide, which means that they fell into sin and no longer put Jesus first in their lives. It was probably easier to serve Jesus when he was right there with them.THE BYZANTINE EMPIREAfter the fall of the Roman Empire the Byzantine Empire (also known as the Eastern Roman Empire) became the Christian capital of the world.Constantine the Great was the Roman Emperor from 321-306 A.D. He built a new imperial residence at Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople (modern day Istanbul, Turkey). It became the capital of the Roman Empire for more than a thousand years.Constantine is called the first Christian Roman Emperor. However, I don’t think that is 100% accurate because he lived most of his life as a pagan and got “saved” on his deathbed.In 313 A.D. Emperor Constantine passed an edict that banned persecution of all religions including Christianity. In 321 A.D. he legislated that Sunday should be a day of rest for all citizens.In 325 A.D. Constantine called for the First Council of Nicaea (present day İznik, Turkey), which produced the statement of Christian belief known as the Nicene Creed.I am a Greek-American. When I was growing up in the Greek Orthodox Church, we recited the Nicene Creed every Sunday. “I believe in one God, maker of heaven and earth. And of all things visible and invisible”, etc.THE OTTOMAN EMPIREThe other reason why I went to Turkey is because of my fascination with the Ottoman Empire. It started when I watched Resurrection: Ertugrul on Netflix:Resurrection: Ertugrul | NetflixResurrection: Ertugrul is in Turkish so I had to read the English subtitles. It takes place in the 13th century and is based on the history of the Muslim Oghuz Turks. It focuses on the life of Ertugrul - the father of Osman I - who was the founder of the Ottoman Empire.Ertugrul and his family:Ertugrul and his “Alps”:Ertugrul was the #1 TV program in Turkey every week for several years. You can purchase souvenirs from the Kayi tribe (IYI in Turkish) all over Turkey:In the first season the Turks fought the Crusaders. In the second season they fought the Mongols. And in the third season they fought the Christian Byzantines.The show portrays the Turkish tribe members as saints and the Crusaders as goofballs, but I can’t help it – I’m hooked!!!Even the theme song is mesmerizing. I can’t stop dancing every time I hear it. Turkish President Recep Erdogan plays it when he receives foreign dignitaries. You can listen to it here:Dirilis Ertugrul - Episode 89 Resurrection Ertugrul - English Subtitles (Season: 3 Episode: 28)Here is a video of President Erdogan visiting the Ertugrul set:Ertugrul has taken the Muslim world by storm:Ertugrul – Your Muslim friend’s new BeyWhen I was in Jerusalem my Arab Muslim taxi driver told me that when one of the main, evil Crusader characters got killed people in the Arab neighborhoods went outside and shot guns.Having said all of this, I am very aware of the controversy surrounding the show. It symbolizes the rift between the country’s conservative Muslims and secular citizens.At an awards show in November 2016, the presenter mocked the series and its cast and crew were not allowed to speak onstage when they accepted their award.Check out this New York Times article:Opinion | What a TV Series Tells Us About Erdogan’s TurkeyThere is a fascinating historical side note concerning Suleyman Shah (1178-1236 A.D.). Suleyman was the Kayi trible leader, Ertugrul’s father, and Osman’s grandfather. He drowned in the Euphrates River when the tribe was migrating. The location is in modern day Syria.Suleyman’s tomb remained under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The 1921 Treaty of Ankara (signed by Turkey and France) granted Turkey the land surrounding the tomb.The conflict in Syria endangered the tomb. So on February 21, 2015 600 Turkish commandos dismantled the tomb and moved it back to Turkey in the dead of night:Who is Suleyman Shah and why is his tomb so important?CATS IN TURKEYNo article on Turkey would be complete without discussing the cats. They are everywhere! It is a cat lover’s dream! Heaven on earth.In Istanbul the cats living on the street are “semi-feral” meaning that they hang around the same area and get fed by the same people every day. There are small markets on almost every street and they all sell cat food.CAT LOVERS – YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!!! The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) gives FREE VETERINARY CARE to any animal that is brought into their shelter. They even send “ambulances” to pick them up.In 2018 the IMM gave free veterinary services to 139,910 stray animals and microchipped 32,435 stray animals. In addition, they distributed 149 tons of dry pet food to 199 feeding stations.Municipality provided vet services to nearly 140,000 Istanbul strays last yearIn contrast, in the U.S. 1.5 million healthy cats and dogs are euthanized in shelters every year due to overpopulation.ASPCA Releases New Data Showing Remarkable Progress for Homeless Dogs & CatsHow can you even explain something like that??? I have done cat rescue in the U.S. since 2010. If one of the feral cats in our outodoor colonies is injured we have to pool our money to pay for the veterinary care. If Animal Control is called, the animal will probably be euthanized due to limited resources.Female cats can breed 3 times a year and have an average of 4 kittens per litter. One un-spayed female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 kittens.So I don’t understand how Turkey is not overrun with cats and how people can keep up with feeding them. In the U.S. when one of the feral cats in our colonies has kittens we consider it a “fail.” I saw kittens all over Turkey and it has been going on for hundreds of years.There are also a lot of street dogs in Istanbul. The locals have named each one of them. The Turkish diet is very meat-centric. I am happy to report that the dogs are so spoiled with meat every day they are not interested in “dry” dog food! They all have ear tags:They sleep in parks and on the street. I hope they find shelter on rainy days:There was a colony of cats down the street from my hotel in Istanbul (across from the Blue Mosque) It consisted of 3 adult cats and a litter of 5 kittens. I called them “My Cat Family” and fed them every morning and night. The mama cat even let me pet her. (You can feed a feral colony in the U.S. every day for years and they will not let you pet them).One of the kittens in my cat family had an eye that was sealed shut:I was so stressed out. In the U.S. if you call Animal Control for an injured animal (especially a feral one which is not an ideal adoption candidate) the animal will probably be euthanized. (Unless it is in a very wealthy, liberal, animal loving area).I believe that God answers prayers. I posted this picture of the kitten and a prayer request on Facebook. People I don’t even know started praying for the kitten!Then I came across a man named Mustafa who sells tea outside the Blue Mosque who feeds cats and speaks English. (What are the odds???) He told me that the city would pick up the kitten and treat it for free. I was shocked!!! I showed Mustafa where the kitten lives and he made the call.After I got back to the U.S. Mustafa sent me a picture of the kitten with both eves open!!!:The day I left I was absolutely hysterical. I didn’t know how I was going to leave “my cat family.” They needed me. Mustafa promised me that he would feed them. Which he did. (He sent me updates).And I met a young girl who works at a store next to where my cat family lives. She promised me she would feed them and refused to take my money. She also sent me an update via Facebook.There are cats at every historic site in Turkey, which makes me love the country even more.ISTANBULIstanbul is my favorite city in the world. I call it “History Disneyland” because literally everywhere you look there is a marvelous, historical site.I have taken the Big Red (Hop On/Hop Off) Bus in many cities around the world and have never seen so many historical sites on one route!!! You can download the App to see the routes:Big Bus Istanbul: Hop-On, Hop-Off Tour, Cruise and Attraction TicketsIn my opinion, organized tours NEVER spend enough time in major cities. So I always go a few days early and stay a few extra days.I spent 10 days in Istanbul, and it was not enough.Istanbul is the only city in the world that is located on two continents. Half of the city is in Europe and the other half is in Asia!!! How cool is that???Locals cross back and forth daily. In fact, many people live on the Asian side and work on the European side,The area to the west of the Bosporus River is in Europe and the area to the east of the Bosporus River is in Asia. A boat cruise down the Bosporus is included when you purchase a Big Red Bus ticket.I strongly recommend it. The architecture on both sides of the river is absolutely stunning!!!Dolmabace Palace:Rumeli Fortress:My official tour stayed at the Novotel Istanbul Bosphorus hotel. Check out the view from the breakfast buffet!!! (Left to right: Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque)One of the most well known places in Istanbul is the “Blue Mosque”, which is officially called the Sultanahmet Mosque. It was built between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I.There are 1,400 mosques in Istanbul. 35 of them are Sultan's mosques.The Blue Mosque is famous for its 6 minarets (which is how you can identify it) and its interior made out of blue tiles. I did not see many blue tiles, so am going to take a closer look when I go back in October.I don’t want to offend anyone, but to be honest I don’t understand why the Sultanahmet Mosque is so famous:Especially when you compare it to the Suleymanie Mosque, which is absolutely stunning. (See below)In typical Muslim fashion, the Blue Mosque was built on top of the Great Palace of Constantinople, which was built by Emperor Constantine in 324 A.D.It was the main royal residence of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Emperors from 330 to 1081 A.D. Much of the complex was destroyed during the Nika Riots of 532 A.D. (see below) and was rebuilt lavishly by Emperor Justinian.All that remains of the palace is the floor of a mosaic courtyard, which is now known as the Great Palace Mosaics Museum. It is a shame to think of all that was lost.The courtyard mosaics depict daily life, nature, and mythology. For example, a bear hunting a deer:The museum is located literally less than 10 feet from the entrance to the hotel I stayed at during my 10 days in Istanbul - the Sultanahmet Palace Hotel. You can see the Blue Mosque from the hotel courtyard.Staying at the the Sultanahmet Palace Hotel – with its Arab motifs and close proximity to all of the historic sites - is not just a vacation; it is a cultural experience.On the other side of the mosque are the tombs of several Ottoman Sultans, including Sultan Ahmed I. You are allowed to enter after you take off your shoes. No ticket or fee required.Next door to the mosque is the Hippodrome, a former 10,000 seat arena where chariot races and athletic events took place during the Byzantine period. It is currently nothing but a busy square with food and souvenir stands. (While I was standing in the square I kept walking up to people and asking “Where is the Hippodrome???”)The Hippodrome is the site of the week long Nika Insurrection of 532 A.D. In response, Emperor Justinian destroyed or burned half the city of Constantinople and killed over 30,000 people. Justinian then rebuilt the city and started construction on the Hagia Sophia.As a side note, Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora (who is thought to have been a high priced call girl) are very interesting historical figures.I highly recommend that you watch Extra Credits “Byzantine Empire: Justinian and Theodora” on You Tube. It is a 5-part historical cartoon:justinian and theodora - YouTubeThree ancient monuments are located on the Hippodrome.1) Serpent Column - A bronze statue built 2,500 years ago by 31 Greek City States to celebrate their victory over the Persian Empire at the Battle of Plataea in 479 B.C.It was originally located in Delphi, Greece as an offering to the Greek God Apollo and was relocated to Constantinople in 324 A.D. by Emperor Constantine.It is made out of metal from Persian swords. It originally had 3 serpent heads (one of which is on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum) but currently looks like a sawed off pole. When I first looked at it I thought “What the heck is this???”Here is a replica of the original with the 3 serpent heads:2) Obelisk of Theodosius – An ancient Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose III constructed in 1450 B.C. Roman Emperor Theodosius had it re-erected on the Hippodrome in 398 A.D.3) Walled or Constantine Obelisk – Built in Egypt at an unknown date.Named after Emperor Constantine VII, who repaired it in the tenth century. It was reportedly decorated with gilded bronze plaques that portrayed the victories of Constantine’s grandfather Basil I.The gilded bronze plaques were stolen and melted down by Fourth Crusaders in 1204 A.D. When the Ottomans took over the city in 1453 A.D., young Janissaries liked to climb the obelisk to show their prowess, so it suffered further damage.There is a fountain on the Hippodrome that was donated by German Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1901.This is the same Kaiser who in 1898 - while visiting the Holy Land in Israel - insisted on entering Jerusalem seated on a white horse in reference to Jesus’ prophesized return to the city.In response, the Ottoman Turks built a wide passage between the Jaffa Gate and the Citadel. The passage is still there today and leads to the Arab souk.On December 11, 1917 British General Allenby decided to enter through Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem on foot to accept the Ottoman Turks surrender to the Allied forces. He did this intentionally in contrast to Kaiser Wilhelm I.On the other side of the Hippodrome is the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. It is located in the palace of Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, which was constructed in 1524 A.D.Ibrahim was a Janissary that rose to become second grand vizier to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The Janissaries were elite infantry units that originally were made up of kidnapped young Christian boys who were converted to Islam.It is thought that Ibrahim married Sulemen’s sister Hatice Sultan, even though that was forbidden since Janissaries were born into non-Muslim families. For more on the love story of Ibrahim and Hatice, watch the Magnificent Century on Netflix. (See below)The museum contains beautiful Islamic calligraphy, carpets, tiles, books, ceramics, and metalwork from the 8th to 19th century. There are ethnographic displays on various cultures in Turkey, particularly nomad groups.There are multiple copies of the Koran that are amazingly beautiful:Across from the Blue Mosque is the Hagia Sophia, which was the largest church in the world for 1,000 years. It was built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian from 532-537 A.D.Hagia Sophia means Divine Wisdom, which is an attribute of God. (Westerners mistakenly think it means St Sophia).The Hagia Sophia is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and an engineering marvel. The dome ceiling is so large it collapsed after an earthquake in 558 A.D.and had to be replaced.From 537 to 1453 A.D. it was an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral. Except for a brief period from 1204-1261A.D. when it was converted by the Fourth Crusaders to a Roman Catholic Cathedral under the Latin Empire.The coronation ceremony of the Eastern Roman Emperors took place at the Omphalion (a marble section of the floor) inside the Hagia Sophia:When the Muslim Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople in 1453 A.D. they renamed the city Istanbul and converted most of the churches into mosques.You can take a Byzantine tour that includes churches that were converted into mosques:The Rise Of ByzantiumOn May 29, 1453 the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. (It was the main mosque in Istanbul until the Blue Mosque was built in 1616).Christian features such as the altar, bells, iconostasis, and other relics were destroyed. The mosaics depicting Jesus, his mother Mary, Christian saints, and angels were destroyed or plastered over. (The reason the angels were covered over is because in Islam faces cannot be shown).Great news! The plaster is fading in some places and you can see the Christian mosaics again!!!In this Vestibule Mosaic, Emperor Justinian is giving a model of the Hagia Sophia to Mary and Jesus. And Emperor Constantine is presenting the city of Constantinople to them.When the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque, Islamic features were added. On the right side of the “altar” Allah’s name is written in calligraphy and on the left Mohammed’s name and the name of some caliphs are written.The 35th chapter of the Koran was written in calligraphy over the mosaic of Jesus under the dome.Like most museums in Istanbul, the Hagia Sophia closes at 7:00pm. (Last December I spent 10 days in London and to my horror most of the palaces and museums closed at 4:30pm when it got dark). That means if you don’t stop for meals, you can get 10 hours of sightseeing in!!! And if you want to get even more viewing time in, Istanbul’s mosques open at 6:00am.There are licensed tour guides that stand in front of the Hagia Sophia who only charge $25 an hour. If you purchase the services of a guide you get to skip the line.Southwest of the Hagia Sophia is the Basilica Cistern, an underground cistern that was built during the Byzantine Empire to transport water to Istanbul from a lake. It is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city.The Basilica Cistern provided a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constantinople and later to the Topkapı Palace. Most of the columns came from ruined buildings from across the empire. Two of the columns have a Medusa head on their base that are thought to be from the late Roman period.The cistern was used as a location for the 1963 James Bond film “From Russia with Love”. They hold symphony concerts there every summer because the acoustics are so good. That’s on my bucket list!After you exit the Hagia Sophia, you once again walk past some Ottoman sultan tombs. No ticket is necessary and there is no entrance fee. All you need to do is take off your shoes. (Per Islamic tradition). The whole thing is enough to make a history lover’s head swirl!Next door to the Hagia Sophia is the Topkapi Palace, home of the Ottoman Sultans for over 400 years.Again, there are licensed guides standing out front. I paid $50 for an hour with a guide who got great reviews on Lonely Planet. He ended up giving me a 3-hour tour. I went back the next day and rented an audio guide device to see everything we did not have time for.Walking into the Topkapi Palace is like going back in time several hundred years and landing in an Arab fantasy.Mehmed the Conqueror (Sultan Mehmed II) conquered Constantinople in 1453 A.D.. He began construction of the Topkapi Palace in 1459 A.D. It was the administrative center of his empire.In the 1570s Sultan Sulemein the Magnificent turned the palace into a home. Sultans and their families lived at Topkapi for 400 years until the Dolmahace Palace was built.Topkapi Palace consists of multiple buildings and over 100 rooms and chambers. The most important are open to the public.After you walk into the first courtyard, the Hagia Irene (“Divine Peace”) church is located on the left, on the other side of the palace wall from the Hagia Sophia. During Byzantine times the two churches were connected by several porticos.Hagia Irene was the second largest cathedral in Constantinople after Hagia Sophia.After the conquest of Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed II converted the Hagia Irene church into a weapons armory. My guess is because of the sturdy walls. It is one of the few churches the Ottomans did not convert into a mosque.The 3 windows in this picture represent the Christian Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost):Another must see site at the Topkapi Palace is the Harem, where the Sultan’s mother, wives, 300-500 concubines, and children lived.Harem means “something forbidden or kept safe.” It consisted of 300 chambers, baths, 2 mosques, and a hospital. The women were taught music, dance, languages, and manners.For a portrayal of life in the Harem, I highly suggest you watch “Magnificent Century” on Netflix:Magnificent Century - Season 1The show is about Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent and his wife Hurrem Sultan (red dress on the right in the picture below).Hurrem (“cheerful one” in Persian) was a slave girl from Poland originally named Roxelana. Her rise in the harem to become chief consort and legal wife was unprecedented!In 1533 A.D. Suleyman married Hurrem in a magnificient formal ceremony. This violated a 200-year-old custom that sultans were not to marry their concubines. It was the first time that a former slave was elevated to the status of the sultan's lawful spouse.Her son Selim II become Sultan after Suleiman died in 1566 A.D.There is a shop near the palace that sells Sulemein, Hurrem Sultan, and Valide Sultan dolls. Note that the Valide (mother of the Sultan) is wearing the head covering:Most of the scenes in Magnificent Century take place in the Harem. So when I saw it in person it made it come to life for me. I could visualize the concubines dancing for the sultan in the main hall to see which one would be chosen to spend the night.And the Sultan’s mother (Valide Sultan) holding court with her ladies in her apartment.I could picture what second floor bedrooms - which were home to the “favorites” – looked like in their day. And I could envision the sultan walking down the corridor to bed the lucky woman chosen that night. (If a woman became pregnant her status would be elevated).The Topkapi Palace contains 10 Collections:Topkapı Palace MuseumYou are not allowed to take pictures.The Imperial Treasury is under construction for 2 years, so I did not get to see the Topkapi Dagger, which has an 86-carat diamond.Highlights of the Arms and Weapons Collection include swords with diamonds, rubies, and Koran verses. And a Sultan’s armor covered in diamonds, rubies, and pearls.Highlights of the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle and Holy Relics Collection include Moses’ staff, the sword of King David, and the bones of John the Baptist. Sultan Selim is thought to have brought the items to Topkapi Palace after conquering Egypt in 1517 A.D.. They have been on display ever since.I don’t know if I believe that the sword belonged to King David. I definitely don’t think the staff was owned by Moses or the bones are those of John the Baptist.As I did research for this article, I realized that when I was there I solely focused on the collection’s Christian artifacts.The collection also contains many items from the Prophet Mohammed. These include the Holy Mantle, hair from his beard; the reliquary in which his tooth was kept (broken during the Battle of Uhud on March 19, 625 A.D), his footprints, letters, bow, and sword.As well as the shirt, mantle, praying mat, and chest of Mohammad's daughter Fatimah.Sacred Relics (Topkapı Palace) - WikipediaAnd of course I fed dogs in the Topkapi courtyard:The Istanbul Archaeological Museum is located next door to Topkapi Palace. From inside the first courtyard you walk past the ruins of the Royal Mint, which housed the Ministry of the Treasury and treasury officials for over 200 years. Notice the cat:If you keep going you will reach Gülhane Park, which was previously part of the palace outer gardens. It was open to the public in 1912.In 1967 Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz visited archaeological museums in Paris, London, and Vienna, and was so impressed he ordered the establishment of an archaeological museum in Istanbul.The Istanbul Archaeological Museum consists of 3 museums: the Archaeological Museum (main building), the Museum of the Ancient Orient, and the Museum of Islamic Art (located in the tiled kiosk).I am a huge museum lover. But to be honest, the Istanbul Archaeological Museum main building is my least favorite museum in the world. That could be because my main interest in Istanbul is Ottoman and the museum has various collections.Or because it is just a plain, small museum with not much interesting to see. (My apologies! I know some will disagree).It mostly houses classical statues and sarcophagi. You can view pictures of all 3 museums on this website:History Carved in Stone at Istanbul Archaeology Museums, TurkeyThe only thing the main museum had that interested me was a list of churches that were converted into mosques after the Ottomans conquered Istanbul.When I was there the main building was covered in scaffolding. I can see from pictures that it has a beautiful neo-Greek exterior.The façade of the building is based on the Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great. I am from the same part of Macedonia, Greece as Alexander and have always had a strange fascination with him. I want to go back when the construction is done just to see the outside of the building.There is a marble head of Alexander on display. I later read on Lonely Planet that it came from Pergamum.Travel Tip: ALWAYS research the collection highlights of a museum before you go. I did not do enough research before my trip and missed a few gems. One more reason I have to go back.Another is the large population of feral cats and kittens on the museum grounds that the poor security guard is paying to feed. Please feed the stray animals when you travel!!!Across from the main building is the Museum of Islamic Art. It is located in a tiled kiosk which is absolutely, positively the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen in my life. It is simply stunning.I was enamored and I am not a student of architecture or Islam. How much more will some of you enjoy it??? Unbeknown to me at the time, the tiled kiosk is one of the oldest structures in Istanbul featuring Ottoman civil architecture, and was a part of the Topkapı Palace outer gardens.The pictures I took do not do it justice:A tiled kiosk is a small, separated garden pavilion open on some or all sides. They were very popular in the Ottoman Empire.This tile kiosk was built by Sultan Mehmed II as a pleasure palace. He and his friends watched nearby sporting events. Sort of like an Ottoman era man cave. According to the tile inscription above the main entrance it was built in 1472 A.D..You need to take a taxi to get to the Dolmabace Palace. It was built by Sultan Abdülmecid I between 1843-1856 A.D.. He lived in the Topkapi Palace with his family but it was medieval and lacked contemporary style, luxury, and comfort. He wanted a modern palace like the European monarchs.Dolmabace Palace was the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856-1887 and 1909-1922. (Yıldız Palace was used between 1887 and 1909).It has 365 rooms and 22 saloons. It has the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the world. The famous Crystal Staircase has the shape of a double horseshoe and is built of Baccarat crystal, brass and mahogany.It cost $1.5 billion to build and its construction left the country bankrupt.The world's largest crystal chandelier (4.5 tons) is in the Ceremonial Hall. It was a gift from England’s Queen Victoria:In my opinion the Dolmabace Palace is beautiful on the outside, but does not compare to Buckingham Palace in London or the Palace of Versailles near Paris on the inside.It is located on the European side of the Bosphorous.The Süleymaniye Mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the great architect Sinan. It was built between 1550-1557. It is the second largest mosque in Istanbul and its largest Ottoman-era mosque.In my opinion it is the most beautiful mosque in Istanbul:It contains the Tomb of Sultan Sulemein the Magnificent!:The Tomb of Hurrem Sultan is also located there!!!! Hurem is the former slave Roxelana who rose up to become Sultan Sulemein’s legal wife:No visit to Istanbul would be complete without a trip to the Grand Bazaar:The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. It has 61 covered streets, 4,000 shops, and 26,000 employees. 250,000-400,000 shoppers visit everyday.A highlight is $12 (60 Turkish Lira) “Nikes”!!! I wore mine everyday for 8 months.Miniaturk Park is absolutely amazing!!! It is a photographer and history lover’s dream!! It contains models of 134 architectural works from Istanbul, Anatolia, and oversees.You can get an overview of large historical sites that you can only see part of at a time in real life. And you can see what historic sites that are now ruins originally looked like.I wish they had one in the U.S. and other countries. It is on the Big Red Bus Route. I spent 5 hours there and then went back the next day.The Blue Mosque:Mosque of Sulemain the Magnificent:The Hagia Sophia:Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem:To my surprise, they have a replica of the tomb of Ertugurl, the father of Osman the founder of the Ottoman Empire!!! (See above):And of course there was a small cat on top of one of the exhibits, watching the moveable tram go up and down:For those of you who like to construct models, they sell several mini-models in the gift shop:The Chora Church is a Byzantine Church constructed by Emperor Justinian in 530 A.D. The outside was under construction when I was there, so here is a picture of a postcard:The Chora Church is unique because its internal decorations are almost completely intact. It is famous for its biblical frescoes and mosaics. Most people could not read at the time it was built, so they painted pictures around the church.Joseph’s Dream and Journey of the Holy Family to Jerusalem:Resurrection of Jesus (top) and Church Leaders (bottom)Mosaic of Christ on inner Narthex dome:For a complete list of mosaics and maps go to:Church of Chora, Istanbul's Byzantine MarvelAnd of course there were cats outside the church:OTHER TURKISH CITIES (In alphabetical order)As I wrote above, the main reason why I wanted to go to Turkey was because of my fascination with the Ottoman Empire.However, to my surprise the only Ottoman sites that my Gate 1 Travel Tour took me to were to the Topkapi Palace (see below) and the Caravanserai of Sultanhan.They took me to more Roman Ruins than you can shake a stick out.It was fascinating to learn the history of the Silk Road, but the Caravanserai itself was not much to look at.~AnkaraAnkara is the capital and Turkey’s second largest city.The Museum of Anatolian Civilization - also called the Hittite Museum – is a must see. It features Anatolian archaeological artifacts dating back to the Paleolithic Age.They have cave drawings that are 10,000 years old!!! They cut the pieces out of the caves and hung them on the walls of the museum. It was pretty amazing.The Hitites existed from 2,000-1,000 B.C. They are mentioned in the Bible. They were the first to have women's rights and animal rights. For example, if the King died the Queen could rule.The history of the Hittite civilization is known from cuneiform tablets. The museum has a large collection of history, letters, recipes, etc that they wrote.The Hitites and the Egyptians were the major powers at the time, They signed the world's first peace treaty. There is a copy at the United Nations in New York City.No trip to Ankara would be complete without a visit to the Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first president of the Turkish Republic. He was the President of Turkey from 1923 until his death in 1938.Ataturk instituted political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic policy changes that were designed to convert Turkey into a secular, modern nation-stateIn 1934 Turkey passed a law requiring all citizens to adopt a hereditary, fixed, surname. The Turkish Assembly bestowed on Mustafa Kemal the surname "Atatürk," which translates to “Father of the Turks.”~AntalyaAntalya is an international resort city founded by King Attalos of Pergamum who called it “Heaven on Earth”.It is known for its nightlife, beaches, and world class shopping.The beach is covered in high rise hotels. My tour group stayed at the Akra Hotel, which is one of the most beautiful hotel I have ever stayed in.The Antalya Archaeological Museum is one of the largest museums in Turkey. It covers the history of the Mediterranean and Pamphylia regions in Anatolia.The Catalgotuks lived in this region 10,000 years ago. In 7,000 B.C. they first began to live in villages. Their houses were made of brick.Antalya was once a Roman port and the museum is full of Roman artifacts:~AspendosAspendos is an ancient Greco-Roman city. It was founded in 1,000 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered it in 333 B.C. (As I wrote above, I am from the same part of Macedonia, Greece as Alexander and have always been fascinated with him).Aspendos has the best preserved antique theater in the world. It has the best preserved Roman theatre outside of Italy because it was in use until the 16th century:~ CappadociaCappadocia was part of the Persian Empire under King Darius I and King Xerxes. After Alexander the Great defeated the Persian Empire he tried to rule the area through one of his military commanders. Then it was the largest province of the Roman Empire..Cappadocia is mentioned in the Bible!!! Acts 2:9 says, “Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia.”The area is famous for its rock formations:This includes the “fairy chimneys”:It is world reknown as a place for Hot Air Ballooning. I took these pictures on my iPhone:People lived in house caves in the area until the 1960s. They built their houses out of rock because it was the only material available. Some of them are now luxury hotels.There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia. They are 4,000-5,000 years old. The locals used them during the cold winter and when enemies were attacking. Christians hid there thousands of years later.I went to Ozkonak Underground City:Kaymakli is the widest underground city. The houses are constructed around one hundred tunnels. Derinkuyu is the deepest underground city.For some amazing pictures and commentary go to this site:Kaymakli Underground City, CappadociaGoreme Open Air Museum. Medieval orthodox Christian monks (1000-1200 A.D.) carved caves from the soft volcanic stone and decorated them with elaborate Byzantine frescoes.Many of the frescoes are damaged. But they are so beautiful I cried.My tour went to a nearby ceramics factory. They created ceramics in this part of Turkey for 4,000 years. The shop was 200 years old; 7 generations have worked here. The ceramics were absolutely stunning.We stopped at the Caravanserai at Sultanhan. It is a large Seljuk caravanserai built in the 13th century.Caravanserai were “inns” that were located every 25 miles along the Silk Road, which ran from China to Europe. They traded silk, copper, wool, spices, and carpets.The Caravanserai provided traders with heated rooms, food, medical attention, equipment repair and many other common conveniences.The roofs were high because people stayed with their camels and horses to protect their goods. They had guards to protect the guests so they were like mini-forts.There was even a small mosque.It was fascinating to learn about the Silk Road, but the Caravanserai was just a bunch of empty rooms. I was really disappointed.~ GallipoliSite of the famous Ottoman victory over the Allies during World War I. Turkey was an ally of Germany during World War I. Britain and France wanted to supply their ally Russia through Turkish waters.On February 19, 1915 British ships began bombing the straits of Dardanelles. The naval attack failed so they decided to invade the Gallipoli Peninsula.On April 25, 1915 the first Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed at Anzac Cove. It was a military disaster. 100,000 soldiers died and 300,000 were wounded. Their fame grew back home as word of their heroic efforts spread. They had so many casualties 6 months later they pulled out.Original World War I trenches on the Gallipoli Peninsula:The Anzac Cemetery is a memorial to the casualties of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). Their remains are strewn all over the battlefield on the peninsula, so they created a cemetery to honor them that is full of empty graves:There was an older couple on my tour bus from Australia. They got very emotional at the cemetary.April 25th is a national holiday in Australia and New Zealand called Anzac Day. It was originally to honor those who served in the Gallipoli Campaign. It now commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.”April 25, 2015 marked the 100th Anniversary of the beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign.All of the street cats and dogs I saw in Istanbul were well fed. However, at Gallipoli I saw a dog so skinny it’s ribs were showing and a sleeping dog that was so skinny I thought it was dead. Carry cat and dog food with you when you travel!!!I had bought a cheap carry-on case the day before and filled it with dog/cat food. My tour guide told me to put it under the bus instead of on the seat next to me. I shouldn’t have listened to him.After I gave all the food I had on me to the dogs I saw a skinny white cat. I ran back to the bus to get some food from my backpack. The bus was going to leave. I should have made them wait for me when I went back to feed the cat. Instead I asked my tour guide to ask the security guard in Turkish to give the food to the cat.Either way please pray that tourist s who come to the site and the locals who live there feed the dogs and cats.~IzmirIzmir is one of the oldest still lived in cities of the world. It was known historically as Smyrna.Smyrna is one of the 7 churches in the Book of Revelation!!! The Christians in Smyrna refused to worship the Roman Emperor. They got their property seized and had no form of personal income, while they were surrounded by prosperity.Even though they didn’t have many personal possessions, Jesus told them that they were rich because they were storing up their treasures in heaven.~ PamukkalePresent day Pamukkale (which means “cotton castle”) is famous for its terraced calcium pools, which are created when calcareous water (rich in carbon dioxide) reaches 95°F and hardens. They are 8,860 feet long, 1,970 feet wide, and 525 feet high.Hotels built in the 1960s drained the thermal waters into their swimming pools and caused damage to the terraces. The hotels have been demolished and prayerfully the area will regenerate.Access to the terraces is currently not allowed and visitors have to walk on the pathway.Here is a beautiful picture of the pools from a tourist brochure:And here is the reality of what the pools currently look like:You are no longer allowed to walk on the pools, so here is what you are walking on. I did not even bother to take my shoes off:The ailing and elderly have been coming to the thermal baths for healing since the 2nd century B.C.So many elderly people retired here it has one of the largest and best-preserved cemeteries (Necropolis) in all of Turkey.The cemetery contains sarcophagi, different types of tombs, and funeral monuments from the Hellenistic until early Christian period. The tombs contain numerous inscriptions; more than 300 have been translated and published.The ancient Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis (Holy City) was built on top of the hot springs. In the 1st century it was part of a tri-city area which included Laodicea (one of the 7 churches in the book of Revelations) and Colossae (the 12th book of the New Testament).Hierapolis is mentioned in Colossians 4:13. The apostle Phillip was martyred here in 70 A.D.The Hierapolis Colosseum is breathtaking:~ PergamumOne of the 7 Churches in the book of Revelation!!! In Revelation 2:12-16 Jesus called Pergamum “Satan’s throne” because they had Temples where they worshipped the Roman emperors.Pergamum was a powerful kingdom during the ancient Hellenistic period and later a Roman city.My tour group did not take the trolley up to the Acropolis or Temple of Trajan. We saw the Asclepion, which are the ruins of an ancient Roman “spa” or hospital where people went for medical treatment:The Great Theater of Pergamum is the steepest theater in the ancient world. The theater I went to is not steep so there must be more than one. My fellow Quorans – do you know:~ PergePerge was originally a Hitite city. Then it was ruled by Persians, Athenians, and Persians again. Alexander the Great occupied Perge with a part of his army.Paul and Barnabas visited Perge twice on their Missionary Journeys! Acts 13:13-14 says, “From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia. From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch.” Acts 13:13-14Acts 14:25 says, “When they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.”~TroyTroy is a 4,000-year-old city. It was immortalized by Homer's epic poem The Iliad, which covered the Trojan War took place in 1,300 B.C.According to Homer, the 10-year war was started because beautiful blonde Helen was abducted by Paris a prince of Troy.There is a re-construction of the infamous Trojan horse. I was excited to take a picture with it since before I left home, so I am disappointed that the person who took my picture did not get a picture of me in the window.Tourists always ask if it was the original! Just a reminder that there is no historical evidence that there ever was a Trojan horse. But one can dream!There were dogs and cats all over the ruins, including kittens by the entrance. There was a cat on top of a pillow for sale in the gift shop that the stop keeper shooed away. She told me that a veterinarian drops off 20 pounds of food a week.GREAT EXCHANGE RATE/CONCLUSIONI am aware that Turkey is going through hard times. It is the only secular Muslim country and unfortunately I think this is going to cause major problems.As you know, in 2016 there was a military coup d'état attempt.I was once walking with an off duty tour guide on a street next to the Blue Mosque. It was late at night and all of the restaurants were full. I commented that after work in the U.S. I usually am so tired I go home and watch TV. He replied, “We are so happy that the tourists are back.”As a result, there is horrible inflation and the people have to work really hard to make ends meet. (I have never seen such a hard working group of people). What that means for tourists is that everything is unbelievably cheap.For example, you can get a 4-star hotel for only $65 a night.I got my hair dyed and blown out at an upscale salon for only $15. (I have tape extensions, so dying my hair is no easy feat). It’s called 5 Galata Place and is located down the street from the Galata Tower. I highly recommend it. (Why not get your hair done for cheap right before you go back to the U.S.???)I tipped the stylist (who does not speak any English) $15 and he clasped his hands in prayer and pointed to the sky to give praise God. $15 is a normal tip at a U.S. salon. I thought about it. It costs $75 to get my hair dyed in the U.S. So it was as if I had given him a $75 tip.I tried to tip and pour money into the economy wherever I could. And I gave money and/or cat food to everyone who feeds the cats.I was so sad when my trip to Turkey was over. Every 6 years at my work I get a 6-week Sabbatical. I spent 3 weeks in China before my 3 weeks in Turkey. I loved China, but I felt some kind of connection to Turkey.As I was walking down the ramp to board the plane I cried and cried and cried. A Turkish Airlines employee asked me what’s wrong and I told him I don’t want to leave. In October I am going to layover in Istanbul for 3 days after a 3-week trip to Egypt. I can’t wait to see again my old friend! And to check on my cat family.Ok my fellow Quorans. I know you are going to have a lot of additional information and corrections to my post! Let the Upvoting begin (I hope).