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robertscastellini · 3 years ago

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Popular Tourist Attractions in Istanbul

Istanbul, Europe's largest metropolis, spans the banks of the Bosphorus and has long been described as the meeting point of East and West. Istanbul is a city that proudly wears its culture and history, fusing them into a vibrant metropolis with much to offer visitors from all over the world. Apart from the city's most well-known tourist sites, such as the Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace, Istanbul also has bustling bazaars, evocative ancient districts, and vibrant eating and nightlife scenes to explore. One of the beautiful attractions in Istanbul is Topkapi Palace. This magnificent palace on the Bosphorus, erected by Mehmet the Conqueror in the 15th century, was where the Ottoman Empire's sultans resided and reigned. The immense complex is a magnificent showcase of Islamic art, with luxurious courtyards adorned with beautiful hand-painted tilework connecting a maze of sumptuously designed chambers bordered by battlemented walls and towers. The Harem complex, the Second Court, and the Third Court are among the most popular attractions. The Imperial Treasury, which has a cache of gleaming gold artifacts and valuable diamonds, is located in the Third Court. It also houses an astounding collection of Prophet Muhammad relics in the Sacred Safekeeping Room. The Blue Mosque is another must-see attraction in Istanbul. This majestic mosque was Sultan Ahmet I's major architectural gift to his capital. The mosque, built between 1609 and 1616 and included six minarets, generated a stir across the Muslim world when it was completed. The interior's overall spatial and color impact elevates the mosque to one of Ottoman architecture's pinnacles. Istanbul also offers the Hippodrome as one of its architectural wonders. Septimius Severus started building the Hippodrome in CE 203, and Constantine the Great finished it in CE 330. This was the epicenter of Byzantine public life, with magnificent events and chariot racing, as well as factional rivalries. The Hippodrome has a fountain on the northwest side, given to the Ottoman sultan by German Emperor William II in 1898. Moving southwest, there are three ancient monuments: a 65 feet high Egyptian obelisk (from Heliopolis); the Serpent Column, which Constantine brought here from Delphi; and a stone obelisk with gold-covered brass plating until soldiers of the 4th Crusade took it in 1204. For many visitors, touring Istanbul is as much about buying as it is about visiting museums and monuments, and the Grand Bazaar is the place to go. Between the Nuruosmanye Mosque and the Beyazt Mosque, this vast covered market is the world's first retail mall, stretching nearly an entire city quarter and encircled by strong walls. The Beyazt Mosque (constructed between 1498 and 1505) is on the location of Theodosius I's Forum and is modeled after the Hagia Sophia. The entrance of the bazaar leads to a maze of vaulted-ceiling laneways crowded with stores and booths offering every type of Turkish souvenir and handicraft imaginable. The numerous trades are usually divided into distinct areas, making browsing more convenient. The Burned Column is located at the Divanyolu Caddesi entrance to the Grand Bazaar. Constantine the Great erected this porphyry column stub in his reign. It housed a bronze figure of Constantine until 1105, when it was destroyed.

#Attractions

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secondspark · 2 years ago

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The Pros and Cons of Prophecy

((RP scene between me and the GM from Vreska's game.))

The day was hot, as was only proper for high noon in the great city of Lidian. Smooth-cut marble offered scant respite from the heat and the ever-present winds carried with them the cries of hawkers pitching their wares, the sound of a thousand throats at mid-day prayer, the smells of bodies and spices and a thousand thousand blooming plants from the gardens that grew like weeds all through their fair city. Even in his soul the Great God Helm, Watcher Over the Realms of Man, kept his keen merciless gaze upon all the souls of humanity. It warmed him deep into his bones, a place where the normal warmth of the day could never touch.

Silently, his robes swirling about his legs, he made his way forth from the basilica looking for a particular paladin of his acquaintance. He'd spent the night before in contemplation with Helm and His priests and he knew that the idyllic times of rest and idleness were definitely drawing to a close. It was his duty - always duty, with him - to prepare the girl for a long journey by sea.

Snorting to himself at the thought, he ventured forth a chuckle. Vreska'd hate that, he suspected. Always said that the sea was not fit place for a decent person. He, of course, was born at sea and loved it like he loved few other things in this world.

Vreska was not hard to find, her habit being to spend mid-day prayers in meditation in a small garden, taking some relief from the heat among the greenery and flowers. Most of the plants were practical--foodstuffs, medicinal herbs--but there were a few simply for pleasure, and that was where she could be found.

Her eyes opened on Beyazt’s approach, smiling. “It’s a good afternoon. Escaping the other councilors already?”

He smiled at his one-time ward as he reached up to smooth his extravagant moustache. "They haggle worse than fishwives and pinch coin until you can almost hear the coin scream in pain." he said, his voice like honeyed smoke. He then took a seat on the far side of a bench from Vreska. "It's good to get my old bones out and moving." he said with a wry chuckle. He kept himself far fitter than most Elders of his position and standing. "Perhaps I'll get out to sea before the seasons turn." he offered. "You should join me."

“But that means getting on a ship for who knows how long,” she replied, tone teasing. “While I like to swim, months on the ocean is something else.” She studied him for a moment, their long acquaintance letting her see past the words. “Or is this a lead in to the next task for the Order? I am recovered from my last adventure. I’ll get rusty lounging about here.”

"Endless hours upon the training field and she whines to me about becoming rusty. Does the Mother Superior know of your newfound love of idleness and leisure? Shall I send for a troupe of dancing-boys to dote upon you with silks and flowers next?" he retorted with a smile. He'd been making that same threat for almost as long as he'd known her. "But yes. As much as I would love to take a holiday upon the sea with my second-favorite paladin, there has been a prophecy uttered by five different seers of three different faiths." he said, sobering a touch. "You have been Called, child, and I am here to prepare you for the trial to come."

She made the expected exaggerated face at his teasing, laughing a little. The last person to try to curry her favor with such gifts had not fared well. As Beyazt continued, however, her expression sobered and she listened, a slight frown of concentration forming. “Perhaps that explains a few things,” she mused, looking to the small fountain supplying the garden. “There’s been a...restlessness. Images. Almost like memory.” She shook her head. “Though I somehow doubt the seers are any more coherent and forthcoming, if anything, less so, knowing them.”

"It's almost like you know them." he said, reaching out a hand across the distance that separated them to pat her on the shoulder. "But even for seers, this latest Seeming is … disorganized." he admitted. "Far away, there is a darkness gathering. Holes worn thin in the fabric of reality and, it is feared, some things have begun to slip through." he said. "I would spare you this, if I thought even for a second that you would heed the request of a feeble old man." he said. "I will not lie to you, Vreska. I worry. For you. For all of us. The threat is far away for now, but if those from Outside succeed in forcing their way into our world once again, we could stand on the door of a very great calamity. And, as usual, the fools and degenerates will not listen to us. They never listen to us. So instead of armies and fleets, we send … you. A few others, sworn to secrecy." he said. Standing abruptly, he extended his hands towards Vreska. "Pray with me, daughter." he half-asked, half-ordered.

She took a breath. This was their sworn duty, one she had adopted as her own under his care and guidance. His worry was something beyond the usual concern for her duties to the Order as one of its Swords, however.

So Vreska smiled for him and took his hands as she stood. “With your blessings guiding me, I will do what must be done,” she assured him, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach at how serious this might be.

Mind-to-mind, hand-in-hand, souls to souls, they prayed. For safety, for security, for love, but above all, always above all, for duty. For victory. No words were spoken aloud, to be carried to an unbeliever's ears. Their prayers were spoken in their mind, reflected across the cosmos, across the world of spirits and dreams as well as to the places Above where the Gods dwelled. Always, at the doorway to that place, Helm was there. Watching, grim-faced. He never acknowledged prayers on his face, but both priest and paladin both felt his gaze upon their souls, their secret hearts.

On their flesh, ripping across their skin, a spectral fire ignited, mingling his copper-gold with her azure flames in an offering to the spirits, a private veneration to their Kalashtar. Eventually, at the end of time and after only a short while, the flames died away and both paladin and priest turned their gazes away from the divine and back to the world of Men. "And take my blessing as well, my child. You will do your duty and do it well, for you know not what it is to betray your own souls. No matter the cost, strive ever towards victory, my paladin, and may Helm see fit to guide you back to me when your duty is done."

He let her hands go and took a step backwards to collect himself, to give her time to recover as well. For her, seeing the divine was difficult at times, clouded. "So. Lunch?"

#D&D #Beyazt #Pochwald Adventures #Paladin #Oath of the Watchers #Vreska che Lidian

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