Kalenderhane Mosque

Kalenderhane Mosque

Kalenderhane Mosque is a former Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul, converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.   The church, when built was originally dedicated to the Theotokos Kyriotissa, meaning Virgin the mother of God.

Kalenderhane Mosque

Built on top of a fifth or sixth century Roman bath complex, the Church of Theotokos Kyriotissa was built in the twelfth century during the Komnenian Dynasty and functioned as a Greek Orthodox Byzantine church until 1453.  In 1453, after the conquest of Constantinople the church was assigned to the Kalenderi Dervishes and they used the structure as a zaviye (Islamic religious school) and imaret (soup kitchen).

In 1746, Haci Besir Aga - chief eunuch of the Topkapi Palace converted the church into a mosque by adding mihrab, minbar, and mahfil.  The structure was restored several times due to the fires that took place in the late nineteenth century.

This is my video filmed in August of 2017 of the interior (hyperlinked below), there is a second video of the exterior, (please find it in YouTube as well), enjoy. 

https://youtu.be/glNk-kRIFVE

Tulips from the Ottoman Empire

Tulips from the Ottoman Empire 

Tulips, picture them in your mind, the colors, the slender trunk, reaching up, and at the peak, a beautiful 'cup' looking flower. 

One of my favorite flowers.  

How was this 'petite' flower introduced into Europe and the rest of our World. 

Let me write about this today. 

The introduction of the flower known as Tulip to Europe is well known to be by the Ambassador of the 'Roman Empire' to 'Ottoman Empire'.  

          Tulips, on the field I

This person was Ogier de Busbecq, the ambassador of Ferdinand I of the 'Roman Emperor'. 

The Tulip seeds/bulbs were sent to the city of Vienna, in the year of 1554 from Istanbul, then known as Constantinople. 

Soon after this date, the Tulip bulbs were distributed from Vienna to the rest of Europe.  

The city that really embraced this flower was, the city of Amsterdam.  

The flowers popularity and cultivation in the country of Netherlands, especially in Amsterdam is generally thought to have started around the year of 1593, at the University of Leiden, which established the 'Hortus Academicus' at this Institute. 

          Tulips, on the field II

Why was the Tulip different then all the flowers in Europe at this time?

The answers are that:

- there is an intense petal color that no other plant had. 

- status symbol of the flower. 

- at the time, Netherlands was finding the independence from Spain, and therefore this 'independence' was symbolized by the flower.  

Now, let me briefly describe the economic factors caused by the flower.  

          Tulips, on the field III

After the introduction of the Tulip into Europe from the Ottoman Empire, there was a Tulip-mania formed.  The high demand resulted in surging prices and stretching the flower's supply.  Prices of the flower fluctuated with extreme 'highs' and 'lows' during these years.  It is stated in 'Economic' books that this is the first example of 'demand' based pricing. 

At the peak of Tulip-mania, around the year of 1637, single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman in Europe, especially in Netherlands.  

Not only a beautiful flower, but with a 'rich' history.  

Thank you for visiting this site.  

Denarius Currency

Denarius Currency

Has anyone ever wondered what currency the 'Roman empire' used?

I researched this topic while completing couple of other blogs of mine titled:

'Fiat Money in Circulation'.  

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/fiat-money-in-circulation.html

&

'Bitcoin in the Future'

http://www.goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/bitcoin-in-future.html

I have attached a link of the blogs for you to read, if the link does not work, please copy/paste to the address bar.  

Now, back to today's topic. 

It is important to understand the similarities of our monetary system in use today, with that of the 'mighty' Empire, and the failures associated with this system when in use by the Roman Empire and not learning from the past errors.  

The Roman Empire did not utilize a 'paper' currency.  

The currency in use was actual 'silver' commodity, stamped with the Emperors bust, and shaped into the size of our current 1 dollar coinage.  

The Empire within all of its vast territories used one of the first examples of 'true' debasement of a currency.  

This currency was called 'Denarius'. 

The Denarius, when first utilized was essentially 100% pure silver.  What this means is that, the citizens would carry around with them 'silver coins' to use as 'barter' and/or money in exchange of purchasing an item from another individual.  

The pure silver coinage called Denarius began circulating at the beginning of the first century A.D. 

This changed for the worst soon after this date.  

By the year 54 A.D., the Roman Emperor Nero ordered that the Denarius not be a full silver coinage.  The Denarius was now approximately 94% silver and the remainder made-up of other material.  

By around the year 100 A.D., the Denarius coinages silver content was down to 85%.

All other Emperors after Nero, bought the idea of 'devaluing their currency' in order to pay the bills of the Empire, keep the silver for their own usage and increase their own wealth.  

By the year 218, the Denarius coinages silver content was down to 43%. 

By the year 244, the Denarius coinages silver content was taken down to .05, by the Emperor Philip.  

The monetary system of the 'Once Mighty' Empire, directly correlates to the collapse of the city of Rome and and the Roman Empire.  The Denarius coinages silver content was only 0.02%, at the collapse date of the year 410, which was also the date of 'Sacking of the city of Rome'.  After this date, no person accepted the Denarius, as it did not store a value.  

The phrase 'All things must come to an end' comes to my mind, however I hope the 'Central Banks' of each country, particularly 'the once mighty' USA studies the 'devaluation of a currency' and the consequences attached to this.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

Scourge of God

Scourge of God

I heard the quote 'Scourge of God' and wondered why such a comment could be made, and for 'who' it was said; therefore decided to do some research.  

Do you know what 'Scourge' means?

Scourge means 'a person that causes great deal of trouble or suffering'. 

This quote was used first for 'Attila the Hun'. 

Attila the Hun and his faithful Warriors developed the skills of 'Battle' at the territories once called 'Scythia'.  Today, Scythia is the areas within the countries of Kazakhstan and south-east Russia. 

Attila the Hun and his Troops scared the citizens of the Roman Empire, since these Warriors would attack the borders of the Empire.  

The fear was evident with citizens when they came into contact with these Warriors, who had tattooed bodies and knotted long hair; and the Romans would wonder and try to comprehend how God could allow these Pagans to destroy their once-mighty Empire.  

Therefore, the citizens of the Empire called Attila the Hun, the 'Scourge of God'. 

Attila the Hun conquered vast lands in Asia and Europe from the Roman and other empires, over a thousand years ago. 

You might be wondering who was Atilla, the Hun. 

The Huns were a Nomadic tribe from the territories of modern day Mongolia; with ancestor ties to the Turk-manic tribes. 

I thought it was an interesting story and I decided to share this today. 

Thank you,

Ben