Im the One

I'm the One

"I'm the one who loves, your the one loved" --- Ridvan Akbay 

Only the Brave Youth Equality Association

Only The Brave Youth Equality Association

Below is the second attempt at the emblem,

          Emblem

The mission of  'Only the Brave' are:

- Help disadvantaged youth with social inequality',

- Provide support and help to youth in and around the city of Edmonton, Alberta,

- Relief of poverty, in underprivileged families with children/youth,

- Contribute to the sustainable development of less advantage areas and people around Mesopotamia (Eastern Turkey, Northern Syria/Irak) (Tigris & Euphrates River System Area),

Thank you for visiting, 

Ben

The Allocation of Income within the Ottoman Empire

The Allocation of Income within the Ottoman Empire 

Today, I would like to bring attention to the income earned within the Ottoman Empire.  

First of all, let us write about the Sultan's Earning.  

     Blue Mosque

The income of the Sultan were of the following ways: 

It came from a percentage of the booty obtained in war, &

the collection of taxes from all corners within the Empire.  

Other high level officials within the Empire were not salaried individualizes.  These officials would be assigned the revenue of various estates and/or villages.  The estates and/or villages would be returned to the Treasury when the officials left their positions or died.  

The Janissary Corps were the soldiers of the Empire, and they were treated much the same way.  The amount of money each soldier was to receive would be weighed and sealed in a bag by the Grand Vizier before they were handed out.  

     Beylerbeyi neighbourhood in Istanbul 

This 'Income Allocation' within the Ottoman Empire worked well until the 19th century.  This changed for the worse after this century as after loosing large territories and obviously income loss due to less Taxation the Empire crumbled. 

The Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1923, the cause was income loss and 'old ways' of running a 'sick Empire'.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

Our Only The Brave Emblem

Our 'Only The Brave' Emblem

Final version of our emblem. 

The mission of  'Only the Brave' are:

- Help disadvantaged youth with social inequality',

- Provide support and help to youth in and around the city of Edmonton, Alberta,

- Relief of poverty, in underprivileged families with children/youth, &

- Contribute to the sustainable development of less advantage areas and people around Mesopotamia (Eastern Turkey, Northern Syria/Irak) (Tigris & Euphrates River System Area).

Thank you for visiting, 

Ben 

The Deer Hunter

The Deer Hunter 

What a movie? 

Have you watched it?

I'll describe the plot of this culturally rich movie.  

         the buddies

The Deer Hunter is a 1978 American film about the social troubles associated with soldiers returning from the Vietnam War.  

This is a drama film directed by Michael Cimino.  

      Robert de Niro and his friends

The film is about a trio of Russian American steelworkers and their troubles in the Vietnam War. 

The film stars: 

Robert De Niro, 

Christopher Walken, 

John Savage, 

John Cazale, 

Meryl Streep, and 

George Dzundza. 

The director Mr Cimino's bold and powerful 'epic movie' goes from a blue-collar small town outside of Pittsburg to the 'hell' resembling Vietnam, in just one night.  

          the look

Ribert De Niro holds it together powerfully.  

Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep and John Savage are absolutely unforgettable.

I watched this movie again and was surprised how much I enjoyed this entertaining and sophisticated movie.  

I completed some research and come by the below information. 

' In 1996, 'The Deer Hunter' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" '

A classical film that should be watched again to witness the change in 'men' after returning home from 'War'

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

🤓

Keep Calm and Only The Brave On

Keep Calm and Only The Brave On

Ben

The Gold Coins of the Ottoman Empire

The Gold Coins of the Ottoman Empire

Gold is now found scattered all over the world, but in ancient times it was produced only in following countries of: Egypt, Anatolia, Greece, Transylvania, Spain, Arabia and India. 

The first gold coins appeared in Lycia, which is located in the southwestern part of Anatolia. 

Gold is a soft metal and therefore easy to handle and can be moulded into various shapes, but in order to be used as a coin/currency, Gold needs to be added together into other substances to be hard enough to endure excessive handling.

An ounce of gold can be stretched into a thin wire that extends for a mile.  This malleability makes the metal an ideal resource for jewelry and gold dust mixed with other materials was often used in calligraphy on book covers and other kinds of decoration. 

Now that I have briefly explained the first usage of Gold; I would like to focus the remainder of my essay today on the currency used during the 'Ottoman Empire'.  This essay is a continuation of my research into the currency usages through-out mankind.  

Other writings I have posted are listed below:

Executive Order Number 111110

http://www.goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/executive-order-number-11110.html

Bitcoin In The Future

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

FIAT Money In Circulation

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

Denarius Currency

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/denarius-currency.html

United States Notes

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/the-united-states-notes.html

Now, today's essay.  

With the conquest of Anatolia and the eventual expansion into Europe, the Ottoman Turks took over systems for mining and acquiring Gold that were already in place for centuries.  These locations were in Anatolia and the Balkans, in Eastern Europe.  

Monetary exchange was based only on coins, since paper money was not introduced yet.  This meant that Gold and Silver were important commodities and carefully protected by the Turks.  

Also, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Egypt, most of the Gold and Silver mining already in existent in the world, fell into the hands of this Empire.  Gold came to be in very short supply in Europe some time beginning in 1520, as most of the Gold mined, ended in the a Ottoman Treasury. 

The official currency of the Ottoman Empire was the 'Silver Akce' that can be traced back to Osman Bey, who was the person that created this Empire, and the 'name-giver' since, Ottoman is English for Osmanli.  He reigned from 1299 to 1324.  

The Silver Akce continued to be used until the 15th century when the first Ottoman Gold Coin appeared during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 1478.  As the dates can be a witness, the Gold Coins used by the Ottoman Empire is after the conquest of the Empire of the 'Gold Mined' territories, joining the Empire.   

'Gold Treasuries' were set up in cities of Diyarbakır, Van and Bahdat with considerable care paid to the sources of Gold and Silver and careful oversight was undertaken to ensure that the coins were not debased.  Inspectors were regularly sent from the capital city of Constantinople to see that everything was in order and proper care given to the making of the Gold Coin Currency.  

Throughout much of the first half of the Empire, which was from 1480 to 1675, the Ottoman Gold Coins competed with foreign currencies such as Venetian Gold pieces, Egyptian Pare and Spanish Coins.

The 18th century had been a period of instability for the Ottoman Turks, as the currency culminating around the middle of the century saw the closure of 'Gold Treasuries'.  

The decline of the Gold Coins of the Empire posed serious challenges to the administration.  The reliance on foreign coins had serious political implications, as without control over the currency, its control over the economy diminished considerably. Moreover, the devaluation of its own currency saw the beginning of the decline of this Empire.  

Over time and due to numerous wars the Ottoman Empire was engaged in, the Ottoman Turks became unable to meet its financial obligations and was forced to debase its currency even further. 

The monetary system of the 'Once Mighty' Empire, directly correlates to the collapse of this Empire.  Once the devaluation of the Gold Coins started, and the rising debts could not be sufficiently paid, collapse was only evident.   

The phrase 'All things must come to an end' comes to my mind, the concept of 'devaluation of a currency' is not particularly a smart move by the Empire, but it is easier to make this statement now, a few centuries after the beginning of the collapse.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben here

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly II

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly II

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Spaghetti Western film directed by Mr Sergio Leone; and co-produced between companies in Italy, Spain and West Germany.  

The movie stars:

Clint Eastwood, 

Lee Van Cleef, and 

Eli Wallach 

in the title roles. 

I posted the pictures of the scenes that introduce the characters of my favourite movie in another blog; I have attached it below, please review it, if you have not already.  

http://www.goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/03/the-good-bad-and-ugly.html

Today, I have taken pictures from the movie, showing the characters position, at the end of the movie.  

Here it is below:

          il cattivo, (Italian)

          cirkin, (Turkish)

          il brutto, 

          kotu,

          il buono, 

          iyi, 

Have you watched this movie? 

If you have not, why? I ask.  

Thank you. 

Only The Brave Youth Equality Association

Only The Brave Youth Equality Association

I am in the process of opening a charity to help our children and youth.  I will solicit companies, individuals and religious institutes to donate to this charity. 

All donations will be used for the cause and purpose of the charity.  

Finally, every year, starting the summer of 2015, I will personally bring gifts of shoes, books, clothing and personal hygiene items, purchased by 'donations' made by you, to Mesopotamia area; particularly in the year 2015, we will help the youth and children in the 'Refugee Camps' located within the borders of Turkey, in the province of Hatay.  

          The first attempt at the drawing of our emblem 

The purpose of  'Only the Brave" will be:

- Help disadvantaged youth with social inequality',

- Contribute to the sustainable development of less advantage areas and people around Mesopotamia (Eastern Turkey, Northern Syria/Irak) (Tigris & Euphrates River System Area),

- Provide support and help to youth in and around the city of Edmonton,

- Relief of poverty, in underprivileged families with children/youth,

Wish us good luck !!

Thank you, 

Ben