The Dignity Boat !

(CNN) -- An Israeli patrol boat struck a boat carrying medical volunteers and supplies to Gaza early Tuesday as it attempted to intercept the vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, witnesses and Israeli officials said.

CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul was aboard the 60-foot pleasure boat Dignity when the contact occurred. When the boat later docked in the Lebanese port city of Tyre, severe damage was visible to the forward port side of the boat, and the front left window and part of the roof had collapsed. It was flying the flag of Gibraltar.
The Dignity was carrying crew and 16 passengers -- physicians from Britain, Germany and Cyprus and human rights activists from the Free Gaza Solidarity Movement -- who were trying to reach Gaza through an Israeli blockade of the territory.
Also on board was former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney.
Penhaul said an Israeli patrol boat shined its spotlight on the Dignity, and then it and another patrol boat shadowed the Dignity for about a half hour before the collision.

The Dignity arrives in Tyre, Lebanon, after it was reportedly rammed by an Israeli military vessel Tuesday

Resource:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/12/30/gaza.aid.boat/

Israeli vessel hits Gaza-bound boat

A small boat, damaged as it tried to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, has arrived in the Lebanese port of Tyre.The Dignity started taking on water after it was hit by an Israeli naval vessel as it approached the Israeli coast with its cargo of medical aid.
The Free Gaza Movement, which organised the attempt to reach the territory , said their boat was "rammed" and shots were fired when at least four Israeli vessels confronted them in international waters.Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, denied there had been any shooting but said that the ships had made "physical contact".
He said that the crew of the Dignity had failed to respond to Israeli naval radio contact.'Rammed'Elize Ernshire, one of the activists onboard the boat, told Al Jazeera by telephone that the boat was rammed twice from the front and then once from the side.
"It has destroyed the front of the boat and the roof ... and has left the cabin, the wheelhouse quite destroyed," she said.
"... we were threatened directly by the Israeli navy that if we continued on our course towards Gaza they would attack us again"Elize Ernshire,activist onboard Dignity
" ... we were threatened directly by the Israeli navy that if we continued on our course towards Gaza they would attack us again."Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman, said that the incident was nothing more than a "propoganda stunt".
"Israel would never have done anything against international law, that is inconceivable," he told Al Jazeera.
"These people just want a headline, they don't really want to help the people of Gaza, if they wanted to help the people of Gaza they would be asking Hamas why they initiated the violence."Several small boats have arrived in the Gaza Strip carrying international activists and medical aid since August in defiance of the Israeli siege.Ernshire said that the incident would not stop the movement trying again to take aid to the impoverished territory."The majority of passenger here are determined, once we reach Lebanon, to keep continuing to organise such boats as these, to reach the people of Gaza," she said.Gaza's health system is struggling to cope with the casualties from four consecutive days of aerial bombardment by Israeli warplanes and helicopter gunships.ShortagesHospitals were already facing shortages of medicines and other medical products due to the Israeli siege imposed after the Hamas government seized full control of the territory in 2007.

As well as more than three tonnes of aid, the Dignity was carrying three doctors to help treat the more than 1,600 wounded in recent days.Avital Leibovitz, an Israeli military spokeswoman, said that humanitarian aid was being allowed into the Gaza Strip and the medical supplies on the boat would not have made much impact on the humanitarian situation.
"Lets not talk about a blockade because it does not exist, the humanitarian corridor is active, alive and working," she told Al Jazeera.
"There are a numerous number of trucks enetring Gaza with food and medicine according to the requests of the aid organisations." Three Al Jazeera journalists were among the 15 people onboard the boat."Al Jazeera holds Israel responsible for the safety of the Al Jazeera journalists and everyone on board the Dignity," Wadah Khanfar, director general of the Al Jazeera network said in a statement.
"Al Jazeera's presence on the boat is to cover the expedition for news and journalistic purposes. We are deeply concerned for the safety and well being of our journalists."

Resource:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/20081230121412669439.html

NO Comment!

Numbers for today,

About 390 died and 1750 injured.

Numbers !

Sad how we refer to other human...just numbers ?!

No by God...its tragedy...not just numbers !

En Az - At Least !

İ wanted to carry out from where we stopped,talk about history,food,traditions,things some know things some don't .

But i couldn't...!

İ really couldn't !

Not while watching people dying on the TV,women and children and counting numbers!
Every hour a new number!

Not while watching a small boy and a smal girl crying and shaking with sadness and fear
Afraid to sleep and afraid to wake up too!

Not while watching this look in the eyes,wondering silently what have they done for that ?!

What am i going to do ?
What is in my hand to do ?
Honestly....i don't know !

Countries like Mısır -Egypt. Tükiye -Turkey,Qatar,Saudi Arabia,Libya,Jordan,Algeria,and many many other countries are sending humanitarian aids,food,and medical supplies to Mısır-Egypt so they cross to Gazza through Egypt-Gaza border.

Do they need more there in Gazza ?

Ohhh,YES,they need much...they have nothing actually !

Maybe i also can help?
Sending even a blanket through the Red Cresent or The Red Cross ?
İ dont know !

But at least,i can do this for a start...
İ can share this with you all,and dedicate this week for them.
İ beg your pardon,i know this is a new blog,and it is not about Palestine,and also that is not what you came here to read,but i don't find it in my conscience to continue as if nothing happening.
Palestine is/was part of us and our history too.

And she is calling for help...i can't just skip an eye .

For Gazza,and people of Gazza,the Palestinians whose numbers have reached the 350 died and 1650 injured till now for just 3 days !

Light a candle

Make Doa ,Doa Et !

Pray

Even just hope

İt doesn't matter if we are Muslims,Christians,Buddist,Buddhist,Jewish...etc

They die there side by side,and fight there side by side,missiles don't target muslims but not none muslims,all are same,all are Palestinians!
So let's remember them in our,prayers,doas, thoughts,keep them in mind and wish them what we wish for our daughters,sons,women,and men
Safe and peace.

Filistin - Palestine

Least we can do in time like this,is to have a momet of silence to pay our respect
And due to the event,we will talk a little about it..
Not about the event...opening TV would be enough,but about the facts lying behinde it
Misery of a whole nation !

1517 AD : The Ottoman Turks of Asia Minor defeated the Mamelukes, with few interruptions, ruled Palestine until the winter of 1917-18. The country was divided into several districts (sanjaks), such as that of Jerusalem. The administration of the districts was placed largely in the hands of Arab Palestinians, who were descendants of the Canaanites. The Christian and Jewish communities, however, were allowed a large measure of autonomy. Palestine shared in the glory of the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century, but declined again when the empire began to decline in the 17th century.
1831-1840 AD : Muhammad Ali, the modernizing viceroy of Egypt, expanded his rule to Palestine . His policies modified the feudal order, increased agriculture, and improved education. 1840 The Ottoman Empire reasserted its authority, instituting its own reforms .
1845 Jewish in Palestine were 12,000 increased to 85,000 by 1914. All people in Palestine were Arabic Muslims and Christians.
1897 the first Zionist Congress held Basle, Switzerland, issued the Basle programme on the colonization of Palestine.

1904 the Fourth Zionist Congress decided to establish a national home for Jews in Argentina.
1906 the Zionist congress decided the Jewish homeland should be Palestine.
1914 With the outbreak of World War I, Britain promised the independence of Arab lands under Ottoman rule, including Palestine, in return for Arab support against Turkey which had entered the war on the side of Germany.
1916 Britain and France signed the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the Arab region into zones of influence. Lebanon and Syria were assigned to France, Jordan and Iraq to Britain and Palestine was to be internationalized.
1917 The British government issued the Balfour Declaration on November 2, in the form of a letter to a British Zionist leader from the foreign secretary Arthur J. Balfour prmissing him the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.
1917-1918 Aided by the Arabs, the British captured Palestine from the Ottoman Turks. The Arabs revolted against the Turks because the British had promised them, in correspondence with Shareef Husein ibn Ali of Mecca, the independence of their countries after the war. Britain, however, also made other, conflicting commitments in the secret Sykes-Picot agreement with France and Russia (1916), it promised to divide and rule the region with its allies. In a third agreement, the Balfour Declaration of 1917, Britain promised the Jews a Jewish "national home" in Palestine .
1918 After WW I ended, Jews began to migrate to Palestine, which was set a side as a British mandate with the approval of the League of Nations in 1922. Large-scale Jewish settlement and extensive Zionist agricultural and industrial enterprises in Palestine began during the British mandatory period, which lasted until 1948.
1919 The Palestinians convened their first National Conference and expressed their opposition to the Balfour Declaration.
1920 The San Remo Conference granted Britain a mandate over Palestine. and two years later Palestine was effectively under British administration. Sir Herbert Samuel, a declared Zionist, was sent as Britain's first High Commissioner to Palestine. 1922 The Council of the League of Nations issued a Mandate for Palestine.
1929 Large-scale attacks on Jews by Arabs rocked Jerusalem. Palestinians killed 133 Jews and suffered 116 deaths. Sparked by a dispute over use of the Western Wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque ( this site is sacred to Muslims, but Jews claimed it is the remaining of jews temple all studies shows clearly that the wall is from the Islamic ages and it is part of al-Aqsa Mosque). But the roots of the conflict lay deeper in Arab fears of the Zionist movement which aimed to make at least part of British-administered Palestine a Jewish state.
1936 The Palestinians held a six-month General Strike to protest against the confiscation of land and Jewish immigration.
1937 Peel Commission, headed by Lord Robert Peel, issued a report. Basically, the commission concluded, the mandate in Palestine was unworkable There was no hope of any cooperative national entity there that included both Arabs and Jews. The commission went on to recommend the partition of Palestine into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and a neutral sacred-site state to be administered by Britain.
1939 The British government published a White Paper restricting Jewish immigration and offering independence for Palestine within ten years. This was rejected by the Zionists, who then organized terrorist groups and launched a bloody campaign against the British and the Palestinians.

1947 Great Britain decided to leave Palestine and called on the United Nations (UN) to make recommendations. In response, the UN convened its first special session and on November 29, 1947, it adopted a plan calling for partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international zone under UN jurisdiction.
1947 Arab protests against partition erupted in violence, with attacks on Jewish settlements in retalation to the attacks of Jews terrorist groups to Arab Towns and villages and massacres in hundred against unarmed Palestinian in there homes.
15 May 1948 British decided to leave on this day, leaders of the Yishuv decided (as they claim) to implement that part of the partition plan calling for establishment of a Jewish state. The same day, the armies of Egypt, Transjordan (now Jordan), Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq joined Palestinian and other Arab guerrillas in a full-scale war (first Arab-Israeli War). The Arabs failed to prevent establishment of a Jewish state, and the war ended with four UN-arranged armistice agreements between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The small Gaza Strip was left under Egyptian control, and the West Bank was controled by Jordan. Of the more than 800,000 Arabs who lived in Israeli-held territory before 1948, only about 170,000 remained. The rest became refugees in the surrounding Arab countries, ending the Arab majority in the Jewish state.
1956 Attckes incursions by refugee guerrilla bands and attacks by Arab military units were made, Egypt refused to permit Israeli ships to use the Suez Canal and blockaded the Straits of Tiran erupted in the second Arab-Israeli War.Great Britain and France joined the attack because of their dispute with Egypt's president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had nationalized the Suez Canal. Seizing the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula within few days. The fighting was halted by the UN after a few days, and a UN Emergency Force (UNEF) was sent to supervise the cease-fire in the Canal zone. By the end of the year their forces withdrew from Egypt, but Israel refused to leave Gaza until early 1957.
1965 The Palestine Liberation Organization was established.

1967 Nasser's insistence in 1967 that the UNEF leave Egypt, led Israel to attack Egypt, Jordan, and Syria simultaneously on 5th of June.The war ended six days later with an Israeli victory. Israel occuiped Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, Arab East Jerusalem, West Bank, Golan Heights.
After 1967 war, several guerrilla organizations within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) carried out guerrillas attacks on Israeli miletary targets, with the stated objective of "redeeming Palestine.
1973 Egypt and Syria joined in a war against Israel 'sentence has been corrected by me'to regain the territories lost in 1967. The two Arab states struck unexpectedly on October 6. After crossing the suez channel the Arab forces gain a lot of advanced positions in Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights and manage to defeat the Israeli forces for more then three weeks. Israeli forces with a massive U.S. economic and military assistance managed to stop the arab forces after a three-week struggle. The Arab oil-producing states cut off petroleum exports to the United States and other Western nations in retaliation for their aid to Israel.In an effort to encourage a peace settlement, U.S. secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, managed to work out military disengagements between Israel and Egypt in the Sinai and between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights during 1974.
1974 The Arab Summit in Rabat recognized the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
1982 Israel launched an invasion of Lebanon aimed at wiping out the PLO presence there. By mid-August, after intensive fighting in and around Bayrut, the PLO agreed to withdraw its guerrillas from the city. Israeli troops remained in southern Lebanon.
1987 Relations between Israel and the Palestinians entered a new phase with the intifada, a series of uprisings in the occupied territories that included demonstrations, strikes, and rock-throwing attacks on Israeli soldiers.
1988 The PNC meeting in Algiers declared the State of Palestine as outlined in the UN Partition Plan 181.

For more information:
http://www.palestinehistory.com/history/brief/brief.htm

http://www.palestineremembered.com/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine

Gazza....Gaza...!

Sinking in blood !

Human rights ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only some human but not the others ?!

Which human,and what rights ?!

Aren't they human ?

İt can be your daughter,son,brother or sister,

Husband ,wife,father or mother,can't it ?!

Don't they have right to LİVE same as you and i do ?!!!!!!!!!!!

Israeli F-16 bombers have pounded key targets across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 200 people, local medics say.

Most of those killed were policemen in the Hamas militant movement, which controls Gaza, but women and children also died, the Gaza officials said.
About 700 others were wounded, as missiles struck security compounds and militant bases, the officials said.
Israel said it was responding to an escalation in rocket attacks from Gaza and would bomb "as long as necessary".

They were the heaviest Israeli attacks on Gaza for decades. More air raids were launched as night fell.

The operation came days after a truce with Hamas expired.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said "it won't be easy and it won't be short".
"There is a time for calm and a time for fighting, and now the time has come to fight," he said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate halt to the violence, condemning what he called Israel's "excessive use of force leading to the killing and injuring of civilians" and "the ongoing rocket attacks by Palestinian militants".
Middle East envoy Tony Blair and the French EU presidency also urged an immediate ceasefire.
Palestinian militants frequently fire rockets against Israeli towns from inside the Gaza Strip; large numbers of rocket and mortar shells have been fired at Israel in recent days.
In a statement, Israel's military said it targeted "Hamas terror operatives" as well as training camps and weapons storage warehouses.

Hamas bases destroyedA Hamas police spokesman, Islam Shahwan, said one of the raids targeted a police compound in Gaza City where a graduation ceremony for new personnel was taking place.

At least a dozen bodies of men in black uniforms were photographed at the Hamas police headquarters in Gaza City.
Israel said operations "will continue, will be expanded, and will deepen if necessary".
It is the worst attack in Gaza since 1967 in terms of the number of Palestinian casualties, a senior analyst told the BBC in Jerusalem.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni defended the air raids, saying Israel had "no choice". "We're doing what we need to do to defend our citizens," she said in a television broadcast.
Israel hit targets across Gaza, striking in the territory's main population centres, including Gaza City in the north and the southern towns of Khan Younis and Rafah.
Hamas said all of its security compounds in Gaza were destroyed by the air strikes, which Israel said hit some 40 targets.
Mosques issued urgent appeals for people to donate blood and Hamas sources told the BBC's Rushdi Abou Alouf in Gaza that hospitals were soon full.
In the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas - whose Fatah faction was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007 - condemned the attacks and called for restraint.

But Hamas quickly vowed to carry out revenge attacks on Israel in response to the air strikes, firing Qassam rockets into Israeli territory as an immediate reply.
One Israeli was killed by a rocket strike on the town of Netivot, 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Gaza, doctors said.
"Hamas will continue the resistance until the last drop of blood," spokesman Fawzi Barhoum was reported as saying.
The air strikes come amid rumours that an Israeli ground operation is imminent.
Calls for ceasefire
World leaders urged both sides to halt the violence.
A White House spokesman said the United States "urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties as it targets Hamas in Gaza".
"Hamas' continued rocket attacks into Israel must cease if the violence is to stop," the spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, added.
The UK Foreign Office said: "We urge maximum restraint to avoid further civilian casualties."
At least 30 missiles were fired by F-16 fighter bombers. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that about 60 warplanes took part in the first wave of air strikes.
Egypt opened its border crossing to the Gaza Strip at Rafah to absorb and treat some of those injured in the south of the territory.
Most of the dead and injured were said to be in Gaza City, where Hamas's main security compound was destroyed. The head of Gaza's police forces, Tawfik Jaber, was reportedly among those killed.

Residents spoke of children heading to and from school at the time of the attacks.
Palestinians staged demonstrations in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Hebron, and there were some scuffles with Israeli troops there.
Israeli security officials have been briefing about the possibility of a new offensive into Gaza for some days now, says the BBC's Paul Wood, in Jerusalem.
But most reports centred on the possibility of a ground offensive, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was not expected to authorise any operation until Sunday at the earliest.
Although a six-month truce between Hamas and Israel was agreed earlier this year, it was regularly under strain and was allowed to lapse when it expired this month.
Hamas blamed Israel for the end of the ceasefire, saying it had not respected its terms, including the lifting of the blockade under which little more than humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza.
Israel said it initially began a staged easing of the blockade, but this was halted when Hamas failed to fulfil what Israel says were agreed conditions, including ending all rocket fire and halting weapons smuggling.
Israel says the blockade - in place since Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007 - is needed to isolate Hamas and stop it and other militants from firing rockets across the border at Israeli towns.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7800985.stm

Gaza...

What is Gaza ?

The Gaza Strip is not recognized internationally as part of any sovereign country. It is claimed by the Palestinian National Authority as part of the Palestinian territories, though following the June 2007 battle of Gaza, actual control of the area is in the hands of the de facto government dominated by Hamas. Israel, which governed the Gaza Strip from 1967-2005, still controls the strip's airspace, territorial water and offshore maritime access, as well as its side of the Gaza-Israeli border. Egypt, which governed the Gaza Strip from 1948-1967 controls the southern border between the Gaza strip and the Sinai desert

History of Gaza

Ottoman and British control (1517-1948)
In 1517 Gaza fell to the Ottomans and was part of the Ottoman Empire until the First World War.
Starting in the early 19th century, Gaza was culturally dominated by neighboring Egypt. Though part of the Ottoman Empire, a large number of its residents were Egyptians (and their descendants) who had fled political turmoil.
The region served as a battlefield during the First World War (1914-18). The Gaza Strip was taken by the British in the Third Battle of Gaza on 7 November 1917. The British government has financially supported the maintenance of a cemetery for fallen British soldiers from WWI.
Following World War I, Gaza became part of the British Mandate of Palestine under the authority of the League of Nations.
Jews were present in Gaza until 1929 Palestine riots, when Jews were forced to leave Gaza. After that the British prohibited Jews from living in the area, though some Jews returned and, in 1946, established kibbutz Kfar Darom near the Egyptian border.
British rule of Palestine ended with the Israeli War of Independence in 1948.

Egyptian occupation (1948-67)

Main article: Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt
According to the terms of the 1947 United Nations partition plan, the Gaza area was to become part of a new Arab state. Following the dissolution of the British mandate of Palestine and 1947-1948 Civil War in Palestine, Israel declared its independence in May 1948. The Egyptian army invaded the area from the south, starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
The Gaza Strip as it is known today was the product of the subsequent 1949 Armistice Agreements between Egypt and Israel, often referred to as the Green Line. Egypt occupied the Strip from 1949 (except for four months of Israeli occupation during the 1956 Suez Crisis) until 1967. The Strip's population was greatly augmented by an influx of Palestinian Arab refugees who fled or were expelled from Israel during the fighting.
Towards the end of the war, the All-Palestine Government (Arabic: حكومة عموم فلسطين hukumat 'umum Filastin) was proclaimed in Gaza City on 22 September 1948 by the Arab League. It was conceived partly as an Arab League attempt to limit the influence of Transjordan over the Palestinian issue. The government was not recognized by Transjordan or any non-Arab country. It was little more than a façade under Egyptian control, had negligible influence or funding, and subsequently moved to Cairo. Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip or Egypt were issued All-Palestine passports until 1959, when Gamal Abdul Nasser, President of Egypt, annulled the All-Palestine government by decree.
Egypt never annexed the Gaza Strip, but instead treated it as a controlled territory and administered it through a military governor. The refugees were never offered Egyptian citizenship.
During the Sinai campaign of November 1956, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula were overrun by Israeli troops. International pressure soon forced Israel to withdraw.

Israeli occupation (1967-1994)

Israel occupied the Gaza Strip again in June 1967 during the Six-Day War. The military occupation lasted for 27 years, until 1994. However, according to the Oslo Accords, Israel retains control of air space, territorial waters, offshore maritime access, the population registry, entry of foreigners, imports and exports as well as the tax system.[7]
During the period of Israeli occupation, Israel created a settlement bloc, Gush Katif in the south west corner of the Strip near Rafah and the Egyptian border. In total Israel created 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip, comprising some 20% of the total territory. Besides ideological reasons for being there, these settlements also served Israel's security concerns. The Gaza Strip remained under Israeli military administration until 1994. During that period the military administration was also responsible for the maintenance of civil facilities and services.
In March 1979 Israel and Egypt signed the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Among other things, the treaty provided for the withdrawal by Israel of its armed forces and civilians from the Sinai Peninsula which Israel had captured during the Six-Day War. The final status of the Gaza Strip as with relations between Israel and Palestinians was not dealt with in the treaty. The treaty did settle the international border between Gaza Strip and Egypt. Egypt renounced all territorial claims to the region beyond the international border.
In May 1994, following the Palestinian-Israeli agreements known as the Oslo Accords, a phased transfer of governmental authority to the Palestinians took place. Much of the Strip (except for the settlement blocs and military areas) came under Palestinian control. The Israeli forces left Gaza City and other urban areas, leaving the new Palestinian Authority to administer and police the Strip. The Palestinian Authority, led by Yasser Arafat, chose Gaza City as its first provincial headquarters. In September 1995, Israel and the PLO signed a second peace agreement extending the Palestinian Authority to most West Bank towns. The agreement also established an elected 88-member Palestinian National Council, which held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996.
The PA rule of the Gaza Strip and West Bank under leadership of Arafat suffered from serious mismanagement and corruption. Exorbitant bribes were demanded for allowing goods to pass in and out of the Gaza Strip, while heads of the Preventive Security Service apparatus profited from their involvement in the gravel import and cement and construction industries, like the Great Arab Company for Investment and Development, the al-Motawaset Company and the al-Sheik Zayid construction project.
The Second Intifada broke out in September 2000. In February 2005, the Israeli government voted to implement a unilateral disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip. The plan began to be implemented on 15 August 2005 (the day after Tisha B'av) and was completed on 12 September 2005. Under the plan, all Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip (and four in the West Bank) and the nearby Erez bloc were dismantled with the removal of all 9,000 Israeli settlers (most of them in the Gush Katif settlement area in the Strip's southwest) and military bases. On 12 September 2005 the Israeli cabinet formally declared an end to Israeli military rule in the Gaza Strip. To avoid any allegation that it was still in occupation of any part of the Gaza Strip, Israel also withdrew from the Philadelphi Route, which is a narrow strip adjacent to the Strip's border with Egypt, after Egypt's agreement to secure its side of the border. Under the Oslo Accords the Philadelphi Route was to remain under Israeli control, to prevent the smuggling of materials (such as ammunition) and people across the border with Egypt. With Egypt agreeing to patrol its side of the border, it was hoped that the objective would be achieved.

More readings ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/200812279451509662.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/27/israelandthepalestinians

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-attacks-gaza-more-than-140-reported-killed-1213304.html

Türkiye Tarihi - Turkey's History

We actually can't know people without knowing their own history,we cant understand them,get close to them without sharing some knowledge about them
So let's try to know more about the Turkish history with all its richness,and get more closer to Türkiye -Turkey ?

History of Anadolu -Anatolia

The History of Anatolia encompasses the region known as Anatolia (Turkish: Anadolu), known by the Latin name of Asia Minor, considered to be the westernmost extent of Western Asia. Geographically it encompasses what is most of modern Turkey, from the Aegean Sea to the mountains on the Armenian border to east and by the Black Sea and the Taurus mountains from north to south.
The earliest representations of culture in Anatolia can be found in several archaeological sites located in the central and eastern part of the region. Although the origins of some of the earliest peoples are shrouded in mystery, the remnants of Hattian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Hittite culture provides us with many examples of the daily lives of its citizens and their trade. After the fall of the Hittites, the new states of Phrygia and Lydia stood strong on the western coast as Greek civilization began to flourish. Only the threat from a distant Persian kingdom prevented them from advancing past their peak of success.
As Persia grew, their system of local control in Anatolia allowed many port cities to grow and to become very wealthy. Their governors did revolt from time to time, but it did not really pose a serious threat. Alexander the Great finally wrested control of the whole region from Persia in successive battles and achieved marked victories over his Persian foe Darius III. After his death, his conquests were split amongst several of his trusted generals and survived under constant threat of invasion from both the Gauls and other powerful rulers in Pergamon, Pontus, and Egypt. The Seleucid Empire, largest of the divided territories of Alexander, eventually was bled off by Roman interest in Anatolia and conquered or given away piecemeal.
Roman control of Anatolia was strengthened by a 'hands off' approach by Rome, allowing local control to govern effectively and providing military protection. During the reign of Constantine the Great, a new eastern empire was established at Constantinople, known as the Byzantine Empire. It succeeded initially due to its vast wealth and judicious rulers, but soon suffered from widespread neglect and a new empire borne from the earlier Mongol advance, the Turks. Seljuk and Ilkhanate armies soon whittled down the wide scope of Byzantine influence and trade by the gradual overrun of vital trading centers. The most powerful Turkish empire, that of the Ottomans, finally dealt the Byzantine Empire its death blow when Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453.
The Ottoman Empire in Anatolia allowed other religions to maintain themselves long after 1453, and built upon their success by enlarging their territories, from North Africa to Europe beyond Thrace. Wars with Russia and other peoples in revolt prevented the Ottomans from taking advantage of their powerful position, and declined under ineffective leadership. Even their highly skilled army, the janissaries, were eventually disbanded after an attempted revolt. Reforms designed to improve the economy beckfired as burdensome taxes and levies turned away profitable trade, and desperation allowed the Empire to be sucked into World War I on the side of Germany and Austria. Following their defeat in the war, the Ottoman Empire was carved up and was now limited to Anatolia, but Greek aims in the region caused new tensions that boiled over into full-scale war. It was this war that allowed Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to make Anatolia into the new Republic of Turkey by defeating the Greeks and abolishing the Ottoman government for good in 1922. Since that time, Turkey has grown into a modern state that has enjoyed relative peace in Anatolia.

To be continue...

Bayburt Bölgesi - Bayburt Province

Bayburt Province is a political province in the north-east of Turkey with capital Bayburt. Population of province is 85,455 and total area is 3,652 km².

Districts:

Bayburt province is divided into 3 districts :
Aydıntepe
Bayburt
Demirözü

Bayburt was once an important center on the ancient Silk Route and it was visited by Marco Polo and Turkish excursionist Evliya Celebi. The city welcomes you with the remains of its Byzantine Castle. There are several interesting mosques, Turkish baths and tombstones in the city as well as the Catalcesme Underground City and the natural wonder Sirakayalar Waterfall which are all attractive. The city deserves notice, although it has been designated as a province just recently.

The garrison town of Bayburt, about 77km/48mi southeast of Gümüshane, has been known by several different names in the course of its history. The Armenian Bagratids called it Paipert and the Ottomans (1361) Baiburt. It was here in 1364 that Alexios III defeated the Mongols and where in 1462 Mehmet the Conqueror confronted the Akkoyun Ogullari
Marco Polo stopped briefly in Bayburt on his journey to China. The town was destroyed in 1825 during the Russian invasion, afterwards being rebuilt. It stands on both side of the Çoruh Nehri in the shadow of its great fortress, likewise partly destroyed in 1829. The main mosque, the Ulu Cami, dates from the 16th century 20km/12mi to the southeast there are copper mines on a hillside just south of the little town of Maden.

Map:

Reference :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayburt_Province

http://www.planetware.com/turkey/bayburt-tr-gu-gub.htm

http://www.map-of-turkey.co.uk/map-of-bayburt.htm

http://www.mersina.com/Turkey/Blacksea/Bayburt/index.html

Güveçte Tahin Helvası -Tahini Helva in the Oven

Very easy to make actually

İ will do it shortly and give you a feedback

400 plain Tahini Helva (crushed sesame seeds) - Turkish Tahini Helva is sold in blocks. They come plain or with chocolate, or with nuts like pistachio.. You can purchase some at Amazon.

1/3 cup milk
1 tsp butter, room temperature

Slice the helva with a knife. Then mash it with a fork while slowly adding the milk and butter.Butter the inside of the earthenware pot (Guvec/Terra Cotta). Pour the batter in it.Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C) and bake until the top is golden

For those who dont know Tahin Helva,here it is with Pistachio

And that one with Chocolate

Reference : http://www.turkishcookbook.com/

Domates Soslu Et - Meat with tomato sauce

Domates Soslu Et

MALZEMELER :

Yarım kilo et(resimdeki gibi kesilecek)
2 adet patates

2-3n adet sivri biber
2-3 diş sarımsak

2 yemek kaşığı domates salçası
kekik,karabiber,k.pulbiber,tuz

HAZIRLANIŞI:
Eti;az sıvı yağ,2 diş sarımsak,kekik,karabiber,pulbiber,ve tuz ile birlikte düdüklü tencerede pişiriyoruz.

Patatesi çok az kızartıyoruz.

2 yemek kaşığı domates salçası ve az sıvı yağ ile birlikte pişirip sosumuzu hazırlıyoruz.

Pişen etin ve patateslerin üstüne salçalı sosu yayıyoruz.

Düdüklüdeki et suyunu da ilave ediyoruz.

Önceden ısıtılmış 190 derecedekifırında 15 dakika kadar pişiriyoruz.

Göze ve damağa fazlasıyla hitap eden yemeğimiz servise hazır.

AFİYETOLSUN…

İngredients :

Half kilo meat,cut as in the picture

2 potatoes

2-3 cayenne pepper

2-3 garlic cloves

2 tbls tomato pasta

thyme,black pepper,chili pepper or paprika,salt

Directions:

Put the meat,garlic,salt,black pepper,thyme together with some oil in the pressure cooker and cook it,or you can cook it the usual way if you don't have pressure cooker.

Fry potatoes a little.

Put the tomato pasta and a little oil together to prepare the sauce

Add the tomato sauce to the meat add potatoes as well,and just boil

İn a sauce pan,put the mix and put it in the oven at 190 degree for 15 minutes

And good appetite...

Reference : http://defnehobi.blogcu.com/domates-soslu-et_2211046.html

PS:İ did the translations myself and i not Turk,it is correct don't worry,but not the exact words :)

Seni Seviyorum...İ Love You

We have talked about many things here...and we will talk more too
Just we take a small break and take our breath
We will do that with a poem
Shall we ? :)

Seviyorum Seni - Nazım Hikmet

Seviyorum seni
ekmeği tuza banıp yer gibi

Geceleyin ateşler içinde uyanarak

ağzımı dayayıp musluğa su içer gibi

Ağır posta paketini

neyin nesi belirsiz

telaşlı, sevinçli, kuşkulu açar gibi

Seviyorum seni

denizi ilk defa uçakla geçer gibi

İstanbul'da yumuşacık kararırken ortalık

içimde kımıldayan birşeyler gibi

Seviyorum seni

Yaşıyoruz çok şükür der gibi

I love you

like dipping bread into salt and eating

Like waking up at night with high fever

and drinking water, with the tap in my mouth

Like unwrapping the heavy box from the postman

with no clue what it is

fluttering, happy, doubtful

I love you

like flying over the sea in a plane for the first time

Like something moves inside me

when it gets dark softly in Istanbul

I love you

Like thanking God that we live

Ps: Dipping bread into salt and eating,is an indication or idiom used

Means when people are very poor and they have nothing to eat then salt and bread,would be a joy for them

Sometime when we want to say i would live with you in goods and bads we use this expression Saying ' i want to be with you even if we eat bread and salt' 'used in Egypt too ;-)'

Özür Dilerim - İ'm Sorry

İ'm sorry,due to technical problem,i may not be active daily as i wish to be,please accept my apology .
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7792688.stm

Edited : Ohhhh,WAİT...!
İts fixed :)

Menemen

A dish for breakfast

Ingredients: (for 2)

*3 Eggs
* 2 Grated Tomatoes
* 1 Small chopped Onion
* 2 Small green Peppers (you can also use bell peppers; I like my peppers hot)
* A little Cummin, Black Pepper and Salt.
* Any kind of oil or butter (best)

Add the butter (1 tbsp is enough I guess) in a large frying pan.
Cook the onion for 5 mins until they get pink/brown.
Add the peppers and cook for 5 mins more.
Add the grated tomatoes and season with the spices and cook it until the tomatoes juice is absorbed. (not too runny)
Add the beaten eggs and cook for 2-3 mins until the white parts of eggs are totally cooked (don't cook the yolks too much though)
You can grate some cheese over it. (or add inside)

** I like this easy dish a bit juicy; so I don't cook tomatoes too much. We like to eat it in the pan itself, without emptying in a plate but of course in a café they will serve it more decently
And eat it with crunchy bread...and black tea!

*** It can be cooked without peppers if you don't like them

Source:
The all Lyrics.com

Bartın Bölgesi - Bartın Province

Bartın is a small province in northern Turkey on the Black Sea, surrounding the city of Bartın. It is to the east from Zonguldak.
The town of Bartın contains a number of very old wooden houses which are no longer extant in other places.
In Bartın province is the ancient port town of Amasra (Amastris). This town is on two small fortified islands and contains many interesting old buildings and restaurants.

Districts
Bartın Province is divided into 4 districts :
Amasra
Bartın
Kurucaşile
Ulus

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart%C4%B1n_Province

Eid Traditions - Eid Al Adha Kurban Bayramı

Turkey joyfully welcomes Eid al-Adha

This year,Monday is/was the first day of Eid al-Adha, Islam's most important four-day religious holiday during which millions in Turkey travel to spend time with family members and loved ones.

After the Eid prayer, performed on the first day of the Eid, animals are slaughtered as a reminder of the Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to God as an act of obedience and submission. The holiday is also when Muslims able to do so go on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
Eid al-Adha is seen as a time of year when Turks actively socialize and reunite with friends and family, creating a positive atmosphere across the country with solidarity between relatives, neighbors and society at large, with communities not forgetting the needs of the poor and less fortunate even at this joyful time. It is a time of giving and sharing.
Eid al-Adha is also a day of remembrance for those who are no longer with us, with many visiting the graves of deceased relatives and loved ones over the holiday.
Common greetings during this holiday are the Arabic greeting "Eid mubarak," (May your Eid be blessed). Turks and Muslims living in areas where the Ottoman presence heavily influenced local customs say "Bayramın mübarek olsun" during Eid, also meaning "May your Eid be blessed."
Muslims put on their best clothes, called "bayramlık" in Turkey, often purchased just for the occasion. They visit loved ones and pay their respects to the deceased in cemeteries.
Young ones kiss the right hand of the elderly and press it to their forehead as a gesture of respect. Guests are offered perfume and traditional sweets such as baklava and lokum (Turkish delight) as well as meals cooked with the meat of the animal sacrificed by the family. Young visitors are typically offered a small amount of money.
Television and radio stations broadcast a variety of Eid programs, including movie specials, music programs and celebratory addresses from stars and politicians.
Turkish leaders' Eid messages emphasize solidarity and peace
Politicians on Sunday issued holiday greetings messages to mark Eid al-Adha. President Abdullah Gül in his message said: "Once again on the occasion of Eid al-Adha I see it as beneficial to emphasize the importance of everyone loving and understanding each other and showing respect for each other's values. We need to get rid of our prejudices and unite under common values for the future of Turkey."
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his message said: "We should not forget that what renders us strong is the solidarity of our people and their unshaken loyalty to our national unity. What has saved us from heavy troubles and made us one of the most dynamic countries of the world is our desire to be a nation. Such festivals are the most beautiful examples of this emotional unity. In this regard, it is very crucial to keep such traditions alive."
Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal also issued a message on Sunday in which he said he hoped for festivals when Turkey's territorial integrity, national unity and the secular republic are not under threat. "With this, I sincerely wish the Muslim world a happy Eid al-Adha and convey my deepest love and regards to all."
In his message to mark Eid al-Adha, Religious Affairs Directorate head Ali Bardakoğlu urged everyone to make sure that their sacrificed animals were slaughtered by skilful butchers and reminded them of the need to treat the sacrificial animal with compassion while preserving environmental hygiene.
Officials have warned drivers to be more careful when driving during the Eid vacation, saying roads and highways will be more crowded than usual. They noted that the number of casualties in traffic accidents significantly rises during these vacations, calling for greater attention and full compliance with traffic regulations. Drivers are particularly being cautioned to avoid drinking and driving as well as speeding

.
Last minute bargain prices make buyers happy
On Sunday, the eve of Eid al-Adha, animal sellers who traveled to large cities to sell sacrificial animals did so at very reasonable prices. Sellers who did not want to pay to transport the animals back to their village sold them at prices customers demanded. An animal seller, İmdat İnci, brought 60 cattle from Giresun, sold 54 and complained that he did not make sufficient enough profit.

Relatives visit soldiers' graves on eve of holiday

On the eve of Eid al-Adha, many people flocked to cemeteries to visit the graves of Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with terrorists.
Eid is an occasion of remembrance for loved ones who are no longer with us. Relatives of many fallen Turkish soldiers visited cemeteries on the eve of Eid al-Adha to tend to the graves of their loved ones and pray for their souls.
The mother of Pvt. Ahmet Er, who was killed in clashes with terrorists of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in 1992, visited her son's grave in Edirnekapı Martyrs' Cemetery, so that her loved one would not be alone on the eve of Eid. Shedding tears next to her son's grave, Fatma Er condemned terror and terrorists. "May God flush out all terror and terrorists. We have been enduring great suffering since the death of my son. There is no greater loss than the loss of a child," she said.
Nuray Yaylan -- the mother of Mehmet Yaylan, who was shot to death by terrorists in southeastern Şırnak province in 1996 -- spent the eve of Eid al-Adha in the Edirnekapı cemetery as well. "I am at the grave of my son. Here is his house. I am planting flowers for him. It was my son who used to bring me flowers, but I now bring flowers to him. My husband died of cardiac failure due to the sorrow of the loss of our son. My pains are renewed when I hear about the martyrdom of other soldiers," she stated.

Reference:

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=160945

Kurban Bayramı - Eid Al Adha

Just in a hurry,giving you some idea about what is Eid Al Adha,then will be back to tell you more how we celebrate it in Türkiye - Turkey.
Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd ul-’Aḍḥā) or the Festival of Sacrifice (Turkish: Kurban Bayramı) is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims and Druze worldwide in commemoration of the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey God and spare his son. As Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son, God intervened and instead provided a lamb as the sacrifice. This is why today all over the world Muslims who have the means to, sacrifice an animal (usually a goat or a sheep), as a reminder of Ibrahim's obedience to God. The meat is then shared out with family, friends (Muslims or non-Muslims), as well as the poor members of the community. (Islam names Ishmael as the son who was to be sacrificed, whereas the Judeo-Christian name Isaac).
Eid al-Adha is one of two Eid festivals celebrated by Muslims, whose basis comes from the Quran.[1] (Muslims in Iran celebrate a third, non-denominational Eid.) Like Eid el-Fitr, Eid al-Adha begins with a short prayer followed by a sermon (khuṭba).
Eid al-Adha annually falls on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar. The festivities last for two to three days or more depending on the country. Eid al-Adha occurs the day after the pilgrims conducting Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. It happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan

Tam çözünürlük :
A plate served to guests during Eid-al-Adha, in Turkish traditions. It contains w:dolma (sarma, stuffed vine leaves), w:börek (a traditional Turkish pastry), and kavurma with a little piece of traditional home-baked bread... kavurma is a meat meal served during Eid-al-Adha and almost always made from the meat of the sacrificed animal (Eid-al-Adha being the Muslim holiday of sacrifice).

And here are some useful tips,when you planning your holiday in Türkiye 'Turkey' during Kurban Bayramı

Called Eid el-Adha or Eid el-Kebir in Arabic, Kurban Bayrami (koor-BAHN bahy-rah-muh) is the most important Islamic religious festival of the year, and a 4 or 5-day public holiday in Turkey. It will affect your travel plans, so be prepared for it. (Dates)
Kurban Bayrami, which starts on 10 Zilhicce (Dhul-hijja) in the Islamic lunar Hijri calendar, is also the time of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca (Haj), so both domestic and international travel is intense in Turkey at this time.
Kurban Bayramı doesn't mean you shouldn't go to Turkey. You should plan for the holiday, though. Depending upon where you travel, you may find it changes your plans very little.

Here's what to do:

1. Plan not to travel on the first or last days of the holiday period. If you can avoid traveling on the day before and the day after these dates, that's probably good too.
2. Have hotel reservations, if possible. (When the holiday falls in summer, everybody takes off for the beach...but not in winter!)
3. Have some cash on hand when the holiday week starts. You should be able to withdraw cash from ATMs (at least on weekdays), but it's good to have a reserve, just in case.
The good points: some museums and sights (such as the bazaars) may be closed on the first day of the holiday, but most will be open for some of the other days. There will be plenty to see and do.
You may also be invited to share in the festivities, as I was many years ago in eastern Turkey, which could make your trip particularly memorable.
Rest assured, tourism doesn't come to a halt during Kurban Bayramı, but it does change a bit. So long as you're prepared, it should be fun!

BANKS & BUSINESSES CLOSED
Most banks, business and government offices are closed for five days or longer, so you should stock up prior to the start of the holiday on Turkish lira cash and any supplies you may need. (A few shops and businesses stay open to provide essentials.)

TRANSPORT SNARLED
Planes, trains, buses and hotels are likely to be severely crowded during the holiday period. In Istanbul, more than 2200 buses depart the International Bus Terminal daily at the beginning of the holiday, with Turks off on vacation or to visit friends and family, so avoid travel then, or have iron-clad reservations and be prepared for delay and inconvenience.

BIBLICAL TRADITION
The festival celebrates the Biblical and Kur'anic account of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son on Mount Moriah, proving Abraham's complete obedience to God. In the story, God stays Abraham's hand at the last moment and provides a ram for sacrifice instead, praising Abraham for his faithfulness.
Following this tradition, the head of each Turkish household hopes to sacrifice a sheep on the morning of the first day of the holiday period. A lavish meal is made from the meat, friends and family are invited to feast, and the excess meat and the hide are donated to charity.
If you are anywhere around one of these family feasts, you may be invited to share in the bounty, as I was in Eastern Turkey: see the Eastern Sacrifice story in Bright Sun, Strong Tea. Don't miss the chance if you get it.

References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_ul-Adha
http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurban_Bayram%C4%B1
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/Religion/kurban_bayrami.html

Turkish Cuisine

Here,we will try to introduce you to some of the Turkish food,and some main traditional dishes.
Also yummyy i must say ;-)

Simple breakfast

Another one with almost same main dishes too

Or maybe some lunch

Another

Some Kebap

Another...

Döner that you like ?












İn sandwiches is better ?














Hungry yet ?











And how about deserts ?

Done yet ?

Ok,together,let's try to discover it more .

Menemen

Readings about The Turkish Cuisine

Artvin Province

Artvin is a province in Turkey, on the Black Sea coast in the north-eastern corner of the country, on the border with Georgia (country).
The provincial capital is the city of Artvin.

Etymology:
(Georgian: ართვინი; Armenian: Արդվին; Russian: Ардвин, Laz:Art'vini). Artvin <>Livane and the area of Artvin today was once part of the larger Ottoman Empire district of Livane.

Geography:

Artvin is an attractive area of steep valleys carved by the Çoruh River system, surrounded by high mountains (up to 3900 m) and forest with much national parkland including the Karagöl-Sahara, which contains the Şavşat and Borçka lakes. The weather in Artvin is very wet, and the forest is every shade of green imaginable. This greenery runs from the top all the way down to the Black Sea coast. The rain turns to snow at higher altitudes, and the peaks are very cold in winter.
The forests are home to brown bears.
The Çoruh is now being dammed in 11 places for hydro-electric power, including the 207 m Deriner dam and others at Borçka and Muratlı.
In addition to ethnic Turks, the province is home to communities of Laz people, and Hamsheni Armenians.[2] In particular, there is a prominent community of Chveneburi Georgians many of them descendants of Muslim families from Georgia who migrated during the struggles between the Ottoman Turks and Russia during the 19th century. With such diverse peoples, Artvin has a rich variety of folk song and dance (see Arifana and Kochari for examples of folk culture).
Local industries include bee-keeping.

History:

The area has a rich history but has not been studied extensively by archaeologists in recent decades. Artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age and even earlier have been found. The Hurri settled in the Artvin area in 2000 BC and were succeeded by the Urartu civilisation, based in Lake Van. Later, the area was part of the kingdom of Colchis but was always vulnerable to invasions, first the Scythians from across the Caucasus, then the Arab armies of Islam, who controlled the area from 853 AD to 1023 when it was recovered by the Byzantines.
The Seljuk Turks of Alparslan conquered the area in 1064 AD; it was briefly recaptured by the king of Georgia with the help of the Byzantines, but by 1081 was in Turkish hands again. With the collapse of the Seljuks, the Artvin area came under the control of the Ildeniz tribe of the Anatolian Turkish Beyliks. Fighting for control between various Turkish clans continued until the Safavid Persians, taking advantage of this infighting, were able to conquer the area in 1502.
Eventually the Ottomans of Mehmed II were able to defeat the Greek state of Pontus on the Black Sea coast and thus control the mountain hinterland too. Subsequent expeditions into the mountains by Selim I gave them control of a number of castles and thus the whole district. By 1627, Artvin was securely in Ottoman hands, part of the sancak of Lazistan.
This lasted 250 years until the area was ceded to the Russians by the Ottoman Empire following the Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829), and recovered and again ceded at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. This to and fro-ing from Russia to Turkey continued with the Treaties of Brest-Litovsk, Moscow, and Kars. All this fighting and uncertainty between Russia and Turkey in the late 19th century caused the people of Artvin to suffer terribly, with much of the population moving westwards away from the Russian-controlled zones.

Christianity:

There are many Georgian churches from the period of the Tao-Klarjeti kingdom, such as Oshki, Khakhuli, Ishkhani, Shatberdi, Parkhali, and many others. In 1850, Pope Pius IX established the Armenian-Catholic Diocese of Artvin (Artuinensis Armenorum) for the Armenian Catholics of southern Russia. It was subject to the Patriarch of Cilicia in Constantinople. Its first bishop was Timotheus Astorgi (1850-1858), followed by Antonius Halagi (1859) and Joannes Baptista Zaccharian (1878). In 1878, Russia annexed the territory and united the diocese with that of Tiraspol. Russia subsequently prevented the appointment of a new bishop.
The Catholic Encyclopedia informs that the city had 5,900 inhabitants in 1894, a mixture of Armenians and Turks. There were nine Armenian Catholic churches, and four schools for boys, and three schools for girls. The diocese of Artvin had 12,000 Armenian Catholics, 25 mission priests, 30 Catholic churches and chapels, and 22 primary schools with almost 900 pupils. The girls were taught by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Post-1917
The Russians withdrew from Artvin following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917; when the First World War ended with the Ottomans on the losing side, British troops moved into the area in 1918, followed by Georgians. There were moves to incorporate Artvin into Georgia but a referendum was called in 1920, and, knowing that the majority of the population were Turks, the Georgians withdrew from Artvin in 1921 by the Treaty of Kars.

Places of interest :

The city of Artvin has an ancient castle and a number of Ottoman Empire period houses, mosques, and fountains.
Every June, there is a "bull-wrestling" festival in the high plateau of Kafkasör
Popular places for walking and outdoor expeditions.
The Kaçkar Mountains are among the most-popular venues for trekking holidays in Turkey.
Macahel Valley on the Georgian border, is another popular location for walking holidays.
Papart forest in Şavşat
Genciyan Hill in Şavşat, overlooks the border and the Binboğa lakes.
The lakes of Şavşat and Borçka and the crater lake of Kuyruklu.
The Çoruh River is excellent for rafting and championships have been held here (although this must be affected by the hydro-electric projects on the river???)
There are a number of Georgian churches in the valleys of Yusufeli.
Bilbilan Yaylası - a typical Turkish high meadow.
Savangin pre-historical cave with an inscription written unknown or unsolved alphabet

Well-known residents :

The singer and politician Zülfü Livaneli was born into a family from Yusufeli.
Folk rock singer, guitarist and composer Kazım Koyuncu was born in Artvin's Black Sea town of Hopa.
The bard of Artvin, poet Turgut Çelik
Folk singer Şükriye Tutkun
The father of TV personality Beyaz was from a village in Ardanuç.
Yakov Zarobyan, 1st Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia, was born in Artvin in 1908.

Districts :
Artvin province is divided into 8 districts

Ardanuç
Arhavi
Artvin
Borçka
Hopa
Murgul
Şavşat
Yusufeli

Refrence: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artvin_Province

More pictures of Artvin

http://www.resimler.us/resimler2/artvinresimleri-1177

http://www.artvin.gov.tr/