Do you really know the monuments of Sultanahmet?

Talha Uğurluel

The German fountain was commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II

to honor the friendship between the Ottomans and the Germans.

(Photo: Today's Zaman)

This week we continue our tour around Sultanahmet Square. But this time, let's listen to some more stories about the history surrounding some of the monuments that call this place home. What, for example, are some of the things that have happened to the famous Yılanlı Taş, or Snake Column, which has witnessed both Aristotle and Alexander the Great in its lifetime? Or how about the story behind the German Fountain? And where now are all the statues that have been stolen from this square over the years?

Last week we told the founding story of the Hippodrome. We touched on efforts by the Roman Emperor Constantine and Theodosios to decorate Sultanahmet Square with a diversity of monuments and statues. We focused especially on the story surrounding the Dikilitaş, discussing what the different faces of its pedestal tell us about history and the city.

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How to cook the food you miss while abroad

Charlotte McPherson

A Turkish saying reads: “First appeal to the eyes, then fill the stomach.” Turks place much emphasis not only on the presentation of food, but also on the flavor. I love the taste of Turkish food.

The best cookbook around when I first came to Turkey was a simple cookbook published by Redhouse Press. The original title was "An American Cook in Turkey," but later more recipes were added and the book was republished under the title "Cooking in Turkey" (An American Cook in Turkey, 5th Edition).

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Islam is not the real issue we are facing in Africa

Eliza Griswold

Christians and Muslims have co-existed here for centuries. Corruption and climate change are much more pressing problems

Stretching from west to east across Africa – from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea – the Sahel today is a militant's dream. Despite the French military's recent routing of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and its allies in northern Mali, the threat of safe haven for the west's enemies is not going to end there any time soon.

Although, for the moment, the militia have melted from sight, the latest battles in Algeria and Mali are harbingers of a larger catastrophe: the Sahel, the vast grassland north of the equator, has become the latest battleground in the west's war against Islamist militants.

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How expatriates can support Turkish charities

Klaus Jurgens

A person moving abroad is traditionally an open-minded busy kind of person, yet there are a few items that may need urgent attention before being able to really enjoy life overseas. Think finding a new flat or house, consider uncharted professional territory. Once the first few months have hopefully satisfactorily elapsed, though, there is no better way to really "go native" than engaging in charitable work.

All it needs is just that little extra effort with regards to fact-finding and establishing first contacts eventually resulting in some well-spent hours each week, or less frequently should you so decide.

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US ambassador says terrorism cannot damage Turkish-US relations

US Ambassador to Turkey Francis J. Ricciardone stated on Tuesday that Turkish-US relations deepened even further after an attack on the US Embassy in Ankara last week, adding that terrorism cannot damage the relationship between the two countries.

Speaking at the opening of a conference on Turkish-US ties hosted by the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), Ricciardone said the attack brought the Turkish and US peoples closer and that the terrorists who carried out the attack had failed to reach their goal.

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Turkey's finest: Istanbul is the most popular kid on the 21st-century global block

John Walsh

If you want a metaphor for modern Istanbul, look no further than the Marmaray tunnel. It's currently being dug under the Bosphorus to link Sirkeci Station, near the Grand Bazaar, with the ferry port of Uskudar on the Asian shore. The work will take three years to finish; maybe more because workmen keep discovering ancient objects that have to be removed and lovingly catalogued.

These objects aren't just shards of pottery: they include the world's oldest medieval galley, and the remains of a fourth-century port. How neat it is that the modern project linking east k and west Istanbul – but also linking Europe to Asia, and bringing the Western world closer to the Middle East – keeps tripping over its own awe-inspiring historical past.

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Islamophobia no longer works as political tool in US

Islamophobia, which was on the rise as a result of the 9/11 attacks in the US, no longer works as a political tool for American political figures to win elections, according to Wajahat Ali, a well-known playwright, attorney and activist in the US.

“In the latest elections in US, most of the Islamophobic political figures lost. It has been realized that using Islamophobia as a political tool does not make you win,” said Ali.

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