Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts

Friday, 13 December 2013

1500 year-old ‘ Syriac ‘ Bible found in Turkey- Real or Fake?

The relic was ‘rediscovered’ in the depositum of Ankaran Justice Palace, the ancient version of bible is believed to be written in Syriac, a dialect of the native language of Jesus.

Ankara / Turkey – The bible was already in custody of Turkish authorities after having been seized in 2000 in an operation in Mediterranean area in Turkey. The gang of smugglers had been charged with smuggling antiquities, illegal excavations and the possession of explosives and went to trial. Turkish police testified in a court hearing they believe the manuscript in the bible could be about 1500 to 2000 years old.After waiting eight years in Ankara the ancient bible is being transferred to the Ankaran Ethnography Museum with a police escort.

Ancient Bible will be shown in Ankaran Ethnography Museum

The bible, whose copies are valued around 3-4 Mil. Dollars had been transferred to Ankara for safety reasons, since no owners of the ancient relic could be found.

The manuscript carries excerpts of the Bible written in gold lettering on leather and loosely strung together, with lines of Syriac script with Aramaic dialect. Turkish authorities express the bible is a cultural asset and should be protected for being worthy of a museum.

Ancient Bible in Aramaic dialected Syriac rediscovered in Turkey

Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic – the native language of Jesus – once spoken across much of the Middle East and Central Asia. It is used wherever there are Syrian Christians and still survives in the Syrian Orthodox Church in India and a village in the vicinity of Syrian capital Damascus. Aramaic is also still used in religious rituals of Maronite Christians in Cyprus.

Experts were however divided over the provenance of the manuscript, and whether it was an original, which would render it priceless, or a fake. Other questions surround the discovery of the ancient bible, whether the smugglers had had other copies of the relic or had smuggled them from Turkey.

Vatican eyes the faith of the ancient relic

The Vatican reportedly placed an official request to examine the scripture, which was written on pages made of animal hide in the Aramaic language using the Syriac alphabet.

The copy of the ancient Bible is valued as high as 40 million Turkish Liras ( 28 Mil. Dollars)

There have been reports that this finding may be a fake but no one can confirm this as of yet... check the link below to learn more.

Not-a-1500 Year Old Bible in Turkey?

Saturday, 21 September 2013

The Decade Ahead: Changing Dynamics in the Middle East

Dr. George Friedman discusses the rise of a new regional power and the implications for other parts of the Middle East -- one of many changes the world will experience by 2020.

Saturday, 15 June 2013

Tear gas, water cannon in Gezi Park and Taksim after Erdogan’s ultimatum

The police have fired water cannon and tear gas to drive away protesters from both Istanbul’s Taksim Square and Gezi Park, hours after Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan demanded the square to be “evacuated.” Protesters claim multiple injuries.

Several people have been taken away in ambulances after being loaded onto stretchers, RT’s Irina Galushko reports from Istanbul.

The police are now tearing down the tents in Gezi Park camp, she added.

Scores of riot police have sealed off Taksim Square and stormed the adjoining park, pressing the protesters out of the area.

Water cannon were used to keep the people off the square in the surrounding streets. Even ambulance workers, as well as reporters, have been denied access to Gezi Park, RT’s Galushko tweets.

Source : RT News

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Turkey protests: The 'peace pianist' trying to bring calm to Taksim Square

The soothing sound of a grand piano drifted across Taksim Square last night, bringing a welcome calm a day after violence rocked the area.

Throughout the day protesters had been readying themselves for another assault by police.

In Gezi Park they were stockpiling gas masks and goggles to protect against tear gas, which police used with abandon the night before. The first aid tent was a hive of activity as volunteers laid down tarpaulin and received medical supplies in anticipation of injured protesters. Journalists were shooed away.

In the early evening protesters on one side of the square faced off with police, chanting: “Everywhere is Taksim, everywhere is resistance.”

The prime minister had predicted earlier in the day that the protests would be over in 24 hours, and there was a feeling among the crowd that another night of violence lay ahead.

But then, in the space of a few hours, the atmosphere in the square changed; and it had a lot to do with one man and his piano.

Hundreds gathered around German musician Davide Martello as he clinked away late into the evening. They were mostly silent while he played John Lennon’s Imagine, some Bach, and his own composition “Lightsoldiers.”

After playing for an hour at the edge of the square, Martello enlisted the help of his new fans to drag the grand piano closer to the centre, beside Gezi Park.

Martello built the piano himself, attached lights so he could play in the dark, and pulled it on a trailer from his hometown Konstanz, Germany, to play to protesters in Taksim Square.

The evening passed without incident any major incident. Some protesters even had time for a game of football in the square.

After his performance, Martello wrote on Facebook: "Good night Istanbul, tomorrow I will playing again on the square for freedom and our rights."

Petitions - Turkey - Stop Police State Violence Now

Stop police state violence in Turkey: ERDOGAN RESIGN - TAYYIP ISTIFA!

Tens of millions marched against Erdogan since he came to charge a decade ago. He's been gradually and systematically limiting Turkish people's basic constitutional rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of choice, right to information, freedom of religion and right to fair trial amongst many other basic human rights.

Please Sign This Petition : http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/stop-police-state-violence-in-turkey-erdogan-resign-tayyip-istifa

Erdogan: End the crackdown now!

The situation in Taksim square is drastically deteriorating: this morning, tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons scattered peaceful protesters, and dozens of jounralists and lawyers have been detained. Let's make our call bigger than ever -- share this petition with everyone you know and sign it if you haven't already -- let's stop the crackdown.

Please Sign This Petition :https://secure.avaaz.org/en/erdogan_end_the_crackdown_a/?dFTbydb