On a visit to Constantinople Samuel Colt gave a custom gold inlaid revolver to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and informed him that the Russians were buying his pistols. The Turkish ordered 5,000 pistols. Colt neglected to tell the Sultan that he had used the same tactic with the Russians. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samโฆ
, after Pope John Paul II recovered from the assassination attempt on him by Turkish murderer Mehmet in 1981, The Pope visited Mehmet in the prison he was being held captive and forgave him history.com/this-day-in-hโฆ
Turkish president ฤฐsmet ฤฐnรถnรผ signed a decision to help the people in Greece occupied by Nazi Germany, whose army he had personally fought during the Turkish War of Independence 19 years prior. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_โฆ
Today I learned of William Scurry developed the self-firing rifle which worked simply by having water from one bully beef tin drip into a lower tin. This ruse led to the Turkish defenders believing that there were still troops opposing them, even after the soldiers had been evacuated en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilโฆ
Because of his own reforms to the Turkish language (removing loanwords from Arabic and Persian), Atatรผrk's own speech to parliament has to be retranslated to modern Turkish to be understood. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turโฆ
A 34-yr-old French-UK woman named Emma Perrier was catfished by a 53-yr-old UK man who was using a 35-yr-old Turkish model's photos. She tracked down the real model, Adem Guzel, they hit it off via FaceTime; about a year later, he flew to London and they became a couple. theatlantic.com/technologโฆ
Instead of using the idiom, "It's all Greek to me," when something looks like gibberish, the Greeks themselves often say, "It's Turkish," Turks say, "It's French," the French say, "It's Hebrew," Hebrew speakers say, "It's Chinese," and Chinese people say, "This looks like its from Mars." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greโฆ
Due to extreme lack of surface water, a unique project was constructed to reliably provide the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with water. A 50 mile long pipeline passing under the sea transfers water covering demand for drinking and irrigation for the state at the northern part of Cyprus. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norโฆ
In the Netherlands "Gapers" with twisted, grimacing faces were used to denote drug stores / chemists. The ethnicity of the figurehead would be chosen to inform customers of the drugs' origins, often Turkish, Chinese, or Japanese. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gapโฆ
Lundy island, just 3 miles off the coast of England, was a pirate base for 20 years in the 16th century and was invaded by France, Spain and Turkish pirates during the 17th century devonperspectives.co.uk/lโฆ
The Turkish word for a turkey bird means "India," the Hindi word means "Turkey," the Portuguese word means "Peru," Khmer and Scottish Gaelic call it a "French chicken," Malay calls it a "Dutch chicken," and various dialects of Arabic call it a Roman, Greek, or Ethiopian chicken. slate.com/human-interest/โฆ
In 1633, a Turkish gentleman by the name of Lagรขri Hasan รelebi launched himself into the air on a rocket filled with 140 lbs of gunpowder. He landed in the river and was rewarded with silver by the Sultan. Mythbusters later tested this story in 2009 and considered it implausible. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagโฆ
The Chinese equivalent of "when pigs fly" is "when the sun rises in the West." Other variants include "when the crayfish whistles" (Russian), "when the crow turns white" (Tagalog), "when the fish climbs the poplar" (Turkish), and "when it snows red snowflakes" (Hungarian). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisโฆ
Today I learned of this Turkish language which is not spoken but whistled, this language is used by villagers living in the mountains and the high pitch of the whistle allows them to communicate across long distances youtube.com/watch?v=6CYhRโฆ
Turkish Garbage Collectors Curate Their Own Library using books they have collected that people have thrown away. The sanitation workers have already amassed a collection of more than 6,000 books. smithsonianmag.com/smart-โฆ
Today I learned of Dondurma, a Turkish variant of ice cream typically sold from carts, where the vendor deliberately pranks the customer before serving the actual cone en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donโฆ
Coffee was SO important in Turkish Culture that under 15th century law, a woman could divorce her husband if he didnโt provide her with enough coffee! icytales.com/coffee-centuโฆ
Hakan ลรผkรผr, former world class striker and top scorer of the Turkish national soccer team, works as an Uber driver in Washington D.C. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakโฆ
Brazil has the Biggest number of Italians, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, Sub-Saharan African and Lebanese (outside of those countries) people (descendants) in the world! Besides that, a Gigantic (in the millions) of German, Syrians, Polish, Spaniards, Ukrainians and Turkish people! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immโฆ
Michel van Rijn, an art forger and dealer in stolen antiquities, went legit to help the Republic of Cyprus to recover priceless 7th-century mosaics looted during the Turkish occupation of the island. whatson-northcyprus.com/iโฆ
Today I learned about Marco Bragadin gruesomely killed, first dragged around with sacks of stone on his back; then tied to a chair and hoisted up a Turkish flagship, then tied to a column and flayed alive, then his skin was stuffed and redressed in his military clothes, then rode on an ox around town venetoinside.com/hidden-tโฆ
"mad honey" is cultivated in Turkey - honey made from nectar from rhododendron flowers. Small doses cause hallucinations, large doses bring seizures and death. It is used as medicine by Turkish villagers, who drink it in milk with breakfast and believe it increases sexual potency interestingengineering.coโฆ
The longest published word in Turkish is muvaffakiyetsizleลtiricileลtiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmiลsinizcesine, which, roughly translated into English, means: "As though you are from those whom we may not be able to easily make into a maker of unsuccessful ones" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonโฆ
The Turkish Embassy in DC played a vital role in desegregating Jazz scene. Two teenage sons of the ambassador would often organize events in the embassy inviting black and white artists to perform together. One of these sons went on to start Atlantic Records. wamu.org/story/19/03/18/iโฆ
Eลref Armaฤan is a naturally visually impaired Turkish man and was able to successfully portray models of objects he had not seen throughout his life by touching them with his fingertips. He is the first blind man who drew perspective art. vrsga.org/meet-esref-armaโฆ
The word Turquoise actually comes from the French "turquois" meaning "Turkish", as the stones were traditionally imported from Turkey. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turโฆ
Since an Ottoman sultan was killed in Kosovo in 1389, the same few Turkish families have maintained the battlefield tomb of his internal organs. Every generation in the current line - last name "Tรผrbedar" (tomb caretaker) - has lived there since 1854, but it will soon end with a Bosnian widow hurriyetdailynews.com/a-sโฆ
The largest cavalry charge in history occurred during the 1683 Turkish siege of Vienna. The Polish king led 18,000 German and Polish Cavalry in a charge that broke the Ottomans line and won the battle. The king paraphrased caesar, saying "I came, I saw, God conquered" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batโฆ
In 1981, a Turkish man shot Pope John Paul II four times but didn't kill him. After the Pope recovered, he visited the assassin in prison forgave him. The assassin was pardoned at the Pope's request and 33 years after his crime, he visited Vatican City and laid flowers on the Pope's tomb. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popโฆ
Today I learned of the ancient Turkish sport, kyz kuu (girl chasing). A man and woman on horseback chase each other to the finish line. If the man wins, he steals a kiss. If she wins, she whips the man. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyzโฆ
The Turkish Straits crisis was an opening salvo of the Cold War, as the Soviet Union tried to take over two key channels in order to control Black Sea naval traffic. Stalin threatened to invade Turkey from the Balkans, prompting the Truman Doctrine of capitalist aid that put the country in NATO en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turโฆ
Lady Mary Wortley Montague noted in her "Embassy Letters" that Ottoman women "possessed legal property rights and protections that far surpassed the rights of Western women." Feminists started wearing Turkish trousers as symbol of emancipation en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottโฆ
A character in a Turkish political tv series called 'Valley Of Wolves' is so liked and highly appreciated by the public that when he died in the show a fan published an obituary in local newspapers superhaber.tv/suleyman-caโฆ
English is not the only language that has an incorrect geographic name for Turkeys (the North American bird). French, Russian, Turkish, and others say that the bird is Indian. The Greek word says that the bird is French. The Portuguese word might be the most accurate, calling it Peru. slate.com/human-interest/โฆ
The word "Turk" originally referred to peasants from Anatolia while "Ottoman" referred to the elite class. Educated, urban Turkish speakers referred to themselves as "Rลซmฤซ" or "Roman". This all ended in 1920-1923 when the new government chose "Turkey" as its sole official name. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottโฆ
In 1969, Qaddafi and his officers waited until King Idris was out of Libya, being treated for a leg ailment at a Turkish spa, and then toppled his government in a bloodless coup. The monarchy was abolished, and Idris traveled from Turkey to Greece before finding asylum in Egypt history.com/this-day-in-hโฆ
Gay Turkish men can avoid military service by providing photographs of themselves having sex. But only if they are the passive partner, and their face is clearly visible in the photo. bbc.com/news/magazine-174โฆ
North American turkeys were sort of named after the country of the same name. Europeans referred to the Guinea Fowl as "turkeys" due to their origin in Turkish regions. When European settlers arrived in North America, they called the new bird a "turkey" as well, due to the resemblance. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turโฆ
The only person that's been given a centennial by UNESCO & UN was the Turkish revolutionary and 'father of the nation' Kemal Atatรผrk. The centennial made 1981 "The Atatรผrk Year in the World". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataโฆ
The word "coffee" entered English in 1582 via the Dutch word koffie, borrowed from Turkish kahve, in turn borrowed from Arabic qahwa. greenbeanhouse.co.nz/pageโฆ
During the Dardanelles Operation in 1807, the Royal Navy tried to seize Istanbul. In the defense a Turkish battery used the 340 year old Dardanelles Gun that was used to siege Constantinople. The ancient weapon caused the British squadron suffered 28 casualties. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darโฆ
Today I learned of the existence of the Batman Dam, located on the Batman River, in the Turkish province of Batman, whose capital is Batman City. batman.gov.tr/
The myth of Santa Clause most likely originated from the kindness of 4th Century Greek Saint Nicolas, an avid caretaker of children in the Turkish town of Myra. However the character eventually morphed into a version of Woden, German god of wisdom, who led the Yule and Wild Hunt. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanโฆ
In 1809, the Turkish Ottomans made a tower out of skulls. The skulls came from a group of Serbian rebels. Their skulls were used as punishment, after their commander had detonated a gunpowder magazine after theyโd been surrounded by Turkish soldiers. The blast decimated both armies. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skuโฆ
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