Istanbul: Memories and the City Istanbul: Memories and the City Istanbul: Memories and the City ("İstanbul: Hatıralar ve Şehir") is a largely autobiographical memoir by Orhan Pamuk that is deeply melancholic. It talks about the vast cultural change that has rocked Turkey – the unending battle between the modern and the receding past. It is also a eulogy to the lost joint family tradition. Most of all, it is a book about Bosphorus and Istanbul's history with the strait. It was translated into English by Maureen Freely in 2005. Pamuk wrote the book when he was on the verge of depression. In an interview he
Battle of the Strait of Hormuz Battle of the Strait of Hormuz The Battle of the Strait of Hormuz was fought in August 1553 between an Ottoman fleet, commanded by admiral Murat Reis, against a Portuguese fleet of Dom Diogo de Noronha. The Turks were forced to retreat after clashing with the Portuguese. After Piri Reis was executed in late 1552, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had him replaced by Murat Reis, as Ottoman "admiral of the Indian Ocean fleet". His mission was to transfer 15 galleys stationed at Basra to the Red Sea, to firmly secure it against Portuguese incursions. Such a task however, demanded sailing