Friday 22 January 2016

Booking Assos Turkey


If you are looking for a bed and breakfast in Assos, we know one. Assos Alarga ranked number one in Turkey. We thank all our passed guests and look forward to welcoming our future guests. 
We would like to announce a thank you discount for 2016. Book any two nights in 2016 and get 10% discount, if you are coming back it is %15 off.
BOOK NOW

Sunday 17 January 2016

Art in Assos Behramkale, Tezhip and Hat from the hands of Hulya Kalayci


Have you ever come across with the illuminated manuscripts ("tezhip" in Arabic and the Ottoman Turkish, or "bezeme" in plain Turkish) on some dried plant leaves while traveling along Turkey? Well, in Assos, you can find and enjoy fine examples of this almost extinct art. Hülya Kalaycı of Hülya Sanat Evi - Hülya Art House is a certified and one of the very few calligraphy and manuscript artists in Turkey.

Those "some dried plant leaves" are not any leaves that one can easily obtain anywhere... Leaves of the poisonous plant called "dieffenbachia" are the ideal ones for this art. First, they are treated to a reasonable pressure between book pages for 18 months. Then, when they are dry and smooth and ready to receive their gold make-up, they are carefully handled by the artist.

The Arabic word for this art, "tezhip", literally means "to apply gold on a substance" and derives from another Arabic word, "zeheb", which means gold. Male tezhip artists are called "muzehhip" and the female are "muzehhibe"s. The gold applied on the leaves arrive in the hands of Hülya Kalaycı as very thin layers called "varak" which also means leaf in Farsi.

The main themes and figures depicted with gold and other traditional colors on the dieffenbachia leaves are generally made of Arabic letters, formed in such ways that they will form ornamental shapes, and mostly composing verses of Kuran. Thanks to their flexible visual structure in combination, Arabic letters have been traditionally and frequently used in the Islamic visual arts. This method of ornamental calligraphy is called "hat" in Turkish; and the artists are the "hattat"s.

The beautiful example in the photo in this page is a precious wedding gift to us from dear Hülya and Cevat. Hülya Sanat Evi is only a few steps away from our hotel. Make sure to visit their shop and maybe you can take a fine specimen of traditional Turkish art home.


Wednesday 6 January 2016

2016 Public Holidays in Turkey

You should pay attention to these dates while booking your holidays in Turkey in 2016. As these dates have high demand on bookings in Assos, Canakkale and the rest of Turkey, we recommend booking ahead. Some hotels may apply a minimum stay or a higher tariff on accommodation for national holidays and special days. In this section you will find these national holiday dates for Turkey 2016.


National Sovereignty and International Children’s Day 23rd  of  April 2015 Saturday  will be a national holiday in Turkey, as it falls on a weekend it may not effect bookings.

1st of May 2016 Sunday: As it falls on a weekend it may not effect bookings. Labor and Solidarity Day

Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day 19th of May 2016 Thursday this date may effect bookings for most Turks it will mean a long weekend.

Ramadan Feast 2016
4th of July Monday Half a day, 5th of July Tuesday 6th of July Wednesday and 7th of July Thursday 2016 will be public holidays in Turkey. 
In this case it means from the 1st of July 2016 until the 10th of July 2016 lot of people will be on holidays in Turkey 

Victory Day 30th of August 2016 Tuesday
Some will make a long weekend, so it may be busy starting from 26th of August 2016. 

Sacrifice feast
Half a day on the 11th of September Sunday, 12th Monday, 13th Tuesday, 14th Wednesday and the 15th Thursday will be public holidays in Turkey 2016. Meaning people will start traveling on the 9th of September and will most probably be doing holidays until the 18th of September 2016.

Foundation of The Turkish Republic 
28th (half a day) and the 29th of October 2016, half a day Friday & Saturday will be holidays in Turkey. It is the foundation of the Turkish Republic.