Free Republic

The jolly, red-suited Santa Claus who delivers presents on Christmas Eve is a beloved and immediately recognizable figure in much of the world. He is very much a magical, whimsical character, but his origin story has its roots in a real historical person: St. Nicholas of Myra. We know very little of St. Nicholas’ life, but historical evidence does confirm that he was a living, breathing man who lived in the third and fourth centuries CE. While many of the recorded details about St. Nicholas are quite likely embellished — falling more into the realm of myth than reality —...

The ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew I, after years of insistence, was finally given the possibility to celebrate mass inside of what is, according to the State, only a museum. A saint which is unknown in Turkey, but is origin of Santa Claus. Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Since 99 % of Turkey is Muslim, Christmas is not an official holiday, though it is not prohibited. For the few Christians, December 25th is a regular day in which they go to school or to work and are then left with no choice but to celebrate either in private or in the few available churches....

Patara, the capital of the Roman province of Lycia... on the southwest coast of Turkey...The aqueduct of Patara was built during the reign of Claudius and renovated / partly rebuilt under Vespasian after an earthquake. It transported water from sources near the village of Islamlar at 680 m a.s.l. over a distance of 22,5 km to Patara at 50 m a.s.l. The aqueduct comprises five bridges as well as a stretch of pressurized conduit, an inverted siphon locally known as Delikkemer...The first stretch of 5.4 km, along the steep western slope of Kisla Mountain down to the community of Akbel,...

Today (Dec 6) is the Feast of St. Nicholas. The real St. Nicholas was nothing close to the St. Nick (Santa Claus) of the modern age. He was a thin curmudgeonly man with a zeal for the Lord that caused flairs of anger. Compromise was unknown to him. The slow transformation of him into “Jolly ole’ Saint Nicholas is a remarkable recasting of him centuries in the making. Some years ago the Washington Post featured an article entitled Poles Apart: Nicholas of Myra; How a 4th-Century Bishop Achieved Fame 1,500 Years Later, With a Whole New Attitude.On this feast of...

DISCOVERY: Oldest lighthouse at ancient Roman port The New Anatolian / Ankara 06 February 2008 Turkish archaeologists unearthed a 2000-year-old lighthouse at the ancient Roman port of Patara, near southern town of Kas, Antalya, discovering probably the oldest such structure that managed to remain intact. The 12-meter-high lighthouse was built under the reign of Emperor Nero who ruled from 54 to 68, Professor Havva Iskan Isik, head of the excavation team reported. "The oldest known lighthouse is the one in Alexandria but there is nothing left of it. So, the lighthouse at the Patara port is the oldest one that...

Traces of tsunami in ancient city of Patara Tuesday, December 27, 2005 ANKARA - Turkish Daily News Archaeologists claim that an ancient lighthouse located in the ancient city of Patara on Antalya's Mediterranean coast might have been destroyed by a tsunami that hit the region in ancient times. The ruins of the lighthouse were discovered two years ago during excavations that are still under way in Patara. Professor Havva Ýþkan Iþýk, head of Akdeniz University's archaeology department, which is conducting studies in the ancient city, said they believed the lighthouse was destroyed by a tsunami since a human skeleton was...