F - 134 : Galata, Genoa and the Ottomans
Galata Tower - View from the East - Tokapi Palace, Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque in the back The Galata Tower is one of Istanbul’s most...
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hbanziger
Apr 1, 20225 min read
F - 142 : Greek Prison Islands
The decaying Barracks on the former Prison Island of Gyaros Cruising in the turquoise waters of the Aegean does not prepare for the...
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hbanziger
Mar 22, 20225 min read
F - 151 : Ethnic Cleansing 100 Years ago
Muslim Refugees in 1922 - the Steamboat at the back is from the Turkish Red Crescent When sailing along the Turkish-Greek border in the...
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hbanziger
Mar 6, 20226 min read
F - 163 : Legacies of Byzantium
Trying to find remnants of old Byzantium in modern Istanbul is quite a task. Of course the Theodosian Walls which once protected...
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hbanziger
Feb 27, 20224 min read
F - 170 : A Forgotten Time of Peace
Wanted to write about Turkish Honey today. But now that Russia attacks Ukraine and kills innocent people, I will write about a time 2’000...
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hbanziger
Feb 21, 20225 min read
F - 176 : 25 Years of Greco-Turkish Wars
The Balkan War 1912 - 1913 was a Precursor to the First World War 1914 - 1918 When we sail in the Aegean, we have to carefully respect...
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hbanziger
Feb 8, 20225 min read
F - 189 : Stirrups and Bow - Innovations that Changed World History
Love asking questions for which you can’t easily find an answers in traditional history books. One of them is why the Seljuk and Ottoman...
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hbanziger
Dec 13, 20215 min read
F - 245 : The Big Lease - How Byzantium got a 50 Ship Navy in 1261
Feeding the important Genovese Harbour of Chios required many Windmills Driving along the Turkish coast from Bodrum to Troy left me with...
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hbanziger
Dec 10, 20214 min read
F - 248 : Climate Change stopped the Mongols
We write the year 1241/42. The Mongol Army had just wiped out the Polish and Hungarian Knights and took winter quarters in the low lands...
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hbanziger
Aug 3, 20214 min read
E + 23 : Lepanto - A Strategic Dilemma
Lepanto is today called Nafpaktos - the AFAET just outside the medieval harbor Today is Lepanto Day. Our destination is the Bay of...
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hbanziger
Jul 31, 20214 min read
E + 21 : Where are the Corfiot Italians?
The Old Town of Corfu on Kerkyra as seen from the old Venetian Fortress In Calabria and Apulia, people proudly mention that there are...
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hbanziger
Jul 31, 20214 min read
E + 20 : The End of Dreadnoughts
Technologies often change our lives more than we can imagine. At the beginning of World War I, all major navies believed they would...
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hbanziger
Jul 29, 20214 min read
E + 18 : The Aesthetics of Old Fortifications
The East Coast of Apulia is rather barren - but still protected by Saracen Watch Towers After a day of sailing, swimming and canoeing we...
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hbanziger
Jul 20, 20215 min read
E + 9 : Norman Day in the Calabrian Hills
With the new Drone we get Photos as never before! Amendolea's Church & the super dry Fiumare Amendolea It is Norman day today. We plan...
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hbanziger
Jun 9, 20215 min read
E - 34 : Why Maltese also Speak English
A few weeks ago, I talked about Malta being the only nation in the European Union where people speak a Semitic language. It would be an...
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hbanziger
May 29, 20215 min read
E - 45 : The Mamluk - A Slave Warrior State
In my previous blogs I talked about the Fatimid, the Ottoman, and the Spanish Empire, covered Arab dynasties and wrote about the Mongols....
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hbanziger
May 24, 20216 min read
E - 50 : Jean Parisot de Valette - the Man and the Legend
There are few people who have a capital named after them. President Washington comes to my mind as does Jean Parisot de Valette. When...
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hbanziger
May 20, 20213 min read
E - 54 : Predecessors of Navy Seals
Was working on a Blog on Jean-Parisot de Valette, the Grand Master of the Knights of St John during the siege of Malta in 1565, when I...
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hbanziger
May 2, 20214 min read
E - 72 : Did Charcoal fund Alexander?
In my previous blog I was writing about the silver mines of Laurion which made Athens wealthy and powerful. The mines were in operation...
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hbanziger
Apr 25, 20214 min read
E - 79 : The Power of Public Opinion - How Greece won its Independence
The other day, I came across a beautiful article in the Wall Street Journal "How Poetry won Independence for Greece". At the occasion of...
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