John Freely

Un universo de deslumbrante belleza, que sigue emocionando a los lectores de hoy, a los tres mil años de su composición.Este libro nos invita a un viaje en que laIlíada y laOdisea nos servirán de guía para recorrer el mundo de Homero desde Troya primero a traves de la costa turca del Egeo y luego por las riberas del Mediterraneo, siguiendo las huellas de Odiseo cuando va a combatir en la Guerra de Troya y luego, tras pasar numerosas peripecias, de regreso a su patria con su familia en Itaca. John Freely, que ha vivido muchos años en Grecia y en Turquia, y que tiene un buen conocimiento de los hallazgos recientes de la arqueologia, no pretende ofrecernos un relato de viajes por los escenarios homericos, sino que nos lleva a ellos con la Iliada y la Odisea en la mano, en un recorrido en que el objetivo no es el paisaje, sino el mundo de Homero, con la intencion de introducirnos en un universo de deslumbrante belleza, que sigue emocionando a los lectores de hoy, a los tres mil años de su composicion.

This is the story of the Byzantine monuments of Istanbul, the city known in the medieval period as Constantinople and in classical antiquity as Byzantium. Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire from 330 until 1453 and was renowned for the beauty and grandeur of its churches and palaces. The extant Byzantine monuments of Istanbul include more than twenty churches, most notably Hagia Sophia, as well as the remains of the land and sea walls, the Hippodrome, imperial palaces, commemorative columns, reservoirs and cisterns, an aqueduct, a triumphal archway, and a fortified port. They are described here in chronological order and in the context of their times, through the political, religious, social, economic, intellectual, and artistic developments in the dynasties that came to power during the turbulent Byzantine Age. A major part of the architectural and artistic heritage of Byzantium, these monuments also serve as a link between the world of classical antiquity and the new epochs of early modern Europe and the Ottoman Empire.

The Cyclades are the quintessential Greek isles, renowned for the beauty of their seascapes, their historical monuments, and a unique way of life deeply rooted in the remote past of the Aegean. Over the course of more than 7,000 years the Cyclades have seen a succession of civilizations, the earliest of them perpetuated in legends such as that of Atlantis, which has been identified with volcanic Santorini. The islands are arrayed around their sacred centre on Delos, where Leto was said to have given birth to the divine twins Apollo and Artemis, children of Zeus. Dionysus was born on olive-embowered Naxos, where he fell in love with Ariadne, and myths relate that Poseidon was the protector of Tinos, whose mid-summer festival of the Virgin is celebrated with the folk-dances and songs for which the Cyclades are famous. In this comprehensive guide to the Cyclades, John Freely describes the immemorial past and timeless present of these enchanting islands, which still await discovery.

«Cuando me piden que recomiende un libro sobre Turquía, siempre contesto:“Cualquiera de Freely”.» Stephen Kinzer, The New York Times«Este libro–nos dice John Freely- quiere ser una guía por la Ilíada

Throughout the 1960s, John Freely explored the alleys, hidden corners and monuments of Istanbul, in between teaching, to create a legendary guidebook with Hilary Sumner-Boyd. But all the passages that were too personal, too capricious, too idiosyncratic, too indulgent of eccentric personalities, too wrapped up in the love of mid-afternoon banter, too indulgent of musicians, dancers, gypsies, dervishes, drunks, beggars, fishermen, poets, fortune-tellers, folk-healers, mimics and prostitutes, were cut from their scholarly guide. Stamboul Sketches is fashioned from these off-cuts, a chronicle of chance encounters inspired by Evliya Çelebi, the Pepys of seventeenth-century Istanbul. It is a beautiful, quirky portrait of a city, which, Freely says, grabs you by the heart and never lets you go.

Athens, city of the gods, birthplace of democracy, artistic and cultural centre of the ancient world, is one of Europe''s most fascinating and complex cities, steeped in myth and legend.

Estambul John Freely Una exhaustiva guía histórica, arquitectónica y artística de una de las ciudades más bellas del mundo, con numerosos detalles sobre el pasado y presente de Estambul. Con 21 itinerarios cuidadosamente planificados que permiten visitar exhaustivamente esta famosa ciudad, con sus restos de los imperios Bizantino y Otomano. Amplia informacion sobre museos, galerias, arte e historia. Tambien sobre hoteles, albergues, campings, restaurantes, discotecas, tiendas y espectaculos. Las Blue Guides estan consideradas las mas completas en arte, arquitectura e historia

Resting on two continents, Turkey reflects and absorbs the cultures of both East and West and nowhere is this more evident than along its Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. This is a land immersed in history and mythology: it is where Anthony met Cleopatra, where Herodotus, the "father" of history, was born and where legendary battles were fought--from Alexander the Great to Gallipoli. The Western Shores of Turkey is the distillation of a succession of journeys that John Freely made along this coast--an odyssey spanning a quarter of a century. By bus, car and caique, on foot and post boat, from Istanbul to Antakya (Antioch) on the Syrian border, he discovered the charm of modern Turkey and the wonders of its past. The result is both an informative guide and a remarkable travelogue for all who follow in his footsteps.

Istanbuls history is a catalogue of change, not least of name, yet it has managed to retain its own unique identity. John Freely captures the flavour of daily life as well as court ceremonial and intrigue. The book also includes a comprehensive gazetteer of all major monuments and museums. An in-depth study of this legendary city through its many different ages from its earliest foundation to the present day - the perfect travellers companion and guide.

Aladdins Lamp is the fascinating story of how ancient Greek philosophy and science began in the sixth century B.C. and, during the next millennium, spread across the Greco-Roman world, producing the remarkable discoveries and theories of Thales, Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Archimedes, Galen, Ptolemy, and many others. John Freely explains how, as the Dark Ages shrouded Europe, scholars in medieval Baghdad translated the works of these Greek thinkers into Arabic, spreading their ideas throughout the Islamic world from Central Asia to Spain, with many Muslim scientists, most notably Avicenna, Alhazen, and Averroes, adding their own interpretations to the philosophy and science they had inherited. Freely goes on to show how, beginning in the twelfth century, these texts by Islamic scholars were then translated from Arabic into Latin, sparking the emergence of modern science at the dawn of the Renaissance, which climaxed in the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century.

In this funny and tender memoir, John Freely reflects on a remarkable life. Splitting his early childhood between the U.S. and Ireland inspired in Freely a lifelong desire to see the world and its inhabitants. At age six he settled in Brooklyn, where he spent a sometimes tumultuous boyhood amidst a large extended family: moving from house to house, the familys belongings packed in an uncles hearse. Growing up poor, in his teens, Freely took whatever jobs he could when times got tough, always shaking off his losses and moving on, hungry for new experiences and adventures. He joined the U.S. Navy at seventeen to see the world and did just that. As a member of an elite commando unit, he was sent to one of the most remote places in Asia where he served alongside Chiang Kai-sheks Chinese forces during the last weeks of World War II. A vivid recollection on a world that now exists only in memory, The House of Memory is a lasting tribute to a life well lived, and to all of the immigrant families who have struggled, endured, and enriched our country.

En el siglo VI a. C. la ciudad griega de Mileto, situada en la costa occidental de Anatolia, fue el epicentro desde el que se desencadenó la revolución intelectual que sentaría las bases para el desarrollo de nuestro conocimiento moderno del mundo. Trazandoun hilo que recorre cerca de dos mil años de historia desde Tales de Mileto hasta Newton, John Freely narra el apasionante relato de la ciencia griega desde su nacimiento en la costa egea de Asia Menor, pasando por su consolidacion en la Atenas clasica y el mundo helenistico y la preservacion de su legado en el mundo islamico medieval y Bizancio, hasta su recuperacion definitiva como fundamento de las nuevas formas de saber que, condensadas en torno a nuestra moderna concepcion de la ciencia, verian la luz en la Europa del siglo XVII.

Este libro nos invita a un viaje en que la Ilíada y la Odisea nos servirán de guía para recorrer el mundo de Homero «desde Troya primero a través de la costa turca del Egeo y luego por las riberas de

En el siglo VI a. C. la ciudad griega de Mileto, situada en la costa occidental de Anatolia, fue el epicentro desde el que se desencadenó la revolución intelectual que sentaría las bases para el desarrollo de nuestro conocimiento moderno del mundo. Trazandoun hilo que recorre cerca de dos mil años de historia desde Tales de Mileto hasta Newton, John Freely narra el apasionante relato de la ciencia griega desde su nacimiento en la costa egea de Asia Menor, pasando por su consolidacion en la Atenas clasica y el mundo helenistico y la preservacion de su legado en el mundo islamico medieval y Bizancio, hasta su recuperacion definitiva como fundamento de las nuevas formas de saber que, condensadas en torno a nuestra moderna concepcion de la ciencia, verian la luz en la Europa del siglo XVII.

Ahmet III (1703-1770) fue el vigesimotercer sultán de la dinastía imperial Osmanlí, un linaje que gobernó el imperio otomano durante más de seis siglos, concretamente hasta 1922. Sus predecesores, entre los que se encuentran el gran guerrero Mehmet el Conquistador y Soliman el Magnifico, crearon un imperio que se extendio del Danubio al Nilo y del Adriatico al Golfo Persico. Pero ese imperio ya estaba en decadencia en el reinado de Ahmet III. Y los sultanes ya no se ponian al frente de sus ejercitos durante las batallas, pues preferian pasar su tiempo en el legendario palacio del palacio de Topkapi, en Estambul, al que los turcos denominaban la Casa de la Felicidad. El presente libro nos hace traspasar las puertas de ese y otros palacios otomanos. Al igual que Ahmet III, la mayoria de los ultimos sultanes de la dinastia fueron debiles y disolutos, y algunos de ellos incluso tenian problemas mentales. A menudo dominados por su madre o su esposa favorita, solian encerrar a sus hermanos mas jovenes en una dependencia del palacio conocida como la Jaula, con el fin de evitar guerras de sucesion. Todos estos elementos, sugestivos y fascinantes, sirven a John Freely para elaborar un libro unico que nos muestra, con vivido realismo, el haren imperial y las mujeres que alli moraban junto a sus guardianes, los eunucos negros y todos aquellos que servian y divertian a los sultanes y que ademas, en ocasiones, acababan encarcelados y asesinados. Un universo a la vez fascinante y violento descrito con todo lujo de detalles y grandes dosis de ingenio.