Forgotten fire

I loved the Forgotten Fire. It was heartbreaking, interesting and historical. It was shocking to find out about the Armenian genocide. I did not learn about it before.

This book can be used as a source, as a way to always remember the Armenian holocaust, as a way to remember what the Ottoman Empire was about, and as a piece of literature that can never be forgotten. It was such a heart breaking historical fiction. Every word that was said by that Armenian orphan was somewhat inspiring. The author did an excellent job putting this book together. Any book that takes 10 years to be written deserves an applause.

The Janissary Tree

Reading the Janissary tree was quite an adventure. I enjoyed the book very much and I had fun reading it. The book was very entertaining and funny. Jason Goodwin did a great job on this book. There were many things that I liked and some things that I did not like. I liked the style in which the story was written, but I did not like the fact that Mr. Goodwin used too many Turkish terms because someone who is not in a history class would not be able to understand it. I believe the book great source to know about what happened to the Janissaries and what was happening in Istanbul. It is also an easy way to remember important facts about the Ottoman Empire.

I believe that the revolts of the Janissaries could have been avoided. I also believe that the Sultan believed a little too much in his soldiers and that if he had been more careful, the Janissary problem would not have happened. The Sultan should have had a plan B in case something happened. The Tanzimat changed the Ottoman Empire completely. Some call it the decline of the Ottoman Empire , but I call it modernization.

The red apple review

I liked The Red Apple. It was a bit confusing at first , but the information that we learned in class about the Janissaries helped me a lot. The story was very touching and sentimental.The final chapters of the book were frustrating to read because Jonathan Levitan could have made a better ending. He could have talked about what happened to Manuel after the war and what were his plans for the future. He could have also talked about Manuel’s mother or what happened when Mahmut’s wife found out about Mahmut’s death. The book was interesting for the most part. It was interesting to learn about the Janissaries in a less boring way. It was interesting to read about the life of the boy who turned into a man and fought for what he wanted. Even though he fought for what his dreams we cannot be sure that those were actually his dreams and not Manhmut’s dreams. In one of the chapters Mahmut told Ibrahim about the battles that he fought when he was younger. He also told him to focus on the red apple which was Constantinople because it had always been his dream to obtain it. Manny people might say that it was unfair for the young boys to be taken away from their parents and turned into a Janissary, but in Manuel’s case it was not. When Manuel was living with his mother he was very thin; he did not eat much. When he became a Janissary he began to eat fancy foods. He learned Arabic and he became educated. It might sound harsh, but if Manuel had stayed with his mom he would not have any type of education and would not know more than what the other kids in the village knew. In the end, he became the man that he is now because he became a respected Janissary.

Ottoman Empire and Shafavid Empire

First of all I would like to say that I was amazed by the beauty of the Middle East. The beauty of the Topkapi Palace blew my mind. The Ottoman empire from Constantinople and the Safavid empire from Persia have both differences and similarities .Both the Ottoman and the Safavid Empire have great architecture in its buildings. They both share the love for art, music, culture and delicious food. They share a wonderful religion and religious practices. The biggest and most important difference between these two groups is that the Ottomans belong to the Sunni group and the Safavids belong to the Shi’ite group. The Ottomans always worried because the Safavids have excellent fighting skills and they could take power anytime. A series of battles was fought between these groups. They fought over land, territories, authority and prestige. Even though the Sunni and the Shi’ites share a religion they are both very different. The Shi’ites believe that their ruler must be a descendant of Muhammad, but the Sunnis were more open minded and they do not believe that. Today the Sunnis and the Shi’ites have not united and worked together. These two groups can overcome a lot and make Islam better.

Empire of faith and others

It is true that every head is a world and that everyone thinks differently. As I was watching the film Empire of faith I began to think that I would like to visit Mecca one day. It looks beautiful. Islam is not so different from my religion which is Christianity. I liked the fact that the Qur'an remains pure in its original language unlike many religious books that have been translated in many languages and lost their authenticity.Even though I understood the film I did not understand why Muhammad's face was covered in the film. I admire him for being so brave and fighting for his religion. It was very interesting to learn about how the Islamic religion spread. I also liked learning about the Ottoman empire and the Janissaries. I also have been reading The Red Apple and and I have one question: If the Janissaries were not allowed to be the only son of a widow, why was Manuel taken?

My Fist Blog

Hey everyone,

My name is Avril Guzman. I am a freshman at Manhattanville college . I grew up in the Dominican Republic and moved to Yonkers about a year ago. I fell in love with Manhattanville so I decided to study here. This is my first blog for the modern Middle East and North Africa history class. I am very excited to be in this class because I took a class named World religions last semester and I saw the middle east from a different perspective and I want to know more about it. I really liked the way Professor Metcalf teaches.I hope I get to meet everyone soon and see you guys in class!!!