Can you guess where Mabel is this week?

Mabel is in Istanbul at the Topkapı Palace.

Sultan Mehmed II built the Topkapı Palace after he conquered Constantinople in 1453. The palace is impressive not only for its size, but also its importance in history, especially for the Ottoman Empire between the years 1478-1856. It was the official center and home to the sultan for 380 years.

Topkapı consists of tree- shaded courtyards, each serving a different purpose and opening onto one another with monumental gates. Functional buildings surround the courtyards. From the time of its construction, the palace developed constantly with alterations and additions made by each sultan. 
When the sultans moved to the ostentatious Dolmabahçe Palace in 1853, Topkapı lost its importance as the official royal residence and was left to deteriorate. It finally regained its former unpretentious beauty after fifty years of continuous restoration in the Republican era. Most of the objects exhibited in the palace today are unique masterpieces.

Topkapı is the largest and oldest palace in the world to survive to our day. In 1924 it was turned into a museum at Atatiirk’s request. Situated on the acropolis, the site of the first settlement in Istanbul, it commands an impressive view of the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. The palace is a complex surrounded by 5 km of walls and occupies an area of 700,000 sq. m at the tip of the historical peninsula. When it was used as a palace, it served more functions than one usually associates with royal residences. Although it was the residence of the Sultan, the sole ruler of the empire, it was at the same time the center of the administrative affairs, the place where the council of ministers met, and the treasury, mint, and state archives were located there. The highest educational institution of the empire, the university of the sultan and the state was also here. Therefore it was the heart, the brain, and the very center of the Ottoman Empire. Much later, the harem (private quarters) of the sultans was moved here too.

Of the sixteen empires founded by the Turks, the Ottoman Empire was the longest lasting and the largest. It lasted for 622 years ruling over the Asian, European and African lands surrounding the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Peoples of different races and religions were united under its rule. The only other empire in history that governed such vast lands for such a long period was the Roman Empire. 
Thirty-six sultans reigned during this period, and starting from early 16th century, they also became the religious leaders of the Islamic world as caliphs.

Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, is the only city in the world that straddles two continents: Asia and Europe. While not the capital, Istanbul is Turkey’s largest city with a population of about 13 million.

Turkish is the official language of Istanbul, Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The large Kurdish minority also speaks Kurdish. English is also widely spoken in Istanbul, which often surprises its visitors.

Common Turkish phrases:

If you are looking to communicate with clients in Turkish, give INGCO International a call! We would love to assist you.

_{original image found on google.com}

Can you guess where Mabel is this week?

She is at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota.

Mount Rushmore, the President’s Mountain, is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This iconic site houses a series of four sculptures depicting the faces of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Led by the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, work on the project began in 1927 and was finally completed in 1941. Over the span of that time over 400 workers erected the sculpture removing a total of 450,000 tons of rock in order to create the enormous carved heads which reach a height of 60 feet.

Mount Rushmore was named after the lawyer Charles E. Rushmore, who traveled to the Black Hills in 1884 to inspect mining claims in the region. When Rushmore asked a local man the name of a nearby mountain, he reportedly replied that it had never been named before, but from that point forward would be known as Rushmore Peak (later Rushmore Mountain or Mount Rushmore).

In 1991, Mount Rushmore celebrated its 50th anniversary after undergoing a $40 million restoration project. The National Park Service, which maintains Mount Rushmore, records upwards of 2 million visitors every year.

The territory that would become South Dakota was added to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The first permanent American settlement was established at Fort Pierre by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804.White settlement of the territory in the 1800s led to clashes with the Sioux, as some of the land had been granted to the tribe by an earlier treaty. Nevertheless, the territory was incorporated into the union on November 2, 1889, along with North Dakota. Due to a controversy over which state would be admitted to the union first, President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the bills and signed one at random, with the order going unrecorded, though North Dakota is traditionally listed first. Today, a major part of South Dakota’s economy is fueled by tourism–visitors flock to the state to see Mt. Rushmore. Famous South Dakotans include newscaster Tom Brokaw, senator and vice president Hubert Humphrey and model-actress Cheryl Ladd.

Prior to becoming a part of the United States South Dakota was inhabited by Native Americans. The Arikara people dominated South Dakota up until the 1700s when the Sioux arrived and drove the Arikara from the area and inhabited it themselves.

The Sioux Indians came to North America from the continent of Asia about 30,000 years ago. The name Sioux means “little snake”, which was given to the tribe by the Chippewa Indians. Generally, the Sioux Indians were nomadic, meaning that they never really stayed in one place for a long amount of time. They typically followed the pattern of the buffalo, assuring them that there would be food and clothing wherever they traveled.

In 1991, Mount Rushmore celebrated its 50th anniversary after undergoing a $40 million restoration project. The National Park Service, which maintains Mount Rushmore, records upwards of 2 million visitors every year.

_{Original image found on google.com}

INGCO International is an international communications firm specializing in translation, interpreting and global marketing services — interested in communicating with your potential client in Chinese? Give us a call! 

Can you guess where Mabel is this Monday? 

The Great Wall of China! 

The Great Wall of China, also known as the Wàn Lǐ Cháng Chéng or Long Wall of 10,000 Li (a li is a measure of distance, approximately 1/3 of a mile), begins in the east at Shanhaiguan in Hebi province and ends at Jiayuguan in Gansu province to the west.  People who live in China primarily speak mandarin (Putong Hua, Hanyu, Huayu, Guoyu, standard Chinese), which is based on Beijing Dialect. The Chinese integrates meaning and pronunciation information in characters, known as Hanzi (漢字). This form of language is one of the earliest in the world, dating back approximately five thousand years. From the inscriptions on oracle bones in the Shang Dynasty, it was deduced that the formation of Chinese characters has a history of more than 3,000 years. 

Common words and sayings in Chinese: 

Original Image found on Google Images.