The basilica cistern also known as the “Yerebatan sarayi (Sunken Palace)” is undoubtedly one of the most iconic places in Istanbul. It is considered a must – see place by many and for good reason. It is both historically significant and mesmerizing. This palace definitely demonstrates how vibrant and historical the city of Istanbul is. A few years ago, this palace was restored by the local city council. In this blog post, I will talk about why this place is so culturally significant as well as why the restoration of historic buildings like this is extremely necessary.

History

This palace was built by the Eastern Roman Emperor (Byzantine) Justinian I (527-565). Can you believe how old this palace is? I personally think that a building continuing to last for nearly 2000 years is a great achievement. The cistern was built in order to provide a water filtration system for some of the important buildings of the empire. It had a massive water capacity of nearly 80000 – 100000 tons which I believe is huge for the time. After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 this palace continued to be in use for many years by the Ottoman government.

Interior 

The interior of the palace is beautiful and magical. There are 366 cylindrical collumns which creates a mighty atmosphere. The ground of the building is water, with the visitors having to stand on bridges to traverse the building. Sometimes you can see fish swimming in the water which is a very nice feature. The lighting of the palace is also dim which further elevates the magical atmosphere. As a kid, when I had visited this palace, I was mesmerized.  Although I don’t remember it in detail as it was a long time ago, I was very impressed and this had ignited my curiosity for history.

The restoration

Due to the risk of collapse and large amounts of tourists having no waiting area, the city council decided to restore the palace. It was a great decision in my opinion because these types of ancient buildings have security risks that need to be addressed, especially with large amounts of visitors coming every day.  Furthermore, a waiting area being given to tourists might have made their experience better and increased the number of tourists which could have benefited the local economy. Moreover, I believe that the environment of the palace is much better as can be seen from the picture above. All in all, I believe that restoring this building was a great decision and should be considered for other ancient buildings as well. Many people can be sceptical of restoration due to the fear that it might harm the original history of the artifact. However, if done right like in this case, it can actually severely benefit the building.

Battlefield 1 is first person shooter game developed by the studio DICE and released in the year 2016.  It is set in the first world war and focuses on large scale warfare with many players playing at once in the same map. There are numerous reasons for why I love this game and I will explain them in this blog.

The immersive setting of battlefield one is extremely well made.I think that this game manages to make the player feel as if they are in the great war. Setting, weapons and cosmetics all reflect the first world war which makes it a very riveting experience. The game being set in the first world war is also a major bonus for me as I find it to be a very intriguing topic. You can play as the central powers such as the Ottomans, Austria-Hungarians or the Germans or you can choose to play as the Allies such as the British or the French. Both sides were involved in the first world war and have uniforms according to those sides which makes the game even more immersive. For me personally, being able to play as the Ottomans was a huge bonus as I am Turkish.

Moreover, the chaotic gameplay of battlefield one is another amazingly well made aspect of the game. Due to the large number of players, the matches often become very chaotic which makes it very entertaining. I also think that the vehicles and weapons are also very enjoyable despite being very old by todays standards. Driving a tank through a highly contested area is a very enjoyable experience.  Furthermore, the game encourages teamwork through the presence of different classes. For example, people who choose the medic class can heal others while the players who choose the infantry class can rush to capture enemy points. This makes the game much more tactical despite being chaotic which is a major strength.

In addition, the maps in the game are also amazingly well designed. Not only are they very immersive, but they also play very well. They are designed in a way that both makes vehicles and normal weapons effective in different scenarios and none of them feel disadvantageous to a certain team. Also, the maps are huge which makes exploring them a fun activity.

In conclusion, battlefield one is an excellent game that I love playing. It’s immersivity, world war one setting, chaotic gameplay and well designed maps makes it one of the best first person shooters that I have played.

Dark souls is an extremely popular franchise known for it’s highly difficult gameplay.  However, despite it being extremely challenging, many people love to play these games. Because of this, I decided to give the latest game in the franchise, dark souls 3, a try. These are my opinions about the game so far:

The first thing that struck me about the game was it’s unforgiving difficulty. This was expected as it is the main thing that the franchise is known for. However, what struck me that I enjoyed this aspect of the game more than I think I would. Every encounter with a hostile enemy required my full attention and analysis. This made a lot of the fights very enjoyable. There were also a lot of instances were I felt immense rage because of the game. However, I never blamed the game with being unfair as I knew that every death was my fault.

The world design of the game with different and interesting locations to explore is another major strength. Each environment is beautifully designed and interconnected. This makes exploring the different areas of the game highly enjoyable. Hidden shortcuts, secret passages and chests feel very rewarding.

The enemies in the game are also extremely well designed. Their moves and abilities makes them formidable foes that demand your attention and reflexes. Each foe requires you to analyze them and adapt to them. Their designes are also amazing.

The boss fights of the game is where it especially shines, Each boss is designed extremely well and are highly challenging.  They are undoubtedly the hardest part of the game. These bosses requires the player to analyze it over and over again and develop the perfect strategy to defeat it.

In conclusion, so far, I loved playing this game. The game has several amazing features that makes it a joy to play: its high difficulty, great locations and well designed foes. I hope that my enjoyment of the game continues as I play it more as I loved playing it, so did many others. 

Developed by the studio “Maddy Makes Games” and released in 2018, Celeste is a game that has reached a large amount of success with it selling 500 thousand copies in the year it released. Celeste is a platformer game that I really enjoyed and I would love to share the reasons for why I and many other players loved this game.

The strongest point of Celeste that made many players love it is undoubtedly it’s smooth and engaging gameplay. Celeste is a 2-D platformer where you move a character between points in a setting. The gameplay of Celeste is superb. The controls of the character is extremely smooth and responsive which makes controlling her very entertaining.

The level design is also spectacular as it requires the player precisely control the character through demanding platforming sections , forcing them to utilize their problem solving skills and pushing their reflexes to the limits. In Celeste, captivating and challenging levels are a joy to play.  Although the levels of the game are difficult, it makes them much more thrilling to play through and makes completing them a lot more rewarding.  After clearing every level, I was sure that my skills had improved significantly. The game contains a variety of levels and some of them have unique aspects that impacts the gameplay in exciting ways. This also increases the replayability of the game.

The breathtaking visuals and music makes the game even better.  Because Celeste is an 8-bit pixel style game, one would expect it to have very poor graphics. However, by embracing it’s pixelated look and making it a part of it’s artstyle, the game creates beautiful environments and stunning scenes. The music is also excellent as it reflects the tone of each level and makes them much more immersive and captivating.

The story of the game is also nice. Unlike many popular titles that I like, it does not contain much violence  and conflict. Instead it is a more personal story that explores the main characters journey to defeat her anxiety by climbing a mountain. Normally, I would find this kind of story boring and uninteresting but I believe that it fits nicely to this game along with it’s visuals and music. Also, as someone who is studying psychology it was interesting to see the depictions of anxiety and depression in this game. A more violent story might have been a bad combination with it’s difficult level design making it similar to games like Dark Souls that are not pleasant experiences most of the time.

Finally, the low system requirements makes the game much more accessible which is another major strength. Since the game is 8-bit, it does not require any strong hardware and can work with old and weak hardwares. It can even work in a potato computer. I believe that this was a major factor that increased the sales of the game.

In conclusion, I believe that Celeste is an excellent platforming game that is very entertaining. It’s remarkable level design, precise gameplay, stunning visuals and music as well as low system requirements makes it a great platformer.