TRAVEL TALES of ranaruby

ISTANBUL                                                                                                                                                                            (Part II)                       Istanbul is believed to have been inhabited since 5500 BC. Being strategically located on the Mediterranean , it was vulnerable to invaders from different countries in Asia and Europe who periodically occupied Istanbul from time to time. The first recorded occupation had taken place in the late seventh century BC when the Greek ruler Byzas established his kingdom here and named it Byzantium. Emperor Constantine the Great of Rome conquered the place in 306 AD and renamed it Constantinople. He also made it the capital of the second Roman Empire.  He was the first Roman Emperor who devoted in spreading Christianity in his empire and was sometimes referred as Saint. Tradition and ethnicity make the city so unique that one is bound to brush with History at every nook and corner

SULTANPUR BIRD Sanctuary About 15 km from my house in Gurgaon lays the famous Sultanpur bird sanctuary. Before it attained the status of National Wildlife Sanctuary it was known as Sultanpur Jheel. Peter Jackson, a famous ornithologist stumbled upon it in the seventies and decided to pursue the Indian government to convert it into an exclusive reserve for birds. Finally in the eighties the jheel attained the national status of bird sanctuary. The sanctuary is situated on the way to Farruknagar in Haryana. From Gurgaon it is the road which runs almost parallel to the road leading to Pataudi, the princely estate of late Mansoor Ali Khan -- ‘Tiger Pat’ to cricket lovers all over the world. The sanctuary used to be a favorite haunt for late Dr Salim Ali, the greatest ornithologist of all times. Haryana is a state where one gets the chance to see the rarest of birds,compared to all other states in India . Haryana Tourist Lodges  are all  named after birds , like ‘Jungle Babbler’ i