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Manabharana Is Not Malay (Manabharana Bukan Melayu)

In recent times, an alarming narrative has emerged within the Malaysian blogosphere, suggesting a historical event that appears to be a misinterpretation or perhaps a deliberate misinformation campaign. The claim revolves around a so called Malay prince named Manabharana from Srivijaya, purportedly attacking and conquering the Chola kingdom. This misleading story has gained traction and is spreading like wildfire across various social media platforms. The need to address and rectify such inaccuracies is crucial not only for the sake of historical accuracy but also for fostering a responsible and informed online community. To delve into the matter, it is essential to clarify that historical records reveal the existence of multiple individuals named Manabharana throughout history. However, a nuanced understanding reveals that all these figures were Tamils (Damila) hailing from the Pandya kingdom, with references to their exploits documented in Tamil inscriptions and Sri Lankan chronicles...
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Turkey Trip 2013 - Part 1

This is what comes to most people's mind when the word Turkey is mentioned.
My paid vacation to Turkey was actually an accident. Both me and my colleague, Max Tan, were supposed to fly to Sofia (Bulgaria) via Istanbul. We had to be there for 2 weeks. It was for work purpose.

Our flight to Istanbul on 02-02-2013 was delayed by a couple of hours. Because of this, our transit flight to Sofia had to be delayed by a day. Therefore, we had to spend our weekend in Turkey.

MAS took the blame and paid for it.
We took took it as a blessing :)

The national flag of Turkey



Map of Turkey

Istanbul is 8000 km away from KLIA. The total flight time was approx 11.5 hours. I spent my journey watching movies, sleeping, eating, watching movies, sleeping, walking. I peeked outside the window a couple of times.

I started imagining 'What if the plane crashes and I get stranded in the sea?'. I started to think about Vasuge and the rest at home. Then I told myself 'Nah, I am meant to have an adventure'.

Let's have a short introduction on Turkey.

Turkey connects Europe and Asia. It is where East meets West.This is where Troy was located. Turkey was once an Islamic power under the Ottoman Empire. They participated in Crusades, won many battles, conquered many nations. Their influence went to as far as South India.

Some of my ancestors would have died fighting the Turks. The district of Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu is famous for Halva. A sweet dish. This dish was brought by the Turks.

Turkey is about 783,562 km2  with a population of around 76 million. The majority speaks Turkish as mother tongue. About 12% are Kurdish, some Arabic is spoken too. Although it is a Muslim majority country, Turkey is a secular country with no official religion.

I think this was taken above Iran

Sunrise during flight
First look at Turkey just before landing.
The temperature was around 7 degree Celsius when we landed. It was morning over there. The airport representative arranged for our accommodation at Novotel. Having informed my wife that I have safely landed, both me and Max headed to Novotel.

The airport
  
On our way to the hotel
The Black Sea

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