Arges Monastery legend

The legend says that master Manole and his workers were employed by the

King Neagoe Basarab of Wallachia to build an extraordinary monastery. The

men began working. But everything they built by day ruined by night. So no

matter how much they tried they couldn’t finish the construction. Tormented by

the fact that he couldn’t finish his construction, master Manole dreamed one

night that the only way that he could complete his masterpiece is a human

sacrifice. After he woke up, he and his workers decided that the first person to

arrive that morning on the construction site should be the one sacrificed.Tears

of pain fell on Manole’s cheeks when he saw his pregnant wife, Ana, on the horizon. She had woken up early that morning to

prepare a good meal for her husband and to bring it to him. But the monastery had to be completed. So with tears in his eyes,

Manole walled his wife brick by brick. She cried and she screamed. She begged for her life and her unborn child but Manole

didn’t listen. It was only after this sacrifice that the monastery’s construction could be finished into the masterpiece that can be

seen today.

It is said that after he and his men managed to finish the construction King Neagoe Basarab liked it so much that he locked

all the men in the attic of the monastery. He wanted to make sure that a construction like that would never be replicated. The men

and Manole tried to escape the punishment by building wooden wings and trying to fly away. None of them could and they all fell

down and die. The place where master Manole died is now marked by a fountain named The Fountain of Manole it is located

inside the monastery’s yard.

ARGES MONASTERY LEGEND Student’s worksheet 1

Exercise 1

Put the sentences into the correct order (A-G). 1. So with tears in his eyes, Manole walled his wife brick by brick 2. The men and Manole tried to escape the punishment by building wooden wings 3. The men began working 4. So with tears in his eyes, Manole walled his wife brick by brick 5. Manole dreamed one night that the only way that he could complete his masterpiece is a human sacrifice 6. It was only after this sacrifice that the monastery’s construction could be finished 7. The King Neagoe Basarab of Wallachia wanted to build an extraordinary monastery

Exercise 2

Answer the questions: 1. Who is the king who ordered the construction of the monastery? 2. How many craftsmen worked on building the monastery? 3. What is the name of the master Manole 's wife ? 4. What do you understand throught ''the human sacrifices made in the name of eternity''? 5. Is it possible to appear a fountain where the master Manole died?

Exercise 3

Put the verbs in the past tense simple

1. to build 2. to bring 3. to finish 4. to try 5. to begin 6. to born

ARGES MONASTERY LEGEND Student’s worksheet 2

Exercise 1

Write T for true sentence and F for false

1. Tears of pain fell on Manole’s cheeks when he saw his mother coming 2. After Manole woke up, he and his workers decided that the first person to arrive that morning on the construction site should be

the one sacrificed 3. The king locked all the men in the attic of the monastery 4. The Fountain of Manole it is located outside the monastery

Exercise 2

Fill the sentences

1. Manole ………. to escape the punishment. 2. Ana……the pregnant wife of Manole 3. The monastery…………by Manole and his workers 4. Everything they ………… by day ………… by night 5. The name of the king is………………….

ŞAHMERAN

The legend of Şahmeran comes from Mesopotamia, and the name of “Şahmeran” means “the shah of the

snakes” . She was a half snake and half a beautiful woman. Many people, especially girls, believes that hanging her

portraits on the wall brings good luck.

Once upon a time, there was a tall, handsome boy living in Mardin. His name was Tahmasp and he was a poor

woodcutter. One day, Tahmasp and some of his friends found a well full of honey. Immediately, Tahmasp went

down the well to take the honey but after taking the honey his friends left him there. He saw a small hole and

started to widen it. He found a cave where thousands of snakes were sleeping. There he met Şahmeran. He was

attracted to her although she was a half snake. He stayed with them for many days and listened Şahmeran’s

stories about the world and humanity. At last Tahmasp missed his hometown and wanted to turn back to his home.

He promised not to tell her secret place to the other people.

By the way, the king of the city got very ill and one of his assistants who was quite evil told him that he would get better only if he ate some

flesh of Şahmeran. Actually his aim was to have the secrets of the world from the mouth of Şahmeran. They started to search for Şahmeran or

someone who knew her secret place. One day, while Tahmasp was having a bath at the hamam, the soldiers of the king recognized the snake scales all

over his body. They took him to the palace and tortured him. At the end Tahmasp told the secret place of Şahmeran. The soldiers and the evil

assistant went to the cave and found her there. She said: “Whoever eats flesh from my tail will know the secrets of the world. But whoever eats

flesh from my head will die instantly.” The evil assistant cut the snake into pieces and ate some flesh from her tail. Tahmasp ate a piece of flesh from

her head to die immediately. However instead of Tahmasp, the assistant died and Tahmasp inherited all her knowledge. He felt so sad that he isolated

himself from the rest of humanity. Afterwards, he became a legendery doctor, Lokman Hekim.

In Mardin, there is a belief that the snakes in the cave will come up to the earth to take Şahmeran’s revenge.

THE STORY OF ŞAHMERAN

Student’s worksheet 1

Exercise 1:

Put the sentences into correct order

1 . Tahmasp missed his hometown and wanted to turn back to his home. ........

2. Tahmasp and his friends found a well full of honey. ...A...

3. The soldiers took him to the palace and tortured him. .........

4. The assistant died and Tahmasp inherited all Şahmeran’s knowledge. .........

5. The king got very ill. .........

6. Tahmasp ate a piece of flesh from her head. .........

7. The evil assistant ate some flesh from her tail. .........

8. Tahmasp found a cave where a lot of snakes were sleeping. .........

Exercise 2:

Fill in the blanks with the correct verb

found , widened , stayed , promised , died , isolated

1. Atatürk ................................... on November 10.

2. Mrs. Smith ............................... his glasses at last.

3. After her husband’s death, she ........................ himself from the rest of

the people.

4. I ................................. at the hotel for 5 days.

5. The naughty boy ..................... his mom to tidy his room yesterday.

6. My father decided to ........................the dog’s house because it is very

small.

Exercise 3:

Write TRUE or FALSE

[ ] Hanging Şahmeran’s pictures on the wall brings bad luck

[ ] Tahmasp was a poor and handsome man.

[ ] There were a few snakes in the cave.

[ ] Tahmasp stayed in the cave for a long time as a guest

[ ] Tahmasp told many stories about world and humanity.

[ ] The assistant of the king was a villain man.

[ ] Tahmasp was having a bath when the soldiers of the king

took him.

[ ] Tahmasp ate some flesh from Şahmeran’s tail to gain

knowledge of the world.

Exercise 4:

Complete the puzzle with the underlined words in the text

ACCROSS

1 ) One who cuts wood

2 ) Soft parts of the body; meat

3 ) Flake

DOWN

1 ) Inflict excruciating pain, torment

2 ) Turk’sh bath

3 ) Wicked, bad

Exercise 5:

Answer the questions

1- What does “Şahmeran” mean?

………………………………………………………………...............................................…

2- How did the soldiers understand that Tahmasp knew the secret place of Şahmeran?

………………………………………………………………..............................….........…

3- What kind of a person was the assistant of the king?

…………………………………………....................................………………………………

4- How did Şahmeran cheated the assistant?

………………………….................................…………………………………………………

Exercise 6:

Choose the correct option

1) The legend of Şahmeran comes from …………………………….

a. Hittite

b. Persia

c. Mesopotamia

d. Greece

2) Şahmeran was …………………………….

a. half a snake and half a lion

b. half a snake and half a beautiful woman

c. half a snake and half a handsome boy

d. half a snake and half a horse

3) Tahmasp and his friends found a well full of …………………………….

a. Honey

b. Money

c. Cherry

d. Berry

4) Tahmasp ate the flesh from …………………………….

a. Şahmeran’s leg

b. Şahmeran’s head

c. Şahmeran’s tail

d. Şahmeran’s arm

5) Tahmasp became a legendary …………………………….

a. Woodcutter

b. Teacher

c. Engineer

d. Doctor

HUNOR AND MAGOR

Hunor and Magor were, according to a famous Hungarian legend, the ancestors of the Huns and the

Magyars. The legend is written in the Chronicle ‘Gesta Hungarorum’. The legend’s aim is to provide a

common ancestry for the Huns and the Magyars and to suggest historical continuum of the Hungarian

Kingdom with the Hun Empire. Magyars led by Prince Arpad had conquered the area in the 890s. The

territory had previously been held by Attila the Hun in the 5th century. The legend thus tried to prove that

the Magyars were simply reclaiming their ancient homeland as descendants of Attila.

The hunt for the White Stag (Chronicon Pictum, 1360)

"In the beginning, there were two brothers, Hunor and Magor, who after the death of their father undertook a hunting trip outside of their lands with a hundred of their warriors on horseback. Leaving their lands, there they saw a magnificent deer. As they chased it, it moved away from them and they could not catch it. They gave chase for a full day and still had not caught it. When the night fell, they also lost sight of its tracks and made camp for the night. The next morning, the deer re-appeared and the hunters gave chase once more, but once again failed to reach and catch it, losing the tracks with nightfall and making camp. This was repeated for many days as the brothers and their warriors followed the deer's tracks farther and farther from their homeland. One morning, when the brothers had finally lost their way completely, even the tracks back to their homeland, the deer did not appear again. The brothers and their horsemen camped near a nearby forest, when during the night they heard wonderful music coming from the other side of the forest. They followed the sound of the music, going deeper and deeper into the forest, when at last they came to a clearing, where there were beautiful maidens dancing, and amongst the maidens, two princesses, daughters of the Alan Prince Dul. The maidens were frightened by the approach of strangers and fled, as did the princesses, but the brothers and their warriors chased and captured them. The brothers Hunor and Magor coupled with the two Alan princesses, while their warriors coupled with the other hundred maidens. After they multiplied, the descendants of Hunor became the Huns and those of Magor became the Hungarians”.

EXERCISES

1. Read the text, and answer the questions.

a. What are the heroes’ names in the story? _______________________________________________

b. What kind of animal did they chase? ______________________________________________

c. What did they hear in the wood? ______________________________________________

d. Who did they see in the wood? _______________________________________________

2. Complete the sentences. Find the correct expression.

Hunor and Magor went to a hunting trip with _______________ warriors. a. two hundred

b. six hundred

c. one hundred

The brothers chased the deer for _____________________. a. two weeks

b. for three months

c. for many days

The brothers and their horsemen camped near a ______________________. a. forest

b. river

c. castle

When they were going into the forest they followed _________________________. a. the steps of the stag

b. the sound of the music

c. the other hunters

3. Correct the following false sentences.

a. There were three brothers: Hunor, Attila and Magor.

b. A hundred of warriors saw a big cow.

c. On the second day the warriors caught the stag.

d. The brothers and the warriors went home after hunting.

e. One they, the warriors saw some mermaids in the middle of the wood.

4. Jumbled letters. Find the words from the text. TMANIGFECIN ___________________ RENHUT ___________________ RAWIROR ___________________ NAMEID ___________________ ETAPUCR ___________________

The legend of Romulus and Remus

According to the Roman legend, the founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus. The twin-brothers were the supposed sons of the God Mars and the priestess Rhea Silvia. The story begins with the deposition of Numitor (their grandfather and king of the ancient Italian city of Alba Longa), by his brother Amulius. Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, was made a Vestal Virgin by Amulius - which meant that she was made a priestess of the goddess Vesta and therefore forbidden to marry. However, the God Mars came to her in her temple and with him she conceived her two sons, Romulus and Remus.

As soon as they were born, her husband abandoned them in a remote location. This practice was tolerated in many ancient cultures, including the Roman and Greek, when children were unwanted. They were unwanted because Amulius was fearing that the boys would grow up to overthrow him, so he had them placed in a basket and thrown into the River Tiber. At that time the river was flooded and when the waters fell, the basket still containing the two boys, came ashore. They were found by a she-wolf, who instead of killing them, looked after them and fed them with her milk. The she-wolf was helped by a woodpecker who brought them food as well. Interesting enough both these animals were sacred to Mars.

Romulus and Remus were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd, who brought the children to his home. Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the boys as their own. According to Livy, some said that Loba, wife of Faustulus had suckled them, not a female wolf. Indeed, her name meant wolf which was Lupus in Latin. Upon reaching adulthood, Romulus and Remus killed Amulius and reinstated Numitor, their grandfather, as King of Alba Longa, then they decided to found a town of their own. Romulus and Remus chose the place where the she-wolf had nursed them. Romulus began to build walls on the Palatine Hill, but Remus jeered at them because they were so low. He leaped over them to prove this, and Romulus in anger killed him. Romulus continued the building of the new city, naming it Roma (Rome) after his own name. He became the first King of Rome in 753 BC. Rome first citizens were outlaws and fugitives, to whom Romulus gave the settlement on the Capitoline Hill.

There were, however not enough wives for all these men, and so Romulus decided to steal women from the Sabines, an Italian tribe. He proclaimed a festival and invited many Sabines to it. While the attention of the Sabine men was elsewhere Romulus' men rushed in and carried off the women. This was the famous "Rape (carrying off) of the Sabine women", which later became a subject for painters. The Sabine men were furious and, led by their king Titus Tatius, declared war on Romulus. When the fighting had reached its peak, the Sabine women, who had grown fond of their Roman husbands, rushed between the ranks and begged both sides to make peace. So the battle was stopped, Romulus and Titus Tatius ruled together over the two peoples until Titus Tatius was killed in battle. For the rest of his life Romulus ruled alone, proving himself a great leader in peace and war. He did not die but disappeared one day in a violent storm. The Romans believing he had been taken up to heavens by Mars, worshipped him under the name of the God Quirinus. He was succeeded by Numa Pompilius.

The legend of Romulus and Remus

Student’s worksheet

EXERCISE 1

TRUE OR FALSE QUIZ.

1. Numitor was the king of the ancient Italian city of Alba Longa. TRUE □ FALSE □

2 Rhea Silvia was the twins’ mother. TRUE □ FALSE □

3. Numitor put the boys into a basket and threw it in the river. TRUE □ FALSE □

4 A dog rescued the boys. TRUE □ FALSE □

5 When the twins grew up they killed their uncle Amulius TRUE □ FALSE □

6. Romulus killed Remus. TRUE □ FALSE □

7. Romulus became the second king of Rome in 753BC. TRUE □ FALSE □

8 Romulus was carried up to the heavens by his father, Mars. TRUE □ FALSE □

EXERCISE 2

FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE VERBS USING THE PAST SIMPLE FORMS

BE FIND BE TAKE PUT LOOK GROW MOCK KILL NAME DECIDE

The legend of Rome1 …….. about the story of the twin brothers: Romulus and Remus. Their

grandfather 2…………the king Numitor, his brother Amulius 3………… the twins into the river

Tiber. A she-wolf 4……...the twins. She 5……… after them at first. Then a shepherd 6……. them

home.

When they 7 ……….up, the brothers 8……………… to build a city. While planning, Remus

9……………Romulus. In a fit of anger Romulus 10……….. his brother, and 11……….. the city

Rome after his own name.

EXERCISE 3

FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE APPROPRIATE WORDS FROM THE BOX.

Rome killed twins king wolf Tiber king city shepherd six twelve Romulus

1. Romulus and Remus were _______________ .

2. Their wicked uncle wanted to be the ______________ .

3. The servants put the twins by the River ____________.

4. A she-______________ found the twins.

5. The wolf looked after them at first.

Then a _____________ took them home and looked after them.

6. When Romulus and Remus grew up they built a _____________ on a hill by the River Tiber.

7. Both twins wanted to be the _____________.

They looked into the sky.

Remus saw _______ vultures and Romulus saw _____________ vultures.

The people said ________________ should be king.

8. Remus said the city would never be finished.

Romulus was angry and he _______________ his brother.

9. The city was named _____________ after Romulus.

EXERCISE 4

WRITE A SUMMARY OF ABOUT 80/100 WORDS

OF THE LEGEND

Follow these steps:

STEP 1

IDENTIFY THE KEY WORDS AND COMPLETE THE

TABLE.

Key words meaning

STEP 2

GIVE A TITLE TO EACH PARAGRAPH.

paragraph title

STEP 3

WRITE ONE OR TWO SENTENCES FOR EACH

PARAGRAPH

STEP 4

READ YOUR SUMMARY: HAVE YOU INCLUDED

ALL RELEVANT INFORMATION?

CHECK THAT YOU HAVEN’T EXCEEDED THE

MAXIMUM NUMBER OF WORDS.

KARAGÖZ AND

HACİVAT

The legend of Karagöz

and Hacivat is based on two

real people who live during the

time of the second Ottoman

sultan , Orhan Gazi. The story

starts in the city of Bursa, the

first Ottoman capital. Karagöz

(‘means Black Eyes’) lives in

Smakol and he is a blacksmith. He is a little gruff and witty, also hard

of hearing but he has a big heart.

Hacivat (means Civat the Pilgrim) is a mason. He is more

educated and of good manners. He always tries to make money.

One day, the Ottoman sultan wants his men to find the best

laborers to build a mosque. Karagöz and Hacivat are hired as laborers

to construct the mosque. The sultan especially warns them to work

hard and finish the mosque on time, and not to disturb other laborers.

At first they work hard but after a while, they keep other laborers

laughing so much that the mosque is not being built.

One day, the sultan comes to see the construction of the

mosque but sees nobody. Everybody watches Karagöz and Hacivat’s

show and laughs. He gets very angry and wants his men to catch and

execute them. After a while, the sultan fills with remorse because

everybody in the city feels sad for them. In order to console him, one

of his retainers, Sheikh Kusteri, created translucent likenesses of

Karagöz and Hacivat. He puts a candle behind the translucent curtain

and uses two puppets as Karagöz and Hacivat. Thus, he imitates their

comic dialogues and make people laugh.

THE STORY OF KARAGÖZ AND HACİVAT

Student’s worksheet 1

Exercise 1:

Put the sentences into correct order

1 . The sultan fills with remorse. ........

2. Karagöz and Hacivat are hired as laborers to construct the mosque. ...........

3. The story starts in the city of Bursa ....A.....

4. They keep other laborers laughing so much that the mosque is not being built. ........

5. Sheikh Kusteri, created translucent likenesses of Karagöz and Hacivat. .........

6.The sultan gets very angry and wants his men to catch and execute them. .........

7. He imitates their comic dialogues and make people laugh. ...........

Exercise 2:

Fill in the blanks with the correct verb

console , build , disturb , laugh , execute , imitate

7. Laborers ................................... a big and unique mosque..

8. Mothers always ......................... their daughters.

9. Jack is so funny that he makes everybody ........................

10. Parrots can ................................. many words of people.

11. The students sometimes ..................... their teachers by making too much

noise.

12. The judge decided to ........................ one of the most dangerous serial

murderer.

Exercise 3:

Write TRUE or FALSE

[ ] Karagöz and Hacivat lived during the time of the second Ottoman

sultan , Orhan Gazi.

[ ] Karagöz is an educated and of good manners.

[ ] Hacivat means Civat the Pilgrim.

[ ] Karagöz and Hacivat are hired as laborers to construct the mosque.

[ ] When the sultan comes to see the constructionof the mosque , he

sees everybody working hard.

[ ] The sultan wants his men to catch and execute Karagöz and Hacivat.

[ ] The sultan fills with happiness.

[ ] Sheikh Kusteri imitates their comic dialogues and make people laugh

by using two puppets and a translucent curtain.

Exercise 4:

Complete the puzzle with

the underlined words in

the text

ACCROSS

1 ) act of building

2 ) one who makes a jurney for

religious reasons

3 ) rugh, rude

DOWN

1 ) one who works with iron.

2 ) regret, sorrow

3 ) worker

Exercise 5:

Answer the questions

5- What does “Karagöz” mean?

………………………………………………

6- How does Karagöz and Hacivat meet?

………………………………………………………………..............................….........…

7- What kind of a person is Hacivat?

…………………………………………....................................………………………………

8- How do Karagöz and Hacivat die?

………………………….................................…………………………………………………

Exercise 6:

Choose the correct option

6) The story starts in the city of…………………………….

e. Ankara

f. Bursa

g. İstanbul

h. Edirne

7) Hacivat is a …………………………….

e. sultan

f. woodcutter

g. blacksmith

h. mason

8) The Ottoman sultan wants to build a …………………………….

e. mosque

f. house

g. school

h. hospital

9) Everybody watches Karagöz and Hacivat’s show and …………….

e. cries

f. laughs

g. sings

h. dance

10) One of the Sultan’s retainers is …………………………….

e. Karagöz

f. Kusteri

g. Hacivat

h. Orhan

The legend of Martisor

1. Once the sun has descended on earth, and took the image of a young man to attend a

national dance’’ hora’’ in one village. Evil dragon, seeing that he got a young face, kidnapped

and imprisoned him in a prison, causing suffering to whole nature. It is said that the rivers have

stopped flowing; the birds no longer sing . . . the children stop to laughing. No one knew what to

do until a brave young man decided to face the dragon and releasing the sun. It started his trip,

with an imaginable power that no one has.Trip of young men lasted 3 seasons: summer, autumn

and winter. At the end of winter, he found castle of dragon and fought for days until the dragon

was shot down. Weak and badly injured, the young man managed to reach to prison where the

sun was, issued him and after he died, his blood flowing on snow white. The sun climbed the sky

and proclaimed the coming of spring, filling the hearts of people with happiness. Since then,

young pupils make two pieces, one white and one red, giving the girls that they love or those

close. Red signifies love for all that is beautiful, reminiscent the color of blood of brave young

men. White symbolizes purity, health and snowdrop, the first flower of spring.

Note: The Martisor is in close connection with the Romanian tradition, and it is found only in the

Carpathian area and the margin areas, in Romanian culture and the neighboring countries, who borrowed it. At the origin, the Martisor was represented by a golden or silver coin that would bring luck and happiness, after which small pebbles dyed in white and blue and held on a string replaced it. The red and white Martisor string signified the unity of opposites, summer-winter, hot-cold, light-dark, woman-man, fertility-sterility etc. In the past, the Martisor string was offered to both women and men and it was worn around the wrist, or on your chest, until the blossoming of the first fruit trees. After that, the string was attached to the trees on the verge of blossoming, and the unmarried girls would put them under a big rock, to bring luck in finding a future husband.

The legend of Martisor

Student’s worksheet 1

Exercise 1

Put the sentences into the correct order (A-G). 1. No one knew what to do until a brave young man decided to face the dragon

2. Weak and badly injured, the young man managed to reach to prison where the sun was

3. The sun has descended on earth, and took the image of a young man to attend a national

dance’’ hora’’ in one village

4. Evil dragon kidnapped and imprisoned him

5. The sun climbed the sky and proclaimed the coming of spring, filling the hearts of people with

happiness

Exercise 2

Put the verbs in the past tense simple

1. to injure

2. to know

3. to attend

4. to laugh

5. to kidnappe