WOLRD WIDE WEB

World Wide Web (WWW), byname The Web, the leading information retrieval service of the Internet (q.v.; the worldwide computer network). The Web gives users access to a vast array of documents that are connected to each other by means of hypertext or hypermedia links—i.e., hyperlinks, electronic connections that link related pieces of information in order to allow a user easy access to them. Hypertext allows the user to select a word from text and and thereby access other documents that contain additional information pertaining to that word; hypermedia documents feature links to images, sounds, animations, and movies. The Web operates within the Internet’s basic client-server format; servers are computer programs that store and transmit documents to other computers on the network when asked to, while clients are programs that request documents from a server as the user asks for them. Browser software allows users to view the retrieved documents.

A hypertext document with its corresponding text and hyperlinks is written in HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and is assigned an online address called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
The development of the World Wide Web was begun in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee and his colleagues at CERN, an international scientific organization based in Geneva, Switz. They created a protocol, HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which standardized communication between servers and clients. Their text-based Web browser was made available for general release in January 1992.

 The World Wide Web gained rapid acceptance with the creation of a Web browser called Mosaic, which was developed in the United States by Marc Andreessen and others at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois and was released in September 1993. Mosaic allowed people using the Web to use the same sort of “point-and-click” graphical manipulations that had been available in personal computers for some years. In April 1994 Andreessen cofounded Netscape Communications Corporation, whose Netscape Navigator became the dominant Web browser soon after its release in December 1994. By the mid-1990s the World Wide Web had millions of active users.

Internet Architecture

😊Internet Architecture😍

  The internet architecture can be broadly classified into three layers. The very first layer consists of Internet Backbones and very high speed network lines. The National ScienceFoundation (NSF) created the first high-speed backbone in 1987 called NSFNET, it was a T1 line that connected 170 smaller networks together and operated at 1.544 Mbps (million bitsper second). IBM, MCI and Merit worked with NSF to create the backbone and developed a T3 (45Mbps) backbone the following year. Backbones are typically fiber optic trunk lines.The trunk line has multiple fiber optic cables combined together to increase the capacity. Fiber optic cables are designated OC-48 can transmit 2,488 Mbps (2.488 Gbps). The nodes are known as Network Access Point (NAPs). The second layer is usually known as Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISPs are connected to the Backbones at NAP’s with high speed lines.

The end users which are part of third layer are connected to ISPs by dial up or leased lines and modems. The speed of communication is usually 1400 bps to 2048 kbps.

In the real Internet, dozens of large Internet providers interconnect at NAPs ( Network Access Point) in various cities, and trillions of bytes of data flow between the individual networks at these points. The Internet is a collection of huge corporate networks interconnected with one other at the NAPs, backbones and routers to talk to each other. A message can leave one computer and travel halfway across the world through several different networks and arrive at another computer in a fraction of a second.

The routers determine where to send information from one computer to another. Routers are specialized computers that send messages to their destinations along thousands of pathways. It joins two networks, passing information from one to the other.

Aktiviti semasa Cuti Tahun Baru Cina

ASSALAMUALAIKUM 

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Cuti seminggu Raya Cina banyak yg saya lalui dan yang paling saya tunggu adalah kehadiran ank saudara yang baru. Pada tarikh 16/02/2018 anak saudara saya telah dilahirkan pada pukul 2.50 ptg. Saya berasa gembira kerana kelahiran ank saudara saya yg ini merupakan ank saudaraku yg ketiga.

Comel kan??? Ramai yg kata muka dy mcm laki sbb rambut dy keras dan terpacak. 

Masa dewan bersalin kakak saya diberitahu jururawat mata ank saudaraku telah terbuka mlah dalam masa sehari sudah tidur dalam keadaan mengiring mcm orng tua2. kalau ank kakak saya yg sulung ambk masa tiga hari untuk tidur secara mengiring

Rasanya itu saja aktiviti yang saya lakukan dalam masa seminggu selain keluar outing bersama rakan pada hujung minggu. Yg gambaq dua dekt bwah tu adalah ank saudara yang sulung dan sepupu  saya.
Sekian................Terima Kasih

Pemakanan Menurut Islam

Adab Makan Menurut Islam / Rasulullah SAW

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasalam telah menunjukkan adab makan yang  boleh diikuti dan diteladani kerana kita diwajibkan menjaga kesihatan tubuh badan agar sentiasa sihat sebab ia adalah amanah daripada ALLAH SWT…

Membersihkan Tangan

Mulakan Dengan Membaca Bismillah
Dari ‘Aisyah r.a. berkata: Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Apabila seorang daripada kamu hendak makan, sebutlah nama Allah ( ‘Bismillah’ ). Jika dia terlupa menyebut nama Allah pada awal (mula makan), maka sebutlah ‘Bismillahi awwaluhu wa akhirahu’ ” (HR Abu Dawud dan atTirmidzi.)
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Doa Setelah Selesai Makan

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Makan Dan Minum Perlulah Dalam Keadaan Duduk Tidak Berdiri,
Makan dan minum perlulah dalam keadaan duduk tidak berdiri, baik sekali makan keadaan duduk dengan menegakkan sebelah lutut sambil menekan perut. Hikmahnya dapat mengawal kuantiti makanan disamping mengatasi kembung, sembelit dan senak perut,

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Makan Berjamaah
Sunat makan secara berjamaah kerana banyak keberkatan yang terkandung didalamnya.  “Berjamaahlah dalam menyantap hidanganmu dan sebut nama Allah padanya, nescaya akan mengandungi berkat bagimu.” (Hadits Shahih).
Berkenaan dengan seseorang yang datang kepada Rasulullah SAW dan ia berkata: “Wahai Rasulullah, kami ini setiap kali makan tidak pernah kenyang.” Maka Rasulullah berkata: “Pasti masing-masing kamu makan sendiri-sendiri.” Orang itu menjawab: “Benar, Ya Rasulullah!” Rasulullah berkata: “Berjamaahlah dalam menyantap makananmu.”
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Gunakan Shahfah/Qash’ah
Makan berjamaah di atas hamparan dengan dengan menggunakan Shahfah/Qash’ah (talam/dulang) merupakan salah satu sunnah Nabi yang harus diikuti, tidaklah makan diatas meja makan dan tidak pula menggunakan Sukurrajah.
Ibnu Hajar berkata: “Sukurrajah itu tidak digunakan kerana mereka (Rasulullah dan para sahabat) tidak pernah menggunakannya, kebiasaannya mereka makan bersama-sama (dengan Shahfah) atau makan dengan menggunakan sukurrajah itu menjadikan mereka tidak merasa kenyang.” (Al-Fath 9/532).

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Gunakan Tangan Kanan (Tangan Kiri Dilarang)
Nabi SAW juga mengajar untuk kita makan dan minum menggunakan tangan kanan. Dari Jabir r.a. berkata, Rasulullah SAW bersabda: “Jangan engkau makan dengan (tangan) kirimu, sesungguhnya syaitan itu makan dan minum dengan (tangan) kirinya.” (HR Muslim)
Dari Salamah bin al-Akwa’ r.a., seorang lelaki sedang makan dengan tangan kirinya berhampiran dengan Rasulullah SAW Maka Baginda SAW berkata: “Makanlah dengan tangan kananmu”. Lelaki itu berkata: “Aku tak boleh”. Baginda menjawab, “Engkau tidak boleh!? Tidaklah yang menghalangnya kecuali sifat bongkak!! Kemudian tidak dapat diangkat tangannya ke mulut.” (HR Muslim)

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Galakan Guna Tiga Jari.
Dari Ka’ab bin Malik r.a., “Aku melihat Rasulullah SAW makan menggunakan tiga jari..(ibu jari, jari telunjuk dan jari tengah)” (HR Muslim)
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Menjamah Secubit Garam

Nabi Muhammad SAW juga menyuruh menjamah secubit garam sebelum makan untuk menolak 70 macam penyakit dan ambil secolek lagi dengan jari manis tangan kanan setelah makan.
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Mula Makan Dari Tepi (Pinggir)
Dari Ibn Abbas r.a., Nabi SAW bersabda: “Keberkatan terdapat di tengah-tengah makanan, maka mulakan makan dari tepi dan jangan mulakan makan dari tengah” (HR Abu Dawud dan Tirmidzi)
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Makan Yang Berhampiran.
Makanlah makanan yang ada dihadapan anda dan jangan menjangkau makanan yang ada pada hidangan yang lain.
Dari Umar bin Abi Salamah r.a. berkata, aku merupakan hamba di rumah Rasulullah SAW, dan pernah tanganku menjalar-jalar ke serata hidangan (ketika hendak makan). Maka Rasulullah SAW berkata: “Wahai budak, ucapkan ‘Bismillah’, makanlah dengan tangan kananmu dan makanlah apa yang hampir denganmu.” (HR Bukhari dan Muslim)
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Makanlah Dengan Rendah Diri
Makanlah dengan penuh perasaan tawadduk dan jangan makan dengan gaya yang bangga, sombong dan angkuh.
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Makanlah Dengan Berpada-Pada
Jika makanan yanga ada itu sedikit sedang tetamunya terlalu ramai maka janganlah makan sampai terlalu kenyang. Nabi Muhamad SAW melarang makan dengan banyak dan melampau.
Diriwayatkan bahwa para sahabat berkata dari Rasulullah SAW:

نحن قوم لا نأكل حتى نجوع وإذا أكلنا لا نشبع

“Kita (kaum muslimin) adalah kaum yang hanya makan bila lapar dan berhenti makan sebelum kenyang.“

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Galakan Bercakap
Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali dalam kitab al-Ihya mengatakan bahawa termasuk etika makan ialah membicarakan hal-hal yang baik sambil makan, membicarakan kisah orang-orang yang shalih dalam makanan.
Menurut al-Hafidz dan Syaikhul Islam Ibn al-Qayyim rh, pendapat yang benar ialah Nabi SAW bercakap dan berbual semasa makan. Dalam kitabnya alZaad, “Ada kalanya Nabi SAW bertanya apakah menu pada hari ini dan memuji menu tersebut.” (HR Muslim). “Dan ada kala Nabi SAW mengajar adab dan susila makan kepada kaum keluarganya, ada ketika Nabi SAW sentiasa menggalakkan tetamu beliau supaya menambah laukpauk dan minuman.” (HR al-Bukhari).
Ketika makan janganlah terlalu banyak bercakap atau bercakap apabila makanan penuh di dalam mulut. Janganlah juga bercakap mengenai hal-hal yang boleh menimbulkan rasa jijik atau loya.
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Larangan Mencela Makanan
Dari Abu Hurairah r.a. berkata: “Tidak sekali-kali Rasulullah SAW mencela makanan. Jika Baginda menyukainya, maka Baginda makan. Jika Baginda tidak menggemarinya, maka Baginda tidak makan” (HR Bukhari dan Muslim)
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Tidak Bersandar Ketika Makan
Dari Abi Juhaifah Wahb bin Abdullah r.a. berkata: Rasullah SAW bersabda, “Aku tidak makan sambil bersandar” (HR Bukhari)
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Kutip Makanan Yang Terjatuh.
Jika ada butiran makanan yang terjatuh maka kutiplah ia semula. Jangan disisakan sebutir nasi / makanan pun yang masih elok, kerana makanan adalah nikmat Allah yang patut dimuliakan dan ia juga turut berzikir pada Allah SWT.
Dari Jabir r.a., Sabda Rasulullah SAW., “Apabila jatuh sebahagian (kecil) makanan seorang dari kamu, ambil dan buang bahagian yang terkena kotoran dan makanlah ia, dan jangan tinggalkan ia untuk syaitan, dan jangan dia menyapu tangannya dengan kain sehingga dia menjilat jarinya dahulu kerana dia tidak mengetahui pada makanannya, bahagian mana yang terdapat keberakartan” (HR Muslim)
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Jilat Jari Setelah Selesai

Setelah selesai makan maka licinkanlah pinggan anda dan jangan biarkannya dengan sisa-sisa makanan setelah itu jilatlah sisa makanan yang masih melekat pada jari-jari. Saintis menemui enzim (bahan percerna makanan yang menghadamkan makanan) banyak terkandung di celah jari-jari, iaitu 10 kali ganda terdapat dalam air liur.
Dari Ibn Abbas r.a. berkata, Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Apabila seorang daripada kamu telah selesai makan makanan, maka jangan disapu jari-jari sehingga dijilat (terlebih dahulu) atau dijilatkan (oleh orang lain)” (HR Bukhari dan Muslim)
“Dan janganlah ia mengelap tangannya dengan mindil/tuala hendaklah ia menjilati tangannya, kerana seseorang itu tidak mengetahui pada makanannya yang mana yang mengandungi berkat untuknya, sesungguhnya syaitan itu selalu mengintai untuk merampas harta manusia dari segala penjuru sehingga di tempat makannya. Dan janganlah ia mengangkat shahfahnya hingga menjilatinya dengan tangan, kerana sesungguhnya pada akhir makanan itu mengandung berkat.” (Kitab Silsilah hadits-hadits shahih).
Berkata Imam Nawawi, tentang makna kalimat “Pada makanannya yang mana yang diberkahi.” Ia berkata: Sesungguhnya makanan yang dihidangkan untuk manusia itu mengandung berkat, sedang dia tidak mengetahui apakah berkat itu pada makanan yang ia makan atau pada sisa makanan yang melekat di tangannya atau pada sisa makanan di dalam shahfah atau pada suapan yang jatuh. Demikian hendaklah ia menjaga semua itu agar selalu mendapat berkat.” (Fathul Bari 9/578).
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Doa Setelah Selesai Makan
Setelah majlis makan itu selesai maka ucapkanlah ‘alhamdulillah’ kepada tuhan yang telah memurahkan rezekinya kepada kita

Dari Abi Umamah r.a., “Adalah Rasulullah SAW. apabila selesai makan menyebut, ‘Alhamdulillahi katsiran toyyiban mubarakan fih, ghaira makfiyyin wa la muwaddi’in’. wa la mustaghnan ‘anhu rabbana’ ” (HR Bukhari)
Dari Muad bin Anas r.a. berkata: Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Sesiapa yang selesai makan, kemudian menyebut, ‘Alhamdulillah- illazi ath’amani haaza, wa razaqanihi min ghairi haulin minni wa la quwwatin’, akan diampunkan dosa-dosanya yang telah lalu.” (HR Tirmidzi)
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Menghormati Dan Bertolak-Ansur
Bercakap dengan berjamaah yang makan bersama dengan lemah lembut dan hormat. Jika terpaksa meninggalkan majlis makan terlebih awal maka segeralah minta keuzuran kerana hal tersebut. Memaafkan tetamu yang meminta kemaafan daripada tuan rumah.
Sesiapa yang beriman kepada Allah dan hari akhirat hendaklah ia menyambung ikatan silaturahim. Sabda Rasulullah SAW yang diriwayatkan oleh al-Bukhari dan Muslim: “Sesiapa yang beriman kepada Allah dan hari akhirat maka hendaklah ia memuliakan tetamunya. dan “Tidak sempurna iman seseorang di antara kalian hingga ia mencintai saudaranya sebagaimana mencintai dirinya sendiri.”
Silaturahim sebenarnya lahir daripada penghayatan umat Islam terhadap konsep hablum-minal Allah (hubungan manusia dengan Allah) dan hablum-minannas (hubungan sesama manusia), sebagaimana firman Allah: “Mereka diliputi kehinaan di mana sahaja mereka berada kecuali jika mereka berpegang kepada tali (agama) Allah dan tali (perjanjian) dengan manusia.” (Surah Ali Imraan, ayat 113).
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Membersih Mulut Dan Bersugi
Rasulullah SAW menyarankan supaya bersugi (memberus gigi) setiap kali selepas makan untuk menunaikan solat. Rasulullah SAW amat tidak menyukai kepada orang yang tidak bersugi setiap hari.
Membersihkan mulut, lidah dan gigi, sebaik-baiknya menggunakan siwak atau berus beserta ubat gigi yang diyakini halal. Amalan bersugi adalah sunat muakad, sebagaimana sabda Rasulullah SAW: “Andainya tidak menyusahkan atas umatku, nescaya aku menyuruh mereka bersugi setiap kali mendirikan solat.”
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Tidur Sebentar (Qailullah)
Rasulullah SAW akan tidur sebentar (Qailullah) dengan kadar masanya antara 10 hingga 30 minit selepas makan tengahari iaitu setelah berzikir beberapa ketika. Jangan terus tidur selepas makan, ia akan menyebabkan sembelit dan tidurlah sebelum masuknya waktu Asar.
Rasulullah SAW bersabda: “Memakan sahur itu boleh memberi kekuatan untuk berpuasa pada siang hari dan qailullah (tidur sekejap) pada siang hari (sebelum Zuhur) boleh memberi kekuatan untuk qiamullail.”    Hadis riwayat Ibnu Abbas.
Sekiranya  tidur tanpa berniat untuk bangun menunaikan solat sunat di tengah malam maka tidaklah mendapat sebarang pahala pada tidur tersebut.

Kesimpulannya adab makan yang dipamerkan oleh Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasalam seharusnya diikuti dan diteladani oleh semua masyarakat demi meraih keberkatan dan kesihatan yang mantap.
             

Pergaulan Bebas

Bahaya pergaulan bebas

FENOMENA pergaulan bebas pada masa kini sering kali menimbulkan kesan-kesan yang tidak baik dalam kalangan umat Islam. Pergaulan bebas adalah budaya hidup masyarakat Barat yang menyebarkan dan menyebabkan pelbagai gejala penyakit sosial.

Kesan-kesan budaya ini telah pun meresap dalam kalangan masyarakat di negara ini.

Paparan akhbar setiap hari membuktikannya, antaranya berlakunya pembuangan bayi, perzinaan dan juga hidup tanpa kawalan daripada ibu bapa.

Pergaulan bebas juga mengundang pelbagai penyakit sosial antaranya HIV dan Aids dan anak luar nikah dalam masyarakat. Tamadun dan kehidupan masyarakat akan runtuh, jika pergaulan bebas dibiarkan tanpa kawalan dan sekatan.

Menjaga batas-batas pergaulan sebagaimana yang disyariatkan dalam Islam merupakan tanggungjawab setiap individu Muslim.

Kewajipan memelihara maruah dan kehormatan diri seharusnya dilakukan oleh setiap Muslim. Dalam hal ini, setiap perlakuan dan perbuatan dijaga dalam batas-batas pergaulan.

Pergaulan bebas menimbulkan pelbagai masalah sosial dalam kalangan umat Islam di negara ini. Pelbagai masalah wujud antaranya remaja lari dari rumah, seks bebas, masalah pembuangan bayi, masalah penagihan dadah yang akhirnya mengakibatkan keruntuhan moral.
Kesannya, remaja tidak mempunyai masa depan yang terjamin apabila meninggalkan rumah dan keluarga.

Allah berfirman yang bermaksud: Katakanlah kepada laki-laki yang beriman, agar mereka menjaga pandangannya, dan memelihara kemaluannya; yang demikian itu lebih suci bagi mereka. Sungguh, Allah Maha Mengetahui apa yang mereka kerjakan. (an-Nur: 30).

Perintah Allah dalam ayat ini kepada lelaki beriman supaya tidak memandang perkara yang diharamkan. Selain itu, menjaga kemaluan bagi mengelakkan perbuatan zina.
Perbuatan tersebut adalah lebih baik dan setiap perbuatan tersebut sentiasa dalam pemerhatian Allah.
Sementara peringatan kepada kaum perempuan Allah berfirman yang bermaksud: Dan katakanlah kepada orang perempuan yang beriman supaya menyekat pandangan mereka (daripada memandang yang haram) dan memelihara kemaluan mereka.

Dan janganlah mereka memperlihatkan perhiasan tubuh mereka kecuali yang zahir daripadanya, dan hendaklah mereka menutup belahan leher bajunya dengan tudung kepala mereka.

Dan janganlah mereka memperlihatkan perhiasan tubuh mereka, melainkan kepada suami mereka atau bapa mereka atau bapa mertua mereka atau anak-anak mereka, atau anak-anak tiri mereka, atau saudara-saudara lelaki mereka, atau anak bagi saudara-saudara mereka yang lelaki, atau anak bagi saudara-saudara mereka yang perempuan, atau perempuan Islam, atau hamba-hamba mereka, atau orang gaji dari orang-orang lelaki yang telah tua dan tidak berkeinginan kepada perempuan, atau kanak-kanak yang belum mengerti tentang aurat perempuan.

Dan janganlah mereka menghentakkan kaki untuk diketahui orang akan apa yang tersembunyi daripada perhiasan mereka. Dan bertaubatlah kamu sekalian kepada Allah, wahai orang-orang yang beriman, supaya kamu berjaya. (an-Nur: 31).

Jelas, peringatan kepada perempuan beriman supaya tidak memandang perkara yang diharamkan. Menjaga kemaluan. Tidak menampakkan perhiasan diri kecuali yang zahir sahaja. Memakai tudung sehingga menutupi belahan baju di bahagian (dada).

Secara umumnya, dijelaskan supaya sentiasa menutup aurat, memelihara maruah dan menjaga kehormatan diri serta mengelakkan diri daripada melihat perkara-perkara yang haram.
Ini termasuk menyekat pandangan daripada memandang perkara yang haram dan menunduk pandangan daripada melihat perkara yang haram.
Umat Islam juga diingatkan menjaga mata, supaya tidak melihat perbuatan yang diharamkan seperti melihat orang berjudi dan minum arak.

Tidak melihat aurat orang lain walaupun sesama jantina kecuali yang dibenarkan oleh syarak.

Tidak melihat aurat bukan mahram tanpa sebab yang diharuskan. Tidak melihat perkara yang boleh menimbulkan keghairahan nafsu walaupun ia hanya barang perhiasan.

Justeru, umat Islam digalakkan menjaga maruah dan kehormatan diri dengan sentiasa patuh kepada perintah Allah dan menjauhi larangan-Nya.

Tidak mencari kepuasan naluri melalui seks haram. Sentiasa mengawasi pandangan mata daripada melihat perkara-perkara yang haram.

PUMAKKALE, TURKEY

TURKEY

The place that i wish to visit at Turkey is Pumakkale . I heard many activities can be done at there.

 What is Pamukkale?

The surreal, brilliant white travertine terraces and warm, limpid pools of Pamukkale hang, like the petrified cascade of a mighty waterfall, from the rim of a steep valley side in Turkey’s picturesque southwest. Truly spectacular in its own right, the geological phenomenon that is Pamukkale, literally "Cotton Castle" in Turkish, is also the site of the remarkably well-preserved ruins of the Greek-Roman city of Hierapolis. With such a unique combination of natural and man-made wonders it’s little wonder that Pamukkale-Hierapolis has been made a Unesco World Heritage site. With over two million visitors annually, it is also Turkey’s single most visited attraction.

 Why go?

There are dramatic travertine terraces dotted all around the globe, from China to Iran, the USA to Afghanistan. But nowhere else in the world can visitors enjoy exploring both picturesque travertine formations, built up over the millennia from limestone deposited by the abundant hot springs, and the colonnaded streets, temples, bath houses, necropolis and theatre of the remains of an idyllically located Greek-Roman spa city, Hierapolis. You can even bathe, as the Romans once did, in a picturesque pool filled with warm (around 36C), mineral rich waters and swim amongst submerged columns of great antiquity.

 How to get to Pamukkale

Pamukkale-Hierapolis is situated on the western rim of the vast Anatolian plateau, around 120 miles east of the popular Aegean resort cum cruise ship port of Kusadasi, near Ephesus. Most visitors come on gruelling day trips from Aegean or Mediterranean resorts. The easiest way to visit under your own steam is to hire a car - the drive takes around three hours from Kusadasi, four from Antalya and Marmaris, five from Bodrum. Alternatively comfortable inter-city coaches run to Denizli, the nearest city to Pamukkale, from all the aforementioned places and take around the same time as driving. Frequent buses and minibuses make the 40 minute run between Denizli’s bus station and Pamukkale. Turkish Airlines (turkishairlines.com) and Pegasus (flypgs.com) both fly to Denizli’s Cardak airport from Istanbul. Rail buffs might be interested in the four times daily service between Izmir and Denizli, via Selcuk.


• The best drives along the Turquoise coast

At Hierapolis you can bathe in hot mineral waters   Photo: Turkish tourist board 

 How to avoid the crowds

The best way to enjoy an uncrowded visit is to spend the night in Pamukkale village, which has plenty of accommodation (see below), then explore the formations and ancient site the following morning. The vast majority of day-trippers don’t arrive until the afternoon after the long drive-in from the coast. Late-afternoon/dusk are especially busy. Pamukkale is also relatively uncrowded in winter (November through to March), especially on weekdays. It can, though, be cold and even snowy.

The best way to enjoy an uncrowded visit is to spend the night in Pamukkale village, then explore the formations the following morning.   Photo: Turkish tourist board

Tips for visiting Pamukkale

The best way to approach the ancient site is to walk up through the formations on the travertine path, starting at the south gate to the site. You are not permitted to wear shoes or even sandals to do this (to prevent eroding or staining the delicate calcite deposits) so bring your footwear (and everything else you’ll need for exploring the ancient ruins) along in a bag. Wearing swimwear allows you to splash in the warm, aquamarine pools en-route, and later swim in the antique pool at the top of the terracing. Allow the whole day to make the most of the travertines, pools and remains - bring a picnic lunch (and plenty of water/suncream etc in mid-summer).

 Opening times and admission fees

Hierapolis/Pamukkale travertines joint site entry: 25TL (£6/RM32.56). Open Nov-March 6am-6.30pm, April-Oct 6am-midnight.
Antique pool entry: 32TL (£7.50/RM40.70). Open Nov-March 8am-5.30pm, April-Oct 8am-7.30pm.

Bring swimming gear to dip in the turquoise pools  Photo: Alamy

Where to stay nearby

Recommended accommodation in pleasant Pamukkale village includes Melrose Hotel (melrosehousehotel.com) and the dearer Hotel Hal-Tur (haltur.net).

• The best hotels on the Turquoise Coast

I REALLY HOPE ONE DAY I WILL BE AT THERE

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COVER BOOK PDT SEM 3( DCO35 ) 2018/2019

HEADPHONES WIRELESS

4 Best Wireless Headphones to Buy in 2018

Wireless Bluetooth headphones have changed the way we listen to music, but it's difficult to know which ones to buy. But you're in luck: We've done the homework for you, so read on for our top picks, which include the best wireless headphones overall, the best for exercise, the best for sound quality, best for travel and more.

Best Overall: Jabra MOVE Wireless (RM275.12)

Jabra MOVE Wireless on-ear headphones are the best all-round option on the wireless headphone market. They only weigh about a pound and are a relatively low cost option yet deliver excellent sound in a thoughtful, energetic design. The headphones (particularly the red and cobalt designs) stand out from the crowd and the look is both bold and minimalist.

The lightweight stainless steel headband is adjustable for comfort and is covered in a dirt-resistant fabric for durability. Earcups are matt-textured plastic and you’ll find a power switch that doubles as the Bluetooth discovery switch on the right earcup. On the left earcup, there is a 3.5” input, so should your battery run dry you can plug in to your device with a standard connector. You’ll also find a multifunction button that allows you to play and pause your audio from the headset. You can expect up to eight hours of constant usage and 12 days of standby time.

Another reason we choose the Jabra MOVE Wireless as our top pick is the sound performance – it’s crisp and balanced. Across bass, mids and highs, the earcup speakers perform their job admirably, and the MOVE headphones’ sound is right up there with the best wireless ones despite their relatively low price. It has a 29 Ohm speaker impedance and a speaker max input power of 80mW. Depending on your use case, you might find their lack of noise insulation annoying, and constant use can tend to wear down the leather earpads, but at this price point Jabra MOVE Wireless headphones are hard to beat.

Best for Comfort: Bose QuietComfort 35 (Series II) Wireless Headphones (RM1371.67)

While the QC35 headphones were a top contender for our favorite noise-canceling headphones, they ultimately won us over for their extreme comfort. Starring large, oval ear cups and a headband that are both plumped with padding, even extended listening sessions feel comfortable. As far as noise-canceling goes, Bose is the gold standard. The QC35 has built microphones inside and outside the ear cups to sense unwanted noise and, using its new digital equalizing system, will balance sound accordingly.

This wireless pair has a battery life rated at an impressive 20 hours, but Bose has moved away from AAAs to a rechargeable battery mechanism, which makes it impossible to swap in new, standard batteries should yours die in the middle of your listening session. Thankfully, the QC35 can be used with a wire, so it’s easy to just plug in and continue listening. It’s worth noting that the sound quality is also slightly better when using it as a wired headphone, but it’s still top of its class when it comes to wireless Bluetooth sound.

Best Budget: Creative Sound Blaster Jam (RM149.35)

A pair of Bluetooth headphones under $50 that actually sound good? Yes, it's possible. The Creative Sound Blaster Jam headphones come from the company better known for making computer sound cards, but they’re punching way above their weight here.

Considering the price, there are some concessions here (the build quality is noticeably cheaper and the headphones don’t fold for travel). Earcup padding is minimal, but does the job – if you’re used to thick pads then you’ll need to look elsewhere, and the look is a little '90s (but don't trends come back every 20 years?). However, Creative Sound Blaster Jam headphones are nice and light – just 8.8 oz.

Both Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC are supported, and you’ll get a range of around 30 feet, which is pretty standard for wireless Bluetooth headphones. You’ll get up to 12 hours of use between charges, thanks to the 3.7 V 200mAh lithium ion battery inside, and it can be charged through a USB cable (a one-meter cable is provided). There’s no 3.5” input at all, so you’ll need to ensure to keep your battery charged.

Sound quality is pretty good, and is powered by 32 mm NeoDymium drivers. The bass is helped immensely when you engage the bass boost switch and mids are nice, although there will be some muddying if you push the volume up. At the high-end, the treble is crisp.

Although these headphones don’t excel in any one area, they get a passing grade for everything, and at such a low price for wireless Bluetooth headphones, they’re an extremely good value.

Best Sound Quality: B&O PLAY by Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H4 Wireless Headphones (RM1017.95)

Perhaps the most important feature for any audiophile on the market for wireless headphones is sound quality and these Bang & Olufsen headphones don’t disappoint. They house 40mm electro-dynamic drivers that produce a deeply rich and balanced sound with high clarity and crisp mids. They have an option to be used as wired headphones, but when used over Bluetooth, we’re pleased to say the sound quality holds up. The battery life impresses, too, promising a respectable 19 hours of playtime per charge.

Bang & Olufsen is renowned for its design details and the H4 certainly upholds the reputation. Sleek yet sturdy, they are made of metal with lambskin leather on the headband and feature memory foam earpads that one Amazon reviewers says “feel like clouds.” While they don’t have active noise cancelation, you’ll find they block out sound very effectively anyway.

MacBook

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Despite having shrunken in mindshare, the MacBook Pro is continuously growing in market share. Additionally, laptops as a whole are on the rise, perhaps due to dwindling interest in tablet computers. The MacBook Pro in particular is an example of a laptop that has made great strides to bring the appeal of a touchscreen device to a machine that still wields the physical keyboards and trackpads of yesteryear.

 

From the outside looking in, it’s the same MacBook Pro we saw stirring up controversy in 2016. If you weren’t happy with the Touch Bar that served in lieu of the function keys before, you won’t be a fan of this one either. Windows users will, of course, be upset about the lack of conventional touch panel functionality as well as the absence of a convertible or detachable hinge that would otherwise put it in line with our favorite 2-in-1 laptops. 

Contrary to popular belief, though, MacBook Pro isn’t trying to be a tablet and a laptop. It aims to be the best possible laptop that it can and, to an extent, it succeeds. The MacBook Pro packs your choice between a 7th-gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, along with faster 2,133MHz RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. Better yet, it uses all of these hardware features together in order to deliver the ideal macOS 10.13 High Sierra  in a neatly wrapped and compact computing package.

As it stands today, the MacBook Pro reviewed below is the best and even one of the least expensive ways to use and access the software Apple is lauded for. That may change in 2018, as the rumor mill suggests we’ll be seeing a cheaper 13-inch MacBook to replace the entry-level MacBook Air of the past. But for now, the value of the MacBook Pro is unparalleled in both performance and price by virtually everything else in Apple’s MacBook catalog.

 

Price and availability

For a modest sum of $1,299 (£1,249, AU$1,899), you can fetch yourself a MacBook Pro minus the Touch Bar you would otherwise find in the configuration we were sent for review. Bear in mind that, as enticing as the cheapest MacBook Pro might seem, it has only 128GB of solid-state storage inside, making it tough to recommend for users who plan on using it as their main computer.

Of course, that MacBook Pro configuration lacks another key element: the OLED Touch Bar that replaces the function keys on the low-end models. If the Touch Bar, along with Touch ID verification, is on your must-have features list, you can expect to shell out no less than $1,799 (£1,749, AU$2,699). That’s the same price that you could currently buy a late 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro for from B&H Photo right now in the US. 

Now, while you could simply fetch more storage than the base configuration for another couple hundred bills, the unit we reviewed is a supercharged beast. That’s due in part to the fact that it sports four Thunderbolt 3 ports, double that of the non-Touch Bar models, all of which can be used to charge the device. Moreover, the processor speed has been bumped from 2.3GHz to 3.1Ghz as well. 

For $100 less in the US, however, you can get a Dell XPS 13 with double the RAM and storage of the $1,799 MacBook Pro we’ve reviewed here and with a more capable Intel Core i7 CPU at that – not to mention a sharper 3,100 x 1,800 touchscreen as well as both Thunderbolt 3 and an SD card reader.

Similarly, the Surface Laptop, which can be configured with a stronger Core i7 CPU and equally capacious storage and RAM for a full 200 clams less, albeit with a slightly lower-resolution 2,256 x 1,504 touchscreen and only two legacy ports.

Bearing all this in mind, it doesn’t take a genius to see that you’re paying for the logo etched opposite your display, paired with a fantastic trackpad and a familiar operating system to boot. Nevertheless, you can save a wad of cash by trading in your old MacBook Pro to Apple itself for up to $2,500, if you’re residing in the states.

Design

 

Luckily, Apple’s pedigree does wonders for maintaining the MacBook Pro’s shining reputation as an absolutely beautiful and sensible computing device. That said, not much – if anything – has changed about the MacBook Pro design year over year, and that’s A-OK.

Still available in Apple’s standard space gray or silver colors (no rose gold yet), the MacBook Pro’s unibody aluminum shell is as gorgeous as ever, giving off a subdued shine through the anodization.

In terms of form factor, Apple maintains its achievement of cramming a 13-inch screen into an 11-inch frame a la the Dell XPS 13, but this laptop’s bezels are still a bit larger. Speaking of screens, Apple’s Retina display is as sharp and color-rich as ever, even more so with its new, professional-grade P3 color gamut.

However, it’s far from the sharpest out there, even among its strongest rivals, making its “Retina” claims tougher than ever to swallow. For instance, the XPS 13 can be configured with a 3,200 x 1,800 QHD touchscreen, easily outclassing the MacBook Pro in terms of pure sharpness.

This is a hugely important point for creative professionals working with media files that are high-resolution or require such a resolution to resolve minute details upon zooming in on a media file.

At any rate, the MacBook Pro is uniformly thinner than the XPS 13 by a hair, which starts from 0.6 inches and tapers off at 0.33 inches. The Surface Laptop, meanwhile, is marginally thinner than both at just 0.57 inches.

This is the thinnest and lightest MacBook Pro yet, and for that it feels right at home in our backpack – that is, assuming we don’t forget it’s even there. (Trust us, it has happened during this review, and it was horrifying.)

That Apple managed to craft a laptop this thin and still maintain top-firing stereo speakers, with deep and rich sound no less, should be commended when most other laptop makers just go for down-firing speakers. Instead, where speakers would normally go on an Ultrabook, Apple has placed intake fans that draw cool air in and spit it out the back just beneath the hinge.

Sure, the laptop heats up still right around that area, but said heat is far away from the more sensitive parts of your lap and far less dramatic than with previous models.

As for how Apple managed to make the MacBook Pro this thin, a key culprit is the laptop’s new keyboard with Apple’s 2nd generation butterfly mechanism, introduced in last year’s model. The improved actuation device doesn’t make the keys sit any more flush with the keyboard deck than they already were last year, but rather vastly improves the tactile feel of typing.

Feedback is much more forceful this time around, though the key travel doesn’t feel as if it’s changed much, which is the point ultimately. The keys are large enough so as not to miss given the lack of travel, though we’re not fans of the Escape key being relegated to the Touch Bar – something we’ve accidentally pressed more than once – and the tight positioning of the up and down arrow keys.

Also, we find typing on this keyboard to be louder than on Apple’s older MacBook keyboards, but perhaps that’s due to adjusting to the learning curve.

A mixed takeaway from the keyboard aside, the new-and-enlarged Force Touch trackpad was a welcome improvement last year and we’re just as happy to have it this time around. Its large size and strong palm rejection help immensely with multi-touch gestures and, more importantly, navigating the operating system the easier way, i.e. with your index finger moving the cursor and your thumb clicking the buttons.

Speaking of which, Force Touch returns to the trackpad, naturally, and it’s frankly remarkable. The vibration motors beneath the glass tracking surface vibrate so as to recreate the feeling of a mouse click, and, if Apple didn’t make such a stink about, it we’d be none the wiser. This is Apple’s “it just works” philosophy realized once again.

Touch Bar and Touch ID

While many have been quick to dismiss the Touch Bar since its introduction in last year’s MacBook Pro model, we’ve come down on it with a bit more understanding. You see, while we admittedly didn’t naturally come to use the Touch Bar much at all during the course of this review, its presence and potential are nevertheless noted.

 While still relegated to supporting core macOS functions and a few, major third party apps (like Adobe Suite), the Touch Bar is incredibly fast at adapting to the task at hand. The strongest example of this is simply the Touch Bar’s built-in spell checker, which is constantly suggesting words no matter how fast of a typist you are. 

It’s almost like having the iPhone’s autocorrect function on your MacBook.

We’ve seen tech like this attempted before, but in no way this robust and quick. The OLED touch display is incredibly responsive, and its matte coating does well to shrug off glare from strong light sources – just don’t expect much in direct sunlight. All said, we’re impressed by the technological achievement that the Touch Bar is, but still believe it requires wider third party support to become a must-have feature.

Though, having Siri as a button for easy, constant access is a major plus, given the wide control it has over macOS in comparison to other digital assistants.

The second piece of the Touch Bar offering is, of course, Touch ID. While this is the second go around for the technology, we’re nevertheless happy that biometric login is finally available on an Apple laptop. The tool works just like it does on iPhone, and it’s just as quick.

That said, we’ve found Windows 10’s iris-scanning Windows Hello tech to be faster and require nearly zero effort. (To achieve this level of immediacy with a Mac, you’d need an Apple Watch with the Auto Unlock feature activated.) Regardless, being able to securely log into the laptop, and pay for things through Safari via Apple Pay, are both features we’d be clamoring for if they weren’t there.