Santa Claus originated from Turkey
People, Saturday, May 05, 2012 22:32:45Southwestern Turkey is the birthplace of St. Nicholas - the archetype of today's Santa Claus. The legend of the saint, which is believed to originated the myth of Santa Claus indicates that St. Nicholas lived in 4th century ancient city of Myra, where he was a priest. Visitors from the nearby town of Demre can still find ample evidence of the ancient past of the region, said Monday.
The ruins of the basilica in today's Demre is the first place was buried the priest Nicholas. His relics are long and moved sarcophagus is empty. His body was taken to the Basilica "St. Nicholas" in the Italian city of Bari. Reason is the advance of the Seljuks in this part of Asia, which ravaged the Christian cities and shrines. In 1087 a group of Italian sailors and traders conducted an expedition on the shores of Peace. That they take the relics of St. Nicholas in Bari. Demre Today there are many Christians, foreign tourists who come to see the place where St. Nicholas was buried. There are very many Russian tourists, says businessman Hassan Ocala said Thursday. St. Nicholas is the patron of the Russian Orthodox Church. For Turks, on the other hand, it has no religious value, although they paid for the restoration of the basilica in Myra.
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