“Valentine’s Day 2008” at the Armada Hotel

“Valentine’s Day, 2008” will be celebrated at the Armada Hotel on February 14, Thursday. The program includes “Welcome Cocktail” with the live music by Group “Trio” at the Lobby, Romantic Dinner with the live music by “Dance Orchestra”. There is a rich breakfast with champagne next morning for the couples those wish to stay at the hotel on the 14th night. All the couples will also be given an artistic gift as a souvenir of "Valentine's Day 2008" by the Armada Hotel.

Program:
19:45-20:30 – “Welcome Coctail” and Group “Trio”, Lobby
20:30-24:00 – “Romantic Dinner” and “Dance Orchestra” - Ahırkapı Restaurant

Menu:

• Starters:
  Cold “Meze”s at the Traditional “Armada Çilingir Tray”:Grape leaves stuffed with Rice, Chicken with Walnut, Obergine Salad, Salmon Tartare, then; Pastry filled with Spinach, Fried Liver with Dill, Casseroled Shrimp
• Main Dish:
  Grilled Lamb Loin, marinated with Rosemary and Smoked Aubergine Puree Salad with Fresh Greenery
• Desert:
  “Love Parfait” with Icecream
• Finale:
  Coffeee and special Armada liqueurs
• Unlimited domestic drinks

Price:
Valentine’s Day (Cocktail & Dinner): 150 YTL for 2 person
Valentine’s Day (Cocktail & Dinner + Bed & Brakfast): 275 YTL for 2 person
Including VAT

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For detailed information and reservation please call:
Armada Sales Team
E-mail: infosatis@armadahotel.com.tr
Irmak ÖZYURT (0 212 455 44 71 )

2008 Frankfurt Book Fair Guest of Honour: TURKEY

Frankfurt Book Fair has been held since 1949. Between 1974-1988 special events were held as “Focal Theme“. Guest Country organizations started in 1988 with Italy and the "Guest of Honor" in 2008 will be Turkey!

The National Executive Committee which is responsible for conducting the "Frankfurt Book Fair 2008 Guest of Honour Turkey Project" and Mr. Ertugrul Günay, The Minister of Culture and Tourism organized a press meeting and presented the project to press representatives at the Armada Hotel today.
They also presented the project logo that was designed by Bülent Erkmen, within the concept of "Turkey: With All Colours".

Why We Will Be The Guest?

* to advertise the cultural heritage of Turkey universally,
* to establish a cultural integration with Europe,
* to universalize the TEDA Project,
* to universalize Turkish publishing sector,
* to establish strong international relationships for Turkish Translators,
* to support the ‘2010 Istanbul Cultural Capital of Europe’ Project...
With the Project of Turkey as Guest of Honour, it is focused to get in contact with European Citizens, German Citizens and Turkish people in Germany and Europe.

For the details please click here...

Tango Pasion By Omar and Monica on November 18th, Sunday evening!

Omar Ocampo and his partner Monica Romero, the top dancers of the worldly renowned tango group; “Tango Pasion” of Argentine, will be performing at Armada on November 18th, 2007. The breath-taking couple that come every year to Armada for the last couple of years, will take the floor accompanied by the live music of Ozdener Koyuturk Tango Orchestra.
Reservation is required! (*)

For more about Los Ocampo: http://www.losocampo.com.ar/

Program:
Venue: Armada Hotel, Ahırkapı Restaurant,
21.00 - Opening
21.00 - 22.00 - Özdener Koyutürk Tango Orchestra – Opening Dance by Ümit İRİS and Seval UĞUR MUTLU – Tango dances…
22.00 - 23.00- “Tango Pasion”- Ocampo and Romero – Special Show
23.00 - 24.00- Özdener Koyutürk Tango Orchestra and final…
Note: There will be no dinner during this program but 2 domestic drinks and fresh fruits will be served. Price: 45 YTL /pp Including VAT

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(*) For detailed information and reservation please call:
Armada Sales Team
E-posta: infosatis@armadahotel.com.tr
Irmak ÖZYURT (0 212 455 44 71 )
Arzu ÖZDEMİR (0 212 455 44 72 )
Ertan ALTUNDAL ( 0 212 455 44 73)

The Vehicles of the Silk Road 2007 Rally at the Armada Garage

The Silk Road 2007 Rally will cover over 16 countries and is being realised with a significant number of participants who will stop over in Istanbul between July 27th and July 29th, 2007. The team of the Rally consists of 130 competing persons through the 2 horsepower Citroen cars. These vehicles of the Rally will be hosted by the "Armada Garage" when they arrived at Istanbul!

Below are the first cars and the members of the team those already arrived at the Garage:

Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and the USA will be represented and supported by the world meida in this biggest rally of the world particularly with its route that covering over 30.000 kilometers started in Noyal-sur-Vilaine (France) in July 21st will end in Paris by October 3, 2007.

The Route:

For the visuals of the vehicles please see:
http://www.raiddesbaroudeurs.com/photo.php?img=3

A “Second Lease of Life” to the “0321-H” Mercedes Benz Vintage Bus of Armada

Armada first restored "one of the oldest Mercedes Benz buses of Istanbul" in 1997 and it was used as its own vehicle for the past ten years. Now, it is back in the city traffic again but this time with its sugary pink and blue new look!

The Armada Hotel has adopted preserving the Istanbul lifestyle and culture as a corporate philosophy since 1994 and in line with this principle; found one of the oldest Mercedes buses of Istanbul to put it back into service by restoring the vehicle in 1997. The distinguishing features of the "Mercedes Benz" buses of 1950's tourism world were their relocated motor from the front to the back, thus providing a better voice isolation and the additional comfort that was provided by enhanced heat-insulation. Therefore, these buses took the priority over trains, which were then the traditional means of transportation for touristic purposes but could only move between fixed points!

The same Mercedes Benz bus that Armada had found was also hired in Istanbul for the inner city transportation and the tourist tours from the 1950s to the 1970s.
When Armada put the "0321-H" into service, all Istanbul lovers and particularly the 50's generation were very happy while members of the younger generation were also amused by this chance to see an icon from the past in action (One can find the discussions on the Armada's bus by some bus-enthusiasts here within the links of the "Wow-Turkey" Forum: http://wowturkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22859&start=0).

With its original steering wheel that was made out of horn, the netting shelves for the luggage of the passengers, its rounded lines and dimensions convenient for strolling around every corner of the historical peninsula, the vintage 0321-H, has gained great coverage in the Turkish press. When the Mercedes Benz headquarters heard the news, they decided to send a team to Istanbul and check if the old bus was really performing. Armada organized a trip for the Mercedes team and they witnessed that the old bus was really able to travel comfortably, even able to pass under the old city arches. Upon their return to Germany, the team turned the subject into a news story and published it in the internationally circulated Mercedes Magazine, announcing that the bus was "the single sample in its own category that is able to professionally sustain its life within the city traffic in Europe".

Since then, the faithful and long serving bus of Armada has witnessed a heap of events. If only it could tell all about them! All this time, it carried the corteges of wedding ceremonies, groups of tourists and Istanbul enthusiasts… It became a film set, it was used in the advertisements but it never complained or attempted to go out of order…

In any case, after this busy period between 1997 and 2007, it was time for it to take a well-deserved break and to freshen up and become beautiful again.

Having lived long enough to reach the "information age", the veteran "0321-H" was able to utilize the Internet in order to access the resources needed for a "second aesthetic operation". For this reason, the Armada team contacted collectors from almost all around the world and searched for the most original and attractive visuals. Firstly the colors and the original patterns were found. Then it was restored again by correcting the errors from the previous restoration and by remaining true to the originals 80-90%. The new pink and blue colors were preferred as these were the most popular ones in the tourism public transport in the 1950's.

So, here is the second lease of life story for "one of the oldest Mercedes buses of Istanbul" that is under the protection of the Armada Hotel… We hope that it will stay around many more years to bring happy memories into the lives of many more people…

"The Re-discovered Istanbul Through its Terraces" and News From the Istanbul's "Primary one”: “Armada Terrace”!

Istanbul has been re-discovering by the Americans particularly through its "terraces" according to Peter Frank, the editor in chief of the well-known travel site "Concierge.Com" [1], who explained this fact in an interview published in “Chicago Tribune” in April 2007. The world tourism media as well as Turkish press widely reflected the said interview [2]. Frank said “Istanbul is becoming Europe's nightlife capital, with amazing clubs overlooking the Bosporus and all these great little restaurants on rooftops."

The Armada Terrace, one of the primary terraces of Istanbul and an indispensable place to view the whole Istanbul silhouette within a same angle not only for the American guests but also for Istanbul lovers, has just re-arranged itself for the 2007 summer...

One of the novelties of the Armada Terrace is the re-arranged and enlarged "Bar" section. Towards the bower in the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque direction, some wicker armchairs with white pillows and white tables were added. Together with the renewed voice system, the Armada Terrace aimed to present its guests a pleasant environment during they enjoy their sundowner. A "Cilingir Tray" (cold starters) might accompany if they wish...















On the other hand the "Istanbul Cuisine Sampling Menu" that was added into the amusing dinners at the Terrace offers a "bunch of taste" to the guests. This menu consists of 8 sorts of "meze" that is served in traditional Armada "Chef's Traditional Cold Starters Tray" and the various warm dishes those are served in "Sultan's Taste" including Lamb Loin, Lamp Chops, Lamb Shish, Kebab, “Filibe” meatballs, Veal with Aubergine Puree, Mixed Salad, Mixed Turkish Desserts, Coffee with Turkish Delight and home made Liqueur...


For Reservation:
ARMADA OTEL Sales Team
Tel: 0212 - 455 44 55
E-mail: infosatis@armadahotel.com.tr
Irmak Özyurt ((0 212 455 44 71)
Zerrin Kelebek (0 212 455 44 70)

[1] http://www.concierge.com/services/presscenter/peter_frank
[2]http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=71492

The Traditional Spring Festival

The traditional spring festival "Hıdrellez" was held on May 5th, Saturday evening at Ahırkapı Street...
For the details please click on either the picture or the title, enjoy viewing the shots from this extraordinary local festival!

2007 International Dance Day Message

by Sasha Waltz

One dances on birthdays, at weddings, on the streets, in living rooms, on the stage, behind the scenes. To communicate joy, sorrow, as ritual and borderline experience.

Dance is a universal language: emissary for a peaceful world, for equality, tolerance and compassion. Dance teaches us sensibility, consciousness and to pay attention to the moment.

Dance is the manifestation of our being alive. Dance is transformation. Dance locates the soul, dance affords the body a spiritual dimension. Dance enables us to feel our body, to rise above, to go beyond, to be another body.

To dance is to participate actively in the vibration of the universe.

Source: http://iti.unesco.org

Book Your Seats: 3 Gala Concerts by Bouzouki ORHAN OSMAN

Orhan Osman, a master of "bouzouki" and commentator of the world musics will perform at the Armada on coming weeks. There will be three Gala concerts. If one of them overlaps with your stay at the Armada, we highly recommend you to join his enthusiastic audiences! Buzuki ORHAN OSMAN 's repertory will introduce a rich spectrum; from Rembet to Balkanian, from fusion to Turkish musics...

Dates: 18 April 2007, 25 April 2007 and 2 May 2007, Wednesday nights.
Venue: Armada Hotel, Ahırkapı Restaurant

Program:
20:00 Opening - Dinner
20:30-21:30 Overture by Orhan Osman band
21:30-23:30 Buzuki ORHAN OSMAN

For Reservation:
ARMADA OTEL Sales Team
Tel: 0212 - 455 44 55
E-mail: infosatis@armadahotel.com.tr
Bülent Tağcı (0 212 455 44 72)
Irmak Özyurt ((0 212 455 44 71)
Zerrin Kelebek (0 212 455 44 70)

The Second "Small Hotels Festival" at Armada

Event: “Small Hotels Festival” and introduction of
“The Book of Small Hotels, 2007”
Date: April 15, 2007, Sunday
Time: Between 11:00 and 16:00 hours
Venue: Armada Terrace
Program: Introduction of the small hotels by themselves as well as the above book and catering:
"Sunday Joy": Tea, coffee, "Ahırkapı Drink", pastry, "simit" with cheese.
Participants: Approximately 30 small hotels (*) those were mentioned in the famous "The Book of Small Hotels" by Nişanyan couple . The loyal guests of these hotels. The people who would like to be informed about them. The Press.

If you would like to extend your trip to Anatolia and like to stay at "small and beautiful" please don't hesitate to call the Terrace!

A March Ritual From Armada: “Tango Pasion”

Omer Ocampo - Monica Romero couple will again be dancing this March...
Tango-lovers, keep Sunday night on the 25th free!

Tango has been a tradition at Armada for many years now, but recently, it has reached its peak with "Tango Passion" in March. On our dance piste will be Omer Ocampo – Monika Romero couple, the lead dancers of “Tango Pasion”, an Argentinian group which has reached worldwide fame since 1994.

Sunday, March 25th, will also coincide with our traditional “Tango Night on Last Sunday of the Month”. The couple lives in Buenos Aires. Together, they have founded the dance company “Los Ocampo” which in its own right is an “ecole” in the world of tango. For more about Los Ocampo, check out their website: http://www.losocampo.com.ar/

Omer Ocampo – Monica Romero
(Photo: Alain Boccard)

Program:

21.00 Opening
21.00-22.00 Özdener Koyutürk Tango Orchestra- Tango masters: Ümit İris and Seval Uğur Mutlu
22.00-23.00 “Tango Pasion”- Special Show by Ocampo - Romero couple
23.00-24.00 Özdener Koyutürk Tango Orchestra

Menu: During this breathtaking show there will be no dishes but drinks and fresh fruits will be served.
Price: 35 YTL pp/ including VAT and 2 glasses of domestic drinks & fruit.


For Reservation:
ARMADA OTEL Sales Team
Tel: 0212 - 455 44 55
E-mail: infosatis@armadahotel.com.tr
Bülent Tağcı (0 212 455 44 72)
Zerrin Kelebek (0 212 455 44 70)

“St. Valentine’s Day 2007” at the Armada Hotel

The Armada celebrations for February 14, Wednesday: Dance & Salsa Workshop, “Welcome Coctail”, Dinner with the live music by “Group Melody Dance Orchestra”, Viva Latin Dance Group “Special Salsa Show”, a gift of free dance lessons to a lucky couple and a rich breakfast with champagne who wishes to stay at the hotel…

The lovers who will celebrate the February 14th, Wednesday evening at the Armada Hotel will be met by a Welcome Party in the Lobby. One hour prior to the cocktail party there will be a short dance workshop, which will be given by the masters of the Viva Latin Dance Group for the couples that would like to dance salsa more competently later on. The “Welcome Coctail” will be followed by a dinner at the Ahirkapı Restaurant. During the dinner the Group Melody Dance Orchestra will perform with its romantic dance music. Lastly “Viva Latin Dance Group” will take the floor for its Salsa Show Special to St. Valentine's Day.

The couples who will spend the night at the hotel will be served a complimentary rich breakfast with champagne in the February 15th morning.

Program
19.00 – 20.00 Salsa Workshop
20.00 – 21.00 St. Valentine’s Day Welcome Coctail – Lobby, Marble Pool
21.00 – 22.00 Dinner at the Ahırkapı Restaurant – Group Melody Dance Orchestra
22.00 – 23.00 “Viva Latin Dance Group “Special Salsa Show”
23.00 – 24.00 “Group Melody Dance Orchestra” and finale

Prizes
“St. Valentine'd Day at The Armada Hotel 2007" Program: 2 persons: 150 YTL
“Program + Accomodation + Breakfast”: 2 persons 275 YTL

For reservation: ARMADA Sales Team
Phone: 0212 - 455 44 55
E-mail: infosatis@armadahotel.com.tr
Bülent Tağcı (0 212 455 44 72)
Sultan Sebilcioğlu (0 212 455 44 71)
Zerrin Kelebek (0 212 455 44 70)

Painting Exhibition of Türkan Elçi in Armada

As 2006’s final and 2007’s first exhibition, ARMADA will be hosting Mrs. Türkan Elçi, whose painting “Saint Sophia” has won the third prize in “2006 International Fine Arts Contest” in Spain. The paintings displayed at this exhibition are mainly sceneries of the “historical peninsula” of Istanbul.

Award-Winning “Saint Sophia”

The contest that Türkan Elçi has participated is the sole example in the world in its category and has been organized by the cultural association “Valentin Ruiz Aznar” in Granada, Spain, which takes place annually since 1981. There were participants from more than 40 countries from 5 continents . The contest of 2006 has been dedicated to “Antonio Gualda” who is a painter, writer and composer from Granada.

Türkan Elçi who was graduated from Aegean University Agriculture Faculty, worked at Ünal Cimit’s ceramic studio between the years of 1994-1999 and has been working since 2001 at the painting studio of the Assistant Professor Sedat Balkır in the Association of Painting and Sculpture Museums in Istanbul .

In this exhibition in Armada, the artist shares with us her 22 paintings of Istanbul, which are abstract works of interior and exterior spaces mainly on Chora Museum and Saint Sophia Museum.

We would like to invite all art-lovers to this wonderful exhibition at the Armada Lobby!

Eleni Karaindrou, the Guest of Honour of the Armada Hotel

The Greek composer Eleni Karaindrou who gave a fabulous concert together with the Hacettepe University Symphony Orchestra (Ankara, Turkey) and 5 soloists from Greece the previous night at the Lutfu Kırdar Congress Hall, was the guest of honour of the Armada Hotel during her stay in Istanbul. The renowned musician who made the most important films of the world unforgettable through her compositions, came to Turkey upon the invitation of 5th Pera Fest “Encounter of North-South Musicians for Peace". Here is the news story on her magnificent Istanbul and Ankara concerts by Beril Aktaş from Turkish Daily News...

Here is what she wrote in the Honour Book of Armada:


Dear Mr. Kasım,

In the name of my musicians and myself, I thank you very much to you and your gentle crew for the excellent hospitality that was shown to us in such a beautiful hotel like this...

It is not so easy to forget this magnificent stay!
We will come back soon!
With love,
Eleni Karaindrou,
4 December 2006

2007 New Year's Party at the Armada Hotel

The Armada Hotel is preparing to celebrate 2007 New Year's Party with a rich program. Among the features that differs Armada's party from the similar ones are the Roman groups from Ahırkapı and Trace, oriental belly dancers from all over the world and the celebration the 2007 with fireworks and champagne at the Terrace towards the historical peninsula at just 24:00 hrs...


Program:
20:00- 21:00 - New Year’s Cocktail at the Lobby
21:00 – 23:50 - New Year’s Gala Dinner at the Ahirkapi Restaurant
Menü: Cold and hot Armada Mezes. Main Course: Stuffed Turkey with orange Sauce served with rice and Ahirkapi Salad. Unlimited Local Alcoholic Beverages
24:00 - Welcoming the New Year at the Armada Terrace; with fireworks and champagne…
After the midnight: At the Lobby "Dessert & Fruit Buffet"; “Supper”: Delicious night soups from Armada “Pottage Carriage”, Coffee and Tea.
A rich breakfast will also be served to the guests who will prefer to stay at the hotel same night. The breakfast service will go on from morning until noon of the first day of 2007!

Istanbul Tango Ritual- 8th-12th November

Tango lovers from all over the world are meeting in "Istanbul Tango Ritual" between 8th-12th of November 2006.
Being one of the essential Tango supporters in Istanbul, Armada is the venue of most of the activities of this event...
The Maestros:
Fabian Salas and Carolina del Rivero
Esteban Moreno and Claudia Codega
Ezequiel Paludi and Geraldine Paludi
Pablo Tegli and Victoria Vieyra
Christian Marquez and Virginia Gomez
and the orchestra: Otros Aires

For the details: Click on the picture

The 83rd Republic Day will be celebrated with a traditional Ball at the Armada on October 29th, 2006.

The Ball will begin with a coctail party at the Lobby which will start at 20:00 and finish at 20:30. Then the guests will have Gala Dinner at the Ahirkapi Restaurant . Live music by the Ozdener Koyuturk Orchestra and Tango will be the main features of the night. Join us and share our joy...



PROGRAM

• 20:00-21:00 Welcome Coctail (at the Lobby)
• 21:00-24:00 Gala Dinner and Dance (Özdener KOYUTÜRK Tango Orchestra)

MENU

• White-cheese, Melon, "Circassian chicken", Russian Salad
• Cream of chicken
• Crepe with vegetables
• Salad "Mimosa"
• Ice Cream 'Cassata'
• Domestic Drinks

Price: 50 YTL/pp (Including VAT)

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For reservation: ARMADA Sales Team
Phone: 0212 - 455 44 55
E-Mail: infosatis@armadahotel.com.tr
Sultan Sebilcioğlu (0 212 455 44 71)
Bülent Tağcı (0 212 455 44 72)
Zerrin Kelebek (0 212 455 44 70)

Some Shots from the Sipahioglu Exhibition Tour, İstanbul Modern Museum

Photographs: With the courtesy of Farnood, the Photographer, joined the tour from Iran

Armada celebrates the first Nobel prize that came to Turkey!

The City and the World

We live in an age of mass media, mass movement, and globalization when it is likely that we will confront different cultures and different races as we go about our daily business. But Turkey has always had to deal with the problems and pleasures of diversity, as it straddles the place where Asia and Europe meet.
The best-selling Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk, has devoted his life to the study of mixture and plurality, and what is often called "the clash of cultures." By concentrating on a specific country, and even narrowing his focus to one city – the teeming, chaotic city of Istanbul, caught between its desire for the west and its admiration for the east – Pamuk finds a way to talk about all kinds of identities. Individuals, nations, cultures, periods, even literary styles and genres, start to leak, multiply, change and slip. In White Castle, for example, an Italian slave finds he has a double in an Ottoman pasha: the two look alike and share a burning interest in science, but the Italian decides to stay in Turkey, while the Turk becomes disillusioned with his native country and moves to Italy. In My Name is Red, sixteenth-century Istanbul slips into modern Istanbul, fiction becomes confused with reality, and what we thought was a philosophical novel about the place of art in our lives, slips into a detective story and a love story...

For the rest of the article by Georgia Brown on the Nobel Prize website, please click here
For the telephone interview with Orhan Pamuk click here
For Orhan Pamuk's web site click here.

33 French journalists travel to Turkey in order to visit the exhibition by Gökşin Sipahioğlu

Doğan Hızlan, columnist of Hurrriyet, comments on the news as follows:

"33 journalists are coming to Turkey to visit the exhibition that was held in Istanbul Modern: “The Right Time The Right Place” by well-known photographer Gökşin Sipahioğlu, the founder of the LEGENDARY photograph agency.

The journalists, who will stay at the Armada Hotel in Sultanahmet, will visit the Grand Bazaar, Tahtakale, and Egyptian Bazaar in the morning. Then they will go to İstanbul Modern and visit the Exhibition.

After the exhibition, there will be a luncheon at Istanbul Modern. Among the participants of this event are the Ambassador of France, Yaşar Kemal, Ara Güler and other close friends of Gökşin Sipahioğlu and some journalists and writers from Turkey.

In line with the program that was prepared by Aydın Sezgin, the Consul Generale of Turkey in Paris, the guests will also visit the “Harem” section of the Topkapı Palace. -Well-known history Professor and the Director of the museum- İlber Ortaylı will guide the museum tour.
* * *
Two of the French journalists are coming from Bayreuth while others are coming directly from France.
İstanbul Modern will host the guests in Turkey. With three hours of Bosphorus tour, the journalists will get to know the beauties of the Bosphorus. In addition, they will visit the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

When you have a glance at the guest list, you will see that they are the most renowned personalities, editors, and writers, particularly of the photography world. Among the foreign guests are the Turkish photo managers who are well known abroad.

Is there any need to emphasize the importance of these kinds of visits?

I think that this hosting is an impressive one for a few reasons. Firstly, they will see the photographs of Gökşin Sipahioğlu within a museum that is in his own country. In the meantime, they also will see some of the efforts Turkey is putting into the field of art. Secondly, when they become friends with the persons who they met here and by seeing Turkey, I think their thoughts contrary to Turkey will change.

* * *
I would like to learn their thoughts before they come here and after they return to their country.
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We would like to thank to our dear friends SİPAHİOĞLU and Ayperi Ecer KARABUDA (Reuters) for choosing Armada to stay during such an important event.
Hoping the wishes of Doğan Hızlan will come true!
ARMADA