Just had another earthquake here. I had the awesome luck of being on the toilet when it happened. Yeh....so not cool. I am that much closer to knowing how it feels to die in an earthquake while on the toilet though! yah! This one was apparently a 5.5 and epicenter was in the same place as last weeks. Too early to tell if there was any damage.
In other news, they caught a guy in Istanbul this week trying to bomb the metro station. News said he was from PKK. Apparently they didnt catch someone though because an explosion went off elsewhere. Only two people were injured luckily. There have also been a bunch of car torchings in Istanbul recently. Hey! Guess where I am going this Saturday? Istanbul!
And apparently Ankara is like Richmond in that everywhere around it gets snow. A couple people have frozen to death from the cold in Central Anatolia. But no sign of snow here even though its def. cold enough.
Halfway across the world in Indonesia, lots of rain has caused flooding and landslides. My sisters place got flooded, but not as bad as some of her friends houses. Everyone she knows is okay though. All the water is polluted now. Lots of roads are closed due to landslides.
Gonna go try and sleep now. Check out the news for updates on the earthquake, car torchings, and turkish air raids in iraq!
27 December 2007
25 December 2007
hodge podge of old photos and some new
Sometimes when you are in a foreign place, you do things you would not normally do at home, like eat McDonalds. I have weened myself off of McDonalds over the past couple of years in America, but for some reason, here in Turkey, McDonalds is delicious. I guess its a comfort thing. I also am not too big a fan of Pepperidge Farm cookies, but when I found these, it wasnt even a question as to whether I was buying them or not. So I spent YTL 18 on two packs of cookies....
Also sometimes when you are in a foreign place, things happen to you that would not normally happen to you at home. This happens on a daily basis for me, or pretty much whenever I go outside. Thanks to my blonde hair and blue eyes, I am easily recognized as foreign, and so get a lot of stares. Sometimes it works to my advantage, however, because I get free stuff. Such as fruity smoothie like drinks...
I cant take full credit for those drinks, however, because the first free stuff went to my friend Margot. She was waiting for me and another girl to meet her at this restaurant and apparently she looked sad. The waiter brought her free profiterols, and then when we got there, he gave her a free hot chocolate. Then the waiter brought us free drinks, and then Margot got another drink as well. It looked like toxic waste....
And then sometimes when you are in a foreign place, you try to bring a little bit of home in and it just does not work. My mom sent me the ingredients for green bean casserole, macncheese and stuffing, so I decided to make thanksgiving for my host family. So Margot came over and we set to work on cooking. I was pretty proud of myself for making the casserole, even though it was not as good as at home. And since turkey is not a usual meat choice over here, we opted for KFC chicken and biscuits.
I was actually happy with the way the food turned out, but then my host family kind of dropped the ball. My sister came home and said she forgot and that she had already eaten. She did try stuff though which was nice of her. My host mom came home later and enjoyed the food but spoke in Turkish the whole meal. My host brother doesnt speak often so I am not sure as to what he thought of the whole experience. So Margot and I sat in silence at the end of the table while my host mom talked to Bahadır, and we thought of thanksgiving at home. I realized I was hoping for something that could never be and got a little sad.
The next week, my group took a day trip to Konya. It turned out to be the most poorly planned trip. We left at 930am and got back at 330am, when only two cabs are on the ODTÜ campus (there were about 20+ kids who needed cabs). Konya itself was cool I guess. Things like that get ruined when you are frustrated with programs... And when you are ill.
We went to Konya mainly for the whirling dervish ceremony. There were two ceremonies that day, one around 130pm and the other around 8pm. We went to the later one........So that we could check out the museums and stuff in Konya.
I did get to see the box that apparently holds Muhammad or Rumi or some important Muslim figure's beard. Guess that is pretty cool.
The ceremony was actually neat, but I was really tired at that point so I probabaly could have gotten a lot more out of it had I not been so exhausted. I also think that if we had gotten better seats that were not right next to these blinding lights (they were on for the first hour of the show).
But it really was a neat show and you should look into the dervishes. Everything is a symbol, including their hats.
Oh and in case you were wondering, they have pet stores in Turkey, too. This bird here is only 5000 dollars. And he has a special talent: he can bark like a dog. I have video.
The cool part about pet stores in Turkey, however, is they have more exotic animals. Like this bird. I didnt ask how much he was.
And in case you were wondering, they have elevators in Turkey as well. Normally, they are small and crappy and you have to open the door when the elevator gets to your floor or forever ride. But, this elevator is a special one. You can fit 66 people in it! I am going to test that one day. I promise.
Oh and one last "in case you were wondering," they do not celebrate Christmas here, but there are Christmas trees and santa clauses everywhere. Dont be fooled. Its for New Years.
Santa is called Noel Baba here. Baba is Turkish for father. I dont know how he is associated with New Years, but this is Turkey.
20 December 2007
earthquakes all over the world today
So today I went to lunch with my friend Abby because she is going home tomorrow. We went to this restaurant called Melbo. Its on the top floor of a building in Kızılay and its got lots of windows so you can people watch. So we sit down and not even two minutes later, the building starts shaking and the windows move as if a huge wind gust just blew against them. Our waitress looked very scared and almost started running out of the restaurant. My first thought was that the building was going to collapse, something which is not uncommon in Turkey. But, we decided to brave the chance and stayed there. The food was not that great, but it was good to hang out with Abby.
After lunch, I tried to take her to Hacıbaba (the best baklava place in Ankara), but it was closed thanks to the Bayram (it means holiday, but is reserved for religious holidays). So we went to another baklava place and got way too much dessert. We sat and talked for a while, then I met up with my host family for some ice skating. The girl who stayed in my house last year is also here visiting. I mentioned the shaking to her and she told me it was a 5.7 earthquake! And...it was the third of the day. The epicenter was only 50 miles or so away from Ankara. They apparently saw this on the news, but when I checked tonight there was barely a mention of it. So far there has been no damage or casualties reported. There was another earthquake in New Zealand though, and it was pretty big.
After ice skating, my family was hungry, so we tried to go to some restaurant which was also closed due to Bayram. So then my host sister made the great suggestion of going to Ankamall for dinner. So we trekked there and I ate a giant portion of some kind of kofte that looks like iskendır. Then.....Abby's family was throwing a goodbye/bayram party for her so I met up with two of our friends and we headed to Abby's house where I ate even more food and even more desserts.
The party was really neat. A lot of Abby's host family's relatives showed up just to say goodbye to her (they have never met her). But they gave her presents and one person brought a cake. Her host mom started crying. It was really cute and sad. The family started singing Turkish songs, and then my friend Margot played the guitar and sang with them. Then we tried to sing Christmas songs...but the only one we all knew the words to was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. So then we switched to Mr. Jones and assorted Beatles songs.
Anyways, I am now home after a very long and tiring day. My stomach is stuffed to capacity. I have nothing to do this weekend however and so i will be resting a lot :)
Oh and a little side note for those who dont know, the holiday that started today is called the sacrifice holiday. You are supposed to sacrifice an animal, then give some of the meat to the poor, some to your friends, and then give some to yourself. Then you eat a lot of food and desserts, as with most bayrams. And during bayrams, the buses are free :)
After lunch, I tried to take her to Hacıbaba (the best baklava place in Ankara), but it was closed thanks to the Bayram (it means holiday, but is reserved for religious holidays). So we went to another baklava place and got way too much dessert. We sat and talked for a while, then I met up with my host family for some ice skating. The girl who stayed in my house last year is also here visiting. I mentioned the shaking to her and she told me it was a 5.7 earthquake! And...it was the third of the day. The epicenter was only 50 miles or so away from Ankara. They apparently saw this on the news, but when I checked tonight there was barely a mention of it. So far there has been no damage or casualties reported. There was another earthquake in New Zealand though, and it was pretty big.
After ice skating, my family was hungry, so we tried to go to some restaurant which was also closed due to Bayram. So then my host sister made the great suggestion of going to Ankamall for dinner. So we trekked there and I ate a giant portion of some kind of kofte that looks like iskendır. Then.....Abby's family was throwing a goodbye/bayram party for her so I met up with two of our friends and we headed to Abby's house where I ate even more food and even more desserts.
The party was really neat. A lot of Abby's host family's relatives showed up just to say goodbye to her (they have never met her). But they gave her presents and one person brought a cake. Her host mom started crying. It was really cute and sad. The family started singing Turkish songs, and then my friend Margot played the guitar and sang with them. Then we tried to sing Christmas songs...but the only one we all knew the words to was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. So then we switched to Mr. Jones and assorted Beatles songs.
Anyways, I am now home after a very long and tiring day. My stomach is stuffed to capacity. I have nothing to do this weekend however and so i will be resting a lot :)
Oh and a little side note for those who dont know, the holiday that started today is called the sacrifice holiday. You are supposed to sacrifice an animal, then give some of the meat to the poor, some to your friends, and then give some to yourself. Then you eat a lot of food and desserts, as with most bayrams. And during bayrams, the buses are free :)
19 December 2007
sacrifice holiday!
merhaba. sorry for the lack of postings. I have been really really busy the last few weeks as my semester finished up. but now I am finished and I have the next eight weeks to hang out and do nothing :) I am going to try and get my computer fixed tomorrow, but it may be difficult because its a holiday here right now.
speaking of holidays, I got a couple packages the other day full of christmas goodies. thanks :)
in other news, Turkey is back in the headlines. you guys probably know more than I do currently because there is a ban on turkish journalists to report on whats happening. but it hasnt effected me yet, so no worries.
most of my group is leaving this week. a few have already gone. its sad to say good bye but i will see them again eventually. I am fortunate because I have been able to make some Turkish friends, so I will not be alone over the break.
hope all is well at home. I will be there in 31 days! let me know if there is something specific that you would like from over here.
and if you are trying to call me, my cell number is in the post below. I believe the country code for turkey is 90, but if that doesnt work, just look it up online.
speaking of holidays, I got a couple packages the other day full of christmas goodies. thanks :)
in other news, Turkey is back in the headlines. you guys probably know more than I do currently because there is a ban on turkish journalists to report on whats happening. but it hasnt effected me yet, so no worries.
most of my group is leaving this week. a few have already gone. its sad to say good bye but i will see them again eventually. I am fortunate because I have been able to make some Turkish friends, so I will not be alone over the break.
hope all is well at home. I will be there in 31 days! let me know if there is something specific that you would like from over here.
and if you are trying to call me, my cell number is in the post below. I believe the country code for turkey is 90, but if that doesnt work, just look it up online.
28 November 2007
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
I got a really really cool package yesterday from the most awesome mom on earth. The package contained a Christmas tree complete with batteries. I decided to spread the holiday spirit by taking the tree to If. Everyone loved it.
As I was walking around yesterday, I passed a store with a blow up Santa in front of it. There was a decorated tree inside the store as well. It was neat.
To add to the holiday feeling, it snowed late last night. There was a layer of snow on the cars when I went to sleep, but when I woke up, there was no sign of it. Snow is coming though. And its definitely getting colder.
I got a new phone number (5543902904). I switched companies because Turkcell is expensive and Avea gives you 500 free text messages.
I have been looking at my classes and the classes I need to graduate. Now that I am a double major, I have about 60 more credits to get before I can graduate, even though I already have 90. I am trying to figure out if I will be able to graduate on time. I will have to overload both semesters next year, take 3 courses during the winter, and take some this summer. Even then, I don't know if it will be enough. It doesn't help that basically none of the courses I take here will go towards my degrees. I also have to get 18 credits worth of honors courses, which means I will have to turn non-honors courses into honors courses by adding more work for myself :). So I may be back in the states next year, but don't expect to see me...ever.
I have to start the third Turkish class next week, even though I haven't finished the second one yet. It meets three times a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9am-1pm. So on Tuesday and Thursdays, I will have 7 hours worth of Turkish class. In addition to that, on Thursday, my Turkish Foreign Policy class meets from 1:40-4:30. This class only meets for four weeks though so it wont be too bad. And then, when that class is done, I get to go home!
26 November 2007
I'm coming home!
I bought a ticket home on Saturday. I will be arriving on January 19 and leaving on the 27th. I can't come home during the holidays because of class and such, so this is the best I could do. That's only like...a month and a half away...thats nothing! See you soon!
23 November 2007
I spent my Thanksgiving in class and at a bar...
Happy belated Thanksgiving to all. Hope everyone ate lots of turkey. I had soup for dinner. It was delicious soup, but it was no turkey with "all the fixings."
I went to a concert on Weds. night. Saw a group called Baba Zula. They are pretty famous here in Turkey. If you get a chance, check them out. I am not a huge fan of them, but you will get a taste of Turkish music. They play a weird electronic version of classical Turkish music. Hard to describe. The show was decent. Complete with belly dancers. Heres a picture of the band warming up before the show.
This other picture is of my friend Çağlar (pronounced Chalar). I just wanted to show you his shirt. Its a playboy bunny with a Muslim head scarf on. Its a pretty popular shirt over here and it makes me laugh every time I see it. So I thought I'd show you all.
Computer still not fixed. Trying to plan a day for Thanksgiving. I have a midterm on Sunday....The teacher is emailing the question to us around noon on Sunday and we have to turn it in by 10 am the next morning. WHO DOES THAT?? I only go to ODTU one time a week and I would like to keep it that way. But now I have to go there at 8am on Monday morning and then again later that day for a lecture for the stupid CIEE course. BAH. I hate going to ODTU. They dont even have a bathroom in the library. Its no wonder that all the kids there want to leave Turkey to go study somewhere else.
21 November 2007
Party in Turkish Class
We had a party in Turkish class last week. We brought food and ate and listened to music. It was a nice break.
It also happened to be package day for a few of us.
This is Abby. We seem to be the only ones that get packages. That dinosaur she is holding is actually a pencil sharpener. It moves, too.
This is Divash. Hes from Nepal. He doesn't get mail. I don't think hes very happy.
This is Tinah. She had just returned from a trip to Paris. She liked my package.
This is Taylor. He likes to sing.
This is Tinah's portrait of Taylor singing.
This is Kian and Tinah's portrait of him.
It was pretty striking how similar these renditions looked.
And this is the awesome Chevy Impala that is being sold across the street from my dolmuş stop. I want it.
15 November 2007
sorry for the lack of posts guys. my computer is currently out of commission so its hard to find internet sometimes. hopefully i will get that fixed in the next week or so.
im finally back to normal healthwise. just the usual sniffles from the lovely pollution of Ankara.
i dropped my economics class. i decided it was not worth it to try and learn calculus and catch up on the missed work (from when i was sick). so now i will be taking a third turkish class instead, which is good because i am here to learn the language anyways.
my semester is almost done here. i have a take home midterm next week for my turkish foreign policy class. then there is only about two and a half weeks left in that class. so i will be done with classes before christmas. then classes do not start again until feb. 18. so i have two months off....i will hopefully come home for one of those weeks, but it depends on the money situation. this whole semester has just been one giant vacation. i am used to working two jobs while taking the maximum number of classes, so its quite a different experience over here. i have become very lazy. i do get a lot of sleep though, which is good i guess.
hopefully my computer will be fixed by next week so i can load some more pictures. in the mean time, you can look at all of my pictures from the trip so far here -> http://flickr.com/photos/jehosephat103
hope all is well in the states. görüşürüz
im finally back to normal healthwise. just the usual sniffles from the lovely pollution of Ankara.
i dropped my economics class. i decided it was not worth it to try and learn calculus and catch up on the missed work (from when i was sick). so now i will be taking a third turkish class instead, which is good because i am here to learn the language anyways.
my semester is almost done here. i have a take home midterm next week for my turkish foreign policy class. then there is only about two and a half weeks left in that class. so i will be done with classes before christmas. then classes do not start again until feb. 18. so i have two months off....i will hopefully come home for one of those weeks, but it depends on the money situation. this whole semester has just been one giant vacation. i am used to working two jobs while taking the maximum number of classes, so its quite a different experience over here. i have become very lazy. i do get a lot of sleep though, which is good i guess.
hopefully my computer will be fixed by next week so i can load some more pictures. in the mean time, you can look at all of my pictures from the trip so far here -> http://flickr.com/photos/jehosephat103
hope all is well in the states. görüşürüz
05 November 2007
02 November 2007
good news: i didn't fail my exam
bad news: i didn't fail because i didn't take it - i got a sudden infection which caused a huge fever. i woke up early thursday morning with a temperature of 103 or more. i went to the bathroom to take some advil in order to break the fever, ended up passing out and falling. i hit my head on the way down. the noise from my fall woke my host sister and mom up, so they called my program director. she came and got me and we went to the hospital. they took blood, xrayed my head, hooked me up to an IV with a fever reducer and then a giant bottle of yellow stuff that was apparently for rehydration. then they gave me a painkiller. i got a prescription for augmentin and some medicine to protect my stomach. i spent most of thursday asleep in bed. my fever never went below 101. i woke up around 530 this morning and my temp. was 103.6. took more advil and fell back asleep. my temperature finally fell below 100 today (99.5), so hopefully that means the antibiotics are working. the doctor said if i am not better in three days, to come back. hopefully i will be fine by the end of the weekend.
bad news: i didn't fail because i didn't take it - i got a sudden infection which caused a huge fever. i woke up early thursday morning with a temperature of 103 or more. i went to the bathroom to take some advil in order to break the fever, ended up passing out and falling. i hit my head on the way down. the noise from my fall woke my host sister and mom up, so they called my program director. she came and got me and we went to the hospital. they took blood, xrayed my head, hooked me up to an IV with a fever reducer and then a giant bottle of yellow stuff that was apparently for rehydration. then they gave me a painkiller. i got a prescription for augmentin and some medicine to protect my stomach. i spent most of thursday asleep in bed. my fever never went below 101. i woke up around 530 this morning and my temp. was 103.6. took more advil and fell back asleep. my temperature finally fell below 100 today (99.5), so hopefully that means the antibiotics are working. the doctor said if i am not better in three days, to come back. hopefully i will be fine by the end of the weekend.
31 October 2007
25 October 2007
Everything is okay
I am still fine. No worries yet.
Turkey apparently started shelling and bombing parts of Southeastern Turkey today. It has not been confirmed as to whether they went into Iraq or not, but I am going to go ahead and say they did. This was pretty much to be expected. They say they are exploring every possible diplomatic option, but they also refuse to deal directly with the Kurds...so basically, there is no diplomatic option. And the public is pressuring the government to take action. There are soldiers missing; the PKK claims they have these missing soldiers. The Turkish people will not stand for 12 deaths, 8 soldiers and over a dozen injuries (mostly to civilians). The government has to take action or face forced resignation.
So for now, it is wait and see.
In other news...There's big nasty fires in California. One of the counties hit is San Diego, where my grandfather lives. He got evacuated from his home on Monday, I think. He got moved to some high school and has been living there for a couple days. He may have moved back already. The latest news reports I saw, however, said a bunch of people moved back to San Diego and then the fires turned again and now those people have to leave again. Hopefully he is not one of those people...
More news...There was an earthquake in Western Indonesia today. Preliminary magnitude of 7.1. It was off the coast of Sumatra, one of the Indonesian islands. My sister, however, is on a different island. So I am pretty sure she is safe.
So for all my family back in Richmond, thanks for staying safe ;-) I hear you got rain today, so no more drought, hopefully.
So for now, it is wait and see.
In other news...There's big nasty fires in California. One of the counties hit is San Diego, where my grandfather lives. He got evacuated from his home on Monday, I think. He got moved to some high school and has been living there for a couple days. He may have moved back already. The latest news reports I saw, however, said a bunch of people moved back to San Diego and then the fires turned again and now those people have to leave again. Hopefully he is not one of those people...
More news...There was an earthquake in Western Indonesia today. Preliminary magnitude of 7.1. It was off the coast of Sumatra, one of the Indonesian islands. My sister, however, is on a different island. So I am pretty sure she is safe.
So for all my family back in Richmond, thanks for staying safe ;-) I hear you got rain today, so no more drought, hopefully.
22 October 2007
no immediate attack
check out this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/world/europe/21cnd-turkey.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/world/europe/21cnd-turkey.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
breaking news...
just checked the news and this is what was said about the security meeting:
"After an emergency security summit meeting chaired by President Gül and attended by Prime Minister Erdoğan and top commanders, Turkey said Sunday that it was not afraid of "paying the price" to win victory over separatist Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) terrorists based in northern Iraq after a PKK ambush near the Iraqi border left 12 soldiers dead. “Although it respects Iraqi territorial integrity, Turkey will not tolerate that terrorism be aided and abetted and will not be afraid to pay, whatever the price may be, to protect its rights, its indivisible unity and its citizens,” said a statement issued after the meeting."
what that means in terms of what they will be doing, not quite sure...
"After an emergency security summit meeting chaired by President Gül and attended by Prime Minister Erdoğan and top commanders, Turkey said Sunday that it was not afraid of "paying the price" to win victory over separatist Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) terrorists based in northern Iraq after a PKK ambush near the Iraqi border left 12 soldiers dead. “Although it respects Iraqi territorial integrity, Turkey will not tolerate that terrorism be aided and abetted and will not be afraid to pay, whatever the price may be, to protect its rights, its indivisible unity and its citizens,” said a statement issued after the meeting."
what that means in terms of what they will be doing, not quite sure...
21 October 2007
dun dun dun
so...Turkey...about that...
PKK killed another 15 soldiers today. and apparently took hostages. so Turkey is not happy right now. the big heads of the government met tonight at 8 to discuss their response. there's no news as to the results of this meeting yet, so I don't think they are finished. I will let you know asap, though.
today, my friend Kristin and I met up in Kizilay, the main business district of Ankara. Kristin told me about a woman on her bus. she was crying and everyone around her was trying to console her. the woman than turned to Kristin and spoke in Turkish. Kristin told the woman she didn't know Turkish and the woman gave a wave of her hand and basically stuck her nose up at Kristin. we decided this was related to the soldiers who were killed this morning.
so after we met in Kizilay, we headed to Ankamall for a little bit. Ankamall is Ankara's version of the American mall, only twice as big. and today, twice as crowded. after fighting the lack of air conditioning and the amoeba like crowd of Turks, we returned to Kizilay.
as we came up from the subway station, we saw numerous police officers with riot gear (something that is not too out of the ordinary for us) and a rally tank (something that is a little out of the ordinary). so as we were walking to our friends house, we saw a circle of people holding flags. it was a small group so we weren't disturbed. we reached our friends house and went to his host father's cafe for tea. as we were sitting there, we heard shouts and chants from the group. nothing happened, but we decided this rally was either due to the soldiers or the referendum vote today.
speaking of the referendum, as of right now, with 95% of votes counted, it was approved. so the president will now be elected by the people?
when i got home tonight, my host sister told me she was very angry about the Kurds. she went on facebook and all of her friends had written angry messages about the Kurds. I have seen numerous turkish kids who have changed their profile pictures to that of the turkish flag. so its pretty obvious that a majority of the Turks want something done about this situation. I am sure this will affect the government's decision.
as of right now, no worries. we are just waiting to see what the government decides to do with the PKK and invading Iraq and such. should know whats up tomorrow morning. i will let you know.
PKK killed another 15 soldiers today. and apparently took hostages. so Turkey is not happy right now. the big heads of the government met tonight at 8 to discuss their response. there's no news as to the results of this meeting yet, so I don't think they are finished. I will let you know asap, though.
today, my friend Kristin and I met up in Kizilay, the main business district of Ankara. Kristin told me about a woman on her bus. she was crying and everyone around her was trying to console her. the woman than turned to Kristin and spoke in Turkish. Kristin told the woman she didn't know Turkish and the woman gave a wave of her hand and basically stuck her nose up at Kristin. we decided this was related to the soldiers who were killed this morning.
so after we met in Kizilay, we headed to Ankamall for a little bit. Ankamall is Ankara's version of the American mall, only twice as big. and today, twice as crowded. after fighting the lack of air conditioning and the amoeba like crowd of Turks, we returned to Kizilay.
as we came up from the subway station, we saw numerous police officers with riot gear (something that is not too out of the ordinary for us) and a rally tank (something that is a little out of the ordinary). so as we were walking to our friends house, we saw a circle of people holding flags. it was a small group so we weren't disturbed. we reached our friends house and went to his host father's cafe for tea. as we were sitting there, we heard shouts and chants from the group. nothing happened, but we decided this rally was either due to the soldiers or the referendum vote today.
speaking of the referendum, as of right now, with 95% of votes counted, it was approved. so the president will now be elected by the people?
when i got home tonight, my host sister told me she was very angry about the Kurds. she went on facebook and all of her friends had written angry messages about the Kurds. I have seen numerous turkish kids who have changed their profile pictures to that of the turkish flag. so its pretty obvious that a majority of the Turks want something done about this situation. I am sure this will affect the government's decision.
as of right now, no worries. we are just waiting to see what the government decides to do with the PKK and invading Iraq and such. should know whats up tomorrow morning. i will let you know.
17 October 2007
a few more photos for ya
This is from our cruise down the Bosphorus.
Before going on the trip, my friend Kristin and I went to this store called Real. Its much like Walmart, but a lot cleaner. We got these backpacks for 40 YTL. They work quite nicely.
This is Anzac Beach, at Gallipoli
One of the many monuments at Gallipoli. This is for the Turkish soldiers
View from one of the monuments at Gallipoli
View from the ferry as we were heading back to Chanakale
Yeh, I've been to Troy.
Theres not much to it these days...
If you look at the top of that hill there, thats Pergamom, another ancient city.
Turkish fashion...crazy
For those of you who do not keep up with the news...
Turkey is going crazy. Its the subject of at least the top two news stories on each major news website. Let me give you the breakdown (not in any order of significance):
Story #1:
A committee in the House of Representatives is trying to get a bill pushed through Congress that basically says the Armenian genocide is real, it happened, and Turkey is the horrible country that did it. However you feel on the issue, this is a direct blow to Turkey. Armenia is a subject you do not bring up here. My favorite quote from the news stories is this: "Turkey obviously feels they are getting poked in the eye over something that happened a century ago and maybe this isn't a good time to be doing that." This quote pretty much epitomizes the intelligence of our US Congressmen. The person that said the above, whom shall remain nameless ;-) originally supported the bill, but has since changed his mind. Good call... Turkey's ambassador to the US was recalled for consultation last week and there is talk of shutting down the US base here in Turkey. Thanks Nanci Pelosi!
Story #2:
Parliament just passed a measure that allows the military to go into Iraq in order to take out the Kurds there. Everyone says no action will be taken immediately, but the measure gives the military up to a years time to invade Iraq. (so its going to happen while I am here) Not only will the invasion possibly destabilize northern Iraq (one of the few stabilized areas of that country), but Iraq feels Turkey's invasion will cause other countries in the area to deem it necessary to invade as well. Syria apparently said Turkey has a right to chase the Kurds due to all the killings. The PKK (Kurdish group) is considered a terrorist group, which Turkey is using as its main reason for going after them. They complain about the lack of support from the US and other terrorism fighting super powers, but I am pretty sure the US likes the Kurds in northern Iraq. Yet another strain on US-Turkey relations.
Story #3:
Parliament is voting on a big referendum on Sunday. A lot of the amendments deal with the presidency. You can read about it here:
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=86092
Story #4:
Theres no such thing as fall here... Its cold.
So story #4 isn't really a story, but it is quite frigid here.
Don't worry too much about the news. Most of Congress is now taking back their support of that bill and it would be silly for Turkey to invade Iraq right now. So no worries. :)
Sorry for the lack of pictures - blogger site is messed up currently.
Story #1:
A committee in the House of Representatives is trying to get a bill pushed through Congress that basically says the Armenian genocide is real, it happened, and Turkey is the horrible country that did it. However you feel on the issue, this is a direct blow to Turkey. Armenia is a subject you do not bring up here. My favorite quote from the news stories is this: "Turkey obviously feels they are getting poked in the eye over something that happened a century ago and maybe this isn't a good time to be doing that." This quote pretty much epitomizes the intelligence of our US Congressmen. The person that said the above, whom shall remain nameless ;-) originally supported the bill, but has since changed his mind. Good call... Turkey's ambassador to the US was recalled for consultation last week and there is talk of shutting down the US base here in Turkey. Thanks Nanci Pelosi!
Story #2:
Parliament just passed a measure that allows the military to go into Iraq in order to take out the Kurds there. Everyone says no action will be taken immediately, but the measure gives the military up to a years time to invade Iraq. (so its going to happen while I am here) Not only will the invasion possibly destabilize northern Iraq (one of the few stabilized areas of that country), but Iraq feels Turkey's invasion will cause other countries in the area to deem it necessary to invade as well. Syria apparently said Turkey has a right to chase the Kurds due to all the killings. The PKK (Kurdish group) is considered a terrorist group, which Turkey is using as its main reason for going after them. They complain about the lack of support from the US and other terrorism fighting super powers, but I am pretty sure the US likes the Kurds in northern Iraq. Yet another strain on US-Turkey relations.
Story #3:
Parliament is voting on a big referendum on Sunday. A lot of the amendments deal with the presidency. You can read about it here:
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=86092
Story #4:
Theres no such thing as fall here... Its cold.
So story #4 isn't really a story, but it is quite frigid here.
Don't worry too much about the news. Most of Congress is now taking back their support of that bill and it would be silly for Turkey to invade Iraq right now. So no worries. :)
Sorry for the lack of pictures - blogger site is messed up currently.
16 October 2007
Hello all. I am finally back in Ankara after my tour of Western Turkey. I have way too many pictures to even try and post them all on here, so here is a selection. All of these photos are actually from Istanbul, where we spent our first four days.
I took all these pictures before the camera broke, though.
We went to the Egyptian spice bazaar for a few minutes. It was a very colorful experience. We also went to the Grand Bazaar, but we only had enough time to explore one part of it. I got a pair of Pumas for 30 lira (maybe 25$). They are bright orange. :)
This is the Blue Mosque. Its a block away from Aya Sofya:
Its pretty intense to sit in between the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya, especially during Ramadan.
Probably one of the stranger experiences we had on this trip was meeting a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves team at Aya Sofya. The T-wolves were playing the Turkish team, Efes Pilsen (sp?), as part of the European world tour. I never found out who won.
After visiting the Aya Sofya, we went to Topkapi Palace and Dolmabahce Palaces. The bed above is from the Dolmabahce Palace. Its Ataturk's death bed.
After Istanbul, we went to a place called Canakkale. We visited Gallipoli, then headed to Ayvalik. We got to go swimming in the Aegean Sea at Ayvalik. Then we visited Troy. Next, we headed to Pergamom. We spent the night in Selcuk then visited Efes and a small town called Sirince. We left the next day at 7am and got back to Ankara around 4pm.
It was a long, jampacked tour, but definitely worth it. Stay tuned for more pictures.
Now I actually have to start doing work for class...
It was a pretty interesting trip. We got to see a lot of historic sites.
And some not so historic sites... This gun shop was one of many in entrance to the tramway.
It was good to get out of Ankara. Istanbul is huge. We only managed to visit a few districts. But it was pretty cool to go from Europe to Asia by walking across a bridge.
We took a cruise on the Bosphorus at sunset. At one point on the cruise, I put my camera in my back pocket so I could take a picture for a friend. I was standing kind of awkwardly and the boat floor was wet. My feet slipped out from under me and I fell onto a bench, breaking the LCD screen on my camera (which acts as my viewfinder). So for the rest of the trip, I had to hope I was taking a picture of what I wanted...
I took all these pictures before the camera broke, though.
We went to the Egyptian spice bazaar for a few minutes. It was a very colorful experience. We also went to the Grand Bazaar, but we only had enough time to explore one part of it. I got a pair of Pumas for 30 lira (maybe 25$). They are bright orange. :)
This is the Blue Mosque. Its a block away from Aya Sofya:
Its pretty intense to sit in between the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya, especially during Ramadan.
Probably one of the stranger experiences we had on this trip was meeting a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves team at Aya Sofya. The T-wolves were playing the Turkish team, Efes Pilsen (sp?), as part of the European world tour. I never found out who won.
After visiting the Aya Sofya, we went to Topkapi Palace and Dolmabahce Palaces. The bed above is from the Dolmabahce Palace. Its Ataturk's death bed.
After Istanbul, we went to a place called Canakkale. We visited Gallipoli, then headed to Ayvalik. We got to go swimming in the Aegean Sea at Ayvalik. Then we visited Troy. Next, we headed to Pergamom. We spent the night in Selcuk then visited Efes and a small town called Sirince. We left the next day at 7am and got back to Ankara around 4pm.
It was a long, jampacked tour, but definitely worth it. Stay tuned for more pictures.
Now I actually have to start doing work for class...
05 October 2007
good news
my camera works half of the time now, so i will be able to take pictures :)
so I got my itinerary:
Today:
heading to Istanbul
staying in I-House, a hostel in Beyoglu
Saturday:
Tour of the major sites: Hippodrome, Yerebatan, Saray, Sultanahmet Camii, Aya Sofya, Topkapi Sarayi
Sunday:
Tour of Dolmabahce Sarayi
Bus to Emnonu
Cruise on the Bosphorus
Monday:
Bus to Fener
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
Eyup Camii
Tuesday:
Bus to Canakkale
Staying in Akol Hotel
Wedsnesday:
Tour of Gallipoli
Thursday:
Troy and Assos
Head to Ayvalik for the night - staying at Ayvalik Beach Hotel
Friday:
Bergama (Pergamom)
Head to Selcuk for the night - staying in Cenka Hotel
Saturday:
Efes
Sunday:
Return to Ankara?
Some of us are thinking about sticking around another day or two since we dont have class till wedsnesday - so I will be back sometime that week :)
I am not taking my computer with me so dont expect posts.
Hope you have a good work week back there in the states (or wherever you are) :-p
so I got my itinerary:
Today:
heading to Istanbul
staying in I-House, a hostel in Beyoglu
Saturday:
Tour of the major sites: Hippodrome, Yerebatan, Saray, Sultanahmet Camii, Aya Sofya, Topkapi Sarayi
Sunday:
Tour of Dolmabahce Sarayi
Bus to Emnonu
Cruise on the Bosphorus
Monday:
Bus to Fener
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
Eyup Camii
Tuesday:
Bus to Canakkale
Staying in Akol Hotel
Wedsnesday:
Tour of Gallipoli
Thursday:
Troy and Assos
Head to Ayvalik for the night - staying at Ayvalik Beach Hotel
Friday:
Bergama (Pergamom)
Head to Selcuk for the night - staying in Cenka Hotel
Saturday:
Efes
Sunday:
Return to Ankara?
Some of us are thinking about sticking around another day or two since we dont have class till wedsnesday - so I will be back sometime that week :)
I am not taking my computer with me so dont expect posts.
Hope you have a good work week back there in the states (or wherever you are) :-p
04 October 2007
bad news
my camera broke :( two days before my awesome trip to Istanbul...
i have to know calculus for my microeconomic theory class :(
im going to go eat some delicious food because I am still waiting for stupid VCU people to call me...and considering the fact that it is half past 5 there, i dont think i will be getting a response. sweet
i have to know calculus for my microeconomic theory class :(
im going to go eat some delicious food because I am still waiting for stupid VCU people to call me...and considering the fact that it is half past 5 there, i dont think i will be getting a response. sweet
30 September 2007
29 September 2007
birthdays in turkey
We had two birthdays this weekend so we celebrated both last night. My friend Kristin and I did most of the planning. Our host sisters helped us out a lot because we couldn't follow the directions on the back of the cake boxes (being that they were in Turkish).
So we made two cakes: One was chocolate with nutella instead of icing.
We went to toys r us and got the boys hats. We also found this strange sparking fruit juice so we got them each a bottle of that as well. We went to dinner (and by we I mean a group of about 25, both Americans and Turks), and then we went to one of the only night clubs in Ankara. It was a good night and I think the guys had very good birthdays.
So we made two cakes: One was chocolate with nutella instead of icing.
The other was vanilla with a layer of strawberry jam in the middle and cool whip icing.
As you can see, both had "Happy Birthday" written out in gummy worms. A few of our worms got eaten (I believe by Kristin's host dad), so we had to use m&ms.
We went to toys r us and got the boys hats. We also found this strange sparking fruit juice so we got them each a bottle of that as well. We went to dinner (and by we I mean a group of about 25, both Americans and Turks), and then we went to one of the only night clubs in Ankara. It was a good night and I think the guys had very good birthdays.
I am currently doing laundry!
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