Kurds in Turkey

Tried to find a balenced set of articles but it all seems pretty one sided.

Check out:

The American Federation of Scientists

The Washington Post: Terrorism Profile

The Bulliten

Istanbul Facts (Continued)

For every 100 houses there are 8 dogs and cats in the city consuming 13 000 tons of pet food costing $68 000.

Turkish Airlines will carry over about 18 000 000 passengers this year. They will use 31 000 rolls of toilet paper at Attaturk Airport’s 295 bogs.

While Europeans use on average 50 rolls of toilet paper per year and Bangladeshis only 1, Turks use 8 rolls per year.

Sixteen months of military service is compulsory in Turkey for all males after they finish their education. Fifty per cent of these guys do not know what a condom is so the army is importing special plastic Portuguese penises for demonstration purposes.

It is estimated that there are over 8 000 bars, clubs and restaurants in the Istanbul. The first club was opened in 1870 under the protection of the fun-lovin’ Grand Vizier, Mehmed Emin Ali Pasha.

38% of Turks ponder the meaning of life.

98% consider themselves religious.

42% think it important to celebrate births with a religious ceremony.

58% believe divorce is acceptable.

98% believe it is wrong to avoid paying taxes.

98% say that god is important in their lives.

6% say they would be willing to accept a bribe.

63% take pride in their country.

Sean’s Quotes:

“I am sweating like a whore in church!”

FYI:

Mosques call the devote to pray five times a day from before sunrise to after sunset.

The call is in Arabic. The playing of a recording of this call has been banned in Istanbul and it is recited by a human, everytime.

Photo:
The first surah in a Qur'anic manuscript by Hattat Aziz Efendi.

Coconut Theory

In response to an email from a future teacher, concerned about the safey of Turkey:

I was born in Australia. I meet people who say they would not go there because of sharks/snakes/spiders etc etc. However, more people are killed in the world by falling coconuts than all of these things put together. The chances of anything bad happening are phenomenally small. You cannot spend your life walking around wearing a helmet in case of falling coconuts!
My advice is to not sleep under coconut palms but do not avoid the coconut groves!

If your government says do not go somewhere, they are just covering their backs. They like to say, I told you so. They are also perpetuating a state of fear that keeps people, in their homes, watching their TVs and mindlessly consuming; without going out and challenging the stereotypes that they are force feed from cradle to grave.

To create peace in this troubled world, people have to interact with each other and realise that the similarities of all humans are far more important and common than the things that divide us.

Anyway, that is my opinion. If you are going to be killed by a falling coconut, you are going to be killed by a falling coconut. Some things are out of your control!

Spring

To all those northern hemisphere junkies who waxed lyrical about the virtue of seasons, I think I begin to see what you are talking about.

Istanbul is pretty devoid of nature... There has been nothing natural in this town of a couple of millennia, but all of a sudden I am seeing trees that were bare sticks in the ground before.

Everywhere there is life springing forth. New shoots on the trees, blossoms are coming out, birds are chirping, the pigeons are following each other around and the street cats are full of cats.

Very life affirming.

Sean's Quotes:

"I'm sweating like a pedophile in a creche."

Happy Songkrhan Thailand!

Another reason not to eat crap burgers:

"Two gunmen have been detained after seizing two hostages at a branch of Burger King in Istanbul, Turkey. "

B.B.C. World Service Saturday April 8, 2006

This was at the end of the street that I live on. See the footage.

Pissed off with that four wheel drive that cut you off? A giant SUV blocked your parking spot?Print out one of these tickets tickets from Adbusters and give them something to think about.

Turkish-Kurdish Violence

"Clashes between the government forces and the PKK [Kurdish Workers Party] have claimed more than 37,000 lives since 1984, ravaged the economy of the already impoverished Southeast and led to the migration - forced and unforced - of millions of people."

From an article:
Parliment to assess unrest as death toll reaches 15 in:
The Turkish Daily News
Tuesday April 4, 2006

Photo:
Protestors burnt a police checkpoint in Semdinli
care of:
BBC World Service

Istanbul Facts
courtesy of
Time Out Istanbul

There are 1,800,000 cars on the roads in Istanbul. Every day another 630 are added but only 25 are removed from the road.

The first traffic accident in Istanbul happened near Taksim in 1912 when the chauffeur of the Italian Ambassador knocked down an Albanian pedestrian before speeding off. He was later arrested by police.

In 2005, 21,122,789 tourists spent their holidays in Turkey, generating $18 billion.

Only 31% of Europeans support Turkey's bid to join the EU.

Of 50 countries surveyed by the World GSM Union, Turks pay the most for their mobile phones paying 44% tax to the government... so if I have not called recently, that is why.

Photo: Taksim tram, Istaklal Cad.

The Hammam Experience

Huge stone building in Sultenamet with domes atop.
Down the steps and in.
Pay your money.
Ladies to the right, gentlemen head.
See you later.

Large foyer with ornate domed roof and a terrace level above.
Café style tables, coffee bar and steps up.
:”Upstairs upstairs”
Up I go. At the top I am given a small towel.
“Change, change.”
I am shown into a small cubicle with a half the door made of clear glass.
There is a towel covered bench, three hooks on the wall and a pair on slip on sandals.
I feel strange walking out wearing only a towel and sandals.

Heading back down stairs I am shown through.
A man with a huge moustache and gaps in his teeth that you could drive a truck through shows me in.
“First time, yes?. In here, relax, massage soon.”

The room is vast.
At the centre is a giant stone slab where men in towels lay, heads supported by small steel bowls.
Round the outside of the room are ornate marble basins.
Everything is marble.

I lay down. It is hot.
The atmosphere is like Singapore times a hundred.
It is hard to breath.
Immediately I am covered in sweat.
A pleasant change from the biting cold outside.

The others there seem to be tourists.
Israelis I guess and a couple of Japanese.
Anyone who is Turkish I assume works here.

I watch, trying to establish what the etiquette is.
Everyone else seems as lost as I do, making me feel more at easy.
Other people are getting the massage.
I am getting the hang of it.
Just chill and so as you are told.

One man who looks like he knows what he is going goes over to one of the marble fonts with his steel bowl and pours water over himself.
That seems like a good idea and I do the same.
AHHHhh!! Scolding hot.
I go the next one and repeat.
OOOhhh!! Freezing cold.
I go back to sweating on the slab.

Looking up at the ceiling, an ancient domed eye looks back that may have gazed on thousands before me.
I drift off....

Sawwack!
The blow to my leg rouses me from my humidity induced slumber.
He grabs my leg and pulls me towards him.
The relaxation soon evaporateshummany hamam guide throws my arms in opposite directions across my chest and pushes on my elbows with all his might until I hear bits of my body crack.
“Good.”
It seems more of a challenge than a question.
I smile weakly.

My torturer covers me with hot water then attempts to remove my skin by means of a coarse camel hair glove.
Next a sack of suds appears. He squeezes it and covers me with sweet smelling soap. Then again, again. And Again.
I am nothing more than a shape under a mountain of suds.
He scrubs me again before washing me off.

Then the massage starts.
This guy really wants to see how much you can take before you scream “get off me you sadistic bastard!!”
I managed to resist.

I feel like a tuna on a fish mongers bench as he throws me around.
He does his best to crack every bone in my body and then tries to see how for he can push his thumbs into my flesh.
He flips me over to work on the other fillet.
“Good” Another challenge.
Smiling, I do my best hang on.

Fortunately it is not long before he takes me over to one of the fonts.
“Sit sit”
He works my shoulders and neck before trying to crack my arms as if they were stock whips. Then it is time to be covered in cold water.

“Relax, relax. When ready, come out”
He buggers off.

I go back to the stone slab and do my best to recover.
The eye stares down, unblinking.
I sweat.

Later I head out and my man is waiting to show me to the shower room.
He is very insistent that I lock the door of the shower. That is a little disturbing.
I wash off the sweat.

Outside he is waiting again.
This time to take my towel and replace it with three fresh ones – waist, chest and head.
He sends me on my way looking like Alan of Arabia.

A little shell shocked I head back up to my cube.
Slowly I get dressed, head out and leave a tip.

Downstairs there is fresh orange juice and a welcome seat.
All the moisture appears to have been removed from my body.

We head back out into the cold March air for a feed and a cleansing ale..

Maybe next time I might try and findhammanre authentic hamam away from the tourist district.

It was definitely a worth while experience and at least I will know a bit more about what to do in the future.