Gypsy Festival

In the News

Turkey has hit the international headlines for two reasons this week.

Nobel Pamuk

Firstly, Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel Prize for Literature. This is great new for a country who is, as Mehmet Alis Birand of the Turkish Daily News put it: "a nation proud of its tradition of not reading books".

I did start reading one of his books "Snow" but less than half way through I had to stop reading for health reasons. It was so depressing, it might have forced me to top myself.

Some Turks are not all that proud of Pamuk however, considering his public comments regarding the Armenian Genocide. Namely that it happened.

Notably people took offence to him saying one million Armenians and 30 000 Kurds were killed.

For saying this he was charged late last year under Article 301 which make is an offence to "insult Turkishness". Hmmm.

Freedom of Speech

Which brings us to the other headline hitting news item: France passes a bill which makes it a crime to deny the Armenian Genocide. This has sparked some fierce reactions from the Turks.

Most signifcant for me was walking down our street to see bus loads of armed police in riot gear, dogs, tear gas launchers and AK47 assault rifles protecting the French consulate from protestors.

From what I have read, it seems allot of Armenians were killed, that is pretty hard to deny. Anyone who does deny this you can rightfully call ignorant or a fool. Why therefore, you need to pass a law making it a crime to deny something that is obvious seems a little pointless, not to mention being a blight to the freedom of speech.

For example, I cannot defend the views of the Pauline Hansons or David Irvings of the world, but I will defend their right to say it. Anyone who takes them seriously is as stupid as they are.

Anyway, the larger implications of the French law is that it drives a deeper wedge between Europe and Turkey making a Turkish addition to the EU an increasingly unlikely situation in the foreseeable future.

Photos thanks to:

Turkish Daily News

OrhanPamuk.net

Wikipedia.com

Yesterday we visited the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art. Most of it was very modern. Not always my cup of tea, but some interesting works none the less.

The "Modern" feel is accentuated by the gallery being located by the old docks on the Bospherous, among the warehouses and having to walk through a car park to get to it.

There was a photo exhibition from a Turkish Journalist who was every where from: Cuba during the Missile crisis through to the Israeli Hostage Crisis at the '72 West Berlin Olympics.

Shown is a painting by Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid, who had a large section of the gallery devoted to her. It does not get more abstract than this.

Well worth a visit if you are ever in town.

Ramazan

In Turkey, or as you may know it in the West: Ramadan, is the holiest month in the Islamic calender. For the devout, nothing shall pass their lips during the hours of daylight. Restaurants however, are still open for business, doing great trade at about 19:07 everyday for Iftar - the breaking of the fast.

The streets seems a little less crowded and people a little more subdued.

About half of my students are fasting. This only seems to be a problem for the evening classes between 18:30 and 20:30. The first half of the lesson they cannot seem to concentrate and the second half, after Iftar, they just seem to want to go to sleep.

You would think that a holiday of solemn abstinence would be hard to commercialize. This is not the case, as you can see from the advertisement to the left from Migros, the Tescos of Turkey. They offer special "Iftar Packs" with everything you need for the breaking of your fast.

The bonus of all this will be at the end of Ramazan when we have the Sheker Bayram or Sugar Holiday, a five day public holiday when people visit their families and feast.

We however, plan to head to out of town for a short holiday to Cappadocia. I will keep you posted on that one.

Happy fasting!!

Keith Gets Head!!

For his final meal in Istanbul, our good friend, part-time colleague and full-time joker, Keith chose to have a sheep's head.



This is apparently a Turkish delicacy, although I have not really seen it offered in too many places. Maybe around the the time of the Kurban Byram they might be more common.



Kurban Byram mean "sacrifice holiday". Here in Turkey it is a sheep that gets sacrificed. This does not sit well with the EU. The idea is, I am told, carried over from ancient times. Your family kill a sheep and share it with everyone, especially the poor. However, slaughtering livestock in your home or the streets does not seem to be a "Shared European Value".



In his opinion: the pupils were nice, the jaw flesh was like shoulder flesh, the rest of the eye ball "minged", the brain was a bit gooshy and the tongue... he didn't even go there.



Fare ye well Keether, I am sure that you will make a great carpenter or at least, better than you were a teacher!



Take it easy.

Coup!!

Some of you may have noticed that our old home of Thailand has been taken over by the military.

I have been in touch with friends and associates who are still there who assure me that there is nothing to worry about. Business continues.



Fortunately, this was achieved with the support of The King and therefore the people. In addition it removes Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was (in my opinion) working for himself rather than the people.



Unfortunately, it is the first coup in 15 years and it is no way to deal with political issues in a democracy.



Why the opposition boycotted the last election when they had a fine chance to remove him then, I don't know.

Maybe someone could help me with that one.



The military will be appointing a new PM next week and there will be fresh elections in 2007.
Although this is not ideal, I am sure that the issues will be resolved peacefully.


Meanwhile, we watch and wait to see what happens...


Photo: Darren Whiteside of Reuters

Where has The Odyssey been? Unfortunately, due to technical issues, The Odyssey has been off line for the past couple of weeks.

Fortunately, with the help of support from around the world.

We are back up and running.

Special thanks to IT-Helpman

Adnan's Boat

Last night, one of my students, kindly hosted some fellow teachers and myself on his 19m power boat. The night cruise showed the city at its best and included a delightful supper. Rough life, but someone has to do it!

Sorry about the quality of the video but the sea was a little rough.

You can see Rumeli Hisar and the Bospherous Bridge.

Istanbul A- Z

from Ataturk to Zoo

Ataturk: The cult of personality around this man, who modernised the aging empire nearly a hundred years ago, is still strongly felt. There will be no criticism of this man!

Baklava: sugar soaked, layered pastry that will rot the teeth, expand the waist line and is sold by the kilo.

Coffee: Thick, black and toxic if you make the mistake of sipping the dregs.

Dervish: These guys are still spinning despite the religious movement basically being banned in 1922. The tradition has been revived for the tourists, for a small fee of 25 ytl.

Eminonu: this is where all the ferries leave from and also a good place for people watching, tea and a fresh fish sandwich.

Fruit Sellers: These guys are everywhere, pushing their wooden carts and yelling incomprehensibly in the streets. The peaches are great this time of year.

Golden Horn: I shit you not! This is the name of the peninsular on the European side of the city. Home of Topkapi palace and Sultan Ahmet, it is where all the touristy stuff is located.

Headscarves: You look at pictures from the 1950s-60s you will not see one headscarf in Istanbul. Today, it is viewed by some as a type of rebellion against the secular state. You cannot wear a headscarf if you want to go to university or hold a government position.

Intolerence: of traffic, of the weather, of each other. You will see lots of this here.

Jellyfish: schools of the buggers. You will see them everywhere in the Bosphorus, even at the swimming beaches... ioooo

Kurds: I have read that one in three Turks are Kurdish. They are held in pretty low regard by the rest of the population, as the Kurdish Freedom Fighters (or the PKK terrorist, depending on your point of view) keep on blowing up bits of Istanbul.

Limonata: a sort of Turkish lemonade, very refreshing on a summer's day.

Metro: The Istanbul underground - very modern with plenty of glass and marble but only services a small part of the city.

Noses: This is how you can tell if an Istanbulu is from the east of Turkey. They all come from "Nose City" apparently.

Ottoman: The empire that took over eastern Europe, most of the middle east and a bit of North Africa... before they got hammered in World War Part One.

Pazar: The Anglicized version is Bazaar or market. Haggling is a essential part of the experience at the Grand Bazaar. The modern Turk seems to prefer the the massive, brightly lit, crisp, clean, muzak and product placement of the Shopping Mall. These are huge.

Queues: these do not work here. Go to the post office. Take ticket and then use your elbows to barge through to the front of the line.

Radio: There is about a million different radio stations in this town. You can have the latest selection of American chart music, Turkish pop and some good alternative stations as well. No BBC though damn it!

Simit: Those bread rings a bit like the German Breadzils, that are sold everywhere and make a filling, yet a little bland and carb enriched, fifty Kroosh breakfast.

Taxis: These guys can be annoying. "Baltilimani?" "No! Traffic! Problem!" Call yourself a bloody taxi driver... where is Robert De Nero when you need him.

Ulker: Turkish Nestle. Just as omnipresent but maybe not as evil.... maybe...

Very expensive Vhisky: There is no W in Turkish but there is Vhisky. Due to heavy taxes on every type of liquor other than the native raki, it is very expensive.

Water: Is what most people they say they like about Istanbul. The Bospherous is very beautiful, especially at night when your vision is impaired.

Xenophonbia:"The strong and unreasonable dislike or fear of people from other countries" from Collins Cobuild English Dictionary. Comments from students:"English and German peoples are cold" or "All black people are thieves and drug dealers." This might not be true of all Turks, but these beliefs are common among people I speak to. If not the dislike of other cultures, the strong and unreasonable belief in the superiority of theirs. Comments from students: "Turkey is the best country!" "What other countries have you been to?" "None, this is the best!"

Young: Due to the Turkish tradition of getting married and having lots of babies at an early age, the Turkish population is generally is very young, very poor and very illiterate (by Western standards).

Zoo: There is no zoo in Istanbul, unless you count the human zoo that some consider this city to be. There are many different species trapped here against their will. At least in a zoo they would get fed regularly.

More

Attack of the Killer Turtle

This really cracked me up!

Attack of the Killer Turtle

Walking to work this morning, I said "Is that a Turtle?", looking down an alley around an apartment building. On investigation, the little bugger attacked me with speed and agression that is rarely found in highly trained attack dogs.

Scary or Funny

I would not give this guy the remote control for the tellie, let alone the nukes.

You decide.

Enjoy



>

Political Zing

Came across this video blog by chance.

Worth a look of you have a minute.

Enjoy

Taksim

View from the top of a building, looking up to Taksim Square and down to Istaklal.

Merchants of Cool

This is a really good doco I saw a couple of years ago.

I think I have a copy of it on VHS somewhere. Now you can just watch it on the net.

It is really worth a watch if you have time and a fast connection.

Catch it, before it's no longer cool.

"They spend their days sifting through reams of market research data. They conduct endless surveys and focus groups. They comb the streets, the schools, and the malls, hot on the trail of the "next big thing" that will snare the attention of their prey--a market segment worth an estimated $150 billion a year. "

-PBS.org

Proposal

OMG!!

My sister is getting married.

Spread the news.

Joanna Watkins-Mark Wood

2007

Observations

One thing I find interesting, is shops playing songs, with lyrics that would get a "Parental Advisory Warning".

You will be walking around a supermarket and notice a little old headscarf woman comparing the price of tinned vegetables while dulcet tones are advising to:

"smack my bitch up"

Or wandering down Istaklal past shops where teenage girls compare the latest fashions, with blaring soundsystems that croon:

"I wanna drug that's gonna,
make my dick shrink,
my brain melt,
and my heart beat like a drum,
can I get some,
can I get some,
Cocaine!"

Just interesting.