new years celebrations

stuffed turkey with rice dinner for six (take away) $120
night out at an average restaurant per person $130
night out at a luxury restaurant per person $200
minimum wage $200

turkey, the land of controversies, turns and turbulances is getting ready for a new year. imagine a country where riches are temporary, the only permenant thing is poverty. riches change hands everyday where almost 70% of the economy is illegal (meaning trade is done off-the-record, without incurring any taxes). life is impossible for almost anybody who wishes to keep his(her) decency, pride or character. one must bribe for almost anything.

when there is no sense of tomorrow, the national motto should be something like "carpe ibidem". among all this mess turkish media and masses are getting ready to get drunk, have fun like there is no tomorrow and spend the last few liras available in their charge limits.

the media are publishing one belle du jour after another to exxagerate the event. although the reality shall set in on thursday (after a lenghty muslim holiday that coincides with the new year's eve this year), let us join the bandwagon with one of their beauties of the days.

Happy New Year everybody. I will be off until Monday unless....

on government and politics

"A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. "

George Bernard Shaw, Everybody's Political What's What? (1944) ch. 30
Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 - 1950)


"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions. "

"Yes, we have to divide up our time like that, between our politics and our equations. But to me our equations are far more important, for politics are only a matter of present concern. A mathematical equation stands forever. "
Albert Einstein US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

newsscope

on national dailies in turkey, sometimes I come across to many weird news, I'd like to share some with you. Weird ones and common sense ones alike...

• Gerald Ford dies at 93. Noone to be direct witness of Nixon era, no more.
  
• arrested for allegedly downloading images of child pornography from child porn websites whilst working as the head of the languages department at a famous school, Claude Joel Fortin was eventually sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for having drugs in his home. the court postponed Fortin’s sentence due to there not being any previous cautions on his record. the original case put forward against Fortin was for up to 24 years imprisonment for having and spreading 12,110 pornographic photographs and video clips on his computer of which 491 consisted of child pornography.



• a guy cought with 7 rape and abuse videos recorded live on his cellphone including youngsters and boys. he allegedly introduced himself to young girls as a man with superpowers and then drugged them and raped them and videoed his acts.
  
• another guy beat and strangled his wife because she prepared the breakfast late. their son of 2 years was a witness to the act. there is no evidence apart from what he said to the police. but what's next?
  
• a young counselor commited suicide after sending her son to school. papers claim that it was because of her arguments with her husband.

in the last three "news" articles one common factor is the journalist "knew" who, where, when and why. there are no news of this kind in turkish media that claims the reasons are unknown. the papers always "know" why it happened. and it is not a matter of rhetoric. There is no hint of the narrative to be about "allegations". they just "know" what happened.

• many iraquies are applying to be the executioner of Saddam. even little children are applying. this is a long and mysterious road I guess, where a martyr would be created out of an old and weary dictator. and he is quoted as saying: "I am sacrificing myself. If Allah permits, I will find myself next to true heroes and men in heaven. The enemies of our country, the invaders and the Farsis, have constructed a barrier between you and those who would lead you. And for this reason, they are trying to plant the seeds of hatred between you. My faithful people, I bid you farewell as my soul rises to the great Allah. Long live Iraq. Long live Iraq. Long live Palestine. Long live the jihad and the fighters for the jihad. Allahuekber."



• in a very heated session in the national assembly, opposition leader baykal said referring to a previous speech by prime minister: "He was part of a pathetic, painful tableau. He is the one who has started this entire 'harem' argument. And yesterday he reflected the problems deriving from having started up this controversy." Baykal yesterday again asserted that Erdogan was not a suitable choice for president of Turkey, reflecting on the tension which has risen in Ankara following his own statement that "headscarves may cover hair, but not the sins of spouses," a statement apparently interpreted by Erdogan and his close circle to be a jab at the AKP.

do send in your comments and ideas using the comments link below.

on turkey

a nice advertorial on Turkey I came across in YouTube



yet another one with more visuals;

Ani (Kars) revisited

this note was waiting to be published for the longest time.I have visited the ancient city of Ani (Kars) in eastern Turkey a few weeks ago. it was said the city of dreams by many friends and authors that have visited the city before. seeing it the first time, I say they were right.

it was winter by climate but there were no snow, very unlike Ani they say in december. but aside from that fact, the city was really up to its fame, a crossroads of many cultures: armenian by origin, ornamented by greek, russian and shiite tradition, Ani was full of history and pictures of today's poverty.

large streets and mansions built in the recent russian era dating back to early 20th century. large streets full of ghosts. ghosts of a long forgotten past, when big banquets were shining on the nights of their hosts, rich tradesman benefiting from their location on the silk road. russian era highlighted the city as a trade and resort town.

but the tragic era of the town is just before that. when with the armenians, structures like St. Apostle's Church went into the dark corners of history. The church dating back to late 10th century was an early architectural gem of near east.

today, in the long streches of solitudes we may call streets, one may witness the bitterness of history, how bitter it treated the city-dwellers of today, how it reminds them eveyday the deeds of their ancestors. vast emptiness and rude winds play hide and seek around the thin coats of children playing on the streets for they have nothing else to turn to.

the russian tradition lingers on though. today's Kars is the only city in the area where one can still find a pub open to have a beer every night, have a friendly chat and talk endlessly about politics, economics and failure. today's population of turks, kurds and azeri's, mostly people moved in from neighboring regions as the turkish population moved out to metropolitan turkey, live in basic harmony with spontanous unrest among them due to religious or political preferences.

but one has to wait for snow in Ani. without it it bears no anchor to reality. one has to go back. one has to wait for snow to clean it all.

ps. for those who wants to be informed on the subject and a vast collection of pictures, visit Virtual Ani or for a modern reference; Kars in Wikipedia; Kars in All About Turkey

the buzz

the buzz in your ears-fake
dreams of a forgotten haze
thousands of cascades reminiscent
rememberence long ago-fade

step-up you deserted one
ridiculed, acted on, pretended
distort your voice-horn
love divided and conquerred

who would listen-no voice
lips moving fog setting in
prima donna moving side by side
crabs waking up from a forelorn dream

smyrna, 12/25/06

small christmas gathering

when you are far away, you are far away from home. home means people who share your sentiments along the way. home means when you look through the looking glass, all colors and shapes you see are familiar. home is an old ferris wheel which reminds more memories than your porch chair. it's wind, it's blizzards, it's sunshine, it's life.

2006 christmas will be remembered as the year of "mass-a-thone", 3 masses in 24 hours. since I spend most of my time apart from the town I call home in Turkey, I have missed my church buddies. it was a good chance to reconcile. most of them brits, some canadians and americans. some christian turks. a parish of under 30 people, but it's christmas no matter what.

in southern turkey it's mid-40's, sunny, and of course no snow. but it's still christmas.a small tree, carols on tape, some good mozart, and it's over.

I will be on and off the net for the week to come. but do come, because I will be sharing more thoughts on children, squeezed between the west and the east, children of turkey, and their feelings about Santa Claus and new year presents (as they exchange presents on new years' eve here not on christmas day).

Merry Christmas y'all.

christmas joy

counting the time for a little church service for a change. but that is no christmas mood. my readers who are used to the tone and style of this blog may be disappointed, disappointed for a good cause though! I decided (!?!) to be merry for a few days. Take all air in, feel blessed and enjoy, make a few resolutions of my own, and share this sentiment with you, my belowed readers in the form of a little christmas trivia.

many of you enjoy christmas music, I hope. in reality, I do not hope,but I know. since the broad genre we call 'holiday music' comes in many forms and styles, I know there is a christmas song or melody that catches the heart of each.

here I provide my readers a free piece very suitable (in my opinion and taste of course) for the christmas mood. please download and enjoy it using the link provided below. consider it my little christmas gift for all of you. now here's the deal; using the comments link below, tell me the name and the composer of this piece. there will be a random selection on January 2nd, 2007, and the winner will obtain the rights to download the whole album officially.

now be marry, and happy christmas and a healty new year to all my readers.

Download the trivia mp3 here.

christmas blues

mall safety in question. a three years old girl loses her balance, drops down four levels in a mall. she was "hanging out" with her family when she dropped through an opening near an escalator. media questions mall safety in full page editorials. nobody questioning good parenthood.


children playing on suburbian ghetto streets. got hit by cars speeding over 60 miles per hour on city streets. madia calling murder "accidents". drivers speeding over 60 miles per hour on city streets driving $100,000 SUV's getting away with murder.


children, beautiful with dark eyes. on slum street corners. searching for an open window through which the sun may shine one happy day. windows opening into humid lounges. where old scavengers search for their ridiculous destiny. a country where child pornography downloaded through the Internet ranks among the top five where Internet access per capita ranks among the lowest.


christmas blues. where illegal prostitution and $10,000 suits merge. where everyone has something to sell. where everyone craves for purchase. noone knows christmas. noone knows meanings. everything is about who, where, what.


christmas blues. long forgotten church ruins scattered along the city. where noone enters, prays or thinks about them. dwellers of long time now die in los angeles suburbs and return only for burial services. tens of people on the streets aimed for churces sunday mornings in a city of over fifteen million people. and everything that remains to be discussed or recognized is in the eyes of beholder. everything that remains is politics.

children. no schooling available. no family love available. only baren streets of slums to lighten the day. dirt toys, cement stones, iron sticks (reminders of abandoned development sites), and options to improve misery. christmas blues. all around me.

hall of famer ertegün dies

saturday night another turkish star of international fame passed away. Mr. Ahmet Ertegün (1923-2006) founder of atlantic records and maker of fame died in the united states where he lived since his graduation from university.
he and few friends founded atlantic records in 1947 to promote jazz and blues that he loved. it started as a hobby but soon became one of the giants of production business. he was also founder and ex-president of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

his death was due to a slip and hit of his head at a Rolling Stones gig in New York back in October. he never recovered. we wish his family and friends the best, may he rest in peace. he will be interred in istanbul today.

this unhappy event broght back memories. memories of new york in the 90's, where blue note and alike were filled with jazz enthusiast from every corner of the world. it was pre 9/11 and clinton era. I remember a particular night when an artist (his name escapes my memory) performed a set he called mozart blues, based on the andante movement of composer's piano concerto no:20. what a performance to remember. the music so unlike mozart (the movement itself is so unlike mozart), so dark, so full of the turns and turbulances wolfgang went through late 1780's, so sublime, so perfect. and the mozart blues payed due homage to this perfection. I later learned that the musician was produced by Mr. Ertegün, and later performed in Bodrum, Turkey, where also a very young Norah Jones (another find of Mr. Ertedgün) performed later on. At Bodrum he spent his summers. The little summer town near Aegean cost of Turkey is now reknown as a jazz spot because of his efforts.

little homage will be paid in his memory in this country. because he was very successful, because he promoted non mainstream art, because he was an outsider.but here at turkish diaries, he will be remembered as a great man of music.

christmas time

ten days to go. in a country where tolerance means tolerance to agreement, freedom of speech means freedom to speak the same language, democracy means freedom to vote for what everyone else votes, the time for controversy arrives.

what is to be celebrated is the name of the argument. new year? noel (christmas)? islamic 'bayram' (religious feast) of offering? this year the 'rumi' calendar of islam and the common gregorian one played a game to remember. within ten days time this year christmas, new year's and 'bayram' coincides. new years day and the first day of bayram, the day when every family is supposed to slaughter a sheep or a cow (sometimes even a camel -see picture below) overlaps the new year's eve. people are supposed to finish shopping for new year's and bayram on saturday, go to sleep, wake up early on sunday, slaughter some animal, cook some of it, distribute the rest among needy, go to the beauty parlor, prepare for new year's festivities, visit close relatives all day long and have fun until the first lights of monday, 1st of January. quite a schedule,isn't it?

the controversy comes when fundamentalists argue that new year's celebrations are of christian origins and therefore are sinful. there is a long time tradition in secular metropolitan Turkey to erect christmas trees and put presents under them to be opened January the 1st. however this tradition, started during the modernization efforts of 40's and 50's, is under severe attack by the ruling forces (both politically and culturally) since the first time political ruling of fundamentalist party mid-90's. within all these arguments though, I have not been able to hear one single person propogating a though such as; "let them be. whoever wants to erect a tree, let them erect whatever they wish. if someone wishes to celebrate christmas (or hannukah for that matter, since the vast majority of 'official' turkish minorities are jews), let them celebrate, whoever wishes to spend the new year's eve in mosques, let them..."

but personallyi I am enjoying a sight totally different from the above arguments since last night. a prestigious shopping mall started displaying their 'new year's' ornaments. it's one of the best I have ever seen here and it is georgeous. the whole building is surrounded by a wall of lights very much like a Russian Orthodox christmas decorations (or should I say architecture).

see it for yourselves and enjoy.

the brel-man

many of my readers would recognize jacques brel. famous belgian poet and songwriter. he is famous with his song titles "ne me quitte pas" (don't leave me) as sung in the United States by one hit wonder Terry Jacks in the seventies; "Seasons in the Sun. he was a great poet talking about love, people, dire times and the flemish and the 'bonbons'. he was passionate. he was lovable. he was peoples man. he had a great voice that influenced many francophones in the 70's and 80's. he died of cancer and his legacy goes on and on...

our subject matter today is not his art however. in his concerts he did not only sing, he also acted in a very peculiar way to depict his feelings and actions that the lyrics suggested. his facial expressions and his hand movements were unique which exagerrate the emotions he conveyed. a good example should be the video below where he sings his famous song 'les bonbons' (Candies):


he was peculiar yes! but in turkey there is a tvshow host that I call the 'brel-man'. he has the same physical profile as brel (albeit shorter) and moreover the same attitute towards the camera. is he funny, I have no idea since what people laugh at here escapes me a lot but his pyrotechniques make me laugh anyways. today I wanted to add some fun to this blog. enjoy his shows title section below.

in and out of our collective minds

the shadows, as the fall skies fell on the head of every pedestrian in istanbul, were gaining height. streets full of gossip, flare and expectations of the government saying 'no' to european union as the group follows up the recomendations of the European Parliament to halt negotiations on several topics concerning Turkey's membership. Bu alas, the government starts another row of marketplace bargaining tactics to postpone what, this author cannot even imagine if they knew what. politics as usual.

the shadows on the other hand still growing. streets marked with half-dead, tormented and hopeless trees are full with exhaust gas coming from a wild variety of vehicles one can only witness in Istanbul. looking for an identity and obtaining it does not satisfy them. one has to change it so vehemently that at one point one loses his sense of recognition. 'who was that guy that passed me a while ago?' is arhetorical question not a cognitive one mostly. he, who carries the burden of the lack of knowledge as to who he is, what are his roots, and where he is going to, is a lost soul where the only tradition is the lack of it. the streets are not. they have one, one that is so strong for their own benefit. they carry centuries of use, abuse, and natural wear, as if it was a fate unevitable becuase of the monstrosities they have witnessed: crusades, invasion, hundreds of insurrections, riches, poverty, massacres, interventions, tears, laughter, briefly all things considered human here.

many people have walked these streets. they were of different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and of a wild variety of ethnicities. they have shared the common fate of instability, chaos and wealth concurrently. fallen stones, torn pavement blocks, ghost-like trees and their uneven branches reflect that common fate as they get older (as in two hundred centuries old), more pathetic and forlorn. walls that reflect an unavoidable gray, dust, violent green of that foresaken land in bliss, look like they would give away soon. but they don't. they haven't. they won't. they have endured centuries old debates on whether history is something didactic to count on or a notion that should be erased off the collective mind that make up the people here. it's an official target and at the same time sole aim of that collective mind that all people should be alike in this society. one who does not belong to the flock bear any chance of intellectual survival. the collective mind lingers among different political views, rights or wrongs as time goes on. but there is only one single set of this criteria that is right at any given point in time and its collective status hardly change. it can even manifest itself in the form of tens of different political parties defending the same collective mind at the same time.

it is a collective virus, closing all doors towards free speech, improvement, scientific research and individualism to mention a few virtues.

one scholar (ali nesin) recently said "scientific research is a product of welfare. a society must be wealthy to engage in research that will save the nation in fifty years to come, individuals in this society must posess plenty of time that they can waste on free fall research. in this country both people and corporations have to concentrate only on projects that could save the day." he is right, but societies today need to differentiate between saving the day and seizing it. and to seize one must accumulate. accumulate knowledge, faith, history (facts) and build on top of these foundations. however the collective mind here has one agenda; no matter what the consensus may be, it has to defend status quo (even if the current consensus, or what is claimed to be the current consensus, may last only a few days) and that should be the case collectively. one truth, one solution, on people; hence an undivided country.

snow sets in in our minds as pamuk rejoices

it's still early winter. no snow in sight yet. but it snows in our hearts as mr. orhan pamuk, contoversial at home but internationally acclaimed novelist becomes a novel laureate in literature.

grey skies are ridiculing the bright rooftops across istanbul. the city is decaying into the corners of an unknown winter. "what's to become of us" ia a relevant and unending question as people, millions of them, are moving around to get a bus, to catch a ship across bosphorus. minds and discussions are full of eauropean community's tricks and turbulances, upcoming presidential elections and soccer, and soccer and soccer.

literature or mr. pamuk hardly found their way into mainstream networks. only one national news channel broadcasted nobel ceremony as a proud and happy mr. pamuk received the prize from swedish king, accompanied with his daughter.

my first point would be regardless of the artistic value of his work there was this political histeria going on around his views on interviews with various western newspapers and magazines. yesterday, he refused the traditional interview with the swedish academy and bbc on the grounds of a question about the weight of his political views on the prize. he was appearantly sickened by the fact that all individual and "different" views on the state here in turkey is still considered as an unpatriotic act. for the time being he prefers to concentrate on his success as a novelist rather than his political agenda and the turbulance around it.

secondly, apart from a few interviews by other sincere turkish authors, his laureate went unnoticed by the account of jealousy, enmity and hatred against success by his peers and public in general in turkey. he was a person who says things that will make the westerns happy so they gave him money in return, they rationalized their hatred and minority complexes. so the media in general mentioned the prize and the ceremony and that's all. more important things to discuss: the soccer games played on sunday, match-fixing allegations towards a main soccer club, and so on...

but mr. pamuk was genuinely happy as he walked the red carpet yesterday. he was righteously so. as was his daughter. As he mentioned in his laureate speech last week, his "father's luggage" I think was changing hands yesterday. he created a world, an inner one albeit, of egos, counter egos and psychological parallels in people and their environment, which is full of real life streets, neighborhoods and cities even though spme existed hundreds of years ego. his created world is a brilliant one, and his symmetries could be found in everyone here in the east as well as people in the west. he's a tough writer to read but he lurks the neighborhood of past greats like turgenyev or dostoyevsky.

I shall write more on pamuk and 'snow' and maybe on 'the black book' (his masterpieces in my view). but for now, a big congratulations and party mood are in order.

ps. some Orhan Pamuk references:
Orhan Pamuk official website

His interview with The Guardian

'Pamuk's Prize is a Family Affair' from The Guardian

The Paris Review Interview

The New Yorker Article on his NYC Stay

The New York Times topic on Orhan Pamuk

fall lingers on

another long fall. as in seasons. the city is lurking in trouble. trouble in commuting, trouble in breathing, trouble in communicating.

towards 2007, inevitable economical instability (as in exploding external deficit), inevitable political chaos ( as in presidencial and general elections) are hanging over the unhappy crowds line democles' sword.

and on the lighter side, malls are losing crowds to fiscal turbulance and become meeting places for lovers. no shopping but window shopping. small businesses are losing ground, so does average people's incomes as global competition cuts away the profits of ever troubled exporters.

so, 2007 will be the year of checks and balances. where hopes will either flourish or give way to mayhem. but that's that for now. it's holiday season. for now troubles are set aside for all believers. for muslims it's holidays starting with the new year, and for the minorities it's christmas and hannukah time. so be it. it's time to rejoice and be merry, at least for a little tiny miny time. more on christmas soon.

be well.

His Holiness visits Turkey

the attraction ended yesterday. but what a mess. his holiness was the only person who can travel in istanbul for three days. in the name of making their faces clean in international media, turkish authorities provided all amenities to pope Benedict ignoring the needs of over one and a half million people living in the city.

he visited holy spots vastly available in western turkey including "house of virgin mary" near ephesus, a giant mosque and of course the hagia sofia, the monumental state of the art architectural piece in istanbul.

the political aspects of the visit aside, he threw compliment after compliment towards turkish public and authorities, an innuendo for apologies for so taken words of his against islam. these were not reciprocated so handfully though. both people and authorities were cynical and reactive towards the political approach of his previous speeches on islam.

his meeting with orthodox christian patriarch bartolemeos was a different story and the real target of his visit to turkey. they have attended st. andreas mass together at fanari and declared betterement of relations between two sects.

my only comment is, as a christian living in the country, we had no access whatsoever to his holiness as a community. that had to do with security I guess, and he went back to Vatican in one piece, we should all be thankful for that.

at least the holiday season this year started with a real event. (sorry for being so superficial on the matter, but it really was that!)

memories

this blog shall not interest those with stereotypes or ideefixes on how things shall or shall not be.

they are written from a lost country, which you may scarcely distinguish through a veil, and therough a veil only.

here the contrast is lost, hence the meanings, ideals or ethic.

for those who wish to remain in their blinded comfort, I strongly suggest blogs on antarctica, where they can lie with their imagination without the burden of responsibility.

for the rest, I welcome you to this poor abode, please do share your toughts which in accordance will be published here upon literary verification and editing.

peace until next post y'all!