Daily Archives: August 4, 2012
Turkish Coffee, Istanbul Modern, Istiklal
The carpet salesman brought out coffee and glasses of water on a silver engraved tea tray before setting a cup and saucer before me, then his wife, then at the place he was sitting. Following his wife's lead, I brought the tiny mug up to my lips and sipped; strong, dark and elegant. I closed my eyes; I had been waiting for Turkish coffee my whole trip.
Our Last Night in Istanbul -- A Hookah Bar
Istanbul, July 4
There was one more cultural experience we decided to squeeze in before we left Istanbul, a nargile or what we'd call a hookah bar. Like a traditional Turkish bath, there's a significant social element involved. Although alcohol is widely available in Turkey, many Muslims do not drink, so a nargile provides an alternate way of going out with friends.
harlots and diamonds
Alternating between shoving baklava, Turkish tea, and nargile into my mouth, I get to observe the other tourists peruse through the streets in search of that perfect souvenir or meal to make their trip to the Oldtown in Istanbul complete. After my day of sightseeing at the Topkapi (Topkapı) Palace and the Basilica Cistern commenced, I found a perfect place to unwind in an oh-so-Turkish outdoor cafe surrounded and shaded by brightly colored rugs.
Göksel - Kabahat Seni Sevende 2010
Göksel - Uzaktan [ 2012]
ATATURK S MODERN FACE OF TURKISCH REPUBLIC IN TURKISCHLANDS
TURKISCHWORLD ARE FROM BALKAN TO CHINA WAL – AZERBAIJAN – TURKMENISTAN – UZBEKISTAN – KAZAKISTAN – KRGZISTAN – UYGHUR EAST TURKISTAN IN CHINA.
THE AZERI TURK IN IRAN
TURK IN KOSOVA- AND BULGARIA – SKOPJE AND GREEC TURK
HOW MORE TURKISCH HISTORY AND TURKEY – HOW MORE YOU LOVE TURKISCH PEOPLE THE WARM CARAKTER OF WELKOM TURKEY
THE MODERN FACE OF ONE ISLAMIC LAND OF THE PRO WESTERN AND PRO AMERICAN MENTALITY OF 2012 TO 2023 – 100 YEARS THE TURKISCHLAND OF TURKEY.
GÜLBEN ERGEN TEŞEKKÜR EDERİM
☆ ANVAR G'ANIEV - "МАLIKAM" (NEW UZBEK CLIP 2012) HQ 480p ☆
Seni Severdim (Yıldız Usmonova feat. Yaşar Günaçgün)
GENC OSMAN (MEHTER)
A Dance to Intertwine
Every dance begins in mind,
Every breath dances in chest.
When dance becomes a flame,
Chest blazes with love's zest.
Open my chest, my Love,
And pour in your love's wine.
So that I may dance drunk,
A dance to intertwine.
My soul, my breath, my mind,
They shall now sway as one.
My soul, my breath, my mind,
They shall now dance with One.
Rumi (1207 - 1273)
You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideals and dreams.
You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don't.
You have wings.
Learn to use them and fly.
A (Real) Turkish Hamam
For real.
I’ve read about Turkish hamams in the past, and seen a couple of paintings of them in museums. The idea of being massaged, bathed and scrubbed-down by someone who does it as their profession, in a place designed just for that purpose, seemed so completely foreign that I promised myself I’d visit one if I ever had the opportunity.
Münferit - Istanbul
Walking along the steep cobbled lanes of Çukurcuma, an area tucked away from the bustling Istiklal pedestrian mall in the centre of Istanbul, I instantly thought, I could live here. Antique furniture spills out onto the street from the many quirky and colourful shops. Cute cafes where locals are hanging out and enjoying the cooling afternoon breeze. Orhan Pamuk's Museum of Innocence is also here, in a 19th-century townhouse, a collection of love and overwhelming obsession in 83 installations.
Ayvalik: Gem of the Aegean
Ayvalik is a small seaside town that was recommended to me by a fellow traveler in Bulgaria, and I am so glad I took her advice. Sure, it's still mildly 'touristy', but it seemed to me that the bulk of the tourists were Turkish. I met a few foreigners, mostly on their way through with a tour. It's not necessarily a place a lot of independent travelers get to, I think.
In a Friend's Kitchen: Zeytinyağlı Dolma
On Friday, I was invited into the kitchen of my friend Ayşegül to learn how to make a summer dish called zeytinyağlı dolma. Dolma is a general term used to describe stuffed vegetables such as squash, tomatoes, and green peppers. Zeytinyağlı dolma is a satisfying vegetarian dish of stuffed peppers made with zeytinyağlı - olive oil . They are served cold and are a traditional summer food here in Turkey.
Goodbye Turkey
After over four and a half months living in Istanbul, Turkey, I took the 11-hour flight back to New York. Upon arriving, the first thing I noticed that *gasp* I could actually understand what everybody was saying! You don't really appreciate your native language until you go somewhere where you hear very little of it. I plan on studying Turkish a bit more.
Travel, kids and food: Turkey
Turkey offers one of the best travel experiences for families of any country. Above all, it's a great place to eat!
Hotel breakfasts are typically Mediterranean - you'll get cheese, eggs, salads, olives and sometimes cold meat. You'll also get fresh bread, honey and jams. There is no reason for anyone to leave the table hungry.
By the time your kids are asking about lunch, the traditional "lokantas" are opening up.
The One and Only
Let me tell you something about standing downwind from the pungent armpit of a singing Turkish man.
Garlic is better in than out.
Thank God for the breeze blowing up the smell of the Marmara Sea, for the perfection of the gulls as they glide beside the boat. I’ve never noticed before how they hold their stick legs taught against their tails when they fly.
Turkish cuisine: much more than Kebab
A couple of weeks ago the world’s largest doner kebab has been served up to thousand people in Ankara: weighing about 1198 kg and measuring 2.6 metres in height, the doner was made from fresh beef and was cooked by a team of ten cooks.
Credit Photo: www.guinnessworldrecords.com
Kebab has become for most of the people part of their everyday cuisine.
Yogurt Soup (Yayla Çorbası)
Yogurt soup is a very well known and loved soup in Turkey. When I intended to cook soup first time many years ago, I have tried yogurt soup and I remember I was not successful at that time. I realized that there should have been some tricks to follow during cooking. A few days ago, I stopped by my best friend's home, and she cooked yogurt soup.
The politics of fiction
Turkish tea
In Istanbul the other day, I was talking tea with a tea planter's daughter who had returned from a trip along Turkey's dramatic Black Sea coast. She'd visited the tea growing region of Rize, and was gently appalled by the rough and ready methods the pluckers used to harvest the leaf. Using shears! The shears were attached to a bag, so the contraption looked like a pelican's beak...
Making Turkish Tea
Most tourists who have been to Turkey must have sampled Turkish coffee and Turkish Tea or çay. I'm personally a bigger fan of the latter, the former being too bitter for me. Most of Turkey's tea comes from the Black Sea region, especially from the Rize province in North-East Turkey. The tea that we're talking about here is black tea, and is normally had without milk.
Travel Porn: Moyy Mini Otel
Get a plane from Istanbul to Trabzon (Black Sea area). And than a local bus journey of 2 hr`s will take you to the Pazar village where you will get another local bus to the Camlihemsin village. Finally you have arrived in paradise!
Moyy miniotel is 100% natural, ecologic and the last standing wood house that can be found in the village.
The Cave of Zeus
The cave of Zeus nr Kuşadasi. Legand says Zeus used to swim inside, with the beautiful girls of the village, hiding from his jealous wife, Hera.
On holiday... Kusadasi/Samos: my Instagram pics
Eight days in Turkey, a well-deserved holiday after a year of hard work. From visiting Ephesos, a boat trip to Samos (Greece)… to being lazy at the beach with too many cocktails, I enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks, dad, for the wonderful trip! Here, my Instagram pictures:
Follow me: fashionisticl.
Mustafa Ceceli Es [ 2012 Yeni Klip]
Ezberbozan (Gülşen)
Tuğba Özay - Çat Pat klibi 2011
GMFUS: Eerie Silence about the Euro Zone
Joshua W. Walker, German Marshall Fund of the United States, August 02, 2012
The euro crisis has emboldened Turkey, the EU’s longest waiting candidate country. But in Brussels’ greatest hour of need, Ankara remains eerily silent and distracted about the euro zone crisis and its own accession process. Turkey focuses on the “Arab Spring,” not the “European Fall.” The direction of relations between the…
Househunting Take 2
In the Navy we have a saying – Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. I sometimes told that to junior officers when they became immobilized by the overwhelming requirements and regulations that we face in the modern Navy. Here in Turkey, through sheer ignorance, I ended up in the same situation.
I won’t bore you with all the details, so to summarize, I used the wrong American office to evaluate the safety and security of my apartment.
Istanbul - the city that never sleeps
The best trips are the spontaneous ones.
Last week, I was invited to a last-minute 5 day business-trip to Istanbul. As soon as I arrived, I realized how much I missed this fabulous city. A city that truly never sleeps!!!
In 2011 they estimated a population of 17 Million people, I am sure it will continue to rise and you definitely feel it.
istanbul
Dreaming in IstanbuL
After long day, I took a walk with a friend. It was a weird night and I didn't felt so good. The city was there with all of its beauty shining like a star from a dream.
It is a difficult thing to tell the difference between the dream and the reality when you are a part of it. When watching a dream and dreaming at the same time, it becomes impossible.
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean Sea coast of southwestern Turkey. It was the world's 3rd most visited city by number of international arrivals in 2011, displacing New York. It's Turkey's largest international sea resort.
In accordance with the Turkish Statistical Institute, in 2011 the city had a population of 968,876 and the metropolitan municipality 1,031,954.
It's incertain when the site of the current city was firstly inhabited.
Naturland Hotel İle Doğayla Bütünleşin
Tatil Panosu üzerinden en uygun fiyata rezervasyon yapabileceğiniz otellerden bir tanesi de Naturland Vacation Club in Eco Park Resort otelidir. Doğayla iç içe olabileceğiniz bu otelde balayı konseptine uygun yapısıyla unutamayacağınız bir tatil yapma fırsatına erişebilirsiniz.
Kemer'de Ultra Herşey Dahil konseptinde hizmet veren Naturland Hotel'de 0-12 yaş aralığında çocuklarınız için ücret talep edilmiyor. Otelin konumu denize sıfır olmasından dolayı tatilde aranılan tüm herşeyi içerisinde barındırıdığını belirtmek çok zor olmazdı.
Kebap 44 – Ankara
Değerli Dostlar,
Kebap 44, Aşağı Ayrancı’da ABD Büyük Elçiliği’nin karşısında özellikle o çevrede yaşayan ve çalışanlara 10 yılı aşkın süredir hizmet veriyor. Aslında mekânın mazisi 1970’lere gidiyor. İlk kurulduğunda Kebap 49 olarak hizmet verirken sahiplerinin Kebap 49’u satması ve alan kişinin Malatyalı olması sebebiyle ismini Kebap 44 olarak değiştiriliyor. İsmi değişmiş olmasına rağmen işletmede çalışanların bazıları 1973’ten bu yana aralıksız bu işletmede çalışıyor.
GMFUS: Eerie Silence about the Euro Zone
Joshua W. Walker, German Marshall Fund of the United States, August 02, 2012
The euro crisis has emboldened Turkey, the EU’s longest waiting candidate country. But in Brussels’ greatest hour of need, Ankara remains eerily silent and distracted about the euro zone crisis and its own accession process. Turkey focuses on the “Arab Spring,” not the “European Fall.” The direction of relations between the…
10:04 p.m.
Marmaris/Turkey; Panasonic DMC-TZ5
Çanakkale, Turkey
I discovered historic Çanakkale with my student Selen. We rode the bus all night, sighing and telling stories of how we feel cursed against finding love. We arrived there in the morning. After breakfast at a seaside café, we took the ferry across the Marmara Sea to the site of the old fort and castle. Davut (my Turkish soldier friend) had told me the story of the War of Perseverance and Technology, of how the Turks held off the British fleet at the narrow point of Çanakkale during World War I, thus changing the course of modern history.
A taste of Turkey
I've just spent a magical five days in Istanbul and Kas in Turkey, taking in the sights, sounds and smells and of course sampling some of the delicious food.
From meze plates to hummus, pide to corn on the cob, Turkish coffee to baklava, Efes beer to freshly squeezed orange juice, yoghurt to grape juice, and fresh seafood to cherry soda, the short visit was a most enjoyable culinary discovery!
My First Poetic Thoughts of Turkey
The bridge in Izmit, toward the Marmara Sea
My first few months in Turkey, I was amazed and overwhelmed by all I found here. I lived in Izmit, Kocaeli, in the northwest, not far from Istanbul. Enjoy my impressions with matching photos. From my new book, "Fire and Ice":
After my class is over, I walk up the bridge that rises over the old, mysterious mosque with mossy stones, a minaret, and golden crescent moon.
ISTANBUL | preview
Istanbul rivals Kathmandu as the most populated/clustered city I have ever been to. Beauty is still to be found everywhere! I was only there for one day but feel I captured at least a bit of the essence that flows within that city. Here is a selection of a few of my favorites.
Lokum for the eyes: iznik tiles
I must admit that Middle Asians are blessed with an eye for detail. Modern Turkey is still the home of fine textiles, beautiful ceramics and extraordinary craftsmanship of jewelry and interior pieces. Iznik tiles are among the most exquisite pieces of art, decorating both the mosques and palaces of Istanbul and the finest of collections in museums across the world.
Luxury Gulet Cruises - Experience the Tanyeli
Ever dream of luxury gulet cruises? The Turkish gulet holidays that offer that special kind of feeling when cruising in the Mediterranean. With so many elegant gulets available, the choices in comfort and class are many. Compared to that of bareboat or motor yacht charters, gulet charters provide a more unique perspective to enjoying Turkey and the Greek Islands. Live a unique cultural and historical experience, coupled with lovely private bays and charming seaside villages, authentic shopping, a different sunset dining experience and much more.
A taste of Gaziantep in Fethiye
The ancient city of Gaziantep boasts hundreds, if not thousands, of shops and restaurants selling irresistible goodies, both sweet and savoury. Fortunately for those of us in Fethiye who are unable to make regular visits to this historic city to indulge our foodie passions, Fethiye now has some well established shops, and a consistently excellent restaurant, specialising in Gaziantep confectionary and cuisine right here on our doorstep.
Classic Movies in Music Videos: Give Me All Your Luvin' by Madonna
This is August's edition of Comet Over Hollywood’s classic film references in music videos.
2012 marks the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death on August 5, 1962. Turner Classic Movies is dedicating today to Marilyn Monroe with a whole day of her film's during their 10th annual Summer Under the Stars Salute.
As we all know, everyone and their mother has imitated Marilyn Monroe in some shape or form.
Tarkan - Kayıp / HD / Yepyeni Klip 2011 Süper Kalite!
