feed just one

Oil Wrestling...manly or strange?

2010-06-27T16:34:00.006+03:00

Last week an oil wrestling competition almost 650 years old continued in the city of Edirne, Turkey. Men from all over the country (and this year even a few Sumo wrestlers from Japan) come to this city west of Istanbul, cover themselves with olive oil and wrestle in a pavilion in front of thousands of people (of which I was 1 of about 5 women that I counted in the crowd). There's also a big fair with food, music, rugs, and tractors for sale. It's almost like a small state fair but no fried Snickers bars.

During the match we watched, about 50 men who were probably in the heavy weight division came out to the field and were introduced. Then they all walked and jumped around the field and chose their match ups on their own while the band beat drums and played horns.

Each match up had a judge standing by them. The match began and for most, it was very difficult to see who might be "winning." Most of the matches lasted about 20-30 minutes and then at some point the judge would raise one of the two men's arms as the winner. I had to come home and read the rules afterwards. Some of the ways a wrestler can win are: "Submission" where a fight is so long and difficult in the hot weather that one of the wrestlers simply signals his submission; also, one of the most decisive ways to win is if one of the wrestlers is able to gain the upper hand by reaching down the other wrestler's leather pants to gain leverage. It sounds very strange, I know. There are other ways to win, but none of them are necessarily ways we would think of winning in wrestling. No one gets knocked out or anything like that.

There are 13 categories each with a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place winner. the ultimate goal is to win 3 years in a row and win a gold champion belt.

I can say that I've been...

My Turkish Bath

2010-06-10T09:51:00.000+03:00

I've been avoiding the Turkish bath experience because of some of the horror stories I've heard about them as well as some of the youtube videos I've seen where a big burly Turk is manhandling some poor tourist. But I finally gave in and went to a Turkish bath, and I must say...........it was great.

The first thing you do after you enter is see a list of services provided. Everything from just sitting in the bath, to the traditional soaping, to a massage, etc. I wanted the traditional Turkish bath experience, so I signed up for the soaping.

After you pay, they take you to a locker room of sorts, where you undress and put a towel around your waist. Then they take you to the main bath, which is a large room almost as hot as a sauna. In the middle of the room is a giant stone circular slab that is heated. On the outside walls of the bath are basins with hot and cold water taps running to them. They leave you in this room, laying on the heated stone slab, for about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes or so, the guy comes in the room who is going to soap you. (Most of the guys in the bath don't speak English, but I knew enough Turkish and sign language to get by. The only English word my guy knew was: Obama!) The first thing he does is put a semi-rough mit on his hand and rubs it over your body. The mit takes off all your dead skin, which is surprisingly a lot. After that begins the soaping process. He brings over a big bowl filled with soap suds and a rag. Laying on your back, he starts to lather you up with soap, then he rubs in the soap/massages you. After that he makes you turn over on your stomach and does the same thing to your back. After he's done soaping, he has you go sit by the outer walls by one of the water basins, where he proceeds to dump buckets of water over your head. Then he gets out the shampoo and starts to vigorously (and I do mean vigorously) rub the shampoo in. After he thinks its sufficiently rubbed in, he again dumps buckets of water on your head. Then he slaps me on the back, says Obama!, and leaves. The entire process from start to finish takes about 15 minutes.

I really enjoyed the Turkish bath experience and will be going back. If you're ever in Turkey, a Turkish bath should be on your on list of things to do.

Children's' Day

2010-04-25T11:12:00.004+03:00

The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk once said, "Children are the new beginning of tomorrow." He dedicated April 23rd to the children of the country to emphasize that they are the future of the new nation. It is celebrated every year with children's parades, marching bands, school performances, and other events.

UNICEF recognizes this day as International Children's Day now.

The monument in the picture behind the children is the Republic Monument in Taksim Square in Istanbul. During the Ottoman Empire, public monuments were not allowed and forbidden as idolatry. Under Ataturk, and the new Turkish Republic however, he wanted to show that Turkey was now a secular republic with division of state and religion. Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica was commissioned to make a work honoring the leaders of the struggle for independence and the formation of the republic in 1923. It was just restored and unveiled for the start of Friday's events.

Meşhur Sur Tatlısı ("Famous Walls of Dessert")

2010-04-02T14:20:00.003+03:00

We were in a part of the city called Fatih today and ate at a restaurant that specializes in a dessert we had never seen or heard of before. We chose the restaurant because it was crowded and that's usually a good sign and now we know why. They have a dessert that if translated into English I think would mean the "famous walls of dessert." The outside is made of semolina halva - a kind of course wheat flour - with honey and cinnamon. The texture is almost like sweet chewy grits. Then inside is vanilla ice cream and strawberries. All I can say is I will be going back to have this again. Super delicious.

Happy April Fools' Day

2010-04-01T20:32:00.002+03:00

An article from the ISTANBUL Hürriyet Daily News

Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue witnessed an unusual event today as many people popped 100,000 balloons thrown from rooftops. The April Fools' Day event, was planned by a tourism firm to make people smile for a day and play like children, and seen by many as a way to relax as well.

Cat Showdown

2010-03-23T20:02:00.002+02:00

There are constant street sounds in Istanbul that are very audible from inside our apartment. Everything from car horns, to street salesmen, to calls of prayer, etc. This evening was no exception, as we were trying to watch tv and were interrupted by arguing cats. The video shows the last 20 seconds of a 3 minutes long very loud cat conversation.

Spring is here!

2010-03-22T18:20:00.003+02:00

This week, the weather has been gorgeous, so yesterday we went to Gulhane Park right next to Topkapi Palace. It's the oldest and one of the largest public parks in Istanbul. It is a lovely place. There are so many flowers that have bloomed recently and we're still waiting for a lot of the tulips to show their faces. Here's a few pictures we took.

Amarillo and Apple Tea

2010-03-21T16:38:00.004+02:00

It's taken me six months to finally go in a Turkish carpet store. I have walked by them many many times over the past few months and been encouraged by salesmen to just come in and take a look at what they had to offer, but I've always been nervous about what the experience would be like once I was inside. I would like to bring home a rug that I can say was handmade here in Turkey, but I still don't really know what I'm looking for.

So, we went in a store today. We walk in and the salesman says hello in perfect English. He asks what we are looking for and I look to my right and see a runner so I point and say that's what I'm interested in (I figured it was not to small to offend him and not too large to be astronomically priced). He motions for us to take a seat on the sofa and the madness begins. Another salesman brings us apple tea freshly brewed and together three of them spend the next 15 minutes bringing out rug after rug after rug. Each one has a different story that he loves to tell. All handmade (maybe). All different colors. By the end it is quite overwhelming. Then he takes a break and talks with us a while. He asked us where we were from and then said he also has a friend from Texas who just came to visit him (might or might not be true) then said he drove through Amarillo, Texas once and had a great hamburger (again might or might not be true, but I'm impressed if it is true).

Then we got back to the topic of rugs and he asked me to choose the ones that I liked. I chose only four from the thirty or so he had put before me. Two wool and two silk. He says what nice choices I made (would he tell a customer he/she made a bad choice?) then describes the motifs in the two silk rugs and then the regions that the two wool rugs come from. Then I said, "So this is the part where we talk about price..." He laughed and said, "If that's how you do it in Texas." Surprisingly, all four prices he gave we found reasonable. Since we just started looking I wasn't ready to pull the trigger yet, so we began the exit process. As we're trying to leave he comes down on the price on all four rugs and asks us to reconsider. We said thanks and that we'd come again. One rug shop experience is enough for one day, but now I am intrigued to meet other salesmen who perhaps have driven through Amarillo as well.

We can all be refugees

2010-03-10T21:04:00.000+02:00

The United Nations' definition of refugee: A refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.

We can all be refugees. It doesn't matter how much money you have, or how educated you are, or if you've ever committed a crime, or if you're a good person, etc. It's tough to imagine from a US mindset, because we believe in our judicial system, the government's power to protect us, and our freedom. But, a group could come to power and seek to eradicate all opposition. Those who oppose are forced to agree, die or flee.

Or someone could pick a spouse that their family doesn't agree with. The family threatens, and takes, violent action against the couple.

Someone could change religions, and their previous religion could persecute them.

Someone could live a lifestyle that their family, community, state and government don't agree with, and the individual's rights are no longer protected.

Someone could have harsh opinions about the government, or those in power, and be persecuted for them.

In each of the situations the person is forced to flee and go to a different country. But what if you have to go to Mexico, but you don't speak Spanish? You might go to Canada and be able to speak English, but you don't have a work permit and local law doesn't allow you to work without a permit. Not to mention you would be competing will all the other people who fled for what small jobs you could find. On top of all of this, if you had kids, how would you provide for them? How would you feed them? Local schools in the country you fled probably will not allow non-citizen children to attend their schools. Where do you sleep? What do you eat? How do you earn money? Where do you hope to move after? How do you start your life again?

This the situation of most refugees.

We can all be refugees. It's tough to comprehend for those of us fortunate enough to be born in a country that protects our rights and freedoms, but it's true.

Yavaş (slow) improvement

2010-02-23T11:19:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we experienced just how much our Turkish is improving..........or not.

A woman started speaking in Turkish to us.
LC: I think she needs food.
BC: No, I think she has a problem with her tonsils.

Turns out she had high blood pressure and needed her medicine refilled.

Fish Bread. Yum or Yuck? You choose.

2010-02-16T14:39:00.004+02:00

Along the water front of the Golden Horn, there are brightly colored and elaborately decorated floating boats that can be seen easily from the bridge. We had not seen them up close before and I assumed they were tour boats of some kind where the rates were probably inflated and the tour guides wore Ottoman themed outfits and tried to tell tourists that their boats were thousands of years old. I couldn't have been more wrong...they are not tour boats, they are floating kitchens that only serve grilled fish sandwiches!

Here are the "cooks" sanding around the huge grill in the center of their boat. What you can't tell by looking at this picture is how badly this boat is rocking back and forth because ferries are constantly coming in to the port behind them.

Close up fish grilling

Once they have a sandwich made, they wait until the boat is rocking towards land and they hand the sandwich over to be sold.

Termessos in Southern Turkey

2010-02-09T15:15:00.004+02:00

This weekend, we decided to go to see a part of the southern coast of Turkey at Antalya. It is a beautiful place. We rented a car and drove to several nearby sites of ancient ruins. The most impressive city was Termessos. In 333 BC, Alexander the Great couldn't capture it despite his attempt because of it's location protected by a valley hidden between the mountains. We were so impressed with the structures that still remain. This site is unrestored but you can still tell how grand it must have been. The theatre was enormous, and there's also a temple, homes, marketplace, the cistern, and rock quarry.

Still Snowing!

2010-01-25T18:11:00.002+02:00

S N O W

2010-01-24T18:13:00.004+02:00

Our first snow in Istanbul!

Anyone thirsty?

2010-01-20T09:15:00.000+02:00

Who wants a drink of our tap water? This marks day 3.

Istanbul 2010 Kick Off

2010-01-17T14:59:00.004+02:00

Last night kicked off the opening celebrations for Istanbul as one of three cities chosen to be 2010's European Capital of Culture. The cities chosen are designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development. There were seven different venues for opening event concerts last night around the city. BC and I attended part of the event in Taksim Square where there were fireworks, a fire show, and a performance by pop super star, Tarkan (Never heard of him? Neither had we). Istanbul hopes to attract over 10 million visitors to the city throughout 2010.

Turkish Fast Food

2010-01-12T09:09:00.001+02:00

Unfortunately Turkey has its share of McDonald's and Burger King, but overall the quickest, cheapest and most popular fast food is a Doner. The Doner is a sandwich made with either chicken or meat (usually lamb) that is cooked on a giant kebab, pictured below. When an Doner is ordered, the man will take out a knife and thinly shave the outside of the kebab. The meat is put in bread, along with pickles, tomatoes and sometimes french fries and lettuce.

In the non-tourist part of town, Doner's will usually cost 2 or 3 lira ($1.50 to $2 US). It is a quick and cheap meal or snack that you can find no matter what part of town you are in.

Below are some pictures of a Doner, along with a couple of other pictures of what the shops look like that sell them.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T08:47:00.009+02:00

In Turkey, you'll find decorated trees and store windows, lighted streets and buildings, retail sales, skinny Santas on street corners, and lottery ticket sellers all in the name of celebrating the New Year. A few weeks before Christmas, stores began hauling out decorations for people to ready their homes for the coming of the new year and Noel Baba (Santa) on New Year's Eve. Noel Baba brought gifts into homes last night as well as families prepared elaborate dinners and firework were shot off from all around. We feel like we had two Christmases! Here are a few pictures to share of what it was like.

Symphony playing at an outdoor mall

Suspended lights on a street

Buy a blow up Santa from an enthusiastic Santa?

Special New Year's Eve cakes at a bakery

Quartet of Santas playing in the street

There is also the tradition of buying a lottery ticket for New Year's. The top prize for the new year challenges everyone to get at least one ticket. Many people ask their friends in other cities to buy and send tickets to them. This year's top price was worth 20 million YTL, or about $15 million US dollars.

Bye Bye 2009

Hello and Welcome 2010!

Emmanuel

2009-12-25T09:28:00.001+02:00

Weather Update

2009-12-13T13:37:00.000+02:00

Rain

+ cold

+ wind

(did I say + wind)

(best picture I could find to describe what I looked like on the way to church this morning)

= winter has arrived folks

Tax Deductible Donation

2009-12-10T21:02:00.000+02:00

If you find yourself searching for a place to give a year end tax deductible donation that will be used to help people in need, then I have a recommendation. The organization we are working for here in Istanbul has a system in place where people in the US can donate and it is tax deductible.

Earlier this week we composed a list of emergency medical procedures that our clients currently need, but money is not available for. The listed added up to approximately $50,000 total. The procedures cover many different things, everything from major heart surgery, to a mastectomy, to major reconstructive dental work.

In addition to medical procedures, our clients have many other needs. Here's a list of a sampling of client needs, along with the donation amount to take care of that need for one person/family:
$100 donation--assistance with rent
$75-- prescription medicine
$60--school uniform for a child
$50--groceries for 2 weeks
$45--bus ticket to and from Ankara for UNHCR interview
$40--baby stroller
$35--a tank of natural gas used to cook food
$30--winter jacket
$25--shoes
$20--pants
$15--winter hat
$10--scarf or gloves
$5--blanket
$2--a sandwich for lunch
$1--a bus/metro token to ride public transportation

Any donation small or big, can be used to help improve lives of those in need.

If you are interested in giving, send us an email: ourturkishblog@gmail.com. When you give, you can designate what you want the money to go for.

A not so Christmas Carol

2009-12-06T21:42:00.000+02:00

The Disney animated version, of "A Christmas Carol," just came to theaters here. I was excited to go because I'm in the holiday mode and love that story. We went to see it a few days ago and when it was our turn to buy tickets we say, "Two tickets for A Christmas Carol." The ticket salesman looks at us and in Turkish says, "You know it's in Turkish, right?" I was pretty disappointed and we decided to come back home and rent another Christmas movie instead. As we were leaving the theater we did notice that the poster (same as below) did have the title in Turkish and it translates to "A New Year Song." Most American movies are shown in English with Turkish subtitles. but I guess since this is animated they can do voice overs simply. I wonder how long it took Jim Carrey to master his Turkish pronunciation? Just kidding.

2010

2009-12-02T23:53:00.000+02:00

In 2010, the United States will accept 74,000 people who are refugees, as well as an additional 5,000 people who have special cases, bringing the total to 79,000 people who will be resettled to the US.

The majority of them will be from Iraq, Burma and Bhutan. Overall, the US will resettle people who are refugees from 65 different countries next year.

Link: 2010 Refugee Report to US Congress

O Christmas Tree

2009-11-30T20:08:00.000+02:00

Here she is! Our 2009 Christmas tree. We bought it this weekend at a store where there were about 4 choices. This one looked the least puny and like she needed a home. BC had the seasonal joy of carrying it across town, and then I decorated it. I think she is well worth our efforts. 'Tis the season!

Kurban Bayram

2009-11-28T14:55:00.000+02:00

Thursday started the four day Muslim holiday of Kurban Bayram (Feast of Sacrifice) here in Turkey, called Eid al-Adha in Arabic speaking countries. Muslims worldwide celebrate Bayram as a remembrance of Abraham's obedience to God in his willingness to sacrifice his son; instead God provided a sacrificial ram as substitute. Each year, Bayram takes place 2 months and 10 days after Ramadan, the 40 days of fasting. Bayram also starts the following day after people have completed their pilgrimage to Mecca, which is one of the five pillars of Islam.

During the celebration of Bayram an emphasis is placed on spending time with family and friends. Families will go to Mosques to pray together and attend special services. If the family has the means, they will typically sacrifice an animal. Families can choose how to distribute the meat, but traditionally, a third of the meat is kept by the family, a third is given to friends, and a third is distributed to the poor.

In Turkey they have designated certain places around the city where families can bring their animal to be sacrificed. If families choose not to slaughter an animal, there are non-profits that they can donate money to instead. The non-profit then purchases animals, slaughters them, packages the meat and then distributes it to impoverished people around the world. (Today's Zaman article about non profits)

Bozaaaaa!

2009-11-19T21:25:00.000+02:00

For about the past month, every night (almost without exception) around 10:30 we hear someone yelling from our street something that sounds like, "Booohhhzzzlllaaayyy." He then rings a bell followed by, "AaahhhBooohhhhzzzlllaaayy." This cycle repeats...over and over again. This salesman walks the streets of our neighborhood three times every night. Until this week I have not been able to figure out what it is he is selling...

You can hear what he sounds like on the video below. The sound is a little faint, but hopefully you get the picture.

BC's family is in town with us now so last night the "seller" came down our street as predicted. We all watched him out the window, but they couldn't tell what it was either. The second time he came by two of us went outside to ask him what it was he was selling. I said to him, " Bu ne?" (What is this?), and he responded in Turkish and I didn't understand so I said, "Süt?" (Milk?) and he replied somewhat gruffly, " Süt? YOK! Boza!" (Milk? No! It's Boza!). I shrug and ask how much because I still have no idea at this point what in the world "Boza" is so I figured I might as well try it. He gets out a plastic cup and pours a thick whiteish liquid into it and sprinkles the top with cinnamon. We try it and it tastes sort of like a thicker than normal egg nog (not as sweet or eggy though...it's a tough drink to describe).

Now that I knew the name, I looked it up. Boza is popular malt drink in Turkey made from fermented wheat. It has a thick consistency and a low alcohol content (usually around 1%), and has a slightly acidic sweet flavor. It is served with cinnamon and served in mostly the winter months. Boza is an infamous beverage known since Ottoman times. In the 17th century there were over 300 shops in Istanbul that sold it.

I'm glad I know what Boza is, and I'm glad that we tried it, but I still am not sure that I understand why it needs to be yelled from the rooftops as I'm trying to fall asleep. :-)

My lunch friend

2009-11-14T13:26:00.000+02:00

Today for lunch, we ate tavuk şiş (pronounced: tahvuk sheesh) which is chicken grilled on a skewer. It is our favorite Turkish meal so far. You can find it at almost any local restaurant. It's cheap (about $4!) and delicious! I think the reason the chicken is so tasty is that it is marinated for a long time before it's grilled. The seasonings are olive oil, pepper paste, cumin powder, dried mint, and paprika. The dish is also served with fluffy pita bread, rice, and vegetables. Try this at home...you won't be disappointed.

During most meals here, if you eat outside, your every move is watched by surrounding neighborhood cats who wait hoping you will drop a piece of food on the ground. Cats are everywhere, and today was no exception. At one point during the meal, I reached under the table cloth to get my napkin and felt what I thought was a paw touch me. I pulled my hand back and looked under the table and didn't see anything. I asked BC to look as well, but neither of us saw anything under the table. A few minutes later, I decided to reach under the table cloth again and when I did I was again "pawed." I stood up and lifted up the table cloth and there sat a cat on the chair beside me staring at me. I started laughing and the restaurant owner came over and BC pointed at the cat and said "Arkadaş," (pronounced Ark-a-dah-sh) which means friend in Turkish. The owner shooed him away but not before I snapped this picture of him.

The refugee process in Turkey

2009-11-10T16:15:00.000+02:00

This post about the process of refugees and asylum seekers in Turkey is long overdue, mostly because I’ve been intimidated by it. There are many laws and regulations, so this is the 10,000 foot view of how the process generally works.

There are 2 groups of people that this process applies to:
1. Asylum seekers. An asylum seeker is a person who has fled their own country and applies to the government of another country for protection as a refugee.
2. Refugees. (United Nations definition) A refugee is a person who is outside their own country and cannot return due to a well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.

When people who have fled their home country first arrive in Turkey they are asylum seekers. When they arrive, the people are supposed to register with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). When they register, basic information is taken from them and they are given identification papers that allow some level of protection for them to be in Turkey legally.

Asylum seekers will then go through an interview process with the UNHCR, in order to determine whether or not they are a refugee. The asylum seeker tells about the flight from their home country and why they cannot return, and are encouraged to show proof.

As the asylum seeker is going through this process, which can take anywhere from months to years, they are assigned to a satellite city in Turkey. There are 30 satellite cities in Turkey, mainly in the interior and eastern parts of the country. At the satellite city, asylum seekers are required to sign in with the local police either daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on the city. Asylum seekers aren’t legally allowed to work, and the government does not usually provide housing, but we do know that at least one satellite city has provided two buildings for people who are refugees to live in, but that is rare.

As the person is living in the satellite city, the UNHCR is making a decision on their case to either grant or deny them refugee status. If the UNHCR denies them refugee status, the person can appeal twice and present more evidence. If the appeal is denied both times, then the person is no longer legally allowed to stay in Turkey.

If the person is granted refugee status by the UNHCR then the long wait begins for resettlement into another country. From what I’ve seen, the resettlement process can take an extremely long time. I know a man who was given refugee status in the early 2000s and still has not been resettled. Most people get resettled more quickly than this, but long waits for resettlement exist.

People are very excited when they get refugee status because it means that they will get resettled to a different country. However, the wait can be very frustrating and very long. Even while they wait for resettlement they still have to be in their satellite cities.

From what I’ve seen, it is tough to get refugee status from UNHCR. UNHCR seems to do their due diligence to make sure the asylum seeker is truthful about the persecution in their home country. If someone is granted refugee status, then you can be sure that they have suffered a great deal due to persecution.

There are many things that are important that I’ve left out of this post that affect the daily lives of people who are refugees and asylum seekers. I’ll come back and fill in the holes every so often.

2009-11-04T19:31:00.000+02:00

This past weekend, we went to a concert of an Istanbul Korean Choir at the St. Irene located within the courtyard of the Topkapi Palace. It is a museum and not always open, so this was a great opportunity to go. The choir did not disappoint, nor did the saxophonist who played “Amazing Grace.”

St.Irene is one of the largest and oldest churches from the Byzantine era still standing in Istanbul. It was built in the year 330. The church takes its name from a saint who was at that time working for the spread of Christianity. The church was first built from wood, and burned during a revolt in 532. Although the Emperor Justinian had the St. Irene restored, it later suffered significant damage in fires and earthquakes. Fortunately, the church was restored each time that it was damaged, and, after the conquering of Istanbul in 1453, remained within the walls of the Topkapi palace courtyard. For a long period, the St. Irene was used as a weapons depot, and finally in 1869 it was converted into a museum. Today, the museum serves mainly as a concert hall due to its extraordinary acoustics.

Happy Halloween from Turkey

2009-10-31T16:22:00.000+02:00

Happy Halloween everyone! It has rained here all day long, so it was a perfect day to stay inside and carve a watermelon jack o'lantern. Why not carve a pumpkin? Well, the pumpkins here that we have seen are white and have deep grooves that we thought might be too difficult to carve a face into. A watermelon was a tasty alternative.

The finished product...kind of happy, kind of scary, kind of funny

Sharing our holiday cheer with the neighbors

BC's attempt at carving "Turkey"

2009-10-30T08:51:00.000+02:00

The fireworks show was great last night! They were shot from 6 barges in the middle of the Bosphorus, which is the strait that divides the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. The Bosphorus Bridge was also lit with red lights and had a fireworks waterfall cascading from it. It was 180 degrees of fireworks! After the show was over there was dancing and a huge sing along to a patriotic Turkish song.

Happy Cumhuriyet Bayram

2009-10-29T09:35:00.000+02:00

Today is Cumhuriyet Bayram, Turkey's Republic Day.

On October 29th, 1923, the Turkish constitution was ammended and Turkey became a republic. This officially marked the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled from 1300 to 1923.

From what we've seen so far, Cumhuriyet Bayram is celebrated very similar to July 4th. Offices, schools, and government buildings are closed, Turkish flags are hanging, there are different activities all over town, and even fireworks tonight on the Bosphorus.

We're not that far from home

2009-10-25T21:20:00.000+02:00

This is the first and only US college paraphernalia that we've seen here. Random.

Today's Zaman Article

2009-10-24T14:59:00.000+03:00

Below is a recent article from Today's Zaman, a local Istanbul publication:

Court ruling puts pressure on Turkey over refugee rights
A judgment this week against Turkey by the European Court of Human Rights over two Iranian refugees is likely to force Turkey to accelerate its efforts to regulate its policy on refugees, asylum seekers and migration.

Turkey imposes limitations on accepting asylum seekers based on their country of origin and refuses to grant asylum to people of non-European origin as refugees, but Turkey is one of the hot spots of refugees and asylum seekers. According to the Human Rights Research Association (IHAD), last month 2,618 refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants were detained for violating border regulations, and 378 were deported. Experts believe that some of these deportations constitute violations of universal human rights principles, as shown in the recent ruling of the European court regarding the two Iranian refugees, whom Turkey attempted to deport without reviewing their applications.

Özlem Dalkıran from the Helsinki Citizens Assembly (HYD) refugee support program told Today's Zaman that the recent case in the European court is actually an exemplary case that points out all of the shortcomings of Turkey's refugee policy.

“Although compared to a couple of years ago, the situation is relatively better. At least the media and society are able to understand the importance of the issue a little bit more, but Turkey has a long way to go,” she said.

A typical example

The European court announced in a press statement on Tuesday that it had ruled against Turkey on charges of trying to deport two Iranian nationals, Mohsen Abdolkhani and Hamid Karimnia, although they were recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

As members of the People's Mojahedin organization they left Iran and entered a refugee camp in Iraq. After the closure of the camp they came to Turkey, where they were arrested and deported to Iraq, but they immediately re-entered Turkey.

They were convicted of illegal entry into Turkey, and Turkish authorities attempted to deport them to Iran on June 28, 2008. Authorities were unsuccessful as the Iranian authorities refused their admission. The two asylum seekers requested temporary asylum but have yet to receive an answer.

“The Court was struck by the fact that both the administrative and judicial authorities had remained totally passive regarding the applicants' serious allegations of a risk of ill-treatment if returned to Iraq or Iran. Moreover, by failing to consider the applicants' requests for temporary asylum, to notify them of the reasons for not taking their asylum requests into consideration and to authorize them to have access to legal assistance (despite their explicit request for a lawyer) while in police detention in Muş, the national authorities had prevented the applicants from raising their allegations. What was more, the applicants could not even apply to the authorities for annulment of the decision to deport them as they had never been served with the deportation orders. Nor had they been notified of the reasons for their threatened removal from Turkey,” the European court statement indicated.

The European court also fined Turkey 20,000 euros for each applicant.

Speaking to Today's Zaman, Metin Çorabatır from the UNCHR office in Turkey said the decision is likely to set a precedent.

“Although the decision is related with the two applicants, there are 10 similar files in the court,” he said, adding that the shortcomings of Turkey's asylum system are reflected in the European court decision. “We are ready to help the Turkish government overcome these gaps,” he said.

Turkey is under the process of preparing a new legislation to address the issue of refugees and asylum seekers. Its civil society organizations like the Human Rights Association (İHD), Association for Solidarity with Refugees (MÜLTECİ-DER), Amnesty International and İHAD are also trying to form a platform for cooperation regarding the problems of refugees. Besides that, Turkey is under heavy pressure from the European Union to sign readmission agreements that will force it to take back refugees rejected by Europe after getting there through Turkey. European and Turkish officials will hold meetings in October to work out the technical details of a possible arrangement to this purpose.

Link to the article.

Problem çok var

2009-10-21T20:29:00.000+03:00

Turkiye'de Türkçe öğreniyoruz. Problem çok var. Çok zor.

We are studying Turkish in Turkey. There are many problems. It is very difficult.

Named that tune

2009-10-14T21:34:00.001+03:00

Remember the "jingle" post from a few weeks ago? We had been wanting to figure out where the song was coming from and what they were selling. Well...we found out.

We have a gas stove in the kitchen that uses a gas tank (common in Turkey). Last week we were making dinner and the flame went out on the stove. So, we called our building attendant and he said he would call the company that replaces the gas tank for us. About 15 minutes later we heard the "jingle" coming down our street...and what do you know- it's for Ay Gaz which is the local gas company.

Ay Gaz frequently drives down the streets of town playing their jingle so if anyone's gas tank is empty they can go outside and replace it. It's simple!

Lance Armstrong watch out

2009-10-10T21:14:00.000+03:00

There are 4 small islands south of Istanbul that are part of the Prince's Islands that you can visit by ferry. Today we visited Buyukada, which is the largest island. Cars are not allowed there, so to go around the island you either walk, rent bikes, or take a horse drawn carriage. We opted to rent bikes.

The island is beautiful, with many great old summer homes, beaches and cafes. Because of the beauty, I decided it would be a good idea to get out our video camera and tape a little bit of our ride. This video will give you an idea of how fun the ride was......

I'm fine. Really. I mainly hit my knee and elbow, and scraped up my hands. As I'm going down the hill before I crash, there are 4 tourists on the left. You can't hear it on the video, but after I crashed I got a collective "ooohhhhhhhhhh."

It was still a fun day. If you're going to crash, you might as well get it on video.

(Posted by BC, for some reason it wouldn't let me post video under my name.)

Tears of Joy or of Tear Gas?

2009-10-06T14:43:00.000+03:00

We were on a main road early this afternoon, and BC asked if my eyes were burning because his were. My eyes were not burning, but my nose was and I was sneezing. We continued walking and then came upon a group of protesters coming from a side street. It was then that we realized the reason our eyes and noses were burning was because tear gas was in the air. The oncoming protesters were getting ready to march so we quickly went down another street.

We walked down that street for a while seeing people pass us who were crying and sneezing and coughing because of the tear gas.

We reached a main street that leads to Taksim (a big square downtown) and noticed that traffic was being redirected because the police were blocking the street. There was hardly anyone walking down the street like we were- mostly just shop owners. I started to feel uneasy. There was a police helicopter hovering over us up above. We stopped at one point because a group of police men had their tear gas guns ready and masks on walking towards us. I gave a shop owner a look of desperation and asked if we could come inside his shop just as the tear gas was fired towards protestors coming down a side street. BC and I along with several local Turkish men went in the store and closed the door behind us. We waited for a few minutes, and even through the closed door the tear gas was hurting our eyes and nose. We bought water from the nice shop owner, and left as the commotion died down.

When we walked by Taksim, the police had it completely surrounded and barricaded. As we continued walking, trash cans were turned over, and bus stops and police stations had broken glass.

The people were protesting the International Monetary Fund, which is holding a two day meeting in Istanbul today and tomorrow. The IMF is holding their annual meeting to discuss ways to battle poverty and avoid another global economic collapse like 2008. Turkey is one of the world’s 20 wealthiest economies, but a huge income gap exists. Recent government statistics show that 1 in 5 Turkish people live in poverty. The lower class has been hit hard by the economic downturn. (Taken from CNN article)

We are fine, but it was a little scary because we almost found ourselves caught in between protestors and police several times, although unintentionally. Thanks to the shop owner that let us in, mine are mostly tears of joy with a few minor tears of tears gas remaining.

Update: Yahoo News has posted a gallery of photos from today's protests: Link to the gallery

What do I build?

2009-09-30T19:24:00.000+03:00

The first engineers that ever existed invented the brick. After inventing the brick, they figured they could stack the bricks up and build a tower in the middle of the city. The plans called for a tower so high it could reach heaven. Man could simply walk up the steps and be with God. Everyone was excited about the tower, how could they not be?

There was also a man in the desert that built a large ship by himself. People thought he was crazy building such a big ship in the middle of nowhere. He worked for many years on this ship, often being mocked. Crazy Noah they called him.

As the story goes, the tower meant nothing and the ship meant everything. The engineers and townspeople were building the tower for the glory of themselves. Crazy Noah, the ship builder, was doing his work for the glory of God. The people who built the tower were scattered and it was never completed, their labor being wasted. The ship saved humanity.

I sometimes wonder what I build, towers or ships?

A beautiful day

2009-09-29T23:01:00.001+03:00

Name that tune

2009-09-28T08:13:00.000+03:00

Every day we hear this "jingle." The streets here are very narrow and sounds echo so it's hard to tell where this jingle is coming from. It plays once through then takes a 10 second break before restarting. It sounds like a song the Ice Cream Truck would play except creepier.

We're on the hunt to find the source of this jingle and what it's selling. Turn your speakers on and enjoy the audio below.

A day maker

2009-09-24T20:42:00.000+03:00

I would say that we've shared our first success at work, but we weren't involved in the several months of work that led up to this week. This week, we learned that several children of the families we serve were approved to attend Turkish public schools. It may sound like a small thing, but to these families it means the world.

No scam for you

2009-09-19T20:47:00.000+03:00

We avoided our first scam today...a shoeshine scam. In Istanbul, there are many men who are mobile shoe shiners. They carry around a stool, a brush, and a basket of shines. They hound you in the tourist places to try and shine your shoes. There's a common scam that they do; they'll be walking past tourists and they will drop their brush and keep walking, acting like they haven't noticed. Naturally, the tourist bends down and picks up the brush and hands it back. The shoe shiner is so grateful and tells the tourist how he just saved his livelihood and his family. As an appreciation for the good deed, the shoe shiner offers a shine. The tourist, feeling like he must accept, plops his feet down for a shine. After the shine, the shoe shiner demands payment, often times 4 or 5 times higher than what it would normally cost. If you don't pay him he'll create a scene.

We had been warned about this scam. Today we were walking through a park and a 50 year old shoe shine man was walking at us. As we were close to him, he casually dropped his brush and waited for us to pick it up. We just pointed at it and walked on. He followed us for a bit and offered a shine, but we just kept walking.

Scam avoided. 20 lira richer. I feel like we've been initiated somewhat.

The Sugar Festival

2009-09-18T18:42:00.000+03:00

Seker Bayram, the "sugar festival" is a 3 1/2 day holiday celebrated by Muslims to mark the end of Ramazan, the month of fasting. Muslims fast for 40 days from sunrise to sunset.

Bayram starts this Sunday and will last until Tuesday. We're told that many places will still be open, but any official business is closed such as government offices or banking. This is as big of a holiday here as Thanksgiving.

It is customary to go see family and close friends during this time. People exchange chocolates and other sugary sweets. Children get new clothes.

In our neighborhood we have had a drummer that walks the neighborhood an hour and a half before the sun rises which is a signal to those who are fasting to stop eating and drinking. It is possible that he will knock on our door during this holiday expecting a small tip, which is customary.

We don't have any family here in Turkey, and we're starting to make friends but don't have a lot yet. So LC has decided to celebrate by eating her new favorite dessert........the waffle ice cream sandwich. (It's delicious, and LC wishes she would have thought of it sooner)

Getting Settled

2009-09-16T18:55:00.000+03:00

Today makes a week that we have been in Istanbul. It also is our first blog post from Istanbul. The blog posts will become more frequent when we get internet in our apartment.

Our first week has been good. Overwhelming, but good. Istanbul is a beautiful city and the Turkish people are very nice. That being said, Istanbul is the most crowded city I've ever been in. I quickly discovered that what I thought was a sidewalk they consider a normal street. The cars have the right of way here and they are not afraid to hit you. Istanbul is 8 hrs ahead of where we used to live, so I've had a tough time adjusting to the jet lag. The first 3 nights I woke up at 2 am ready to go for the day. The nights are long when you don't have TV or internet.........my books saved me. LC has had no problem adjusting and has slept like a baby the entire week.

Most of this past week we have spent settling into our apartment and getting to know the city and how to get around. We have spent a couple of days with the organization and seeing how they help clients. Just from our couple of days of exposure of the clients we can see how tremendous the needs are in their lives. The determination they have is truly remarkable. Health problems are a major concern of the clients. The organization brings in doctors and partners with local hospitals to get clients the necessary medical care. Everything from tooth extractions for children, to tumors, to tuberculosis, to prenatal care and delivery, etc.

The language barrier is bigger than we thought it would be. We'll be taking a Turkish language course and also have some online materials to help us. Once we understand Turkish better we'll be able to help the clients in different ways, like getting their kids in school, taking them to the hospital, or helping them find shelter.

Things are going well. When I look back over this past week I realize how much we've learned. I don't think we'll ever quit learning while in Istanbul.

packing........

2009-09-06T21:48:00.000+03:00

Packing is the thing that we have dreaded the most. Throughout the last month, we have been collecting things to take to Turkey, whether it be clothes, medications, toiletries, etc. The list of things we have wanted to take has kept growing and growing and growing, as evidenced by the back of the Tahoe in the last post.

The airline will allow us to each have 2 checked bags. Each checked bag is free as long as it's under 50lbs. There's no way that any of our checked luggage is going to be under 50lbs. However, we have to keep each bag under 70lbs or they won't even put it on the plane. We decided to get space saver bags that you can remove excess air with a vacuum. See pictures for the action shots of us trying to remove every particle of excess air.

The vacuum bags work well, now the only issue is the weight. If only the bags made all the stuff weigh less...........

let's consolidate

2009-08-24T23:50:00.000+03:00

At the end of August it was time for us to move out of our apartment in preparation for going to Istanbul. As we were moving out, we had 3 piles; 1) things we were taking with us to Turkey 2) stuff we were putting in storage 3) stuff we were taking to our parents houses.

Pile 1, the stuff we were expecting, to take to Turkey kept growing and growing and growing throughout the moving process. The picture shows the back of the Tahoe with all the things we were expecting to take to Turkey. Needless to say, we'll have to make tough decisions on what we really can take, because clearly, they won't let us take a whole Tahoe full of luggage with us on the plane. There were even more things we wanted to take to Turkey but didn't have room in the Tahoe so they either ended up in storage or the trash.