Best summer I've ever had.
Classes start Monday. Reality resumes.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Istanbul
The other night I was with a giant group of friends, well at least friends of friends of friends. All of us were sitting outdoor at a pub on a rainy night with the awning keeping us dry.
I have to admit that more than being a part of the crowd, I was enjoying just watching them instead.
[These are my last days here and I've been a bit quiet. Not because I am so sad that I am leaving (which of course I am) but because I am falling in love for the first time in my young life, and it is with a city often personified as a woman than a man.]
- Earlier that day -
I spent the day with a friend whose company I very much enjoy. We did light jewelry shopping, coffee/cafe, and some filming (she makes documentaries - currently just shooting Istanbul for some practice with her camera). Perhaps it was the filming that really put me in an observational mode, and I was noticing so many little details of the city that kept making me smile. It was the horrible kind of day where it's chilly and rainy (although my favorite weather). It is particularly bad in Istanbul because the mud gushes out from the cobble-stoned streets and down the many steep hills.
People always talk about the difficulty of living in Istanbul. The melancholy, the sadness, the hardship of the fallen empire weeping in the dilapidated buildings. Forgotten monuments that aren't cared for with skyscrapers pushing them aside. There millions of people of every class living in such close spaces is not always pleasant. It's a hard city. It tests you everyday. My parents couldn't handle it and sometimes I wonder if I won't be able to.
--
An old man with an accordion played for a bit.
Funny people telling funny stories.
Friends coming and going, all staying for a responsible amount of time according to their schedules. But it's easy to come and go, to fit and sit. To have a drink, have fun, and call it a night. It's all very doable.
At one point my friend turned to me and said, "Can you imagine this being your life?"
I knew she was referring to the possibility of mild but necessary social interaction after a hard day's work in a beautiful city.
"But doesn't this happen in New York (where she lives)?"
"Nah man, you can't do this in New York. It's impossible to get a big group to sit outside so comfortably without planning."
Eventually, we called it a night and headed home.
And I caught a glimpse of the top of the Galata Tower.
And I was happy - in love.
This is going to be my home.
I have to admit that more than being a part of the crowd, I was enjoying just watching them instead.
[These are my last days here and I've been a bit quiet. Not because I am so sad that I am leaving (which of course I am) but because I am falling in love for the first time in my young life, and it is with a city often personified as a woman than a man.]
- Earlier that day -
I spent the day with a friend whose company I very much enjoy. We did light jewelry shopping, coffee/cafe, and some filming (she makes documentaries - currently just shooting Istanbul for some practice with her camera). Perhaps it was the filming that really put me in an observational mode, and I was noticing so many little details of the city that kept making me smile. It was the horrible kind of day where it's chilly and rainy (although my favorite weather). It is particularly bad in Istanbul because the mud gushes out from the cobble-stoned streets and down the many steep hills.
People always talk about the difficulty of living in Istanbul. The melancholy, the sadness, the hardship of the fallen empire weeping in the dilapidated buildings. Forgotten monuments that aren't cared for with skyscrapers pushing them aside. There millions of people of every class living in such close spaces is not always pleasant. It's a hard city. It tests you everyday. My parents couldn't handle it and sometimes I wonder if I won't be able to.
--
An old man with an accordion played for a bit.
Funny people telling funny stories.
Friends coming and going, all staying for a responsible amount of time according to their schedules. But it's easy to come and go, to fit and sit. To have a drink, have fun, and call it a night. It's all very doable.
At one point my friend turned to me and said, "Can you imagine this being your life?"
I knew she was referring to the possibility of mild but necessary social interaction after a hard day's work in a beautiful city.
"But doesn't this happen in New York (where she lives)?"
"Nah man, you can't do this in New York. It's impossible to get a big group to sit outside so comfortably without planning."
Eventually, we called it a night and headed home.
And I caught a glimpse of the top of the Galata Tower.
And I was happy - in love.
This is going to be my home.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Nice to Meet You
"Your name?"
"Zeynep Karataş"
"Okay, sign here."
SIMPLE AS THAT.
None of that who? What? How do you spell that? Zeyda? Zanep?
And sure I love being the chick with the interesting name in the States, but I must admit that I do get a little self-conscious introducing myself. In fact, I dread dealing with it every time I meet someone new. That 2 minute awkward ordeal of correcting a person's mispronunciation..
I am just another Zeynep. And sometimes, that's nice.
"Zeynep Karataş"
"Okay, sign here."
SIMPLE AS THAT.
None of that who? What? How do you spell that? Zeyda? Zanep?
And sure I love being the chick with the interesting name in the States, but I must admit that I do get a little self-conscious introducing myself. In fact, I dread dealing with it every time I meet someone new. That 2 minute awkward ordeal of correcting a person's mispronunciation..
I am just another Zeynep. And sometimes, that's nice.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Pera
Hmm
Hmmmmmmmmmmm
Beyoğlu (silent g - or rather, "soft" g)
The hood.
The district I am staying in, Besiktas, is not the place to be at night but it is conveniently close to Beyoglu.
Beyoglu is huge - it is also a place where I have spent a lot of my time in Istanbul - this calls for some explaining.
There are different sections of Beyoglu, we'll start with Taksim.
Taskim is the sqaure. It is where you can find all forms - buses, cabs, subway - the whole shabang. It is the most convenient location in the entire city to get you directly where you need to go. Taksim is at the top of Istiklal Avenue.
Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue)
There isn't an hour when you won't find this street bustling. Along the pedestrian street there are neo-classical, neo-gothic, and art noveau styled buildings from 19th cent/ 20th cent Ottoman days.
On the ground floor of these buildings there are boutiques, posh shops, galleries, book stores and cafes. Running between these stores is a classic red tram that goes from Taksim (at the top) down to Tunel (bottom).
About half way down Istiklal Ave there are the gates to one of the oldest high school in Turkey, established in 1481, Galatasaray Lisesi is a French school.
Tucked away in just past the lycee hides on of my favorite cafes. It is named after the man known as the eye of Istanbul, Ara Guler (who I presume to be the owner). The old grouch sits in the corner as some of his most photographs decorate the walls.
(A couple of his photos and one of the man himself)
Moving on down Istiklal there are street performers from blind accordian players, to old men playing traditional folk instruments, to bohemian hippies instruments that I don't actually know the names of. Sure, they accept money but they also accept cigarrettes which I find a bit amusing.
But it isn't just on this 3k long avenue where all the life is - it is on the side streets. You turn onto one street that leads you to another hidden corner where you find another. On these streets where only the locals have an idea of where they are going there are establishments which everyone has their preference to.
Outdoor cafes, pubs, drinking on terraces, underground clubs - night life is all there.
And when it gets to be around 4 in the morn and you find yourself starving after some olympic style drinking there is the street food that never sleeps. Meals like baby lamb intenstines, liver, muscles filled with rice, and the "wet" burgers await you with their tacky flashy lights.
But it's not just the structures that make this place, it's the people. You meet a person one night and you see them the next day and you feel like you've known him/her for years. I'm constantly running into familiar faces, and it makes this huge city feel a little smaller.
Once I was talking to a friend of mine, who lives in Cihangir (a hip/Euro area of B-town), and I asked what other parts of Istanbul he liked and he said, "I guess I'm kind of like Orhan Pamuk. I don't leave Beyoglu if I don't have to." And though I can get tired of being around all the chaos of the area myself, it sucks you back into its madness. Eventually, you miss it and you crave the crazies. Maybe that's the beauty of Beyoglu.
(Galata Tower - at the end of Istiklal Cad)
*Some pictures I took. Some I did not.*
Hmmmmmmmmmmm
Beyoğlu (silent g - or rather, "soft" g)
The hood.
The district I am staying in, Besiktas, is not the place to be at night but it is conveniently close to Beyoglu.
Beyoglu is huge - it is also a place where I have spent a lot of my time in Istanbul - this calls for some explaining.
There are different sections of Beyoglu, we'll start with Taksim.
Taskim is the sqaure. It is where you can find all forms - buses, cabs, subway - the whole shabang. It is the most convenient location in the entire city to get you directly where you need to go. Taksim is at the top of Istiklal Avenue.
Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue)
There isn't an hour when you won't find this street bustling. Along the pedestrian street there are neo-classical, neo-gothic, and art noveau styled buildings from 19th cent/ 20th cent Ottoman days.
On the ground floor of these buildings there are boutiques, posh shops, galleries, book stores and cafes. Running between these stores is a classic red tram that goes from Taksim (at the top) down to Tunel (bottom).
About half way down Istiklal Ave there are the gates to one of the oldest high school in Turkey, established in 1481, Galatasaray Lisesi is a French school.
Tucked away in just past the lycee hides on of my favorite cafes. It is named after the man known as the eye of Istanbul, Ara Guler (who I presume to be the owner). The old grouch sits in the corner as some of his most photographs decorate the walls.
(A couple of his photos and one of the man himself)
Moving on down Istiklal there are street performers from blind accordian players, to old men playing traditional folk instruments, to bohemian hippies instruments that I don't actually know the names of. Sure, they accept money but they also accept cigarrettes which I find a bit amusing.
But it isn't just on this 3k long avenue where all the life is - it is on the side streets. You turn onto one street that leads you to another hidden corner where you find another. On these streets where only the locals have an idea of where they are going there are establishments which everyone has their preference to.
Outdoor cafes, pubs, drinking on terraces, underground clubs - night life is all there.
And when it gets to be around 4 in the morn and you find yourself starving after some olympic style drinking there is the street food that never sleeps. Meals like baby lamb intenstines, liver, muscles filled with rice, and the "wet" burgers await you with their tacky flashy lights.
But it's not just the structures that make this place, it's the people. You meet a person one night and you see them the next day and you feel like you've known him/her for years. I'm constantly running into familiar faces, and it makes this huge city feel a little smaller.
Once I was talking to a friend of mine, who lives in Cihangir (a hip/Euro area of B-town), and I asked what other parts of Istanbul he liked and he said, "I guess I'm kind of like Orhan Pamuk. I don't leave Beyoglu if I don't have to." And though I can get tired of being around all the chaos of the area myself, it sucks you back into its madness. Eventually, you miss it and you crave the crazies. Maybe that's the beauty of Beyoglu.
(Galata Tower - at the end of Istiklal Cad)
*Some pictures I took. Some I did not.*
Monday, August 1, 2011
Littlest Things.
One of my favorite things about Turkey is the newspaper culture. Unlike America, newspapers a remain habitual practice of daily life. Even papers in English are easily accessible (for my lazy brain). You know, the little things.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Backstrokes
The Justice and Development Party (AKP) is the current party in power led by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey is a secular nation. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, as a I have mentioned before founded this country with staunch secular principles, but with recent events it is evident that things are changing.
Another fundamental in the make up of the Republic of Turkey is that if the government expresses too much power and magnetizes towards a theocratic government, then it is the job of the military to overthrow the party.
Well.
The AKP has some unsubtle Islamic leaning tendencies.
- There was a headscarf ban in public spaces, including schools and universities (public and private), courts of law, government offices and other official institutions, which was implemented in 1984. This ban was lifted by the AKP in 2008 though I think it was later annulled they are still informally permitted. Symbolically, Erdogan's wife and two daughters wear the headveil.
- In September of 2010, a constitutional amendment was passed that gave the ability of civilian courts to convict members of the military. This was an obvious direct hit to Ergenekon (an alleged clandestine, Kemalist ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey with possible ties to members of the country's military and security forces).
AKP is a very power party. They won this summer's elections with a landslide victory. They have the support of many of the lower class, uneducated, village people because they follow up on their monetary promises.
A friend was telling me about his friend's father's business located on the outskirts of the capital city of Ankara. This business has a few thousand blue collar workers and AK Party members said to the father (boss) that if that district doesn't vote for them then that company will be done for. Shut down. Goodbye. So this man (who would never vote for AKP) ended up giving his vote to the party and made sure his workers did the same. That's the way it works.
The state of Turkey is now polarized in women who veil and those who don't. I must admit I judge someone harshly who chooses to veil because in all honesty, a woman who wears a headveil is presenting a political identity, not spiritual obedience.
A couple days ago, a four top military commanders resigned.
The defenders of secularism - quit.
Papers say they this in protest to the trials against members of the military that have alleged ties with Ergenekon.
My thoughts: I am worried about the future of Turkey. The exaggerating pessimist in me likens 2011 Turkey to 1979 Iran.
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2011/07/201173194112483174.html
Turkey is a secular nation. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, as a I have mentioned before founded this country with staunch secular principles, but with recent events it is evident that things are changing.
Another fundamental in the make up of the Republic of Turkey is that if the government expresses too much power and magnetizes towards a theocratic government, then it is the job of the military to overthrow the party.
Well.
The AKP has some unsubtle Islamic leaning tendencies.
- There was a headscarf ban in public spaces, including schools and universities (public and private), courts of law, government offices and other official institutions, which was implemented in 1984. This ban was lifted by the AKP in 2008 though I think it was later annulled they are still informally permitted. Symbolically, Erdogan's wife and two daughters wear the headveil.
- In September of 2010, a constitutional amendment was passed that gave the ability of civilian courts to convict members of the military. This was an obvious direct hit to Ergenekon (an alleged clandestine, Kemalist ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey with possible ties to members of the country's military and security forces).
AKP is a very power party. They won this summer's elections with a landslide victory. They have the support of many of the lower class, uneducated, village people because they follow up on their monetary promises.
A friend was telling me about his friend's father's business located on the outskirts of the capital city of Ankara. This business has a few thousand blue collar workers and AK Party members said to the father (boss) that if that district doesn't vote for them then that company will be done for. Shut down. Goodbye. So this man (who would never vote for AKP) ended up giving his vote to the party and made sure his workers did the same. That's the way it works.
The state of Turkey is now polarized in women who veil and those who don't. I must admit I judge someone harshly who chooses to veil because in all honesty, a woman who wears a headveil is presenting a political identity, not spiritual obedience.
A couple days ago, a four top military commanders resigned.
The defenders of secularism - quit.
Papers say they this in protest to the trials against members of the military that have alleged ties with Ergenekon.
My thoughts: I am worried about the future of Turkey. The exaggerating pessimist in me likens 2011 Turkey to 1979 Iran.
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2011/07/201173194112483174.html
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Ramazan
The Islamic month of fasting is approaching and I have to admit I am looking forward to it.
I've never experienced Ramazan in a Muslim country before so it will be interesting to see how the people change their lifestyles.
People who choose to fast cut off all food and even water when the sun is up(Ramazan is a big topic to explain but I wont even try so I can actually make my point).
Though I won't take part in the fasting/praying/spiritual experience of Ramazan I think it will be a good reminder for me to slow down.
I must admit that I've been raging a little too much lately and often find myself biting my fist out of embarrassment in the mornings as my memory resurfaces.
I need to adapt and shed my American state school girl (leatherneck). This is İstanbul, Türkiye not Macomb, Illinois.
And really, that's what Ramazan is about; it's a cleansing process.
I'm just half-assing it.
I've never experienced Ramazan in a Muslim country before so it will be interesting to see how the people change their lifestyles.
People who choose to fast cut off all food and even water when the sun is up(Ramazan is a big topic to explain but I wont even try so I can actually make my point).
Though I won't take part in the fasting/praying/spiritual experience of Ramazan I think it will be a good reminder for me to slow down.
I must admit that I've been raging a little too much lately and often find myself biting my fist out of embarrassment in the mornings as my memory resurfaces.
I need to adapt and shed my American state school girl (leatherneck). This is İstanbul, Türkiye not Macomb, Illinois.
And really, that's what Ramazan is about; it's a cleansing process.
I'm just half-assing it.
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