Istanbul Life

Berlin August 2010

2010-08-13T19:35:00.003+03:00

East Side Gallery

New Snow

2010-01-24T15:00:00.002+02:00

These pics were taken from the apartment window!

NYE '09

2010-01-01T15:44:00.007+02:00

That's what happens after a whole bottle of wine to yourself!

Şilan & Cem dancing up a storm

Some singer with Ismail

Belly Dancer

Birnur and I

Çiler with her mother and Auntie

"A little bit tipsy" Cem and I

Birnur, Şilan and Şilan's mum

After about 10 beers....

A Recent Trip To Büyük Adası

2009-12-30T15:48:00.007+02:00

Beşiktaş Istanbul

2008-10-24T21:46:00.001+03:00

besiktas vs. sivas spor

Deutschland

2008-10-22T13:27:00.004+03:00

Fooling around near the site where anti-NAZI activist and boxer, Max Schmeling, used to live. (Bad Saarow, Scharmutzelsee Deutschland)

Georg & I

Georg & Sindy

A house near Max Schmeling's old dwelling

befriending the locals in Berlin

Berlin city @ night

Denim Manufacturing

2008-08-20T12:08:00.006+03:00

Here are some shots I took over the weekend depicting the manufacture of Kromosome denim.

Hand abrasion

Vintage abrasion

Denim washing process

Denim drying process

Black Sea Boat Cruise

2008-08-17T12:56:00.001+03:00

A Sunday boat cruise to the Black Sea for swimming

Maren, Birnur, Dirk

The dive of death

Kaş, Türkiyenin güney sahili

2008-07-02T19:24:00.016+03:00

From Olympos we arrived in Kaş where we stayed with friends, Doğan and Magda and their gorgeous dog

Birnur & I soaking it up in Kaş, southern Turkey

Doğan, Kaş and Magda (Kaş, Turkey)

Preparing to jump off the mountains in KaşWe're airborne!Kaş Marina

Olympos Revisited 08

2008-06-30T18:34:00.001+03:00

Old Haunts.......St Kilda, Victoria Australia

2008-04-10T13:53:00.007+03:00

All images were taken from Saint Kilda Beach, Melbourne Victoria, just 15 minutes from the heart of Melbourne city by tram.

St Kilda Beach, Melbourne.

St Kilda Beach, Melbourne

Downunder, Oz

2008-04-06T19:09:00.007+03:00

Birnur at Flinders Street Station, MelbourneTomfoolery, Melbourne CBD Victoria

Birnur & I kicking back in Lorne

Lorne, Victoria

Happy Birthday Çağdaş, Jan Juc - Victoria

Çağdaş: Look Mum, it's green!

(L:R) Mum, Birnur, Nic: Torquay Front Beach, Victoria(L:R) Pap, myself, Birnur, Nic, Nan, Mum & Dad @ dinner in Torquay

Çağdaş playing bushman with kangaroo: Anglesea, Victoria

Great Ocean Road, Victoria - Australia

March 08, Sydney - Australia

2008-03-13T09:02:00.002+02:00

monorail around the city

a friendly goanna

Price Waterhouse Coopers (Sydney) On Fire

Istanbul, The Day After Tomorrow

2008-02-17T10:46:00.006+02:00

The freezing cold weather is upon us again and what better time to rush outside like friging idiots, armed with the digital camera, to catch some fun and frivolities in amongst the snow.

Viva La Barcelona

2008-01-21T09:15:00.001+02:00

Ahhhhh Barcelona, what a beautiful city, so organised, beautiful architecture, sensational weather and, to top it all off, kind and helpful people!

Spanish architecture

Passage De Gracia, Barcelona

Barcelona Marina
Jesus, is that a flashback or is this really happening?
A Kromosome jumper from the DNA-1 | Australian Spring Summer collection :)

G-Star Line Up
G-Star Fashion Parade - watch the video here!

Spanish Playboy Bunny
Outside Bread & Butter - just the queue for the taxi!

Ispanya'ya gideceğiz

2008-01-14T18:50:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow morning I will go to Barcelona, Spain. Birnur will come from Istanbul the next day with her work mates. Whilst there, we will visit a large fashion fair, Bread & Butter. Stay tuned for picture updates soon!

Yarın sabah Barcelona, Ispanya'ya gideceğim. Birnur sonraki gün iş arkadaşlarla Istanbul'dan gelecek. Ordayken büyük bir moda fuara, Bread & Butter, ziyaret edeceğiz. Yeni resimleri bekleyiniz!

(http://www.breadandbutter.com/winter2008/en/bread-butter-king-size/)

Istanbul's First Day Of Snow In 2008

2008-01-03T13:18:00.000+02:00

This movie, taken from home, is of the first day of snow in Istanbul, brrrrrrrrrr......

2008'de Istanbulun ilk kar yağması, bunu evden çektim

Illogical Winter Works Continue

2008-01-02T11:59:00.000+02:00

Why is it that roads are chosen to be resurfaced when the condition of the road didn't warrant such works? Furthermore, should the works really be warranted, why wait until winter when it causes the local residents the most amount of inconvenience?

Is it due to excessive personal expenditure over the summer period on holiday houses on the south coast of Turkey or is it the cost of sending their children to foreign countires to learn English that clouds the minds of decision makers in determining when a project get's the green light.

Whatever the reason may be, i'm sure that the friends submitting the tender for works have adequate mechanisims to enable the decision makers to once again consider the forthcoming summer holidays!

Local streets in Istanbul

Christmas In Istanbul

2007-12-28T12:51:00.000+02:00

Here are a few snaps of our Christmas celebrations at Adnan's house on December 24th...

Adnan warming up the lettuce in the kitchen

A greek, an American and a Turk

Selen & I contemplating the use of the key? ring gift

L-R: Işıl, Birnur, Adnan;
Background: Levent & Adonis (yes, that's right, The Greek God);
Mid right foreground: David;
Right: Nick

Welcome friends of Thomas from BelgiumThe 2007 Istanbul Christmas CrewIn the mix
Top down

The Professional Look

2007-11-28T12:48:00.001+02:00

This is a picture of Birnur taken last weekend, although we wont be using this picture for a certain designer competition, I personally like it.

photograph courtesy of ARKmedia

Hasta Pronto Barcelona

2007-11-28T12:20:00.000+02:00

Birnur is off to Barcelona to visit one of Europe's largest fashion fairs in January so I have decided to tag along and make the most of the accommodation subsidised by her company. We'll be sharing the apartment with Birnur's boss and another designer but all the same it will be nice!

I'll most likely attend the show for a day or so to get some marketing / merchandising ideas and then do the tourist route around Barcelona whilst Birnur is working. There will also be some people I know there from Turkey so I can spend some time with them.

"A falta de pan, las tortas son buenas", or as we say in English, "We'll just have to make do"

Fashion World Glamour

2007-11-17T17:54:00.000+02:00

Last week end I worked as a factory worker to help prepare our customer's products.

Geçen hafta sonu fabrikada işçi olarak calışıp ve müşterimizin ürünleri hazırladim

A laborious knitting machine worker

Garment steaming

Autumn Morning Views Over The Bosphorus

2007-11-11T10:08:00.000+02:00

These days the weather is getting cooler but the early morning views are a treat for early risers.

Bugünlerde hava soğuk oluyor ama insanlar erken kalkarsa sabah sabah manzarası zevk veriyor.

sabah sabah Boğaziçi manzarası

Off with the thongs, On with the boots

2007-11-05T11:24:00.000+02:00

We were fortunate enough to experience the very finest four days in Antalya recently as we were treated to the last days of Turkish Summer. Each day averaged 26 egrees and we were spoilt to be able to bask in the Mediterranean each day.

I look out my window today and that Antalya experience only days ago seems only possible to have been many weeks ago. I know that the welcome rain will become a familiar sight over the winter months. The streets will once again become very difficult to walk, the roads will become choked and the pace of the city will slow to a near halt as the inadequate infrastructure strains to cope with the adversities of winter in Istanbul.

The Antalya Film Festival

2007-11-04T10:22:00.000+02:00

A good friend, Adnan, shot a documentary in Afghanistan recently and entered his film, Opium Dreams (http://www.arkmedia.ca/intro.swf) into the Antalya (Turkey) Golden Orange Film Festival. A group of us went down to Antalya, southern Turkey, to support Adnan in this important time for him.

We stayed at the hotel where Adnan & Sibel were staying, The Sea Life Hotel (http://www.sealiferesorthotel.com/en/indexen.html). Without going into any detail I can thouroughly recommend NOT STAYING AT THIS HOTEL unless you are looking for the complete refugee holiday package. I have had my own back on this establishment by various online hotel reviews.

On the surface, the organisation of the festival appeared to be excellent with free shuttle service / limousine service to whatever location you wanted. There were complimentary gala dinners and partys thrown at the most ostentatious of venues I could have imagined. If you could pallate the pretentious and most vacuous of persons then you were in the right place!

We teamed up with Adnan, Sibel, Thomas, Bashir and Dirk to make the most of the four days that we were presented with. After the average two hours of sleep after an evening's innings we would have breakfast, lay on the beach, go for lunch, back to the beach, followed by sauna and massage in preparation for the new evening's fothcoming fun and frivolities.

The results for Adnan, let alone the rest of the documentary category were extremely disappointing. The festival organisers, in what the Turkish film industry concedes was a political decision, cancelled the documentary category and any prize associated with winning.

I can say that Adnan's film was excellent, some of Turkey's top director's had previewed the film and given excellent feedback to him. He wasn't expecting to win the documentary category but he wasn't expecting a ridiculous outcome such that happened.

The interesting thing is that the films were all reviewed for their acceptability prior to being allowed to participate. The final decision of the judges, whom we can't understand what qualifications facilitated their judging, was an insult to the screening judges prior to the event. Secondly, some of the films were previously part of the Cannes Film Festival receiving much acclaim.

The judges' final decision not only hurt the image of Turkey's up and coming film talent, it has also wounded the international image of the whole Antalya film festival itself. All I can say is that I am glad I didn't have to pay to be robbed of my time to see the films that were award recipients.

One thing that can be said about the film festival is that the outcomes were consistent with expectations of Turkey's 'Professional Organisations'.

Gallipoli, Çanakkale, Assos, Ezine

2007-10-14T14:00:00.000+03:00

We just returned from a couple of days in Çanakkale, Galipolli, Assos, and Ezine. This picture is taken of the great temple to Athena in Assos, Turkey. Assos was founded in the 8th century B.C. by colonists from Lesvos. They built the temple in 530 B.C., these are the ruins on the high mountain above the North Aegean Sea.

Ruins of the temple to Athena, Assos, Turkey.

At ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli, in front of the famous words of Kemal Atatürk

The clock tower, Çanakkale, Turkey

Melbourne Trade Fashion Show

2007-09-09T14:58:00.000+03:00

Nic just after opening the stand
Lauren & Kathleen flying the flag on opening day

Yo's Crib

2007-09-05T13:59:00.000+03:00

I've been fortunate enough to escape car accidents in front gardens and spend some of my time working at Johann's house. Here are a few thousand words in pictures!!

As Luck would have it....

2007-09-05T13:15:00.000+03:00

Last Sunday evening, Father's Day, I was out in the front garden at a friends house in Melbourne assisting him and one other guy to clean up Andrew's yard area. We decided for a Jack Daniels and cigarette break, necessetating us all to go inside for 5 - 10 minutes.

The three of us were sitting inside chatting for about two minutes when all of a sudden we heard horriffic car skidding sounds followed by what sounded to be a 4 - 6 car pile up, in front of his house, and then silence.

We all quickly mobilised through the front door into the front garden and we were horrified by the sight that greeted us. As they say, a picture tells a thousand words, so I will let the images speak for themselves...

Formerly known as a BMW, parked on top of a tenant's car in Andrew's front gardden

I've heard of a picnic but this is ridiculous!!!

The picnic from the rearI know where I can get a good priced BWM, let me know if you are interested

Andrew doing his bit for the community

The upside down BWM caught fire in the engine bay, we were lucky that Andrew had a fire extinguisher in the boot of his car. We put out the fire and talked to the BWM driver to keep him relaxed. He reported only a few scratches, mainly on his hands. Naturally he was also in shock.

Witnesses say that he was travelling at around 150 - 160kmh in a 60kmh zone, also the Police say that the driver is uninsured, we suspect due to alcohol or drugs in his system. This was one lucky guy to get out alive. The car that the BMW landed on is actually one of the tenants at Andrew's house. Surprisingly there was not excessive damage inflicted.

Anyway, I am in Melbourne all of 4 days and I am already appearing on the national news doing interviews. Perhaps they caught wind of my acting career in Turkey and wanted to use some famous people for the interview :)

The Surf Coast, Victoria

2007-08-31T11:21:00.000+03:00

Winki Pop Beach is next to Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia. Bells Beach is the first event of the World Surfing Tour. I spent many years growing up in this area, some 90kms from Melbourne. It takes 5 minutes by car from mum & dad's house to reach here.

View of Bells Beach from Winki Pop lookout

Winki Pop Beach

The Jan Juc Ranch with Mum & Dad

2007-08-31T10:01:00.000+03:00

Footage of mum and dad at the ranch in Jan Juc.

Lives Saved In Melbourne

2007-08-31T09:03:00.000+03:00

Upon arriving to Jan Juc, some 90 km from Melbourne, the winds were as high as 120kmh. Two surfers found themselves caught on rocks early this morning so rescue helicopters, State Emergency Services, Police and the Fire Brigade came to their rescue. If you're in Australia you should watch chanel 7 news tonight, I will most likely appear for approximately 5 seconds :) Here are a couple of action snaps amidst the pandemonium...

The rescue teams watch the retrieval of the two surfers

CFA & Police rescue base

The clubbies coming to the rescue

The Weekend at Ağva

2007-08-26T20:53:00.001+03:00

The evening Scene over Ağva RiverDinner on the riverDinner# 2BreakfastR&RAğva Beach
Ağva BeachRe-enacting scenes from The Karate Kid when Daniel Son is in trainingA kickin' house on the river

Company Launch

2007-08-02T14:58:00.000+03:00

We're live with our site. We're also headed to Melbourne for the 2007 Preview Fashion Show at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on September 9, 10 & 11. We hope to see you there, if you would like to attend I can happily arrange tickets for you. Come on down to see the exciting debut of our 2008 Australian Men's Autumn / Winter collection.

Like anything we couldn't have gotten to where we are today without the help of close friends and family. I would like to thank the following people for their support and contribution:

First and foremost, for her amazing designs, the talented Birnur Garland;
Peter & Robyn Garland - for financial and strategic advice;
Nicole Garland - Assisting at the Preview Show in September;
Kathleen Holloway - Assisting at the Preview Show in September;
Georg Wuerffel - German translations, german market intelligence, generous offers of modelling, and my future partner in taking over the world;
Hanim Sevim - Turkish translations and general moral support;
Adnan Khan - The sounding board & think tank;
Dirk Vossding - The sounding board & think tank, generous offers of modelling;
Jason Ebert - The sounding board & think tank, general consultation, generous offers of modelling and:
Jerome Brasi - For his moral support and generous offers of assistance that I will take up one day!

Also I can not forget my friends in general who are all inspiring characters in one way or another and who have provided me with more support than they know, thank you!!!

And the viewers tune in....

2007-07-17T10:07:00.000+03:00

Thanks everybody for visiting. Please leave your comments to let me know you've been here...

The Weekend In Avşa

2007-07-16T09:38:00.000+03:00

Birnur and I went to Avşa Island in the Marmara Sea on Friday night to visit her parents. All day Saturday and Sunday we swam, the weather was beautiful but a little windy. We returned to Istanbul on Sunday late afternoon.

Hafta sonu Avşada
Bu hafta sonu, Cuma Akşamı, Birnur ve ben onun ailesiye ziyaret etmek için, Marmara Denizindeki, Avşa'ya gittik. Bütün Cumartesi günü ve Pazar yüzdük, hava çok güzeldi ama biraz rüzgârlıydı. Pazar öğleden sonra Istanbula geri döndük.

Yiğitler Köyü (Yiğitler Village), Avşa

Yiğitlerin Limanı (Yiğitler Port)

Avşa, Yiğitler Köyü, View from balcony

The return homeThe return home

Return From Asia

2007-07-02T13:36:00.000+03:00

Birnur and I returned last night from a ten day trip to Hong Kong & China. We spent a whirlwind two days of intense shopping and tropical heat in Hong Kong before getting on the high speed boat to Shenzhen in the Guandong Province of China.

We were greeted at Shenzhen by my Dad who just happened to have been playing in a golfing tournament in Lan Tao Island with 160 other Aussies. We stayed in Dongguan City for three nights where we caught up with Stuart (a family friend) , Tony and Michael (Dad's golfing piers). After three days of meetings in Dongguan City we departed for Shanghai.

Birnur and I met with Sebastian, a friend from Istanbul, in Shanghai where we had a lot of catching up to cram into an afternoon and an evening. The rest of our time was devoted to prearranged meetings we had in Shanghai.

We flew back to Istanbul with a 10 hour Dubai stop-over which made the journey home a total of 28 hours door-to-door, i.e. from the hotel in Shanghai -> Hong Kong -> Dubai -> Istanbul. Here are some shots taken throughout the trip.

Hong Kong Island by night
(10 year anniversary of English handover to China)

Hong Kong Island by day
(traveling by quick cat from H.K. to Shenzhen)

Dad & I
(Long Island Golf & Country Club Dongguan City, China)

Birnur
(Long Island Golf & Country Club Dongguan City, China)View from Stuart's office
(Dongguan City, Guandong Province, China)

View from Stuart's office
(Dongguan City, Guandong Province, China)

Shanghai, China

Birnur & Sebastian
(Foot massage parlor?? Shanghai China)

Birnur & I
(Ferrari H.Q. - Shanghai, China)

Me saving Sebastian's ass again
(Ferrari H.Q. - Shanghai, China)

Haiyin & Birnur
(Chinese & Turkish 101; Shanghai, China)

An Oldie But A Goodie

2007-06-17T11:56:00.000+03:00

I recently discovered this pic that I was unaware I had. This was taken on approximately 18th August 2006, Beyoğlu Istanbul Turkey.

L/R: Çağdaş, Myself*, Johann*, Mum, Andrew & Dad.

* Myself and Johann wearing the wife beaters, actually it is unusual to see Andrew not wearing one.

June/July Travel Plans

2007-06-04T14:46:00.002+03:00

F.Y.I.

21st June Departing Istanbul -> Dubai -> 22nd June Arriving Hong Kong (5:40pm);
24th June Departing Hong Kong -> 24th June Arriving Guangdong Province, Shenzhen China;
24th June -> 29th June traveling various cities in China before returning to H.K. on 29th June
30 June Depart H.K. -> Arriving In Istanbul 1st July 5:55pm.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Bilgi İçin....Bizim Haziran Yolculuk Planlarımız

21 Haziranda Istanbuldan ayrılacağız -> 22 Haziranda Hong Kong'a altıya yirmi varken varacağız;
24 Haziranda Hong Kong'dan vapurla ayrılacağız -> 24 Haziranda Guangdong Province, Shenzhen Çin'a varacağız;
24 Haziranda 29 Haziranda arasında Çinde farklı şehirleri gezeceğiz. 29 Haziranda Hong Kong'a geri döneceğiz;
30 Haziranda Hong Kong'dan ayrılacağız -> 1 Temmuzda Istanbula geri döneceğiz.

Serap & Dirk's Birthday @ Unique Terrace Bar

2007-06-03T12:31:00.000+03:00

Saturday Evening we celebrated Serap & Dirk's birthday parties @ Unique Terrace Bar, Beyoğlu Istanbul. Although approaching the 40 year mark, Dirk just refuses to grow up - but that's why we love him!

Dirk & Serap intertwined on the dance floor - (O ha)

Dirk - It's raining women

Serap rocking on the couch Myself, Dirk & Adnan cuddling on the couch

Birnur, Myself & Dirk

Adnan, Dirk & David

Adnan & I attending to venue security

Birnur & Paola

Some of the party crewDirk & Sibel - Shenanigans on the dance floor

Istinye, Istanbul

2007-06-02T12:14:00.000+03:00

Summer has arrived very early in Istanbul and although it creates a more aesthetically pleasing environment it is creating concerns for the summer's water supply - same issues all around the world by the sound of it. Here are a couple of snaps taken on the week. Istinye is a 20 minute bus ride from home, along the Bosphorus.

Istinye, Istanbul Turkey

Lightning On The Bridge

2007-05-08T09:26:00.000+03:00

I took this picture from our balcony last night at about 10pm. It looks very cold and stormy across the Bosphorus, but in fact this was more like a tropical storm, the temperature during the day was quite high, unusually high for this time of year, and high humidity. The evening was not cold, actually I was wearing shorts and a shirt whilst the storm was passing.

Lightning on the Bosphorus Bridge

Grrrrrrrrr....

2007-04-24T09:36:00.000+03:00

The Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. Need I say more....

A Taste Of Turkey

2007-04-16T10:52:00.000+03:00

Hasanpaşa Köftesi

Ingredients (measurements are approximate: serves 2 - 3)

1 egg;
3 tablespoons of butter;
1 large white onion, peeled and grated, or very finely chopped;
450gm low fat mince meat;
6 - 7 medium sized potatoes (peeled)
2 slices of bread;
3 teaspoons of Cumin;
Dry chilli to taste;
3 teaspoons of Black pepper;
1 teaspoon of salt (or to your taste);
Grated cheese suitable for oven baking.

Method

Boil the potatoes until soft, drain water, add butter and puree. Add dry chilli if you so desire;

Put the mince meat into a large bowl. De-crust the bread, tear the inner section into small pieces and put into the bowl containing the meat. Put the bread crusts into a separate bowl of water to soak for 4 – 5 minutes, or until soft. When the crusts are soft, using your hands, squeeze the water out and tear them into small pieces and place into the bowl containing the meat. Add onion, egg, cumin, salt and black pepper. Using your hands, thoroughly mix the ingredients.

Grease a foil covered oven tray. Using your hands, roll a medium sized handful of meat mixture in your hands, then mould into small cups. Place each meat cup on the oven tray, fill with potato puree mixture and then cover the top with cheese.

Place tray in oven and cook on 250 deg. for approx. 20 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Serve with rice.

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day...

2007-04-12T15:40:00.000+03:00

...but Sultan Mehmet II built Rumeli Hisarı (The Rumeli Fortress) on the shore of the Bosphorus Sea in just 4 months, between April and August in 1452. Covering an area of 30000 square meters, Rumeli Hisarı was built on the narrowest part of the Bosphorus Sea to protect the Ottoman Empire from unwelcome visitors.

Arnavutköy, between Ortaköy and Rumeli Hisarı.

Rumeli Hisarı from outside

Looking from Rumeli Hisarı across the Bosphrous Sea
Looking from Rumeli Hisarı across the Bosphrous Sea to Anatolian Turkey

Rumeli Hisarı - The fortress walls

The Princes' Islands

2007-04-08T20:18:00.000+03:00

For Easter Sunday ( Paskalya) we went for a day trip to the Princes' Islands, specifically, Büyük Ada (The Big Island) which is situated about 20km southeast of the city, a two hour ferry ride from the European side of Istanbul where we live.

Büyük Ada is one of 9 islands in the Princes' Island Group, 5 of which are populated. Apart from essential services vehicles, the only forms of transport on the island are horse & cart or bicycle. Thankfully we were blessed with perfect weather to make the day even more enjoyable for our round-island cycling trip.

Kınalı Ada (on the way to Büyük Ada)

Architecture (Büyük Ada)

Architecture (Büyük Ada)
Riding rental bikes (Büyük Ada)

Riding rental bikes (Büyük Ada)

Taking In the scenery (Büyük Ada)

Transport on Büyük Ada

Dinner & Show

2007-04-02T09:44:00.000+03:00

Last night we had a friend drop in for dinner unexpectedly. After dinner, I thought World War III was breaking out but quickly realized that we were being treated to a fireworks show.

Friendly Faces In Turkey

2007-03-30T15:52:00.000+03:00

These are some of the friendly people in Turkey that I come into contact with regularly.

Esin, 1 day before departing for 6 months in England

The charming duo, Serap & Nurten

The two comics - Uğur (L) & Hakan (R)Dirk Bay - Sunday Brunch

Adnan contemplating his evening departure to Afghanistan

Sibel & Adnan

Çağdaş (The Dash)

Friends In Australia

2007-03-22T15:21:00.000+02:00

JasonAndrew & Faruk

Thandi, Birnur & Alana

Lucas

Johann & Paula

Kathleen & friend

Dave (I'm too sexy for the L'oreal Fashion festival)

Istanbul - Around Town

2007-03-18T10:26:00.000+02:00

Celebrating Victory Day İn OrtaköyInside the Ortaköy Mosque

A Spring Morning Bosphrous View from home

Gece Boğaziçi manzarası (Evening Bosphorous view from home)A Spring Friday Morning from home - Ortaköy

Same Morning - Beşiktaş

Istiklal Cadessi - Taksim (Independence Avenue)
Istiklal Cadessi - Taksim

Terra Firma Touchdown

2007-03-16T17:44:00.000+02:00

Istanbul is firmly under our feet after arriving last night at 5:30pm. Needless to say the trip was tiring and long but we endured the ordeal quite well. Instead of the normal route - Melbourne -> Singapore -> Dubai -> Istanbul, we totally skipped the Singapore leg. I'm not sure if the captain fell asleep with autopilot on, but it made the trip substantially shorter. Thank you Emirates!

Ahhh Australia, it was great to visit there once again - a total pleasure, particularly Melbourne, what a beautiful city. Generally she wins The Worlds Most Livable City, she certainly lived up to her reputation during our visit! Only visiting Melbourne every six months or so creates such a whirlwind visit, I only wish that we had more time there to take everything in.

During our two weeks there we experienced my sisters wedding to Pieter, my grandmothers funeral (dads mum), The Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, a 3 day trip to Sydney including an alcohol related illness, a short but enjoyable catch up with friends, walks on the beach, time with family - all of these moments were divided into precious moments that will keep me going here for the next six months.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures recently taken in Australia...

My beautiful Nanna, Birnur and Mum

Me with Nan & Pap

Mum, Dad & I

Torquay Front Beach - (sporting Istanbul Winter tan lines)

Birnur at Torquay Front Beach

Victoria, Australia

2007-03-16T16:34:00.000+02:00

Bourke Street, Melbourne City (early saturday morning)

Partial city skyline, Melbourne

Jan Juc Beach

Jan Juc cafe

Jan Juc Beach Look-out

Torquay Front Beach

Point Addis Front Beach

Jan Juc BeachAllo allo, what have we got here?Roo steaks marinating, a prelude to the B.B.Q .

New South Wales, Australia

2007-03-16T16:30:00.000+02:00

Birnur, Jason & Carla @ Bondi Beach, Sydney

One for the boys (unidentified) Bondi Beach, Sydney

On the steps of the Sydney Opera House

Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, Sydney

Meeting Aboriginal friends, Circular Quay, Sydney

Carla, Birnur & Jason @ beach Sydney

Darling Harbour, Sydney

Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour

Jase & I, Circular Quay, SydneyCircular Quay, Darling Harbour

Ghost Gum, Sydney

Nick & Piet's Wedding

2007-03-16T15:51:00.000+02:00

Nick being given away

My 92 year old grandfather relating some stories

Nick covering the issues

Finally married - The end of that busy road

Australian Proceedings

2007-03-05T08:01:00.000+02:00

The newlyweds

Mum & I @ The Haverkamp's

Nick & I @ The Haverkamp's
Nick & Birnur @ The Haverkamp'sThe Garland Girls

The Garland Clan

Visitors For The Last 30 Days

2007-02-26T10:50:00.000+02:00

Bloguma ziyaretçiler, geçen otuz günler

Bizim Mart Yolculuk Planlarımız

2007-02-23T22:29:00.000+02:00

Gelecek Çarşamba saat sekiz buçukta Birnur ve ben beraber Istanbul’dan ayrılacağız, Avusturalya’ya gidiyoruz. Orada iki hafta kalacağız.

Istanbul’dan çok uzun bir uçuşdan sonra, yirmi altı saat, Melbourne’e 2 Mart’ta saat altı buçukta öğleden önce varacağız. Üç Mart’ta kız kardeşim evlenecek. Kutlamalardan sonra, diğer günlerde, arkadaşlarımı ziyaret edeceğiz ve L’oreal Melbourne Fashion Festivalını katılacağız.

Dokuz Mart’ta Melbourne’dan Sydney’ye kadar uçacağız. Sydney havalimanında bizi bir arkadaşım karşılayacak. Benim arkadaşımın eşi ile buluşmadan önce, arkadaşımla bütün gün beraber Sydney’ye geziceğiz.

Melbourne’e dönmeden önce, on bir Mart’ta, Sydney’de üç gün kalacağız. Melbourne’e döndüğümüz zaman, zamanımızın çoğunu ailemi ve arkadaşlarımı ziyaret etmek için harcayacağız.

On dört Mart’ta Melbourne’den ayrılacağız, Istanbul’a on beş Mart’ta geri döneceğiz.

The Turkish Surf Safari

2007-02-14T13:03:00.000+02:00

Having succumbed to the proclamations of my boss İsmail that we could find 3mt surf in Ağaçlar, on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, we set out on the road. Although skeptical, grand visions of a surf school were prevalent!

Thoroughly disappointed at our findings, not all was lost, I located my dream car and took it for a test drive.

We missed it by that much!

The face of disappointment

The dream car

Australia, Here We Come!

2007-02-08T10:03:00.000+02:00

Yes, It's official!!! We're coming to Australia to visit!

Our March travel plans to Australia are finalized, we depart İstanbul on 28th February at 7:10pm and arrive at our final destination, Melbourne, via Dubai, on 2nd March at 6:35am. You may ask if we are masochists? Yes, undoubtedly!

For those of you that may be unaware, my sister Nicky is getting married on 3rd March! Yes, that's two weddings in the Garland clan just inside 6 months. After the wedding, much socializing and dropping my parents at the local mental health and relaxation center, Birnur and I will head to Sydney (Friday 9th March) where we will stay with Jason and his lovely fiancé, Carla.

We'll be back in Melbourne on Monday 12th March before setting off on another masochistic journey back to İstanbul on Wednesday 14 Mar at 10:25pm.

See you in Oz!!!!!

December Viewers Poll Results

2007-01-11T14:12:00.000+02:00

Well I must say that I am surprised at the results of the December Viewers Poll on the whereabouts of Adnan Khan. 75% of the poll responders assumed that he was smoking some chronic in the konya area of Turkey.

Let's analyze these figures before we go jumping to too many conclusions. I guess, that of the staggering eight responders who assumed Adnan's location and disposition, they had either:

a) previously sited Adnan's Afghanistan pictures where he accidentally stumbled across a 'plantation' reminiscent of the Amazon Jungle; or

b) Sited Adnan in traditional Pakistan attire (see: Friends Afar) and mistakenly thought that he had shed his professional journalist image for that of a tree hugging hippie.

I can assure you that Adnan certainly isn't some tree hugging, weed smoking hippie and we will have to work on his professional image upon his return to Istanbul (by the way he returns this Friday) but don't call him until at least Sunday as he may still may not be lucid from the effects of chronic :)

p.s. Adnan, should you happen to read this, Dirk has invited us to his palatial residence for Friday reunion drinks!

Egypt

2007-01-07T11:45:00.000+02:00

Day 0 (Wednesday 3 Jan): Istanbul - Sharm El Sheikh
Visited the local town of Neama Bay for dinner.

Day 1 (Thursday 4 Jan): Sharm El Sheikh - Cairo
Diving in the Red Sea, off the coast of Sharm El Sheikh. A short rest before a 2am departure by bus from Sharm El Sheik to Cairo, passing under the Suez Canal Tunnel

Day 2 (Friday 5 Jan): Cairo - Sharm El Sheikh
Arrived in Cairo at 8am, visited the Cairo Museum, then onto Giza where we visited one of the 7 wonders of the world, The Great Pyramid of Giza and The Great Sphinx. Visited some local shopping bazaars and art galleries. Departed Cairo 8pm.

Day 3 (Saturday 6 Jan): Sharm El Sheikh

Arrived Sharm El Sheikh 2am. Visited the local beaches and just relaxed. A 9:30 departure from the hotel. Fortunately we arrived at the airport 3 hours before departure time (11:45pm) to compensate for the incompetence of the local inhabitants. Actual departure time approx. 12:45pm, arrived Istanbul 3:30am.

The gathering of camel jockeys at Giza :)

Inside the Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza with Great Pyramid of Giza in background

Me with The Great Pyramid of Giza

Birnur holding The Great Pyramid of Giza

Birnur with The Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt

Falcon Hotel - Sharm El Sheikh

Sharm El Sheikh Coastal Scene

Birnur & I at the Sharm El Sheikh Coast

The Great Pyramid of Giza (outside Cairo)

A Lazy Bosphrous Day

2007-01-02T17:12:00.000+02:00

A lazy day walking along the Bosphrous Sea

New Years Eve

2007-01-01T19:54:00.000+02:00

Birnur & I getting into the festive season :)

L/R: Birnur, Burçin, Değer & Mat

1st Day Bayram - New Years Eve (Day)

2006-12-31T18:43:00.000+02:00

Visitor Demographics

2006-12-22T17:20:00.001+02:00

OK, the Google executives can relax, the imminent threat of me stealing all of their advertising revenue has diminished upon the release of these figures. Here you can see where people are visiting from for the month of December - thanks for your visiting guys - keep coming back and please leave your comments :)

Christmas / New Year / Bayram

2006-12-22T16:46:00.000+02:00

Living in Istanbul, a catholic could be forgiven for completely forgetting about Christmas. If it weren't for emails from friends and family reminding us of the festive season back in our native countries, Christmas would come and go in a blink.

In lieu of Christmas we have the Bayram holiday, some of you familiar with my blog will remember my Bayram from last year in Olympos, Southern Turkey (see: Turkish Bayram) Bayram actually means 'Sacrafice' and if you follow my link I provided here, I prepared a sacrafice last year with some villagers, but spared you the images of the whole process. I won't push the topic too much, but I feel that Bayram should in fact translate to 'Butchering', i'm currently in discussions with several translation dictionary suppliers to have this misprint ammended :)

So, no pun intened, let's cut to the chase. Birnur and I are heading to Sharm El Sheik in southern Egypt on 3rd January for 5 days. We're planning on taking some dives in the world famous Red Sea. Keep this page bookmarked, we will be beaming images of our adventure right into your lounge rooms and into the darkest dens around the world as soon as we return.

For the geographically challenged (including myself), you can find a map of our proposed visit site just below. I wish everybody a fantastic Christmas and New Year and I hope that we can all catch up very soon.

Türkçe Dersler

2006-12-13T15:54:00.000+02:00

Benim Türkçe Öğretmenim, Atanur, ve ben, Boğazaçi Üniversitesinde beraber ders yapıyorız

(My Turkish language teacher, Atanur, and I, having a lesson together at Boğazici University)

Turkish Aliases

2006-12-12T14:24:00.000+02:00

Believe it or not, the name 'Mat' is not a user-friendly name for the Turkish people, it doesn't conform to the vowel harmony required in the language. Therefore, I have unwillingly assumed several aliases:

Ahmet: Generally when somebody takes me by surprise and asks me in Turkish for my name, 'adiniz ne?', after a brief hesitation I reply, ' ahhhh, Mat!' to which they interpret as 'Ahmet'.

Mert: On a daily basis people mistake my name for Mert, perhaps they just look at me and think i'm a Turk! (After all, the name 'Mert' conforms to the required vowel harmony.)

Bloguma Hoşgeldiniz

2006-12-05T12:32:00.000+02:00

Yazmak için, Türkçem şimdiye kadar yetersizdi, oysa, çok çaliştıktan sonra yazmaya hazır kendimi hissediyorum.

Türkiye'de, yeni evime ve yeni hayatıma yavaş yavaş alışıyorum, her gün daha rahat oluyorum. Söylemeliyimki Türkiye'yi çok seviyorum, fakat, Avustralya'da daima evim olacak.

Bu sayfalar hem ailemle hem arkadaşlarımla iletişim için dir. Buraya ziyaret ettiniz çok teşükker ederim, lütfen tekrar geri döneceksiniz.

Friends Afar

2006-12-04T15:38:00.000+02:00

Adnan (balls of steel) Khan reporting from deep inside Pakistan on the next generation of Islamic militants being indoctrinated, and other assorted childrens bedtime stories.

Red Tape - Ne yapabiliriz?

2006-12-01T11:23:00.000+02:00

What is red tape? I simply define this as an obstacle to achieving one's goals. In my opinion, for every country, there are differing degrees of red tape. In respect of Turkey, one could be forgiven for mistaking the country as a veritable jungle of red tape. Let me illustrate this for you...

One could assume happiness by being granted a residence visa in the country where he or she lives, but unfortunately I can not testify that this is the case in Turkey. You ask why! Well, let me explain:

Firstly, the only tangible benefit to obtaining the residence permit is a feeble palm sized book that has your picture pasted in. The privileges granted to one for being the proud holder of this new status are "somewhat limited". So, what can one do with one's new found status? One can remain for an extended period in Turkey, in relation to myself, it is 14 months, as this is the line that I drew between my perception of a ludicrous price for a permit and outright theft.

So, now that I have the permit I don't have to leave and re-enter the borders every three months (USD$30 each entry), yes it's more convenient. What else can I do? I can also open a local bank account here and establish accounts with service providers. So, although I am married to a Turkish citizen and can contribute to the economy with funds from outside the country, they don't deem it necessary for a foreigner in this situation to legally work here. Of course, why would one want to work here when one's life is here? A rhetorical question for the said foreigner, yet a perplexing question for the powers to be!

If you're still not persuaded that my feelings and tones of this message are justified, perhaps the fact that one will pay 630 lira for this 14 month privilege may sway your opinion.

What is the relationship of this rambling to the definition of red tape you ask? Well, in a society where subtle discrimination originates at the top level and filters down to street level, one's goals and ambitions that are normally achievable suddenly slip out of reach.

As the Turks would say, "Ne yapabiliriz?", or, What can we do?

Ortaköy From The Living Room

2006-11-27T22:41:00.000+02:00

Here is a picture taken from our living-room window in Ortaköy.

Odd Spot - Those Crazy Australians!

2006-11-23T00:00:00.000+02:00

No this isn't strange, this is the Australian tradition of morning bathing in the mud. Australians perform this ritual just after wrestling crocodiles, this is shortly followed by beer for breakfast. If one ingests sufficient beer for breakfast, one must ride his pet kangaroo to work. Thanks for your pic. Luke :)

Venues & Departures

2006-11-17T21:44:00.000+02:00

We recently visited a beautiful restaurant that I can thoroughly recommend to anyone who just happens to be in the vicinity of Istanbul. The web site has some pictures of Istanbul that are pretty nice. Check it out: Leb-i Derya

Unfortunately we were there to see Adnan off (again), he has just taken off on a 5 week trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan, personally it's not my idea of fun but then again, Adnan is a strange guy :)

Turkish Republic Day

2006-10-29T23:59:00.000+02:00

The following pictures were taken on Turkish Republic Day of the Bosphrous Sea featuring the Bosphrous Bridge. (Not taken by me)

Beer Troubleshooting Guide

2006-10-15T00:41:00.000+03:00

The beer troubleshooting guide, also known as the 16 Commandments of Australian Males, is now available in convenient pocket size. Rigid adherence to this guide is recommended.

Thailand - Kho Phi Phi Don

2006-08-28T16:22:00.000+03:00

Kho Phi Phi from the beach lounge
L/R: Me, Birnur, Isabelle, Jerome

The hardcore diving crew

It's a tough life

Friends

2006-08-27T15:36:00.000+03:00

Tanaz & Paola

Paola & Adnan

Paola & Anastassia

The Wedding

2006-08-26T20:30:00.000+03:00

Sultanahmet Sarayi Otel - pictures courtesy of Adnan Khan & Anastassia Zlatopolskaia

The Wedding (Continued)

2006-08-26T15:03:00.000+03:00

Sultanahmet Sarayi Otel - pictures courtesy of Adnan Khan & Anastassia Zlatopolskaia

The Meeting of Families

2006-08-15T13:53:00.000+03:00

Sultanahmet, Istanbul - August 2006

Return To Istanbul

2006-07-13T14:18:00.000+03:00

I returned to Istanbul as per plan in June, my new dwelling is located in Beşiktaş, a quiter option than my previous residence in Istanbul.

I am now looking at Istanbul and see a different place now that the sun is shining. Peoples attitudes are better and the streets are a buzz with activity all around.

The first week was spent completing wedding documentation as per requirements of the Turkish Government. The second week was spent at a small island in the Marmara Sea called Avşa.

Now i'm just settling back into life here in Istanbul and catching up with familiar faces. I am contemplating Turkish language classes very soon, actually the sooner the better!

My Mofo friend in Shanghai has a new blog, I have provided a link in the Links section so you can check out what he is up to! Hmmmmm, I certainly do not endorse any of the content in his site :)

Marriage Permission

2006-05-15T13:22:00.000+03:00

L-R: Me, Birnur, Birnur's Mum and Birnur's Dad.

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

2006-04-20T02:15:00.000+03:00

....or that's what they say (I'll be putting this to the test very soon)

Thursday 20th April will be an emotional day for me. It is the day that I depart for Melbourne, a planned visit of approximately one month in duration.

Although I'll miss Birnur crazily, of course, technology will assist us to maintain the bond and keep abreast of daily occurrences whilst we are apart from one another.

I'm really looking forward to seeing family and friends and frequenting some of my favourite Melbourne locations. Most of all i'm really looking forward to some familiarity back in my surroundings, and a seemingly endless array of cuisine selections that are simply not available in Istanbul!

I plan on returning to Istanbul in the middle of June to enable the finalization of wedding preparations and then head away with Birnur to Avşa for two weeks holiday in the sun!

My route home on Thursday is: (BA) Istanbul departing 5:25pm -> arriving London 7:30pm;

An overnight stay in London, accommodation yet to be arranged but i'm not too concerned where it will be. I'll hopefully be meeting with a friend there to catch up with as I wont see him again until the wedding in August!

Friday morning I depart London on Qantas for my flight to Melbourne, I suspect a stopover in Singapore (as usual!!!)

I look forward to seeing you all, catching up and exchanging news and happenings!!! See you soon!

A weekend in Ortaköy

2006-04-18T00:47:00.000+03:00

I've lived here now for six months and I've finally located one of my favourite areas in Istanbul! For the Australian viewers of my blog, If you can imagine Darling harbor, in Sydney, with perhaps an additional one thousand years of history, and a few more hundred thousand people in the local vicinity then you're pretty close to imagining what Ortaköy is like!

The picture on the left depicts the area of Ortaköy with the Ortaköy Mosque (Camii) in the background. The big guy dominating the foreground of the picture is none other than myself!

If you look close enough, flanked on the right side of the Cami is a tourist boat that takes you on the Bosphrous Sea for one hour tour at a rate of 4YTL (i.e. AUD$4.00). It's fantastic value, enabling you to come to terms with the immense geography of Istanbul both on the European and Asian sides of the country. I can highly recommend the tour! We were lucky enough to see a school of dolphins playing in the bow wave of the ship during the journey.

Both Saturday (Cumartesi) and Sunday (Pazar) host the local markets which you can immerse yourself in for hours at a time. The local produce is fascinating, and very reasonably priced Jewelryery and fashion accessories seem to be the dominating produce with negotiation a must.

My newest pair of Georgio Armani sunglasses set me back a whopping 15YTL (that's only AUD$15). Compared to my originals, you can not detect any difference! Diesel belts ($15.00), earrings (from $1.00), necklaces ($5.00 - $15.00, high quality female dress skirts ($30.00), shirts ($5.00 +) and several coffees and chais later we were exhausted!

With too much shopping to cram into one day, we returned on Sunday to undertake the Bosphorousros tour. Below are a couple of pictures that we took on the trip.

Gunmen Seize Hostages In Istanbul

2006-04-09T00:46:00.000+03:00

Hundreds of Istanbul Police overpowered two gunmen after they had taken hostages in Burger King Restaurant in Taksim Istanbul, just two kilometers from my house!

Read the full article here.

The previous bomb blast in Istanbul was Friday 31 March during the early evening in Koçamustafapaşa. Just 9 days ago! I really hope that things settle down soon, it's rather unnerving when it's so close to both my home and the homes of people that I care about!

Istanbul "Bronx"

2006-04-03T02:28:00.000+03:00

Check this for high density living. If the weather permits, I walk to Bilgi University through this area to get to class. I call this area, "The Turkish Bornx" I wont name the area in case I offend anybody

PKK Kocamustafapaşa Bomb Blast

2006-03-31T00:30:00.000+03:00

In Istanbul the traffic is a nightmare at the best of times, and Friday evening was no exception, it was horrendous!

I was travelling to Birnurs house in Kocumustafapaşa by taxi when I received a telephone call from Birnur telling me that the roads in her suburb are closed due to a bomb blast and she would need to instruct the taxi driver which direction to take me.

What The! Oh, of course, just another bomb blast, nothing too worrying, I mean it was only just under 1 kilometre from Birnurs house! Just another PKK blast to kill and injure Turkish people. Just lovely! Man these people are cowards!

Anyway, suffice to say, I made it to Birnurs house safely and with a minimum of fuss but the whole bomb blast situation really makes me nervous, particularly when it is so close to our homes, in particular, Birnurs home!

In an article posted by the Turkish Daily News (Turkeys only English based daily gazette) the whole situation seems soo blaze...I mean, here is the extract on this shocking event, "A bomb blast in Istanbul late on Friday, claimed by a radical Kurdish group as a reprisal for the victims, killed one person and left about a dozen others injured."

That's the sum and total of the news reporting that I saw on the topic, quite amazing if you ask me! Anyway, I stayed at Birnurs house on the Friday evening so we could wake early to visit more potential wedding venues. Not much else to report for that evening!

Joke - A Beer before it starts

2006-03-23T00:21:00.000+02:00

A man came home from work, sat down in his favorite chair, turned on the TV, and said to his wife, "Quick, bring me a beer before it starts."
She looked a little puzzled, but brought him a beer.
When he finished it, he said, "Quick, bring me another beer. It's gonna start."
This time she looked a little angry, but brought him a beer. When it was gone, he said, "Quick, another beer, it's gonna start any second."
"That's it!" She blows her top, "You bastard! You waltz in here, flop your fat ass down, don't even say hello to me and then expect me to run around like your slave. Don't you realize that I cook and clean and wash and iron all day long?"
The husband sighed.

"Oh shit, it's started"

Joke - Two men camping

2006-03-23T00:20:00.000+02:00

Two men camping in the mountains had spent four days together, and they were getting a little testy. One morning, the first friend says, "You know, we're starting to get on each other's nerves. Why don't we split up today. I'll hike north and spend the day looking around, you hike south and spend the day. Then tonight, we'll have dinner and share our experiences over the campfire."
The second friend agrees and hikes south. The first man hikes north.
That night over dinner, the first man tells his story: "Today I hiked into a beautiful valley. I followed a stream up into a canyon and ate lunch. Then I swam in a crystal clear mountain lake. As I sat out and
dried, I watched deer come and drink from the stream. The wildflowers were filled with butterflies and hawks floated all day overhead. How was your day?"
The second friend says, "I went south and ran across a set of railroad tracks. I followed them until I came across a beautiful young woman tied to the tracks. I cut the ropes off, gently lifted her off the tracks, and I had sex with her in every imaginable way all afternoon. Finally, when I was so tired I could barely move, I came back to camp."
"Wow!!" the first guy exclaimed, "Your day was MUCH better than mine. Did you get a blow job, too?"
"Nah," says the second friend over his meal, "I couldn't find her head."

Joke - Wedding Anniversary

2006-03-23T00:19:00.000+02:00

Two guys are in a bar. they find out they have the same wedding anniversary.
One asks the other "what did you get your wife for your anniversary?"
The other man replied," A Jag and a Mercedes."
"wow that weird why both?"
"Well if she doesn't like driving the jag she can drive the Mercedes. What did you get your wife?"
"A pair of slippers and a vibrator."
"wow that's really weird why?"
"well if she doesn't like the slippers she can go fuck herself!"

Joke - A Dog in Heat

2006-03-23T00:18:00.000+02:00

A little girl asked her Mom, "Mom, may I take the dog for a walk around the block?

Mom replies, "No, because she is in heat."

"What's that mean?" asked the child.

"Go ask your father. I think he's in the garage."

The little girl goes to the garage and says, "Dad, may I take Belle for a walk around the block? I asked Mom, but she said the dog was in heat, and to come to you."

Dad said, "Bring Belle over here."

He took a rag, soaked it with gasoline, and scrubbed the dog's backside with it and said, "Okay, you can go now, but keep Belle on the leash and only go one time around the block."

The little girl left, and returned a few minutes later with no dog on the leash.
Surprised, Dad asked, "Where's Belle?"

The little girl said, "She ran out of gas about halfway down the block, so another dog is pushing her home."

Joke - Kinky Sex

2006-03-19T12:03:00.000+02:00

A man and a woman are sitting next to each other at a bar, both getting drunk. The man turns to the woman and asks her why she's so down.

"My husband just left me. He said I'm too kinky in bed," she replied.

"What a coincidence! My wife just left me," said the man. "She told me that I was too kinky for her, too!"

The two talk a little while longer, and finding that they have so much in common they decide to go back to the woman's house to have kinky sex.

When they get to her house she turns to the man and says, "Give me ten minutes, I want to slip into something more comfortable." She goes into the bathroom and changes into a full leather, jet black dominatrix outfit.

However, as she's coming out of her bathroom, the man is putting on his coat and walking out the door.

"What happened?", she said. "I thought you wanted to have kinky sex?"

He looks at her and says, "Well, I just screwed your dog and shit in your purse. I'm done."

More Turkish Vocabulary

2006-03-03T12:08:00.000+02:00

Here are some more Turkish words and their English translation

tamam : okay.
memnun oldum : pleased to meet you.
bed de : me too.
sen de : you too.
adi : name.
ben adim : my name is...
sen adin ne: what is your name?
nerelilson : where are you from?
mükemmell : perfect.
nerede : where.
istiyorum : i want.
ne istiyor musun : what do you want?
istiyorsun : you want.
ne kadar : how much?
Taksim e gitmek istiyorum lutfen : I want to go to Taksim please.
bilmek : to know.
bilmiyorum : I don't know.
bilmiyorsun : you don't know.
biliyorum : I know.
biliyorsun : you know.
biliyor musun : do you know?
biliyor musunuz : do you know? (polite)
anlamak : to understand.
anladim : I understand.
anlamadim : I don't understand.
anliyor musun : do you understand?
anliyor musunuz : do you understand? (polite)
bu akşam : this night.
ne yaptin : what did you do?
ne yapiyorsun : what are you doing?
gelmek : to come.
geliyor : coming.
geliyorum : i am coming.
geliyorsun : you are coming.
geliyorlar : they are coming.
geliyor musun : are you coming?
geldim : i came.
geldin : you came.
geldik : we came.
arkadaş : friend.
arkadaşum : my friend.
dost : friend.
dostum : my friend.
ev : home.
evim : my home
şimde : now.
sonra : later.
konuşmak : to speak.
söylemek : to say
nasil söyledim: how do i say?
soru : question.
soru sormak : to ask a question.
cevap : answer; reply.

Basic Turkish Language Vocabulary

2006-03-02T11:35:00.000+02:00

Here are some basic Turkish vocabulary, interesting huh!

merhaba : Hello.
selam* : Hi.
nasil : how.
nasilsin: How are you?
iyiyim : I'm good.
teşukker ederim : Thank You.
sağ ol : Thanks.
beğenmek : to like (someone / something).
sevmek : to love (someone / something).
aşk yapmak : to make love.
sevişmek : to make love.
yalamak : to lick.
dokunmak : to touch.
hediye : gift / present.
hediye etmek : to make a present of; to give something as a gift.
hele : above all; especially; particularly; in particular.
beraber : together; with eachother.
birlikte : together; with eachother.
birbiri : eachother.
besbelli : obvious; very clear; quite evidently.
bıkkın : bored.
bittabi : naturally; of course.
yerinmek : to feel sad about; to feel sorry about; to regret.
öyle mı : Is that so?
öyle ya : That's the way it is / was.
özellıkle : especially ; particularly.
özsel : essential.
pek : very; extremely.
peki : all right; okay; very well; if that's so, then...
pekala : all right; okay; very well.
ola ki : perhaps; maybe.
bile : even.
belki : perhaps; maybe.
belik de : it may be that.
bence : according to me; as for me.
bellek : memory.
içim: sip (drink); puff (cigarette).
için : for.
için için : secretly; covertly.
iğrenç : disgusting.
hemen : immediately; right now.
özel : special; private.

* Arabic origins

Permanent Resignation From Bachelorhood!

2006-02-19T15:48:00.000+02:00

Today was the day!

I officially proposed marriage to Birnur, and she accepted, making me one of the happiest guys in the world!

Istanbul Winter

2006-01-26T16:01:00.000+02:00

"Kar" translates to "snow" in English. Here are some pictures of the Taksim streetscape, covered with kar, where I live in Istanbul.

Birnur's car (Koçamustafapaşa)

my apartment building

my street (Yeşilçam Sokak)

Turkish Bayram

2006-01-20T21:52:00.000+02:00

"The Trotter"....Olympos, Turkey

Adnan, Sebastian & Nazan - Olympos, Turkey

Preparing the Bayram sacrafice