Children's Day

April 23 marks Children's Day in Turkey, and so we have no school on Thursday. After having no idea what Children's Day even was (apart from a day to celebrate children, of course), I did a little scholarly Wikipedia search to find that on April 23, 1920, the first meeting of the Grand National Assembly took place during the Turkish independence war, and that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk--the father of modern Turkey-- proclaimed that day a day for children so that they may understand the importance of independence.

Apparently, children from around the world travel with their families to Turkey and stay with host families with children of similar ages. Throughout this week (including here on campus), there are lots of cultural festivals and carnivals and the like. And, the seats of parliament are held by children on the 23rd, and Turkey even has a child president for the day, who apparently makes a speech on national television. What an interesting holiday!

Let the sun shine in--

Because the sun was actually out and it was rather warm today (60s), the students were all outside basking in it while eating ice cream. I am surprised, though, that many people are still in coats, scarves, gloves, and boots (both on campus and around town) at this point in springtime. I wore shorts today (gasp), only to get strange looks from people. I stuck out like a sore thumb, but it was okay because I thought it was too hot to wear jeans and a coat.

I find it amazing that I can find clothes in this country that fit me--shorter people, I guess? Anyway, I found a pair of jeans today that were a bit long but actually fit me in the legs and waist. I might have to get them hemmed or try them myself, but the kicker: I paid 10.99 TL ($6.63) for them!! They are from a somewhat fashionable Turkish department store (as opposed to on the street), and they were on sale from 70 TL I do believe, so I was proud of my purchase, to say the least. I now desperately need sandals and sunglasses. And, apparently, needle and thread, which is surprisingly hard to find!

THEY GOT A PUPPY!!

Nothing to do with Turkey, unless of course you count Obama coming here last week: I'm a tad bit too excited for this otherwise silly season news story, but as you all stateside likely know, the Obama family welcomed Bo, a Portuguese water dog, into their home, after Sen. Kennedy offered it to them as a gift. Seeing the family running and laughing in the White House lawn really just shows how happy they all are. They are just a beautiful family, and I can't help but get unhealthily giddy when I see a new story about this all-American, picture-perfect first family.

Balkans and the Like

The only way I can describe the past week in the Balkans is to say that this life-altering experience will make stories for years to come. Three friends and I visited Sofia (Bulgaria), Belgrade (Serbia), Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Dubrovnik, and Split (Croatia). In Split we split up (ha ha ha...get it?) and a friend and I continued on to Zagreb (Cr.) and Ljubljana (Slovenia), while the other two went back to Belgrade as they had to be home earlier.

One remarkable thing was how different all of these countries actually are. The feeling once you go to Sofia from Istanbul is palpable, as you immediately notice differences in dress and public behaviors. As we moved west, we felt like we were more and more in western European cities. This seems a bit obvious, yes, but I don't generally think of countries of the former Eastern Bloc and Yugoslavia to be very western places, but I clearly was mistaken.

The views of all the cities were unbelievable. I have seen pictures of all these places in books before and have scene photos of videos of the scenery elsewhere, but to see it in person feels not much less than a dream. I couldn't quite fathom that such beautiful views, crystal-clear waters--"paradise on Earth," as Mark Twain aptly described Dubrovnik--actually exist until I saw them for myself.

Split and Dubrovnik are comparable cities, both on the coast of Croatia, with Split being farther north than Dubrovnik. Both are huge tourist attractions, but luckily for us, we were visiting during the off-season so we could have relatively cheap and uncrowded visits. Dubrovnik is famous for its old city, a fortressed former republic from the Middle Ages. Both positioned along the Adriatic, but Dubrovnik has several stone beaches (and REALLY cold, possibly less than 50 degree, water), while Split is mostly a landing point for posh yachts and cruiseliners. We had a seafood meal in Dubrovnik that cost roughly $10 each, which was great for two people ordering mussel and two people ordering shrimp dishes, plus a liter of wine and apertifs to start out our meals.

When I think Sarajevo, the first thing that pops in my mind is all the war and conflict of the 1990s, and, unfortunately, the wounds of those times are ever so apparent today. I would estimate that about 70-80 percent of the buildings in Sarajevo are peppered with bullet holes or shrapnel, most of such holes having not yet been repaired. Virtually every park doubles as a graveyard (on top of the two large ones that are on big hills in the outskirts of the city), and many of the gravestones have the exact same death date. The city is still divided ethnically, exemplified mostly by the two bus stations across town that go different places, yet only one mode of transportation per day connects them.

Ironically, the unyielding spirit of the citizens of this town was quite inspiring. While there, we went to a sort of festival in one of the main squares of town, and there were families dancing and children singing, making for the epitome of family outings. The smiles on everyone's faces and the fun all were having under the warm sun showed--at least to me--the resiliency of the people despite such a horrid recent past. They are so proud of their city, as they should be; it was so incredibly beautiful, both in the old town and the modernity of the new town. They seem particularly proud of their city being home to the 1984 Summer Olympics. You can still buy memorabilia and take site tours of this event over twenty years ago, which we found very interesting.

A small aside: I have always wanted to go to Cheers in Boston because I was a fan of the show, but I was enthralled to discover that the bar also exists in...not making this up...Sarajevo. (?!?) People didn't exactly yell "Norm!" when I walked in, nor did the inside look anything like the set of the show, but I am glad that I can check off my list that I went to the place "where everybody knows your name"...only not really.

Zagreb was a neat city, but after seeing the churches and going on the self-guided tour, we were kind of done with it and felt we got a good Cliffs-notes version of the city. Ljubljana, a place which I must admit I never heard of previously, proved to be a really cool city with numerous parks and very trendy European shopping and eating along the Ljubljanica River. One of the most famous squares is adjacent to the triple bridge, and this is where you will see the most people, as shops and ice cream and gelatto stands (oh, the pains of being diabetic) radiate from this point. A short hike will bring you to the castle that overlooks the beautiful city. One of the neatest things about the city, other than having a horseburger, was our hostel. A converted Slovenian prison, the old building was transformed into a very modern, eclectic hostel complete with a cafe and bar.

Belgrade was my friend's and my last stop before our fun ride home (can you read sarcasm?). Because we had about one hour here on our first go-through, we decided to spend a couple days there, and we are glad we did. Also a very beautiful city, there are two long or three really long streets with shopping and eating and the like (also, the ice cream), a park and old fortress, and a huge open market with all the fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish you would ever want. I went to a museum for Nikola Tesla, and it was also quite cool. We even stumbled upon an Amstel Light festival where you could get a .5 L beer for a little over $1. We both partook and sat on one of the cafe tables listening to great live music (for some reason New York, New York is the only song I remember) while young children were dancing or watching the street performers. So much fun.

Transportation was a mess both ways in Bulgaria. We took a train from Istanbul to Sofia and then to Belgrade (24ish hours), and we had to do the same on the way back, although no layover in Sofia. On the way there, we stopped in a small town and waited for over an hour for no reason it seemed, that is, until we were told someone had been smuggling guns over the border. On the way back, our second class car was disconnected at one of the stops, so we had to switch cars obviously. The first class car did not take us, and he said we could go to the next car. We did so, found an empty room, and put our stuff down. An angry train conductor yelled at us, presumably telling us to leave, and so we went to the next two cars, only to be told to go back to the second car. They basically motioned to find an empty room, and when we did, the angry conductor came back, really started lighting into us, throwing our stuff in the corridor and basically forcing us out of the room. The girl in the room next to us was yelling back at him and apparently pointed at him and then he smacked her hand. We finally got to a car that was a sleeper, but we had to pay an additional 22 lira each to be able to stay, or else wait on the Turkish border for the train the next morning with a second class cabin. Needless to say, we paid the extra money for at least 4 hours of sleep. We arrived in Istanbul and 9:00ish and got back to school, exhausted yet oddly refreshed at the same time.

In sum, the best warm weather ever (no clouds at all except a brief sprinkling one night late in Sarajevo), breathtaking scenery, and the best company I could ask for made this trip just awesome. I spent quite a bit of money (although not a lot considering all the stuff we did and the fact that we had a lot of transportation, lodging, and food), but every penny was worth this trip. I have gotten a relapse of the travel bug, and all I really want to do now is save money and go somewhere else in a few years. This will be one of those times where, years from now, I can look back at all the stories and memories that accumulated and say, "That was the life."

Happy Election Day!

Picture Source: flamabayrak.com


Ahh, just when I think I escape the addictive grasp of American politics, I fall into the clutches of Turkish elections!

March 29 marked Turkey's municipal elections, where thousands of political positions are up for grabs, including the mayoral position here in İstanbul. In recent weeks, the streets are covered by thousands of little pennant flags strung between buildings and electrical posts, posters and billboards covering virtually every building, and myriad enormous tour buses blaring with persuasive rhetoric about individual candidates being blasted from megaphones. The amount of money that must have been spent on these things is mind-boggling, but since they seem to spend little time on television, I presume they are just putting their money elsewhere.

What is important to note in all of this is that despite having multi-story posters of people's faces with their names, the logo in the corners of these posters is perhaps more important for voters. You see, Turkish politics is extremely party-oriented, and political candidates are simply instruments to empower the parties. Mind you, some leaders are able to accomplish a lot and others little, people sometimes equate their performance with the party. Think of the United States and people attributing a leader's actions with the party as a whole, even though here, the attribution is to a greater extent.

Even though thirty-three parties competed for the big election in 2007 and nineteen did today, coalitions are rarely formed between the parties, so forming pluralities and majorities are quite important. Coalition governments are viewed here as failures essentially because Turkey had severe economic collapses and other crises in the 1990s under such rule. This, again, makes party politics all the more important.

According to election returns, it looks like the AKP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, or Justice and Development Party) has retained a relatively strong lead nationwide, even though not quite as strong as it had performed in 2007. The president and PM of Turkey both belong to the AK Party, and so continuation of this party's policy seems to be bolstered. Among its promises are pushing forward with institutional transformation of Turkey for EU accession as well as promoting moral principles in Turkish society.

While some opponents of the AK Parti argue many of these reforms are either negative or haven't been instituted enough, it appears that voters are giving the party a chance to advance its agenda further.

The mood here is very politically charged today, with celebrations in the streets as well as protests and, unfortunately, some violence, particularly in the eastern part of the country. In an effort to stymie violence and unrest, the Turkish government bans the sale of alcohol on election day as well as the carrying of firearms.

As it is quite late and I have more pages of reading to do tomorrow than I'd like to think about, I am going to end this post somewhat abruptly and hit the hay. Goodnight everyone!

It's been a while...

It has been several weeks since my last posting, and it feels as though life has been turned upside down since I've last written. With apologies as to the delay, I must explain that it occurred due to my computers exploding on me: literally smoke, sparks, popping, the whole enchilada. Because I have not been able to upload pictures and have had to acquaint myself with a Turkish keyboard, weeks have transpired; luckily though, I have a new computer and am trying to finagle English language settings, and now I am offering my first post...

I will surely update you on two trips that I have taken--Topkapı Palace and Cappadocia-- that were quite memorable, but I instead want to take the opportunity to pay homage to my grandmother, Murrell Helmke, who died last week.

Grandma's life cannot be described with any ease, as words do not illustrate aptly the depth to which she valued life: family, friends, new experiences. Her vivaciousness inspired all who knew her, and her death is a great loss to so many.

Above all else, family was of utmost importance to her. While blood relations were of course one of her definitions of family, who she considered to be in her family seemed to transcend that. She forged such deep friendships through the years and embraced the friends of other family members to the point that reunions and gatherings consisted of scores of people, blood-related and otherwise. She took in nieces and nephews and considered them her own. It seemed that Grandma was always in contact with friends, not only from now but from her past as well. Many, many people considered Grandma their best friend, and she was to them all.

She was always so proud of everyone in her family, and she made great strides to keep in contact with us all. If I ever had a question of how someone was doing, in most cases Grandma had the answers. (And sometimes, we would have the answers too...but to crossword puzzle clues) In regards to her pride, all of her friends and even random strangers she would meet and befriend soon knew about us all. Becky at the bank, Anne, her hairdresser, her bridge friends, and the list continues. I was always astounded when her friends or acquaintances would say, "You must be Jon...." She clearly loved all of her friends and family, and the familial reports about the attendance to her memorial service attest to that, as many people loved her too.

My memories of Grandma are vivid, even from when I was quite young. I remember running from imaginary waves (sounds from a sound machine) with her when we couldn't go to the beach. I remember the beach trips so very well and the games of Clue we would play. I remember the Twinkies in her pantry and the hollow sound of the pantry door opening when Grandma was going to cook. I remember the orange sippy cup she would give me (and the rest of the grandkids and great-grandkids). I remember her visiting us in Peru. I remember her stories. I remember sitting in her lap and "working" the crossword or jumble or cryptoquote (which I never quite figured out). I remember always having soft drinks outside in the garage: Grab a tray and go get yourself a Coke; we are eating around, she'd say. I remember she would always be working on a stocking or advent calendar for a grandkid or great-grandkid.

I remember Christmas Eve and the lengths she would go to impress, and every Christmas seemed to be a little bit sweeter and magical each time. Planning started promptly in June, regardless.

This stream of consciousness is not exactly eloquent, but these are just a few of the random memories that have been flooding my mind.

Of course, these random memories are mere flashes of the rich tapestry that is my reminiscence on Grandma. I realize just how influential she was on my childhood, on the way I think and the person I am today.

Her unwillingness to accept what was not right, her tenaciousness, her wisdom and brilliance, her selflessness, her vivaciousness and general positive attitude despite obstacle, and her love of life and family (read:family and friends) make Grandma my absolute hero. I wish I could be half the amazing individual Grandma was to so many people.

Because of my obvious absence from home, her death has been particularly hard because I have not had the close friends and family from whom I garner the most support. This is not to say that my friends here have not been incredible to me (and of whom I am eternally grateful); it is just that sometimes you would love nothing more than a hug from family member. Nonetheless, I know that Grandma would have been mad at me had I traveled back to the States on her account, so I have some solace from missing my family so much.

I am not exactly sure how I should close this besides saying that despite the world has suffered an immeasurable loss, I would rather say that it has been graced and has been witness to a truly remarkable, fulfilling, and full life of an awe-inspiring woman; and for that, I feel immensely blessed.

Thank you, Grandma, for leaving your mark and meaning so much to so many of us. Your legacy will live on for generations to come.

In the meantime...

I've done a few things this past week, but I am going to wait to post until I have more time and I get the photos from my friends. Surprise! Jon forgot his camera on two excursions.

I did, however, stumble across this story on CNN.com that describes well my experiences in getting a Turkish residency permit.

http://inthefield.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/02/a-rite-of-passage-for-ex-pats-in-turkey/

Enjoy!