 Ozgur Can Leonard - bedreddin | All Comments |
Ozgur Can Leonard - bedreddin | All Comments |
Comments | |
| 18th November 2004 bedreddin | Fun with Bicycles (how to buy high and sell low) - From: Mevlana (Rumi)-land So... like I said in the blog itself, I had notions of biking, but decided it wasn't feasible... I even convinced myself that it wasn't a good idea considering the weather and all. That is, until I stumbled across a store that was selling brand new mountain bikes for 95million (less than $65)... the bike itself looked reasonable, so I forked out the money and bought myself one. A quick look at the map showed Beyshehir by the lake of the same name, roughly 94km due west as a reasonable target for a day's biking trip. So I made up my mind to set out early the next day after buying some more gear (such as gloves, a raincoat, a wool undershirt, etc). Not surprisingly, when I went to fit my gear on the bike I ended up with a large pile on the back rack which, despite the bungy cords fell over less than 100m later. So, I head back to the bike store, bought (and installed) a "basket" for the front of the bike, was pleased that my gear seemed to fit perfectly, and decided to take the bike for a test run (fully loaded with the gear) to make sure there would be no surprises the next day... The bike was fine until I basically hit the outskirts of town when the right pedal fell off (never a good sign). Luckily there was a repair stand closeby and the guy said the tread was worn but installed a new pedal and said it would be OK. By then the sun had set, so I head back to the hotel (to the general amusement of the manager to whom I had said I was leaving), and resolved to leave the next morning by 9am. Not only that, but I decided to skip Beysehir altogether and strike out eastward towards Cappadocia, as that road is nearly completely flat and would be more navigable than the hilly Beysehir road. The weather report declared that the next two days would be sunny (a welcome change from the rainy weather for the previous couple days), but that saturday night would bring a temprature drop of 8 degrees celsius (13 degrees fahrenheit) -- the temperature officially 12 degrees at the time, although the loacl thermometers read 5-6. I figured I could bike to Capadoccia, use my bike around there and possibly sell it at a loss if/when the temperature forced me to do so. I went to sleep early in complete peace, confident that the next day would bring a great experience. It did, but not the one I was looking for. I woke up on time, ate a small breakfast, loaded up my bike and hit the road. Things were going just fine until about 6km later when the pedal started to feel a bit funny and -- you guessed it -- it fell off. Try to imagine my frustration: I had intended to leave Konya 3 days ago, but had changed my plans to incorporate this bicycle... the bicycle had already let me down twice, and the weather was barely bearable at present, let alone after the anticipated temperature drop. Someone told me they would probably start getting snowstorms in 1-2 weeks. In great agitation I walked the bike back to town, and when I finally got there an hour and a half later I wanted to get rid of it. The guys at the shop were nicer than I expected and paid to have the pedal replaced, as well as for a general tune-up, but I had made up my mind... I wanted a divorce. We're not in Kansas anymore, and the guy looked at me in disbelief and got positively irritated when I said I wanted to return the bike, and wouldn't hear of it even when I said I'd be willing to lower the price... as long as he'd buy it back. The hotel manager offered to buy it off me for 65million (after a bit of bargaining, that is), and when a repair guy offered me 70million (plus 6 million for the miscellaneous tools I had bought), I took it and parted with my (now fully tuned and functional) bike which had cost me 115 million (all told), plus 3 days of hotel costs and great mental and emotional anguish. One hears about these couples who get divorced a couple weeks after they're married... that's what I felt like. We go divorced before I even got to ride the thing in peace, but the relief that came when I shook the guy's hand to seal the deal was very genuine, and beyond any short-term financial considerations. Having Irish blood, I can't help but feel sorry for the whole episode and wish it had never happened, but as they say "zararin neresinden donulse kardir" (lit. wherever you stop your loss is a profit... meaning don't stick to a losing horse). Things weren't working out, so now it's over. Maybe some other time with someone else. So, I have finally made my escape from Konya, a bit sore from the experience, but at least I'm still baggage-free (in more than one sense), and I haven't frozen to a popsicle somewhere on the Anatolian plateau. Maybe I'm missing out on part of the experience, but that experience is going to have to wait till warmer weather. Until that time I'll be sticking with closed metal cages rattling down pre-established roads. |
| 16th November 2004 anonymous | Oley - From: Mevlana (Rumi)-land Demek artik bir "highlight"sin... yasa be! Bu arada Catalhoyuk'e filan da gidecekmisin? Resimler icin hangi software kullaniyorsun? DL |
| 2nd November 2004 anonymous | sir fagalot - From: Adrianopolis o resimleri oraya koymadan once cocuklarin velilerinden izin aldinmi? ne yani Turk veya cingene diye insandan saymiyomusun?! bu arada senin babanenpolis, edirne yazmak cok mu zor |
| 1st November 2004 anonymous | lorelei - From: Adrianopolis herseyi yapm1ss1n da eski cami ile selimiye aras1nda bi cay yudumlay1p trakyan1n keyfine var1p,tarihin kokusunu duyabildin mi? :) |
| 30th October 2004 anonymous | To a Greek - From: No Greeks here... Fazla kasinma, kardak kayaliklarindan baslar Arnavutluk sinirina kadar heryeri aliriz ve her binaya(sadece kiliselere degil) minare ekleriz bu arada Arjantinliler Sicarken Zevk Aliyolarmis |
| 30th October 2004 anonymous | Truva'ya cevap - From: Commemorating the fallen simdi aksakalli dedenin sozlerinin degerini sen anlamamissan ben n'apayim. "Don't cast your pearls upon swine" |
| 29th October 2004 anonymous | Drinking in Ramadan - From: Bozcaada (Tenedos) It's always better to get the dirty looks, especially when you drink it out of a brown bag; kinda like chewing gum in Singapore. |
| 29th October 2004 anonymous | Truva - From: Commemorating the fallen Can, Peter o atin icinde birsey kirmamis miydi? Baybora soylemisti ki ona da mutlaka Ak Sakalli Dede soylemistir. Hadi, off to earn my daily rice. |
| 26th October 2004 bedreddin | to a Greek - From: No Greeks here... first off, racism is ignorant and uncalled for. i don't know what you're trying to get at by saying turks came from mongolia and calling them "newcomers in [sic] europe"; i don't think there's anything shameful about mongolia nor being a "newcomer". information i've come across indicates that ayvalik (kidonies) was granted autonomy by the sultan, and no muslims were allowed to live in the city... that lasted until 1821 (greek war of independence) when apparently ayvalik sided with greece and got its privileges revoked. sounds like pretty good treatment to me. as for what you said about mosques and cemetaries... unfortunately i agree with you there. i think there's a conscious (official) effort to eradicate the history of anatolian peoples and instead engineer the myth of the "turkish national homeland". i truly hope it's just a fad that will soon end. speaking of ayvalik, the church on the facing island (not sure of the greek name) wasn't converted to a mosque and is now falling apart... so it's a tough call: see it converted to a mosque, or have it fall apart from disuse? of course, the root of the problem is the population exchange (in the late '20s), without which we wouldn't have to worry about empty greek churches. finally, i don't know if you personally know any turks, but i'd suggest you try to meet some. there are some bad apples (there always are), but i think you'll find it worth your while. i've met some really cool greeks and armenians (both of which are official "enemies"). |
| 25th October 2004 anonymous | mordecai - From: Commemorating the fallen Turk un T sini bi daha kucuk yazarsan oraya gelip sakallarini kesicem! Ayrica rahat birak kucuk kizlari, michael jackson degilsin, katolik papaz degilsin, 30 yasina gelmissin artik insaf! |
| 25th October 2004 anonymous | lorelei - From: Commemorating the fallen buralardan rüzgar gibi geçtin...mailine çok _a_a1rmad1m,böyle bi hayat gezgincinin kan1nda var!!umar1m sana söyledi im yerlerede gidersin:) |
| 21st October 2004 anonymous | From a Greek - From: No Greeks here... When I see this nice church getting transformed in a minaret I was thinking how our Turkish "friends" who want to join Europe would feel if they see the house in which Kemal Ataturk was borned, in Thessaloniki Greece, transformed to a Bar. I really do not undesrtand why Turks are always destroying the Greek culture. It is impossible to change history. Kidonies (Ayvalik) was for thousand years a Greek city until the Turks coming from Mongolia occupied it. By the way, I have also another question: In Ayvalik for thousand of years Greek Christians were burrying their deads in the town's cemeteries. What happened to them? Turks destroyed them as another gesture of civiliation? Otherwise can you please show just one picture of them? My grandmother is from Kidonies and her whole family was tortured to death from the newcomeres in Europe, Turks. Regards P.S. It is really a nice Greek Orthodox Church. Even without the cross and even if you add hundred of minares it will always be a church! |
| 20th October 2004 bedreddin | Finally, pictures. - From: Bozcaada (Tenedos) Here are some pictures... unfortunately the blog entry spans a fairly long period of time, so the pictures are all over the place. Enjoy. |
| 20th October 2004 anonymous | to commentator number 3 - From: Bozcaada (Tenedos) kerry actually isn't a flip flop. see vote-smart.org to check out his voting record ... or johnkerry.com about his comments about the patriaactually neither of the candidates seem to as so you eloquently put "rat's a$$ about Muslims." |
| 19th October 2004 anonymous | - From: Bozcaada (Tenedos) but you were drunk in a dark alley in bodrum |
| 19th October 2004 bedreddin | ideal life (guessing who you are) - From: Beautiful Patricia you are the anonymous voice of a cog in the machinery that saps our life force and fools us with dreams of "success" and "happiness"... you are everyman, longing for meaning in your life... you might be anyone and everyone :) |
| 19th October 2004 bedreddin | kerry etc - From: Bozcaada (Tenedos) bush is the antichrist. |
| 19th October 2004 bedreddin | drinking in Ramadan - From: Bozcaada (Tenedos) i wasn't getting drunk on a street corner... it was in the privacy of a (closed) restaurant with the owner's son (whom i had befriended). so no, no dirty looks. |
| 19th October 2004 bedreddin | beni uzmeyin - From: Chandarli, on the way to Ayvalik beni uzmeyin... zaten bakip laf atmalarla basim dertte... |
| 18th October 2004 anonymous | Sana kim bakar - From: Chandarli, on the way to Ayvalik Sana bakip gulmusler,"AA Adam kendini Robinson Crusoe Saniyo" veya "AA Manisa Tarzanii!" gibi seyler soylemisler, sende oyle gaza gelmissin, bana bakip da guluyolar diye |
| 18th October 2004 anonymous | kerry - From: Bozcaada (Tenedos) In the last debate, he said he wanted to send more troops to Iraq,he voted for the patriot act, he's for affirmative action (a horrible practice that rewards colored people and takes away the rights of others) he will make us pay higher taxes, he's like a robot and is nothing close to being a human, and he's a flip flop. First says yes about something, than says no (or visa versa) Thats scary! Ignorant people hear that Bush is bad, without knowing how bad the other candidate is then go ahead and squander their votes. In Turkish there is a saying "Gelen Gideni Aratir" literally: The one who comes, makes you miss the old one. W has his faults, but he's a sympathetic man that cares about his countrymen (although he doesn't give a rat's ass about muslims) |
| 16th October 2004 anonymous | kerry - From: Bozcaada (Tenedos) i had the same views about kerry until i saw the debates. he's a man for the 'working class', against racial profiling, for protecting individual rights and freedoms, wants to tax the rich and give to the poor, an environmentalist, AND an anti-war activist, wants to bring the troops home. he's as leftest as a presidential candidate you'll get for the US of A. much much better than bush. and to answer your random thought...yes, people are *that* stupid. it's a close election. |
| 16th October 2004 anonymous | ramadan - From: Bozcaada (Tenedos) Drinking in Ramadan? Did people give you wierd looks for that? |
| 15th October 2004 anonymous | Ideal life - From: Beautiful Patricia North side of the Agean is a good choice.Ayval1k, Bademli, Dikili... All reminds me my memories. Whenever I think about that region of my country, thoughts come to my mind and confuse me....leaving the job, leaving the pressure put by boss, leaving the city, leaving for living a new life like your 'ideal life'...Can you guess who I am? |
| 12th October 2004 anonymous | - From: Chandarli, on the way to Ayvalik Whose beach? Our Beach! yazisini (sen ve benden baska) kimsenin anladigini sanmiyorum, boyle inside joke lari yazip durma cizerim bi tarafini |
| 9th October 2004 anonymous | What a nice place to be!!! - From: Beautiful Patricia I have spent my entire childhood in Ayvalik. My parents do own a summer house and every year, I look forward to go to Ayvalik. One of the reasons why I like is that it receives constant wind for long hours. It is my definitely favorite location to windsurf every summer. Not to mention how lovely the nature and watching sunset at the beach. Mr.Bedreddin, I was so happy to hear that you got to stop by in Ayvalik and shared the feelings as I do every year. Best Regards. B.O. Orlando,FL |
| 6th October 2004 anonymous | harika - From: No Greeks here... Sevgili Bedreddin, Gunluklerini cok keyif alarak okuyorum, devamini merakla bekliyorum. Her iki kulturden de tatmis bir insan olarak senin izlenimlerinin tadi bir baska oluyor. Sadece gezdigin yerleri degil seni de tanimis oluyoruz. Sevgiler, Selamlar, Ahmet - istanbul |
| 5th October 2004 bedreddin | Update on fishing experience - From: No Greeks here... My fortunes are slowly changing... I caught 6 fish today. All small, around 10cm, but still fish, and I caught them. I threw them back after catching them so it's theoretically possible that I kept catching the same stupid fish over and over. :) A kid came over as I was catching my 6th and seemed like he knew what he was doing so I gave him my line and let him fish. He promptly got it caught in the rocks and the line snapped. He then convinced me to buy a different type of hook ([i]carpma[/i], I don't know what it's called in english) which works similar to a speargun: you yank on the line and end up punching a hole in the fish; the fish doesn't bite. Within 60 seconds of me buying it he caught a 35cm+ [i]zargana[/i] (small swordfish). Now, if I were a capitalist I would say the fish is mine since I supplied the capital; fortunately for the kid I believe in the sanctity of labor, so he got the fish. It's real windy so the line kept getting tangled so we gave up a bit later. I spent the rest of the afternoon watchaing the awesome sunset over the bay and behind the islands. |
| 2nd October 2004 bedreddin | More to the story... - From: Pergamum I was a little pissed off and tired when I wrote the spiel about Bergama. I had some interesting encounters on the way there, as one typically does when hitchhiking. I left Balikesir around 4pm and was almost instantly picked up by a dude in a pickup. He told me he was kicked out of his 4th year in medical school back in '78 for getting involved in political activities. He was real cool and went on and on about people whose only goal in life is making money (and making it quick). Unfortunately he wasn't going far so he dropped me off 15-20km later. There were a bunch of villagers selling melons by the side of the road where I was hitchiking; one was trying to be helpful and asked some unlikely looking guy who had stopped to buy a melon if he could give me a ride. (This was the low point of possibly the past month.) The guy said that of course he didn't care how people looked and it's what's inside that counts for him, but unfortunately he was only going 7km further along, and he'd gladly give me a ride, but... He also added that "no-one will pick you up like this"; a sentiment shared by many. The villagers advised me that it would be easier to get a ride 7km along the way and to go with him... so off we went. From the first he made it clear that he was doing me an *immense* favor, and he had every intention of making me pay in one way or another. He proceeded to ask prying questions: was I a student? Why was I traveling? How much money did I have on me? Where was I going from here? Did I have any siblings? and then to provide invaluable advice: "go catch a bus back to Istanbul; get a job and forget this traveling thing"... and I had only told him I was traveling to Bergama... I wonder what he'd say if I told him I was "traveling the world" :) At this point the conversation was getting a little old -- he refused to say anything about himself, and I was beginning to regret getting into the car with him. It was also becoming clear that he was headed further than the stated 7km. When not telling me how to run my life he was talking on the phone and being a total asshole to the guy on the other end. We finally stopped at a gas station and he magnanimously offered to buy me a cup of tea. He continued to lie and be an asshole on the phone in the meantime, and a friend of his showed up and they started talking. I finally decided I needed to get out of there and fast, so under the severely rebuking eye of my benefactor I humbly explained that I should get back to hitchiking. He didn't omit to comment that no-one would pick me up and order me to take the first bus that passes by on its way to Canakkale/Istanbul. That wasn't the last I saw of him. About 30 minutes later as I was hitchiking and walking along the road I saw him come out of the gas station and drive in my direction. I idn't pay much attention until he passed unnervingly close to me on the road. At first I thought "very funny", thinking he was trying to scare me but later on the thought occured to me that he may have intended to run me over and changed his mind at the last minute. What a complete asshole. There were other villagers selling wares along the road further ahead who made me feel a little better by enthusiastically waving and saying hi. One lady gave me a large onion to eat. I spent the night in a field under a tree and amongst goat and horse turds. The next morning while practicing a new technique I flagged down a car who was headed to Assos (on the way to Canakkale), but who said he would take me to the fork in the road 40km west. He turned out to be a real sweetheart and we had some good talks. Right at the spot where he was going to drop me off he offered to take me to Assos (2-3 hours out of my way) where I could check out the ruins while he was doing his thing (for roughly an hour), and then drive me back. I figured "what the heck", and went along, and got to see Assos for free in the bargain. By the time I was at the fork in the road it was already starting to get late (5pm or so), and I was beginning to despair of finding a ride, especially since I was passing through a town, and had to walk out of the town to begin to hope to catch a ride.. and it was getting late to boot. As I was trying to save my energy (not hitching, just walking), walking through the town, a car pulled up a bit ahead of me. When I walked up to where he was he said "get in" (note, I wasn't hitchiking), and took me to Bergama from there. He didn't pry at all, and only once politely asked if he may ask a question, and then asked why I was walking alone. That was the full extent of our conversation, which was pretty cool since I was tired and not feeling quite my talkative self. So, two complete sweethearts and one mega-asshole. I've learned my lesson: if someone doesn't want to pick me up I sure as hell don't want to be in the same car as them. |
| 1st October 2004 anonymous | - From: Pergamum sagligin dikkat et daha onunde uzun yol var yorma kendini enerjini yerinde kullan ammeni ara arada da merak etmesin seni saglikli beslen yedigin helal giydigin haram... |
| 30th September 2004 anonymous | e hakli - From: Pergamum bekci garibim, senin adama benzemen icin elinden geleni yapmis :) |
| 30th September 2004 anonymous | - From: Pergamum e adama benzeyesin diye adam elinden geleni yapm1_ i_te :) |
| 29th September 2004 anonymous | message from baybora and the rest of the people who know you - From: Pergamum SHAVE YOUR BEARD! |
| 29th September 2004 anonymous | - From: Road to Rejection ruhum anarsist falan ayaklari yapma, biz senin ne naneler yedigini biliriz. Ayrica buradan Ankara'daki esime, antalyadaki aileme, polatlida askerligini yapmakta olan arkadaslarima sevgilerimi gönderiyorum. |
| 27th September 2004 anonymous | Baybora - From: Road to Rejection I can just imagine your expression when he said "Oda moda yok!" Oyle yavsak yavsak hareket etmenin cezasi bu... Trim your beard! |
| 27th September 2004 anonymous | kalles - From: Hello, World! ulan sana rei gift card veren co-workerlerini yaziyosun da sana yardimci olan ve seni rei a goturen kardesini niye yazmiyosun! |
| 27th September 2004 anonymous | Do you like bologna? - From: Are you an anarchist? Peki paraniz var mi? |
| 26th September 2004 anonymous | salty cheese - From: Road to Rejection sen sabah oglen aksam peynir ye, surun, varyemez amca ben burda senin paralarinlan land rover alacam |
| 25th September 2004 anonymous | Baybora - From: Are you an anarchist? yamuk hareket yapma doverim |
| 25th September 2004 anonymous | no sea in bursa? - From: Back in Bursa please, if you're ignorant just SFTU |
| 22nd September 2004 anonymous | 3 days!!! - From: Back in Bursa 3 days in bursa??? what was so interesting there!!! even there is no sea or is there:) |
| 21st September 2004 anonymous | What, no pictures? - From: Back in Bursa Hey, Ozgur! This is Andrei. Nice to hear from you. Did you finally get a digital camera for your trip? It would cool to see some pictures of places you've visited or still planning to visit. I've got your postcard from Turkey and posted it on your office door as you wanted. Looking forward to hear more about your adventures! Take care :-) |
| 19th September 2004 anonymous | life of the party - From: Hello, World! www.fagabonding.com i satin alamadinmi? |
