 Jim Kuras - tamam | All Comments |
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| 22nd November 2008 Masha! | - From: Splashin' it up in Skopje and Surfing Sofas in Sofya (Balkan peregrination, part 2) 2 in one week??? Whatever have I done to deserve such happiness?? |
| 22nd November 2008 Masha! | - From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) That's cool I <3 salamanders as well |
| 18th November 2008 tamam | - From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) From what I've heard, you could probably get a lot more technical, if you were so inclined... Thanks! |
| 18th November 2008 Mark Rooks | It's a salamander - From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) Actually, if we want to get technical, it's a spotted salamander. |
| 17th November 2008 tamam | cheers Ma_a - From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) Thanks, as always, for the encouragement. I don't think it's gecko, though. Aren't geckos fast lizards? These weren't very fast... |
| 16th November 2008 Masha! | - From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) <3 new blog posts! Also <3 that gecko on Matt's shoe because they're my favoritest animals ever and so I'm very jealous! I am also glad that you let Matt convince you to go on this trip. |
| 9th November 2008 Masha! | There's my new post! - From: 5 November 2008 :) |
| 5th November 2008 tamam | Kisses from 0zmit. - From: 5 November 2008 I forgot to mention that Sercan's mother called me today. She seemed giddy about the election outcome and before we ended our conversation, she told me "Amerika'ya öptüm," which means "I kissed America." She is adorable. |
| 17th October 2008 Masha! | - From: Beytepe Campus New entry soon mayhaps? Plzkthnxbai! |
| 5th October 2008 Sonja | - From: Beytepe Campus It is amazing - reading your blog and looking at the photos (I am waiting desperatly for every new entrance (!)) I miss Turkey and you guys more and more (seems a little bit like self-torturing but I like your blogging more than it hurts to miss my time there) I hope you are enjoying Ankara/Beytepe . As I can see you are starting to discover the reasons why I liked it so much :) take care and greetings from Austria to everyone! |
| 5th October 2008 emrah | valuable... - From: Beytepe Campus I really appreciate what you do, dostum( my dear friend). Your writings have literary value.Please do not stop... |
| 1st October 2008 Jordan | Fantastic - From: the best mosque I've ever Sinan... (or fighting boredom in Bodrum by being blabbering bum...) Jim, Thank you for sharing this with me. What a wonderful adverture you are on. I wish you all of the peace and happiness and good friends the world has to offer you. Take care my friend. |
| 1st October 2008 tamam | - From: the best mosque I've ever Sinan... (or fighting boredom in Bodrum by being blabbering bum...) fair enough. I guess I've just seen soooooooooo much Atatürk in the past year that he looks to me only like Atatürk. |
| 26th September 2008 Masha! | - From: the best mosque I've ever Sinan... (or fighting boredom in Bodrum by being blabbering bum...) Oh I meant the outfit, posture, etc. After all, Hitler and Charlie Chaplin had some similar appearance business going on as well. Just remember Jima, "there were some... problems" ;p |
| 25th September 2008 tamam | Stalin?! - From: the best mosque I've ever Sinan... (or fighting boredom in Bodrum by being blabbering bum...) I can't say that I like that comparison, Masha. Atatürk was a great man in many ways. I have nothing positive to say about Stalin no matter how far I stretch my imagination... |
| 24th September 2008 Masha! | - From: the best mosque I've ever Sinan... (or fighting boredom in Bodrum by being blabbering bum...) As per your part of the story: Ataturk looks a tad like Stalin, no? As per Orxan's: LOL |
| 11th September 2008 Masha! | - From: Syria photos Time for another update methinks. Yeah. |
| 2nd September 2008 anonymous | - From: meet me in Mecidiyeköy, tatlım, and take me to Taksim... And Turkish.... |
| 31st August 2008 Masha! | - From: Syria photos Per Damascus 3: In Israel we also had guys driving around selling produce, except they drove around in pickup trucks with megaphones and yelled out the name of the fruit in as many languages as they could summon. It was kinda cool thinking back on it. |
| 24th August 2008 nitivia | Great pictures - From: an İstanblink of an eye... hey man! I love istanbul too. the best part is all the cats! Well, next to all the really cool people. I want a puppy! |
| 18th August 2008 Masha! | - From: meet me in Mecidiyeköy, tatlım, and take me to Taksim... Ah! Balkon = balcony in Russian :) |
| 9th August 2008 tamam | the bag... - From: before mom went back across the ocean... As soon as we arrived in izmit I told Sercan's mother the story and she got right on the phone with the bus company explaining the situation much better than I every could over the phone and they said that they would look for the bag and a while later she called back and they said that they had indeed found it and when we got back to istanbul it was waiting at the main terminal which is annoyingly far away on the western outskirts of the city but whatever so I got the bag back with a minimal amount of hassle and nothing seemed to be missing from it and all was happy and life went on and that's about it, Masha. |
| 9th August 2008 Masha! | - From: before mom went back across the ocean... I think we all deserve to know the story of how you got your bag back. Go on now |
| 8th August 2008 emrah atasoy | Hi... - From: before mom went back across the ocean... Yeah how hard it was for me!!!!!!:)Work and travel in Ku_adas1.):)Thank you Jim for everything:)I have a really HARD JOB!!!:) |
| 8th August 2008 Masha! | - From: worth about 16,000 words... New post time now pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez! |
| 30th July 2008 Ian Gambon | - From: Congratulations Gemma & Svein! Glad you enjoyed your stay mate, was great to meet you and loved your blog entry, you little Bill Bryson, you!!! |
| 25th July 2008 tamam | hiking... - From: worth about 16,000 words... I spelled Fethiye incorrectly. Also, Josh: If you can, GO TO HASANKEYF before they destroy it! It is an incredibly friendly place and it's quite easy to get to from Mardin or from Batman. There are some breathtaking hikes around the canyons - at least a few days worth. However, I must warn you that if you are heading there soon, the weather will be quite hot. It was 46 celcius degrees while we were there (in July). Happy travels. |
| 25th July 2008 tamam | go hiking Josh - From: worth about 16,000 words... Turkey is an excellent place for hiking. To mention just a few possibilities: Some friends of mine raved about the hikes on the Lycean Way near Fehtiye. The Kaçkar Mountains are supposedly brilliant places for hiking. Kapadokya has plenty of fantastic places for hiking. Deep in the southeast (near Hakkari) there are supposed to be some stunning hikes too. Have a great trip! |
| 25th July 2008 josh | woa - From: worth about 16,000 words... those pictures are awsome. i heading to turkey with my dad and i would like to go on a hike with him. any suggestions? josh |
| 24th July 2008 emrah atasoy | hello - From: turning in your blog late doesn't affect your grade... I like your writing a lot and I see that you are very talented:)I am grateful to you that u have put me here as well:) |
| 17th July 2008 Paul | Enjoyed the blog - From: Congratulations Gemma & Svein! I'm from Liverpool myself and I thought your entry was excellent and I'm glad you enjoyed your time in the City If you listen to other people (not from the city or who have never been) they have you believe its a shit hole and dangerous I'm glad you didn't believe the hype and seemed to enjoy yourself |
| 16th July 2008 Meg | - From: mom's first machine gun. I love the titles you come up with |
| 16th July 2008 Masha! | - From: mom's first machine gun. <3 Mrs. Kuras!!! Please tell her hi! |
| 6th July 2008 Masha! | - From: Congratulations Gemma & Svein! The one and only time I've ever had real fish and chips was in 2005 and I've been dying for some ever since... You lucky bastard. |
| 5th July 2008 Masha! | - From: SYRIAsly glad I went... Did the Sayyida Ruqayya Mosque have neon signs like that cathedral church thing in Moscow did? The one that used to be a pool (and if it had already come to that should have just stayed a pool). |
| 17th June 2008 Masha! | - From: Hope You Happy Travel I have yet to meet an unfun Dutchie. |
| 6th June 2008 Masha! | - From: Mi español es bu kadar... Fun fact: 'Alon' means 'tree' in Hebrew. I am jealous of your Israeli interactions. |
| 29th May 2008 Masha! | - From: turning in your blog late doesn't affect your grade... Last play you were in you played a psycho killer HS teacher... Now George Bush... How does dear sweet ol' creepy Jim get stuck with roles such as these? |
| 29th May 2008 tamam | te_ekkürler - From: turning in your blog late doesn't affect your grade... ahhhhhh, that makes more sense... cheers. |
| 28th May 2008 hhg | - From: turning in your blog late doesn't affect your grade... sut misir is a breed of corn that`s lighter in color and softer. |
| 1st May 2008 Masha! | - From: I'm a robot! (long weekend pt. 2) I certainly hope the hotel babushka wasn't anything like museum babushkas. marshrutka is sorta a Russian word! I'm very happy that you haven't let it die completely ;) |
| 30th April 2008 Sue Kuras | Merhaba Jim! - From: Ani rocks!!! (long weekend pt. 1) Go Jim! Thanks for all the vicarious trips! Your stories and pictures are awesome. I feel like I vacationed in Kars this weekend too! I really liked the story about Yaprak and her family! Enjoy, take care, and keep us posted! anne |
| 29th April 2008 Masha! | - From: Safranbolu I did mean 'loosen' of course, not 'listen'. ^ |
| 23rd April 2008 Masha! | - From: Safranbolu Tickling babies usually gets them to listen their grip a little. I would recommend this course of action next time you are faced with the challenge of baby vs technology. |
| 15th April 2008 tamam | compassion and empathy - From: SHAME Cheers for your comments. Batman and Ani, right on. I'm not shocked to discover that I am on the same page with you guys. I've certainly come to realize over the years that people in all corners of the globe do not judge Americans using the American government and its policies as a yardstick. This situation is of course no different. I think it is the fact that the war is still very much a defining part of everyday life in Iraq that made me percieve this situation as more intense, more personal. Zainep has family there now, including her mother who went back and got stranded because the Baghdad aiport regularly shuts down. Some American friends of mine were there not long ago, as soldiers. With thoughts like this in mind, when all Zainep and I knew about one another were each others' nationalities, it was hard for me to feel comfortable. And Masha, I'm sure you understand that my criticism of the war is in no way meant to forgive any of Saddam's atrocities. It is incomprehesible that such a monster was able to sieze power for so many decades. His sins are vast and unforgivable. Still, our world is ruled by monsters. It is hard to argue that Iraq is better off now than it was before this war. As the newspaper reports progress and improvements in Iraq, it seems to me that things are shifting from very, very horrible to perhaps only very horrible. We've taken a country f1lled w1th people l1v1ng under an oppressed system and somehow made life there much, much worse. The shame is not mine, but it remains a shameful situation. |
| 10th April 2008 Jaime | ani says... - From: SHAME i have many thoughts on this but i tend to think ani difranco says them better than me... i thought of this part of her song "animal" as i was thinking about this: And there's this brutal imperial power That my passport says I represent But it will never represent where my heart lives Only vaguely where it went Cause I know when you grow up surrounded By willful ignorance You learn that mercy has its own country And that it's round and borderless And then you just grow wings And rise above it all it's a bit idealistic, i realize, but i think there's truth in the need to think of ourselves outside of the labels that others might use to define us. so you're american. that can mean whatever you want it to mean. |
| 4th April 2008 Masha! | - From: SHAME My Arabic prof is from Iraq. He told us how before he came here he and his family, along with other Shiites in some town (whose name he wouldn't mention) were part of an underground rebel group who fought against Saddam and his troops - his house was the headquarters where they stored weapons and fed the fighters. Apparently during one of the uprisings, when he was just in HS, he was shot in the leg by one of the government troops. A little later Saddam attacked the city full force and he was forced to run with his family and drive a car-full of people and stuff even though he didn't even have his license yet... They only took his mom's pocketbook and a few bags of flour because they were so sure they'd come back, but every time they would move the government forces would advance on them so that they could only go further away from home - part of the problem with this, though, was that during the uprising 2 of his brothers disappeared so that they farther they went the less likely finding them became. They traveled in the desert for 3 months and finally came to the border with Saudi Arabia where they found a bunch of American troops who sent them to a refugee camp. Unfortunately the Saudis who helped 'guard' the camp were Sunnis so they weren't too friendly. For some strange reason a few months later the Americans just up and left, deserting the refugees in the hands of these guards who constantly abused them and randomly killed people. They had to build houses out of mud and go to school under a huge tent where they would get laughed at because 'there was no point in studying if they were all going to die anyway'. Somehow 3 years later he managed to immigrate to the US and luckily his 2 lost brothers somehow turned up too (his story got a little fuzzy at this point). It was completely insane and mouth-dropping for us to hear this because looking at him you would NEVER imagine that this is what he came from - not only does he look like a 10 year old with a bunch of out of place wrinkles but he's always smiling and laughing about everything. I guess Jima, I understand your guilt and you know that I hate what this country is doing/has done over there as much as you... But you have to remember that their own government has hurt them pretty badly too, along with other Arabs in the area. Unfortunately Iraq got a really crappy deal left and right by some really strange turns of fate. While your guilt is understandable, just remember that it isn't ALL on your American back. |
| 4th April 2008 Matt | - From: SHAME As weird as this sounds, I would say, cheer up, you really have no part in the actions of the American state. Probably you and I have about as much to do with what the American military does as we have to do with what the Chinese military does. I'm not just talking about the vote, either; I'm not saying that you (or anyone) is not responsible for what the Bush administration does, just because you didn't vote for him. Maybe you did for all I know, although judging from this entry I would say the likelihood of this is "low." I guess I would say that the vote itself is more of a token or an illusion that we usually think it is. We are sort of put in a situation where, under duress, we must choose between two very bad alternatives. It's like when Batman is forced to choose between saving his girlfriend or saving his sidekick. This never happens, but if hypothetically Batman was only able to save Robin, we would probably say that it was not Batman who killed his girlfriend, it was the villain who set up the whole demented situation. We are told from a very young age that the state is the people, that we are all joint participants in self-rule, cogs in a grand democratic machine. This is in some small way sort of true, but I think it's more accurate to say that we are subjects of our government than co-rulers of our government. Another way of looking at this is to see that no action you could have taken before March 2003 would have prevented the American military from entering Iraq. You seem to be self-identifying as an "American;" "Americans" invaded Iraq, you're an "American," and so you're responsible in some way. My thought is, you and I are part of the American people but not the American state. I hope I do not sound like too much of a conspiracy theorist when I say that the state (pretty much every state, around the world) makes an enormous effort to propogate a grand lie, namely that "I, the state, am the people." States come and go, often quickly and violently; what endures after such a coup is the people. I would not hold yourself any more responsible for the war, than I hold my Chinese friends responsible for their government's actions in Tibet, or than you hold Zainep responsible for what Saddam did to the Kurds. Much more appropriate than shame here are simply compassion and empathy. I always prefer to relate to people on the human level, and compassion (in the Latin the word literally means "suffering-with") is a more profound and even sacred force I think than anything to with guilt or responsibility. |
| 3rd April 2008 Masha! | - From: Yemek çok güzeldi, parmaklarımı yedim. K, it's been over a week - time to update! And srsly, I WILL write back soon! |
| 23rd March 2008 Klima | Great pics, as usual! - From: Yemek çok güzeldi, parmaklarımı yedim. Hey, Dima, check out this site James found: http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=50672 He's a musician, I believe from Istanbul - have you heard of him? The music is really beautiful! Love your pictures - looks like you are having a great time! And midterms ALREADY? Time does fly! |