Response to Vildan Well, now...
I sense just a mild trace of hostility in your post.
Let me first address the türban issue, once again. I meant to cause no offense with my blog. I had intended to spread a little light humor over the widely controversial issue. I have found that it is a very polarizing issue here, one hotly debated on the evening news every night. You have misunderstood me if you thought that my words were in anyway a criticism of Islam or of Turkey's fine society. I am simply trying to make sense of this complicated issue, and enjoying doing so in this fine democracy, where public opinions are (for the most part) freely expressed.
As for the USA/Iraq/comments, I feel that you are addressing some unrelated subjects. At the same time you are assuming that I fit into your idea of what it means to be American. It would be naive to believe that in a nation of 300,000,000+ people, vast ranges of differing opinions do not exist - especially on something like the war in Iraq. Furthermore, by attacking me rather than presenting your own arguments, you are committing a logical fallacy, known as "ad hominem." Please revise your arguments and explain how you feel about the türban issue.
Thank you for welcoming me to Turkey, though I must say it is not the warmest welcome I have received.
dear marco polo, we are so appreciated that you have come to our country .it gives us such a pleasure that i cant explain . And i am quite happy that you have some "brilliant" ideas about our big problem which is named "türban". As we all know USA is known as a "country of freedom"and what i think is that you should bring us some democracy like you are doing in Irak. before critisizing us you should look at your own country and see whats going on ?
nice bloggg hey I am about to come down to ankara for My summer internship at Cs department in BILKENT UNIVERSITY . reply to my mail I need to ask you a few things . I am an undergrad from INDIA
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE to read your blog?!? It is fantastic to hear about your adventures and life there. :) Miss you here though---take care and study hard!!
Christine
PS--To me, your turkish sounds wonderful, fast, and correct!
Ah the dorm is precious! Almost looks like a cute suburban development house... At least it's not ancient and rickety so that none of that evil winter wind can intrude on your comfort.
Feel better!
food in 0stanbul in April... In my opinion, you really can't go wrong eating in 0stanbul. Like anywhere, look for places that are buzzing with locals and then join the crowd. If you have any dietary restrictions, you'd be wise to practice the necessary vocabulary ahead of time - for example: "etsiz yemek istiyorum" (I want food without meat).
If you'll be staying in Beyolu, which I'd recommend over Sultanahmet (assuming you're doing a traditional sort of holiday trip), you'll find great food everywhere you look. Some personal favorites include a sunset dinner on the Galata Bridge, a rooftop meal in Eminönü (in between the Rüstüm Pa_a Camii and the Spice Bazaar), lunch tucked away in some corner of Kad1köy (great place for an afternoon wander), and fresh fruit juice at Bambi Cafe (where 0stiklal Caddesi meets Taksim Square, by the old church). I'm sorry I don't have more specific restaurant names to provide, but I'm sure you'll do fine.
Afiyet olsun! (Bon Apetit!)
yummy hey all of this really looks delicious! we're about to visit Istanbul in April and simply cannot wait! what would you recommend in terms of food? many thanks Jussy x
response to MickGreen In the last entry, the photo of people sitting around was taken near the Yeni Camii in Eminönü, 0stanbul. The arches/Atatürk statue is located on the Beytepe campus of Hacettepe Universiy, in Ankara. The truck stop is halfway between those two cities (I think near Bolu).
A friend just recommended Orhan Pamuk's novel Snow, which discusses this headscarf issue in detail.
It's an interesting situation. How far can a nation go to keep its secular identity without limiting religious freedom?
Great photos. When were they taken?
lollerskates In NYC there is a terrific practically hole-in-the wall bar/restaurant called The Ear that we used to frequent quite a bit. It's got a lot of history behind it. I'll take you some day, you'd like it!
ok, so as always, your updates trill me! The extra special part for this one was the video of Jaki dancing lol. Now, unfortunately through my special ed background, I have seen a seizure in progress...the video reminded me of that, however this situation was one to chuckle over :) Thanks as always for the updates!! It makes me super excited for you and super excited for me for my soon to be travels!
JIMA! I am going to re-learn to play backgammon... Somehow... (haven't played since I was maybe 8?) and when you come back there will be a show down! Oh yes.
How many credits do you get for this year? Dude, I called Ladbrokes, that betting house in London. You are 50-1 against for getting any classwork done. Unless eating and checking out girls gets you anything. I placed a modest wager.
Glad to see you are having a fine time of it. Say hi to Sercan (sp) for me.
BLOG! I'm so happy you got a travelblog, I just know you're gonna have a blast and now we'll get to hear all about it. I thought of you the other day when I was doing some shopping at my local podunk grocery store and they had all different kinds of halvah. I almost bought some, but then I remembered that I don't actually LIKE halvah. ANYWAY, have fun and drink lots of tea for me!
Woot I am the first commenter! Alright alright,
The only thing that excluded you from a real FB comment reply is this blog so I will forgive you.
K now you gotta update ALL the time because I'll be checking ALL the time and I want results, Jima!
It all sounds lovely BTW and I am very very glad everything worked out in the end :)
Can't wait for the real stories to begin!
tamam
Jim Kuras
Response to Vildan
Well, now... I sense just a mild trace of hostility in your post. Let me first address the türban issue, once again. I meant to cause no offense with my blog. I had intended to spread a little light humor over the widely controversial issue. I have found that it is a very polarizing issue here, one hotly debated on the evening news every night. You have misunderstood me if you thought that my words were in anyway a criticism of Islam or of Turkey's fine society. I am simply trying to make sense of this complicated issue, and enjoying doing so in this fine democracy, where public opinions are (for the most part) freely expressed. As for the USA/Iraq/comments, I feel that you are addressing some unrelated subjects. At the same time you are assuming that I fit into your idea of what it means to be American. It would be naive to believe that in a nation of 300,000,000+ people, vast ranges of differing opinions do not exist - especially on something like the war in Iraq. Furthermore, by attacking me rather than presenting your own arguments, you are committing a logical fallacy, known as "ad hominem." Please revise your arguments and explain how you feel about the türban issue. Thank you for welcoming me to Turkey, though I must say it is not the warmest welcome I have received.