Even though Istanbul is a short distance away, the climate is milder and you see a lot of things growing on the islands that you don't in the city.
This one is for sale!
Friday, October 16, 2009
House pictures from Heybeliada
Even though Istanbul is a short distance away, the climate is milder and you see a lot of things growing on the islands that you don't in the city.
This one is for sale!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Heybeliada
Yesterday I went to one of the Princes' Islands, Heybeliada, with a group of women from the women's organization IWI - International Women of Istanbul. There are four visitable islands located in the Marmara sea, about a 1 - 1.5 hour ferry ride from Istanbul. Heybeliada used to be populated by Greeks, but that has changed and I think now it is mostly Turkish people who have a summer house there. The houses there are to drool for, old and wooden with lovely carved features. Another lovely change from Istanbul is that there are no cars there, only some municipal vehicles, so it was nice and peaceful. Visitors often travel by horse and cart, an expensive and I think slightly cruel way to travel, but also kind of an experience. This island is known for the Haghia Triada Monastery, a Greek Orthodox school of theology, but it was closed down in the 1970s by the government. This has added to the tensions between Turkey and Greece, as well as Turkey's chances to enter the EU.
The monastery is difficult to visit but fortunately the lady leading the group was a Greek Orthodox and had some connections. It was built upon Byzantine ruins I think in the late 1800s, and it was a pretty prestigious place for people who want to be a Somebody in the priest world. People came from Australia, the US, and other parts of Europe. Though the school was closed over 30 years ago, it looks like the it's ready to open any day. The desks are organized, a person is cleaning the classrooms, and there are even ping pong tables in the hall still. The monastery is on top of a hill so there were spectacular views. Most of our time was spent at the monastery, then an overpriced lunch (with fish, I was the only person who had to eat the kofte) with bugs crawling from the bread and I was pretty queasy all last night.
After lunch we had a little bit of time to walk around before taking the ferry back, so I snapped some pictures of the wooden houses, but I'll post those later because I have many other photos to put up now.
View of the Hagia Sofia and Topkapi Palace while leaving the ferry.
Looking up the Bosphorus, at the first bridge
A view of one of the islands - the ferry stops at 2 others before Heybeliada.
A ride up the hill to the monastery. Visitors can rent bikes to travel around the island.
Outside of the monastery. There were really lovely gardens there. It was also a beautiful, gorgeous day.
Entrance to the monastery
School time! We were listened to a priest who gave us a nice tour. While it isn't a school anymore, it's still one of the best places to go for research, apparently. We went into the library and there were tons and tons of books as well as magazines.
Staircase in entrance hall.
Ping pong tables
A pretty remarkable church in the monastery. There were a lot of decorations. I hadn't seen Jesus in a long time, you don't see him much around Istanbul!
View from the hill where the monastery and church is. That's the Asian side of Istanbul off in the distance, it's actually not that far away at all.
That's the biggest island, Buyukada. I hope to visit there next week.
The monastery is difficult to visit but fortunately the lady leading the group was a Greek Orthodox and had some connections. It was built upon Byzantine ruins I think in the late 1800s, and it was a pretty prestigious place for people who want to be a Somebody in the priest world. People came from Australia, the US, and other parts of Europe. Though the school was closed over 30 years ago, it looks like the it's ready to open any day. The desks are organized, a person is cleaning the classrooms, and there are even ping pong tables in the hall still. The monastery is on top of a hill so there were spectacular views. Most of our time was spent at the monastery, then an overpriced lunch (with fish, I was the only person who had to eat the kofte) with bugs crawling from the bread and I was pretty queasy all last night.
After lunch we had a little bit of time to walk around before taking the ferry back, so I snapped some pictures of the wooden houses, but I'll post those later because I have many other photos to put up now.
View of the Hagia Sofia and Topkapi Palace while leaving the ferry.
Looking up the Bosphorus, at the first bridge
A view of one of the islands - the ferry stops at 2 others before Heybeliada.
A ride up the hill to the monastery. Visitors can rent bikes to travel around the island.
Outside of the monastery. There were really lovely gardens there. It was also a beautiful, gorgeous day.
Entrance to the monastery
School time! We were listened to a priest who gave us a nice tour. While it isn't a school anymore, it's still one of the best places to go for research, apparently. We went into the library and there were tons and tons of books as well as magazines.
Staircase in entrance hall.
Ping pong tables
A pretty remarkable church in the monastery. There were a lot of decorations. I hadn't seen Jesus in a long time, you don't see him much around Istanbul!
View from the hill where the monastery and church is. That's the Asian side of Istanbul off in the distance, it's actually not that far away at all.
That's the biggest island, Buyukada. I hope to visit there next week.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Article
This is an article I received from PAWI - Professional American Women in Istanbul, and I think the statistics come from the World Bank. Anyway, thought you might be interested:
NEWS RELEASE
Economic Crisis Affecting the Welfare of Families in Turkey
A new survey of households in Turkey’s five largest urban centers
shows how families are affected by the economic slowdown and how they
cope to make ends meet in difficult times.
Istanbul, September 2009 - The economic slowdown, through lower
incomes and higher unemployment, has affected the lives of the
majority of families in the five largest urban centers in Turkey:
Adana, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, and Kocaeli. Almost three quarters of
families report reductions in income between October 2008 and June
2009, according to a new survey of 2100 households, jointly sponsored
by TEPAV, UNICEF and the World Bank.
“Unemployment is the most visible impact of the economic crisis in
Turkey. Yet, even many workers who have held on to their jobs have
seen their income fall, especially informal and self-employed
workers,” said Ulrich Zachau, World Bank Country Director for Turkey.
“Moreover, falling incomes have hit the urban poor most frequently:
among the poorest 20 percent of urban families, nine out of ten say
that they have had to find ways to cope with lower incomes.”
Urban families adjust to lower earnings in various ways. Families
mostly buy cheaper food and non-food items, but they also try to
economize on the amount of food consumption. Reducing expenditures for
social events, producing their own food, and changing transportation
also feature prominently. At the time of the survey, one third had
fallen behind in utility payments, and nine percent had lost their
electricity connection, at least temporarily. By contrast, families
appear to protect what they spend on education and health as much as
possible.
“The survey shows the many different ways that families try to deal
with the consequences of the crisis,” said Reza Hosseini, Resident
Representative of UNICEF Turkey. “Among the poorest 20 percent of
urban families, almost half of the parents reported that they had to
reduce food consumption for their children. Monitoring closely whether
such economic stress continues for these poor families will be a
priority.”
Many poor urban families say they have mobilized support from
neighbors, friends, family, their community, and public programs to
make ends meet. Yet, in-depth interviews with some families reveal
that these support networks are stretched. About one-fifth of the
poorest families say they have been left without any support at all.
“The survey provides much information about the impact of the economic
slowdown on Turkish families,” said Güven Sak, Managing Director of
TEPAV. “It shows that there is a need for dialogue among Government,
civil society, universities and the general public alike as to what
social policies could best support impacted households in these
times.”
Please click for report summary and urban household micro dataset
(SPSS) or visit www.worldbank.org.tr
NEWS RELEASE
Economic Crisis Affecting the Welfare of Families in Turkey
A new survey of households in Turkey’s five largest urban centers
shows how families are affected by the economic slowdown and how they
cope to make ends meet in difficult times.
Istanbul, September 2009 - The economic slowdown, through lower
incomes and higher unemployment, has affected the lives of the
majority of families in the five largest urban centers in Turkey:
Adana, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, and Kocaeli. Almost three quarters of
families report reductions in income between October 2008 and June
2009, according to a new survey of 2100 households, jointly sponsored
by TEPAV, UNICEF and the World Bank.
“Unemployment is the most visible impact of the economic crisis in
Turkey. Yet, even many workers who have held on to their jobs have
seen their income fall, especially informal and self-employed
workers,” said Ulrich Zachau, World Bank Country Director for Turkey.
“Moreover, falling incomes have hit the urban poor most frequently:
among the poorest 20 percent of urban families, nine out of ten say
that they have had to find ways to cope with lower incomes.”
Urban families adjust to lower earnings in various ways. Families
mostly buy cheaper food and non-food items, but they also try to
economize on the amount of food consumption. Reducing expenditures for
social events, producing their own food, and changing transportation
also feature prominently. At the time of the survey, one third had
fallen behind in utility payments, and nine percent had lost their
electricity connection, at least temporarily. By contrast, families
appear to protect what they spend on education and health as much as
possible.
“The survey shows the many different ways that families try to deal
with the consequences of the crisis,” said Reza Hosseini, Resident
Representative of UNICEF Turkey. “Among the poorest 20 percent of
urban families, almost half of the parents reported that they had to
reduce food consumption for their children. Monitoring closely whether
such economic stress continues for these poor families will be a
priority.”
Many poor urban families say they have mobilized support from
neighbors, friends, family, their community, and public programs to
make ends meet. Yet, in-depth interviews with some families reveal
that these support networks are stretched. About one-fifth of the
poorest families say they have been left without any support at all.
“The survey provides much information about the impact of the economic
slowdown on Turkish families,” said Güven Sak, Managing Director of
TEPAV. “It shows that there is a need for dialogue among Government,
civil society, universities and the general public alike as to what
social policies could best support impacted households in these
times.”
Please click for report summary and urban household micro dataset
(SPSS) or visit www.worldbank.org.tr
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Still alive
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to say everything's fine here in Istanbul. The nights have gotten a lot cooler, but the days are still pleasant. My room is cold and the tip of my nose is always cold while I'm reading/watching a movie before going to bed. Things at work are fine, nothing new happening there. It's starting to get busier as the summer and Ramadhan are finished. Things are quiet in my apartment, in fact, no one is here due to various reasons. It used to be overcrowded, now it's empty. My roommate was presenting her thesis in Vienna the last few days and she'll be back today, so it will be good to have someone. Sinan returns today as well, I'm looking forward to seeing him. Anyway, that's about it! Have a good week!
I just wanted to say everything's fine here in Istanbul. The nights have gotten a lot cooler, but the days are still pleasant. My room is cold and the tip of my nose is always cold while I'm reading/watching a movie before going to bed. Things at work are fine, nothing new happening there. It's starting to get busier as the summer and Ramadhan are finished. Things are quiet in my apartment, in fact, no one is here due to various reasons. It used to be overcrowded, now it's empty. My roommate was presenting her thesis in Vienna the last few days and she'll be back today, so it will be good to have someone. Sinan returns today as well, I'm looking forward to seeing him. Anyway, that's about it! Have a good week!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Back to work
Tonight is my last night in Antalya, unfortunately I go back to the real world tomorrow. No more sleeping in late and drinking tea and sitting on the balcony. Not that I mind work, but I must say, life is pretty good down here. I've been ill the last few days so sadly I've missed out on some delicious food, but here's some pictures from breakfast (I ate it but later regretted it):
I actually made this in Istanbul one night for dinner - it's fried potatoes and fried eggplant and peppers with a tomato sauce. It's great with bread.
I had the unusual experience last night of being woken up to an earthquake. It wasn't a bad one, but it just felt like someone was rocking my bed. Like a good girl (my mom taught me this when I was young), I ran for the door frame, then I decided to dart to the door frame of the room where Sinan was and by that point it was over. The only other earthquake I've experienced was in Istanbul last year, again, not a bad one. It's a little scary though, you don't know how long it will last or if it will get worse and if you should panic or not. Maybe some of you are used to them, but it's a new experience for me!
Ok back to Istanbul and work tomorrow, don't be alarmed if I don't update for a while!
I actually made this in Istanbul one night for dinner - it's fried potatoes and fried eggplant and peppers with a tomato sauce. It's great with bread.
I had the unusual experience last night of being woken up to an earthquake. It wasn't a bad one, but it just felt like someone was rocking my bed. Like a good girl (my mom taught me this when I was young), I ran for the door frame, then I decided to dart to the door frame of the room where Sinan was and by that point it was over. The only other earthquake I've experienced was in Istanbul last year, again, not a bad one. It's a little scary though, you don't know how long it will last or if it will get worse and if you should panic or not. Maybe some of you are used to them, but it's a new experience for me!
Ok back to Istanbul and work tomorrow, don't be alarmed if I don't update for a while!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Bayram Day 1
So I survived the first day of the bayram. Sooo many people came to Sinan's family's house to visit. This bayram is like a combination of Halloween and Thanksgiving. Those that you are close to come to visit, and you sit around, drink tea or sometimes coffee, and eat desserts. Children are given little pieces of candy and a little bit of money. It's very casual, people just drop by whenever.
The greeting people thing is really stressful for me and I wanted to hide in my room whenever I heard the doorbell ring (doorbells "chirp chirp" in Turkey, they don't go "ding dong"). Here's what I do:
If it's a man, I shake their hand and say welcome, good bayram. A couple of the men I am closer with, so I'll kiss their cheeks after we shake hands, but it's hard to know who to do that with. I follow their lead.
With women, they usually kiss cheeks but because I hardly knew anyone, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to or not. With many of the women I did, but too many times one of us had the awkward lean-in to go for the cheek kiss and the other one not expecting it (sounds like a first date??) so there were some awkward head bobs. It's also difficult to know which side to go for - I thought there was a normal side to go for but yesterday completely threw that theory. My co worker Gavin has a really funny story about how he was trying to kiss the cheeks with a really old women and they just could NOT do it, both of them kept trying to go to the same side etc., and then she started shaking and that was the end of that. You have to see his impression.
Now, the complicated thing about greeting people in Turkey is that all of the younger people show their respect for the older people by taking the older person's hand and touching it to their chin and then their forehead, then USUALLY kissing the cheeks and sometimes not. This is where I feel rude because I only do this with the really elderly like Sinan's grandparents, and Sinan's parents, but not with aunts, uncles etc. I don't think they mind because I am foreign and we're not too too close, and Sinan says it's okay if I don't, as long as I do it with his grandparents and parents.
Anyway, so this is what goes through my head when someone walks into the door. Again, because I'm foreign I can get away with a lot but I like to try to do things right but it's difficult to know how polite to be or if I'm being too close by kissing cheeks etc. Oh well.
Sinan's mother made a dessert to serve to the people who came by. It's too sweet for me but I took pictures of the process because it's pretty neat, I've never seen any of the Turkish desserts being made. It's called kadayif.
First you separate this stuff that's like dried spaghetti but thinner and flexible. It's hard to describe!
Once it's separated, you pour melted butter all over it and use your hands to coat it.
Then you put it in buttered pans.
After the first layer you sprinkle crushed walnuts, then add another layer and smush it down.
After it's baked, you put the syrup over it, which is something like sugar and water boiled together. Sinan's mother put a lot, and this syrup-y stuff it what really characterizes Turkish desserts I think, and to me it's a little too sweet.
Here you are!
And of course, some baklava. This was bought from a store, but Sinan's mother used to make it.
Breakfast this morning was chunks of meat with onion, peppers, and tomato. Awesome. There were also cookies but I knew I couldn't handle those as well.
Ok that's it for now! I'll hopefully update again in the next couple of days!
The greeting people thing is really stressful for me and I wanted to hide in my room whenever I heard the doorbell ring (doorbells "chirp chirp" in Turkey, they don't go "ding dong"). Here's what I do:
If it's a man, I shake their hand and say welcome, good bayram. A couple of the men I am closer with, so I'll kiss their cheeks after we shake hands, but it's hard to know who to do that with. I follow their lead.
With women, they usually kiss cheeks but because I hardly knew anyone, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to or not. With many of the women I did, but too many times one of us had the awkward lean-in to go for the cheek kiss and the other one not expecting it (sounds like a first date??) so there were some awkward head bobs. It's also difficult to know which side to go for - I thought there was a normal side to go for but yesterday completely threw that theory. My co worker Gavin has a really funny story about how he was trying to kiss the cheeks with a really old women and they just could NOT do it, both of them kept trying to go to the same side etc., and then she started shaking and that was the end of that. You have to see his impression.
Now, the complicated thing about greeting people in Turkey is that all of the younger people show their respect for the older people by taking the older person's hand and touching it to their chin and then their forehead, then USUALLY kissing the cheeks and sometimes not. This is where I feel rude because I only do this with the really elderly like Sinan's grandparents, and Sinan's parents, but not with aunts, uncles etc. I don't think they mind because I am foreign and we're not too too close, and Sinan says it's okay if I don't, as long as I do it with his grandparents and parents.
Anyway, so this is what goes through my head when someone walks into the door. Again, because I'm foreign I can get away with a lot but I like to try to do things right but it's difficult to know how polite to be or if I'm being too close by kissing cheeks etc. Oh well.
Sinan's mother made a dessert to serve to the people who came by. It's too sweet for me but I took pictures of the process because it's pretty neat, I've never seen any of the Turkish desserts being made. It's called kadayif.
First you separate this stuff that's like dried spaghetti but thinner and flexible. It's hard to describe!
Once it's separated, you pour melted butter all over it and use your hands to coat it.
Then you put it in buttered pans.
After the first layer you sprinkle crushed walnuts, then add another layer and smush it down.
After it's baked, you put the syrup over it, which is something like sugar and water boiled together. Sinan's mother put a lot, and this syrup-y stuff it what really characterizes Turkish desserts I think, and to me it's a little too sweet.
Here you are!
And of course, some baklava. This was bought from a store, but Sinan's mother used to make it.
Breakfast this morning was chunks of meat with onion, peppers, and tomato. Awesome. There were also cookies but I knew I couldn't handle those as well.
Ok that's it for now! I'll hopefully update again in the next couple of days!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Antalya, again!
Today is the last day of Ramazan, and tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday there is a bayram, or a holiday, which is a time for families to visit each other. There are two bayrams during the year, and this one is a sugar bayram. I think when you go visit people (usually the younger people visit the older people) they serve desserts and give candy (like Halloween??). As times are changing, people aren't visiting families so much as going on holiday, because work is closed for at least 3 days. Two weeks ago I tried to find bus tickets and everything was booked already. Luckily I found a plane ticket at midnight to Antalya, which worked out well because Sinan was here so I get to see him and his family and not have to pay for an overpriced hotel and food.
Today we went to visit the graves of his father's uncles and aunts and father. The area was really pretty, here are a bunch of pictures:
No day can start without a delicious breakfast!
Village woman! I needed some long pants to visit the graves and I decided to play dress up.
Some mountain pictures
Sinan and his brother collecting the fruit from cactus (or cacti?) - his brother is wearing a tea bag to grab the fruit.
Today we went to visit the graves of his father's uncles and aunts and father. The area was really pretty, here are a bunch of pictures:
No day can start without a delicious breakfast!
Village woman! I needed some long pants to visit the graves and I decided to play dress up.
Some mountain pictures
Sinan and his brother collecting the fruit from cactus (or cacti?) - his brother is wearing a tea bag to grab the fruit.
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