A comparative biography

Frogs vs Les Rosbifs


London



London



London



London


Bordeux


Lyon


St Etienne


Les Alps

Moving in together

me by Kaya

Egypt

We first intended on going to Morocco as three girls and decided recruit a big intimidating guy as a safety net. We needed the kind that would crumble the enemy with his gaze, deafen them with his voice and behead them with a single slap.

Many fearless man applied from all around the world. Some had lost an eye, some had survived Saddam Hussein's gas attacks but had mutated into the ugliest, scariest faces ever seen. They were the toughest warriors alive.

Finally, it boiled down to the two most intimidating candidates:




The Butcher aka Marcus
vs
Deniz aka Marco.



To determine who is a better fit for the job, we held a contest. Both man were put in the Sahara with no food nor water and they had to survive 10 days fighting against the 1000 terrorists we released which were commissioned to kill them.

Marcus never returned...

One of our travel buddies, Zeynep, decided a man such as Marco could not be trusted with three woman, and back out. Hearing of Marco's victorious but vicious survival in the Sahara, Morocco closed its doors on us.

Thank God Mossad is omnipresent. They knew about our ban out of Morocco and they proposed to dump us in Egypt for free, hoping we would cause some trouble there. We agreed, but all we had in mind was a calm vacation. ;)



Sharm El Sheikh



Sharm trascended our expectations.

Some people, who I suppose were inexperienced travelers, had warn us that Egypt was ugly, dirty and dangerous.

Sharm was quite the contrary.

Deniz (yes, there were two Denizes in the group) and I could have traveled to Sharm safely as two girls. Marco was just a bonus. I would even feel comfortable traveling alone. Marco didn't seem to agree. I tried really hard to steal a night alone but under Marco's jurisdiction, I didn't stand a chance. Afterall, he was commissioned to overwatch us. It of course did not help that I was dating one of this good friends.



The Red Sea was abundant with fish. Marco and I decided to to have a closer look.















Cairo

Cairo was all the things they warned us about. It is a pity such an important heritage is in the hands of the Egyptians. They do not seem to realize what they have is worth. The whole area around the pyramids were trashed. I don't mean a few plastic bottles here and there, I am talking of big city dumps.

There were no signs anywhere explaining the history of the monuments. Most of the time we tried to pretend we belonged with the American tourists who had hired an Egyptologist to show them around.

The museums and the monuments were badly attended. People could freely climb on the pyramids. No pictures were allowed inside, but no one was there to surveille.











From far Cairo may look like Manhattan, but this is what is it like when you are inside.

Thank you Matt!

My wonderful friend Matt, who lives in SFO, composed a list of stuff do while you are there. It was so long, he couldn't post it as a comment, so I am publishing it here on his behalf.

Matt (and all other friends in SFO), I am sorry I didn't call you guys up. My boyfriend informed me we were seeing friends the very last minute. I thought we were doing a "couple trip" until then. So, I ended up meeting his friend, instead of you guys. :( I missed you all, too!




"Hi Duygu, I'm glad to hear you're well on your way to falling in love with CA :) I have a ton of more suggestions to add, but I'll just add a few for now:

+3 for Big Sur: (1) For those interested in a magical beach view, check out "Point Lobos" especially in the winter when the crashing waves spray 50-75 feet in the air and one can watch seals sunbathe and dive for meals. (2) My favorite beach there is "Julia Pfeiffer" where one can watch the sunset through tunnels bored in the cliffs by waves: beachPhhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewmeyers/3045691058/ (3) For those in the mood for a more committed adventure, pack your sleeping bag, tent, backpacking stove and hit the trail our of Big Sur state campground up to "Sykes Hotsprings" -- a 10 mile, beautiful hike through redwoods, bay trees, madrone and CA oak to a natural hot spring hidden deep up the valley. Soak your soar body and jump in the invigorating cold stream!

Further North on Highway 1: you come to "Half Moon Bay" area, which is a rather cute and fun town. I also enjoy another town called "Princeton by the sea" ~15 mi further north. "Ketch Joanne" is a great greasy spoon and has delicious fish and ships. If you're in the mood for something a little classier there's "Sam's Chowder House" a 1/4 mile south of town -- yummy local seafood! The world-famous "Maverick's Beach" -- home to some of the world's biggest surfing waves (only a few times a year) is just a short hike over the ridge from town -- this is one of my favorite beaches in CA.

In SF proper: Soo much good stuff in this city. Here are a few highlights:

Eats: (1) "Cha-Cha-Cha" in the Mission (a historically Latino neighborhood) is a lively old-time SF restaurant with strong Cuban influences. (2) down the street is "Weird Fish" -- a fun spot to get great little plates. (3) those willing to pay more can have a classy Another cool stop is "Tataki Sushi" http://www.tatakisushibar.com/ which is (as far as I know) the first (and only?) 100% sustainably fished sushi restaurant! (5) "San Tung" in the Inner Sunset has the best Chinese-style chicken wings you will ever have. (6)"Brother's Korean BBQ" on Geary street is fantastic -- you cook yourself over mesquite wood coals -- delish!

Drinks: (1) "Bruno's" and (2) "Medjool" are great, big clubs in the Mission. Check out the (3) “Elbo Room” for a more relaxed space, or really any other bar in the popular 16th street and Valencia Street area. The Marina district is also known for its nightlife – more the preppy type in general. I like (4) “MatrixFilmore” and (5) “City Tavern” just 1 block down Filmore Street.

Fun: (1) "Planet Granite" rock climbing gym in the Presidio looks onto the Golden Gate bridge and has great facilities. (2) "SFMOMA" is a wonderful museum and always worth a stop. (3) "alemany farmers market" is super colorful and has amazing local food -- one really gets a feel of south-american and south-east-asian and californian growers all rolled into one place. (4) "Dolores Park" is a great place to hang when the weather is nice -- enjoy the hippies, random jam groups, and the guy who sells gourmet mushroom truffles: http://www.yelp.com/biz/truffle-guy-san-francisco.

North still of SF: The "Marin Headlands" is an incredibly beautiful area, and soooo close to one of the major metropolitan centers of the US. It was all military land housing secret bases through the cold-war era (many of which you can visit in their decomposing states), but now it's national park land. I recommend visiting the "Point Bonita Lighthouse" http://www.nps.gov/goga/pobo.htm which is only open like 12:30-3:30 Sat-Mon. Teetering on the edge of its own personal island cliff, it has ridiculous views of the ocean and SF bay and harkens back to an older age. If you want to stay in the area for cheap, check out the "Marin Headlands Hostel" http://www.norcalhostels.org/marin/which is very simple, but good.

A little further north and you'll come to the world-famous "Muir Woods" which is one of the closest places to SF to walk among what's left of the ancient redwoods. Some of these trees are 3000 years old. This area is very accessible, with almost disney-land-like paved pathways. For those more adventuresome, hike the "Dipsea Trail" all the way to "Stinson Beach" -- about 10 miles round trip but an absolutely beautiful hike through open hills covered with golden grass and oak trees, to cool valleys filled with ferns and moss-covered bay trees. Once at Stinson you can eat at the "Parkside Cafe" for a tasty stop. The beach is just a walk through the park from there."

Soyle iki tane bezi poposunun arasina kacmis yagli pehlivan diyecegim, resmi gorup bunu okumaya baslayanlarin birden istahi kacicak. Ama iki dakka sabredin, sonra hep birlikte muradimiza erecegiz.

Gelelim yagli pehlivanlarimiza... Iki tanesi yavrum Allah girismisler. Bez donu yakalamakmis, calim atmakmis, bunlar hikaye. Eller ensede. Kim kelleyi koltuk altina alirsa, oburune hukmedecek. Bir insanin bedenini kontrol etmenin en kolay yolu kafasini yakalamak.

Filmlerde adam sol eliyle kurbanin saclarindan tutar, sonra obur eliylede burnunu dagitir... Cunku kafasini kontrol ettimi zavallicik bir yerlere kacamaz. Belki de harbi erkek kisa sacli olur kulturu, eski medeniyetlerde savasci rolundeki erkegin saldiriya daha kapali olabilmek icin saclarini kesmesinden gelmektedir?

Amcam Sigmund Freud'un bana verdigi yetkiye dayanarak diyorum ki, erkeklerin kadinlarda uzun sac sevmesinin altinda bu vucuda hukmetme, kadina sahip olma ic gudusu yatar. Hatta uzun sac torpulenmis bir fetistir. Gizliden gizliye obsesif ve saldirgan bi yani da vardir.

Oh be, soyledim... Incilerimi sactim yine. Burasi benim blogum degil mi, atis serbest!

"Atesli" posterlerde adam kadinin sacini arkadan parmaklarina dolar ve ceker. Kadin savunmasizdir, adam ona sahip olmustur. Bence uzun sac gunluk hayatta bile derinlerde bir yerlerde erkeklerde bu cagrisimi yaptigindan kadinlarda uzun sac severler.

Son olarak DuyguLabs'deki kucuk sample grubumdaki once 10 kere calkalayarak, sonra 10 kere particle acceleratorimda dondurerek yapi taslarina ayirdigim erkeklere bakinca bir de sunu fark ettim, ne kadar playboy, o kadar uzun sac duskunu. Yani ne kadar ava cikiyorsa, o kadar cok kadinda uzun sac ariyor. Elinde mizrak, onunde bir yaprakla geyik pesinde kosan atalari uzaklardan onlara "kolay yem" mi diyor belki? Bilemedim.

Driving along the shore of California

Friends from NY used to say that I was certainly NY material, whereas my incredible punctuality with deadlines had convinced other friends from CA that I belonged laid-back sun State. Some not-so-innocent dance moves might have added to that too. (Oh, Brown..)

I am not a beach bum, I hardly ever tan. I am with Marilyn Monroe on preferring pale white skin to bronze. I would stand out in California. I am not serious or cynical enough to pass for a New Yorker either. Consequently, the debate was never settled for me, until recently.

Between the time I attended Columbia and my visits to my boyfriend, I lived in NY for about 5 months. I liked it there, but something never felt quite right. It lacked something that was so essential to me. I can't put it in words, but my spirit felt contained in NY. I still can't put my finger on what it was exactly. Manhattan has everything I wish for in a city: a great park, a well-developed public transportation network, flat roads for cycling, several Michelin recommended restaurants, crazy parties, three international airports (Newark caters to NY, too), the biggest show cases in the world and a green-minded mayor and his great administration which provides the city with endless cultural activities. It is the perfect recipe for a great city, yet, it never captured me.

I had been to LA for business two times already and both times I ran back to New York after passing three days there.

Yet, our roadtrip on Highway 1 blew my mind... Now I think that California is something else.


Day 1

We started in LA.

My bf had to stop there for a meeting. Meanwhile, I chilled in Venice Beach.

He picked me up and we drew to San Luis Obispo.

Just out of Santa Barbara, we passed a small University whose entire student body was in the ocean waiting for a big wave. The school looked empty. 4 years of surfing, bonfire parties, whale watching...

We stayed in a beautiful hotel called Sanitarium in SLO. It is a 4 bedroom house owned by a local painter. Each room has a bathtub in front of the bed and is unique in decoration. The breakfast is served at 9. You sit around a big table with all the guests. In the middle of you all, they put a big pan of organic asparagus omelette or whatever they find that day on the farmer's market. On the right of your plate there is small glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and a cup of steaming coffee. On the left if a small bowl of organic granola. You dip your garlic butter toasts in your omelette and chase it down with a big gulp of coffee.

http://www.thesanitariumspa.com/


Day 2

San Luis Obispo is the up coming Napa Valley. The land prices went up drastically over the past 10 years as more vineyard kept popping up. We stopped at a random one for wine tasting. Turned out it was owned by a Japanese agri-holding. The owner bought it for fun. The hostess proudly said, " We don't sell our wine on the market and we don't do mass production. The limited wine we do is available only through wine clubs or here at the vineyard." They were very confident in their wine. They want you to try their wine because they are sure you will buy some once you taste it. That's why you only have to pay 5 bucks for tasting 5 wines although a bottle is pretentiously sold at 35- 70 dollars.

To be honest, when she mention the Japanese owner, I got skeptical. What do Japanese know about wine making? Once I put my nose in the glass, my doubts shattered. I could almost smell a rain forest in that wine. Hints of soaked earth, freshly crushed coffee beans, and vanilla bursted out of the glass. My nose warned my taste buds this will be something extraordinary.

The wine was indeed out-of-the-ordinary. Both the red and the white tasted like Sake! Sake Bordeaux, Sake Shiraz, Sake Cabarnet... We spit the 5 wines we tried in the bucket. It made our wine tasting experience quite brief and dissappointing, but in retrospection, maybe be it was a good thing as we still had 4 hours of driving to get to Carmel.

In an hour, we got to a beach taken over by a huge colony of sea lions. There lied maybe 5000 of them along the shore. They were only 3 steps away from us. If you slipped, you would find yourself cuddling with them.

Kaya wanted to rent a convertible for the trip so that my polka dot scarf could blow in the wind like Marilyn's as we drove on the cliffs by the ocean. I wasn't a fan of this idea because: 1) i didn't want to get a tan (especially a trucker's tan), 2) driving in the wind for hours isn't fun,
3) it is disturbing when you are on the highway, 4) it gets cold in the car when you drive fast. But Kaya was not in a mood for cooperating that day. He dictated that we were getting a convertible. His absolutism made me super angry but for the sake of not ruining the holiday I decided to contain it inside. Poor me ended up holding my scarf above my head like a tent for about 6 hours everyday. That certainly added to my discontentment and brought me to explosion. As we approached to the the most recommended part of our trip, we started arguing.

Usually a redwood forest on a high cliff by the sea shore would have dazzled me. At times the waves were so big and powerful, they would reach the road. I secretly wished we would get caught in one and would get soaked to the bone. Then, he maybe would regret not listening to my argument but the universe was on his side.

There we were in Big Sur, which is claimed to be the prettiest place in Cali and we were fighting while other couples were happily seizing this romantic view by making out. They were taking 'happy couple' pictures, splitting a sandwich and sipping beer out of the same can and we were sitting on two distant rocks.

We sat there for 20 minutes until the ocean mellowed us out. There is something therapeutic about that view. We hugged and kissed then, we finally took a happy couple picture.

Big Sur was amazingly pretty. Hippies settle there because it moves you so much that you realize you don't need much to be happy. It makes you feel like you can be forever happy by looking at that view. You see the essence of life. Consequently, everyone you meet there is a very peaceful, pleasant person. They so are warm and cheerful that even if you are not from there, you feel home.

Pfeiffer Beach is an mandatory stop in Big Sur. It was probably the highlight of our entire trip. The above photo is taken there.

Nepenthe is a popular eatery in Big Sur. The guides go on and on about their steaks and pump you up for a fine meal but they only have diner food. Fortunately, the visual feast makes up for the so- so food. With that said, I should probably mention that it is said to be the best restaurant in the area.


Just about 100 meters down from Nepenthe is the Big Sur Bakery. We only had desert and coffee there but from our conversation with its loyal costumers, we figured that the food is better there.
I would still prefer a plain turkey breast sandwich at Nepenthe because its terrace is really the deciding factor. Good food you can find any where, but the view is unique.

You should still stop at the bakery to see the open air studio of a hippy artist. Through out the summer he hold percussion sessions in this studio/theather/garden/carpenter shop or whatever you want to call it. He says major artists go there to play with him. They share smokes, drums and woman. He has a big collection peyotes, a type of hallucinogenic cactus. He said he didn't try them yet, but I bet some people will land on the moon next summer. Why would you need so many other wise?

An hour away is the prettiest town I have seen in the States. Carmel-By-The-Sea. Small little boutiques, tons of small art galleries, few cars, small but expensive American houses, trimmed lawns, newspaper boys on bicycles, big trees on the sides of the roads, old couples hand in hand make you feel like it is a film set. It is by far the most charming place.

There are several good places to stay at in Carmel. The problem is there is nothing under 200 bucks.

Tickle Pink Inn is known to be the nicest but it is out side of the town, which means that you would have to drive back and forth. I like to be able to walk every where from my hotel. Especially in such a beautiful town, walking is the only way of seizing it.

Cypress Inn is in a beautiful colonial looking house. Another popular pick.

Carriage House Inn is cozy and romantic. Excellent views of the water.

We stayed at La Playa Hotel. It is conveniently located, 5 mins away from the busy downtown and as well from the ocean. It doesn't look as nice as it does on the website. It is older than what you would expect, but the Turkish receptionist is quite nice. He sent us a free bottle of champagne ;)

Day 3

There is nothing really worth telling about day 3 as I had to go to Fresno for a meeting. It is a sketchy old town which has nothing to offer. After the meeting we drove to SFO. The Carmel-Fresno-SFO route took us 8 hours. Once we got to the hotel, we immadeately passed out.

Day 4

We woke up and went to the famous Pork Store dinner on Ashburry Street. It was around 10 on a Sat morning, so we didn't have to wait for a table but those who arrived 10 mins after us had to wait about 30 mins in line. It is a famous dinner because it was the cradle of the hippy movement. Turns out, the clientele didn't change much over the decades.

Ashburry Street is still the home of the hippies and drugs. We enjoyed walking along the street, peeping at all the new inventions at the smoke shops and sex boutiques. You can see all sorts of people there. Tourists, homeless, transexuals...

From there we walked into the Golden Gate Park. Many people were outside running. We paid 7 dollars each to enter the Japanese Tea Garden. We tried to getaway with paying 5 but didn't work. They built a perfect Japanese garden. Bonsai domes in the river, two life size temples, red fish ponds, fully costumed geishas serving green tea. It was another moment of absolute Zen.

Renzo Piano's green masterpiece California Academy of Sciences is a wonderful example of modern architecture.

"Renzo Piano’s goal was to create a sense of transparency and connectedness between the building and the park through both a careful selection of materials such as glass slender support columns and a thoughtful arrangement of space.

“Museums are not usually transparent,” says Piano. “They are opaque, they are closed. They are like a kingdom of darkness, and you are trapped inside. With the new Academy, we are creating a museum that is visually and functionally linked to its natural surroundings, metaphorically lifting up a piece of the park and putting a building underneath”.

And that is exactly what the eye meets on arrival: an undulating green roof expanding over 2.5 acre, landscaped with 1.7 million individual native plant species, unifying the different functions of the museum, creating a new link in the ecological corridor for wildlife. The living roof reduces storm water runoff by up to 3.6 million gallons of water per year and includes an observation deck, allowing visitors to admire the rooftop wildlife haven and learn about the benefits of this sustainable feature. The “green blanket” is bordered by a glass canopy containing nearly 60,000 photo voltaic cells, which will produce up to 10 percent of the Academy’s annual energy needs. These photo voltaic cells are clearly visible in the glass canopy, providing both shade and visual interest for the visitors below." (World Architecture News)

Then we met up with a friend on the pier. The bridge over us, the sail boats on the sea and the near by island made us feel like we were in Ortakoy in Istanbul. I can easily say that the highlight of SFO is a restaurant called The Slanted Door in the Ferry Building on the pier. The food is so good, people don't stop to talk during the dinner. Super fine samples of Asian Fusion Cuisine.

http://slanteddoor.com/index.html

Finally we went to China Town. It is supposed to be the biggest one in the world. To my surprise, it was much neater and less dense than NY's. Moreover, you could communicate in English! That, and the Oreos next to the counters suggested that Californian Chinese are more willing to integrate.

Before we headed to the airport, we stopped a the Golden Gate Bridge.

Our visit to SFO was very brief. I wish I had more to say on USA's most preferred place to live but that was all I could squeeze into 24 hours. If you have have recommendations, please drop here a few lines!

Genetik olarak sosyetigim ben.

Hic inkar etmeyecegim. Gayet pahali zevklerimin oldugu dogrudur.

Evvela sushi, personal training, Iphone, Stella for Adidas, masaj.. Mac'e uyeyim, kisin Isvicre'ye kayaga giderim, yazin Bodrum'a... Konserdir, muzedir falan onlari saymiyorum bile cunku onlar yeterince yuzeysel degiller. Boyle en bayagisindan, Yeditepe ayardinda inciler sacicam simdi size.

Bazilari bunlari telefonda mi yetistirir, kapi onu smorting malzemesi mi yapar, onu bilemem...

Daha kartlamama ceyrek asir kala yatmadan once illa yuzume krem surerim. Chanel, Lancome, Clinique ne varsa hucrelerim kendilerini iyi tanir. Gel gelelim benim 13. kromozomumda "sosyetik" yazdigindan kabul etmiyor oyle 50 dolarlik kremleri. Nitekim ilk Chanel sisesinde davul gibi sismis gozlerle uyandim, Clinique goz torbamda tomurcuklanma yapti, Lancome ise nemlendirecegine pul pul kuruttu. Supper alerjik cildim Body Shop'un %100 dogal urunlerine de kirmizi kart verdi. Bi sisesi 150 dolarlik La Mer'e ha diyor.

13. kromozomda kodlu: P.A.H.A.L.I. Hatta hatta La Mer ve sushi karsilikli helixte twist halindeler. Daha neler var, neler... Gelicem onlara da baska bi ara. Kendi fetvami veriyorum.

Fall Getaway

Freshen yourself up. Hop on a boat, straight to Burgaz Island. Travel light. Grab a toothbrush, no PJs necessary, and check your worries and duties in at the Kabatas port. In an hour step into the surreal.

Time to discharge your polluted mind. Let the old Greek houses, absence of cars, unusually peaceful locals distract you. Istanbul exhausted soul. Breath Burgaz into your heart, eye lids and gut.



Treat yourself with a dinner at Kalpazankaya Restaurant. Situated on top of a cliff on the less resided back side of the island and in the pine forest, it is known only by a loyal crowd who keep it a secret. Let the simplicity of it purify you. Leave your shoes at the wooden tables, walk down to the sandy beach. Your fish will be ready by the time you dry.

http://www.kalpazankaya.com - Don't let the bad marketing mislead you. It is far more romantic than it looks like in their website.


Top it with a night in the nicest kiosk of the island. Take a fifteen minute walk from the restaurant to Villa Mimosa. White ornamented exterior, high ceilings, just renovated spacious rooms, a big deck with the prettiest view of Istanbul in the distance...

http://www.adalar-hotel-istanbul.com/ - Disregard the prices. They are open to negociation.

Indulge yourself. Revive.

Write me a thank you letter.

Aziz's

Sundays could be quite boring if I did not live in Istanbul but this city is a joker, a flirtatious mamasita, a devil in disguise, a mad scientist who experiments on his own kids and each street of Istanbul is a different film set, so its charms and adventures never end. Here, Sundays are rarely about laundry and baking. Instead, you find an eye patch and hook, and go treasure hunting.

After indulging myself with delicious brunch at Cuppa (my favorite spot for brunch), I walked down my favorite street crowded with antique and second hand furniture shops. The shopkeepers sat outside sipping tea and absorbing as much sun as they can before the evening settled. The weather is menopausal this time of year. It is cool in the morning, than it is sweating hot at noon and than it is where-are-my-wool-socks?-cool again at night.

The narrow streets, the paved roads, antique shops, and the warmth of the shopkeepers put me on a time machine and ship me back to Istanbul in 1960s. I looked at my watch and turned to my friend with panic: "The broadcast ends at 5 pm on Sundays on our single channeled TV, so, I better rush home and remove the lace decorations before the neighborhood pours into our house for the TRT Choir!"

I was about to rush home, when a 1963 Da Vinci branded whisky bottle started calling my name from the window of a small shop. I went in to ask to price and that is when I met Aziz. A bundle of joy and Qi. Aziz is a 37 year, old blue-eyed man from Diyarbakir. His warmth is magnetic. You are drawn into his shop because of the positive vibrations he radiates. He offered us tea. When I refused, he lifted the table cloth exposing a little fridge hidden under table and asked, "I also have home-made iced tea from this morning, Italian white wine a friend gave me, or (pointing to the sister of my whisky bottle), Vodka, but it is Tekel" in a thick Kurdish accent. That was some surprise from a bathroom sized shop. Even more surprisingly, I spent an hour in there.

He carries 18th century silver spoons, old British alcohol bottles, old pins, cuff links, caftans and jewelry from Uzbekistan and much more but it is his stories that sell the best. I listen to how lived in Malta as a fugitive for two years and how he got shipped back, how during his military service he punched a field officer (binbasi) who humiliated him and got sentenced to months in prison and how he fled from there, how he got caught four years later due to a business transaction, how his luck turned around the second time he had to do the military service, how he smuggled his first antiques from Uzbekistan, how he first set up his business in Ortakoy on a clerk, how a British lord bought stuff worth thousands of pounds, how his sister emerged from the slums of Diyarbakir to being a bag designer in Italy...

You must stop at his place for his stories are capturing, his antiques are charming, and his heart is too big and naive to sell them at a big price.




His shop doesn't have a name, you have to ask for Aziz to the shopkeepers.

Kuloglu Mah
Faik Pasa Cad
1/1 Cukurcuma
Beyoglu

0532 372 2881

The Birthday Bubble

Yeay, I am 27!

That is 27 in Turkish standards because they round 26 years 1 day off to 27. To the rest of the world I am still 26.

I could choose to say 26 but I prefer 27 for people perceive 27 a lot older than 26. By claming to be 27, I get the “adult” treatment and shock those who think I must be a freshman in collage.

I amuse myself by making people guess my age. It is usually a very flattering game except for this last time I played it with the cab driver who was taking me to my birthday party. It got a little uncomfortable when he started elaborating on how I have the body of a woman and the face of a teenager. It is a compliment that most women die to hear but the thought that the driver had already measured my bra size before I get in the car almost made it an assault, or I haven’t gotten over my sensitivities over the past 27 years.

If we manage to overlook these little frustrations, it feels like the universe, which we belong to and own at the same time, is changing skin on the day of our birthdays. We wake up to an improved version of ourselves and thus of the universe. Everything is the same but also different, or at least you feel as so.

On the 18thof Sept 2009, I woke up to my “improved universe” to where my camera finally returned after a year in hiding. Birthday magic continued later in the day when I found out that I had more money in the bank than I knew of. It did not help Turkey to win the basketball match against Greece, but it did fill my karaoke night unexpectedly with about 30-35 people. Yet, the universe saved its best treat for the end of the day when I approached a taxi to turn on the day tariff at 4 am. He said, “Don’t you know? There is no night tariff anymore.” Dolce vita!

Our updated versions make us feel like we are capable of more in this new age. If it weren’t for this feeling of empowerment, we wouldn’t have new resolutions every year.

So, here are mine:

1) Be irreplaceable for the companies I do consulting for. Grow the business. Create opportunities for testing business ideas.
2) Resolve the long distance state of our relationship.
3) Work out consistently three times a week.
4) Get better with emails for the sake of not breaking hearts.

27, are you strong enough to let me do these?

Sodoku pizza

I wish they spiced things up a little.

Simple touches can really charm things up quite a bit.

The Serpentine Pavilion 2006 by Rem Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond

Serpentine Gallery 2005 by Alvaro Siza

Gift-wise

People can be quite uninspired gift wise. They will resort to parfums, scarves, ties, pens, photo frames, books or wine.

September is when I break my piggy bank because I have two good friends whose birthdays I have to attend, plus, my mother's and my boyfriend's mother's. So, I have been searching how to be "gift-wise".

Here is what I came up with so far:

www.buldumbuldum.com
www.aktifhediye.com

Back

After a long vacation, it takes an hour of breathing exercises and about 30 mins of streching to finally get yourself to lay your hands on the keyboard. I am mentally and physically rusty to take on any task. My fingers need to be reminded that they are each independent souls for typing. After two months of serious collaborating for holding bears and swimming, shipping the pinky alone to push P can be very stressfull for the poor little one. (OK, now I am just trying to show off saying I type with 10 fingers, but frankly, if my hand was a crew team, my pinky would be the person at the end of the boat who just sits there when everybody else is rowing)

I am a different person since the last time I wrote here: I gave up my soul for a position in a bank (which is where I am writing from in recovery of my soul), put on a few kilos from this summer's partying and ended up quitting alcohol, tea and coffee because my stomach could not take it anymore.

Between the stapler and the hole-puncher, I am debating whether I should have taken the offer to do a friend's farm's landscaping in New Zeland in exchange for free accomodation and food. Sometimes I really suck at decision-making.

Overwhelmed by paperwork

Everyone thinks that their family is different and I am sure that they are each unique cases indeed. Nevertheless, I think many families can be classified under common themes like cheating fathers, too involved grandparents, weird siblings, dependent mothers, financial worries, interventionist extended families, etc...

Yet, I still feel like mine stands alone in its own category : A successful, well-educated but not enlightened doctor dad whose obsessive-compulsiveness casted a shadow over a complete era even after his death, a schizophrenic and violent uncle whose gambling addiction paved his way to trouble with the mafia, a 12 year old half-brother I (intentionally) never met, an angelic yet amazon mother who tackles all the problems that threaten her family, a step dad who lives in Switzerland and four step siblings I have seen maybe a total of 5 times in 8 years, a depressed grandmother, a dear friend, two dogs: one blind, one lame and myself.

I have no considerable worldly possessions but in case we crash in the same plane with my mother once day, I would rather save the remaining 1600 pandas instead of my providing my uncle with more money to get himself in trouble with.

So, I wrote my will 3-4 years ago.

I wanted to amend it today but I was overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork they threw at me. You can't even rest easily in peace in this country. You need to get a number and wait in line for 3 hours only to be told that you have to come back on Mon to complete your paperwork.

This is why gluttony is a deadly sin

The Serpentine Gallery's pavilion was designed by Toyo Ito in 2002.

It is so beautiful, how could they condemn it to storage space?

Yumm, can we have your leftovers?

I have an artistic crush on Frank Gehry. London's beloved Serpentine Gallery commissioned him to design its outdoor showcase in 2008. As they appoint a different world famous architect to recreate the pavilion each year, this gorgeous structure was replaced with a design by Sanaa in 2009.

It seems to me that Istanbul will never have its promised Frank Gehry building. The project he draw to replace the ugly TRT building in Tepebasi will remain in 2D as the Turkish government is determined to not grant permission for it.

So, since London is done with the pavilion, can we have the leftovers?
It is such a shame to discard it and I have a perfect place in mind.

Bodrum Ahoy!

As I previously mentioned, I am not a fan of emailing fake "already 20 times forwarded personalized recommendations", so once again I will make my Bodrum recommendations public here.

First of all, Bodrum is made up of several bays all of which are reputed for different sorts of things. You will be hopping from one bay to the other. People use shared cabs (dolmus in Tr) for transportation. Dolmus (pronounced as dolmoosh) has very little to do with the cabs you have in mind. They are a cross between cabs and buses. They travel on predetermined routes like buses but unlike buses you can get off and get on it at any place you like you are in a cab. They do not work on a schedule. They wait at the dolmus station, and once all seats are taken, they head for the road. They announce where they are going to on their front window but as they usually put the final destination, you might want to check with the driver before you get on it. Alternatively, you can wait on their route and make a sign to stop them to get on them.

Renting a car or a scooter is also convenient option in Bodrum.

Do NOT use the cab in Bodrum. You will end up spending ridiculous amounts of money. A ride to the beach and back will exceed what you pay to the hotel. There are shuttles to the downtown bus terminal from the airport, but if you are a group of four, it is highly likely that getting a cab will cost around the same.


CULTURE

Do not go to Bodrum with the expectation to enrich your culture. It is a hip and happening beach town where you will dance off your pants and recover around 3 pm the next day only to restart the cycle in a few hours. Yet, as any spot you would point to on the map of Anatolia has, it does have some interesting historical attractions:

- You should def visit the Underwater Archaeology Museum in the Bodrum Castle. It has the world's oldest shipwreck. It is pretty much the only historical site where you will get a satisfactory sense of self-improvement.

One of the 7 wonders of the ancient world is in Bodrum: Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Unfortunately, there is nothing but chopped up stones at the site. It is rather sad and disappointing.

Finally, there is the Myndos Gate. That will be the last bit of culture you will find.

An hour outside of Bodrum is Euromos which can potentially satisfy your hunger for history.

However, if you are intrigued by thu local culture, Bodrum has a lot to offer. There are some intact Aegean villages that you can visit, which make up my favorite parts of Bodrum. However, you would need to rent a car or at least a scooter. Guvercinlik and Gumusluk would be two of the easier to get to options. They are both pleasant villages but I can not say that they are completey untamed. Guvercinlik is comparatively more authentic. If you want a real village with olive trees and citrus gardens, you should probably go towards Inceburun . If you would like to buy some Bodrum style carpets, Mumcular is an untapped resource. The village is certainly not on the way of the regular tourists, so the villagers have no idea how much people might be willing to pay! I invite you to be nice and reasonable when negotiating. Keep in mind that your glass of tea feeds their entire family for a night. Support the locals.



DOWNTOWN

- The Bodrum Bazaar is very lively and overwhelmingly crowded at night but then, it is overwhelmingly hot during day time, so you are still better off touring at night. Plus, it only makes sense to profit as much as you can from the sea in a place like Bodrum.

Here are the things you can do while you are there:
* Bodrum Castle is 2 mins away from the bazaar.
* Mavi Bar is on the opposite end of the bazaar (in reference to the castle). You will find it when you are about to lose your hope. :) It is a tiny Bodrum style bar with live music, descent crowd but the people do not dance.
* Korfez and Adamik are hidden in the streets that branch off of the main street of the bazaar. Drinks are relatively cheaper in these rock bars. You won't find many foreigners here. The ones you find will have probably read my blog. ☺
* You can try out the Bodrum style veggie-beef gyros at Sirin. Many alternatives are available but this is my favorite one.
* Have the Ottoman breakfast plate at Penguen which is an icecream/desert shop on the sea. They have tables on the beach.
* You can smoke hookah (nargile) on the beach. All places next around BBC or Blue Moon offer it. Apple and melon are my favorite flavors.

My favorite nighttime hang out in Bodrum is the bar in the Bodrum Marina. It is only a 10 min walk from the bazaar. They have great live music and quality crowd that actually dance! (Turks are usually busy watching people) If you are traveling on a budget, make sure to have pregamed before getting there. A screwdriver is around 20 Euros.


AROUND

Once again, Bodrum is all about checking out the different scenes at different bays. If you stick to the area of your hotel, you will be missing a lot. Usually people will leave their hotel around 11 or 12, go to one beach, come back around 7 to shower, and leave at 8 again only to come back around 3 or 4. They will try a new beach, breath the air at a different bay everyday.

- Turkbuku is where the Turkish jetset and the jetset wannabes hang out. All boys think of themselves as Hugh Hefner and all girls act as Heidi Klum. It might be an interesting scene to check out, but might get boring after a day or two. (Take the dolmus to get there) I like going there if I am in the mood for dressing up. SHIP AHOY is a fun bar on the sea in Turkbuku. You might like it.

- There are many beach clubs like Xuma or Havana. Havana is probably the better one. They are both a spin off of Mykanos. It is a place to check people out and make appearances. People make a serious effort to dress up (to swim!) and look their best. Gorgeous girls. The party starts around 5 and continues into the night but I think that it is sort of lame. I do not find the scene at these beach clubs entertaining but to be fair, I should also note that some people adore it. It is a matter of taste.

- Gumusluk used to be a modest fisherman's village. It is still one of the best places to have fish at. (need to take the dolmus to get there)

If you can afford a night of gourme sea food, go to Mimoza. A modest but classy atmosphere with hints of local touches. Make reservations in advance and ask him to reserve the fish you want as they sell out quickly. Tel: 0.252.394.31.39 Gsm.0.532.247.61.17

I recommend to try out the following:
My favorite two mezes ever are Fava and Deniz Borulcesi with lots of garlic. :) Additionally, get Kopeoglu (Eggplant with yoghurt) and calamari.

For fish, I recommend tuzda levrek They coat the seabass with a salt crust and put it in the oven. Then, they remove it from the oven and flame it before they break the crust. Nice to watch, good to eat. :)

If they are out of levrek, go for laos buglama. They cook the fish with veggies and serve it in juice.

To do it the Turkish style, drink raki with your fish. There are many brands on the market and they are all good but siyah Efe (black Efe) and Yesil Efe (Green Efe) are especially good. Yesil Efe is (green efe) made from young grapes and the Siyah Efe is triple distilled. That is how they get their unique taste. Yeni Raki, previously the major player in the market, had some health issues recently, so keep it as your last resort.

- If you want to windsurf, go to Ortakentt or to Bitez.

- There are daily boat tours that leave from every bay. As much as I like cruising, these tours are over-crowded and it spoils the pleasant feeling of being on a boat. Alternatively, you can approach a small boat and ask if they do private tours. Get him to include lunch and afternoon fruit service in the price.


HOTELS:

Warning: A quiet sleep is very hard to find in Bodrum.

Downtown:

Dilek Pansiyon $
Very basic room with beds and AC. Bathroom might be shared.
I have no idea what it looks like inside but I imagine it must the equivalent of a cheap youth hostel. I put it here because it is dirt cheap and its location is prime.
+90 252 316 3891
Kumbahce Mah. Ataturk Cad, No 69

Diamond of Bodrum $$$
It has a great location if you want to stay downtown. Only a 5 min walk to the Bodrum Bazaar. The rooms are basic and clean. Has a pool and a beach. The price is reasonable and comes with breakfast.
Yet, the breakfast is of very bad quality and very noisy at night.
Ask for a sea view room in advance.

Su Otel $$$
15 min walk to the Bodrum Bazaar.
It is a boutique hotel with a pool, but no sea shore.
The rooms are simple and clean. They have a family suit for 3 which you might find comfortable.
The prices are higher than Diamond of Bodrum but the food is much better.
The beds are little hard tho!

Hotel Istankoy $$
Haven't been inside but I briefly conversed with a few tourist who were staying there. They said that they love the location and it is a good deal for the price. It has a pool but no seashore.
Ataturk St, No 73
0252 316 4187
www.hotelistankoy.com.tr

The Marmara
This hotel is on the higher end. 15-20 min to the bazaar. If you can afford it, go for it.



Other Bays:

Mer-can Story
It is in Yalikavak, which is one of the nicer bays of Bodrum. It is a good deal because it is on the sea, has a pool an reasonably priced suites with equipped kitchens.
http://www.mercanstory.com/anasayfa.htm


If price is not a concern, here is a list of great hotels:

Maki in Turkbuku
Ada in Turkbuku
Queen Ada In Torba
Casa dell'arte in Torba
4 reasons in Yalikavak
Adahan in Yalikavak


GOOD EATS:

Kismet
My favorite eatery in town. It is a delicious esnaf lokantasi which is a cafeteria which is open only for lunch. You will get to eat real Turkish home cooking here. It is the best deal you will find: healthy, clean, cheap, and very yummy. I highly recommend the Kabak Tatlisi (pumpkin desert). They make their own yoghurt daily and grow their own herbs.
The head chef is a very descent guy. You would expect find a guy like that in a five star hotel's hospitality management. The only downside of Kismet is its location. It is not in the center of Bodrum, it is on the main road (Ataturk Blvd) that dolmuses pass through, behind Finansbank. It is easily accessible by dolmus but still not very conveniently situated. That's because it caters to the locals who work around that area, not to the tourists. Everybody is a regular here. Go there three times a week, you will get a sense of who is who.
Ataturk Blvd, behind Finansbank, Konacik
0252 319 0096 - 319 36 38

Denizhan
Meat and kebap house, the only restaurant distunguished by the New York Times in Bodrum
0252/363-7674
Turgut Reis Yolu, about 2.5km (1 1/2 miles) outside of town (across from the Tofas/Fiat service station)

Antique Theatre Hotel
Award winning menu, contemporary french cuisine
Kibris Sehitleri Cad. 243, Bodrum
Across from the ruins of the antique theater
0252/316-6053

Berk
It is a 20 something year old fish restaurant. Neither its costumers nor employees changed in those 20 something years. The restaurant is characterized by its super friendly white haired hosts (Husnu Baba and Haydar Usta) and its simplicity. You can taste the 20 years of experience in their mezes. When Bodrum is empty of tourists in the winter time, it is the only restaurant boosting with business downtown. You have to reserve a day in advance even in the winter. It is probably the cheapest fish you can eat in downtown Bodrum.
Cumhuriyet Ave, no 167 (They are close to the disco Halicarnasus (Halikarnas)
0252 313 02 39

Orfoz
Another fish restaurant right next to Berk famous for its mezes.



WARNING:
Halikarnas Disco is a trap for tourists. They advertise everywhere to make sure that it is something you can't leave without experiencing. They have buble/foam party nights twice a week and it only attracts "drink till puke" kind of Brits and overdressed Russians.