IZMIR BLOG - Information, stories, tips and hints about Izmir

Again Blogger has been cancelled out or temporarily banned in Turkey

2011-03-22T09:45:00.001+02:00

Yes, once again all the ex-pats and this time all of the Turks too have had their access to http://www.blogger.com blanked out. My previous post was about the possible success of a democracy in Egypt and I did mention that Turkey would be a good path to follow but when you look at how heavily the internet is censored, for what reason I cannot guess, then you may need to ask yourself, “Does Egypt need to go a few steps further than Turkey with its democracy?”. Even in an apparent democracy, if a country’s government doesn’t like something you write then you are blocked banned or censored in some shape or form.

Censorship happens everywhere even in the democracy of the UK but more localised censoring with possibly a taste of government interference. I remember watching a Clint Eastwood film, can’t remember which one maybe a Dirty Harry film. There was a scene in this Clint Eastwood film where a man was checking a warehouse and he was knocked on his head with a blunt object. The blunt object nor the knock on the head was seen, just a man walking and then the same man lying on the floor. Now this may seem petty to some but for me it was a wake-up call to how governments and institutions guard people’s minds as if we are 5 year old children with no minds of our own. Censorship can start small and then grow like a cancerous cyst to devour everything in it’s path. In Turkey currently as well as censoring blogs and other sites because of a court order. The television companies (maybe only Digiturk have a remarkable technology of censoring smoking from all films, series and program deemed to be impressionable which seems to be all. I am aware smoking is bad, I don’t smoke, but why is seeing someone smoking too hard for the Turkish public to handle. Surely they can decide their distaste themselves rather than being guided hand in hand. I say remarkable technology because every time a cigarette is lit up and smoked on any film or series the mystery blur circle comes in to play. Playing a hide and seek game of “You can’t see me but you know what I am doing don’t you?” It seems the smoking blurrer has been modified to be perfect because you never actually see the cigarette. On the other hand the tits and arse blurrer apparently had problems because the blurrer they used to use for censoring occasional possibly pre 9 o’clock nakedness used to quiver slightly so the tits and arse you were not supposed to be seeing you actually saw.

What is this all about cancelling out blogging channels, blurring cigarettes and nakedness, banning freedom of information and thoughts. I am not sure what the world is trying to protect but if it is our dignity give us the right to do this for ourselves. As for the banning of blogger as most countries have seen accomplishes nothing and the only thing that can stop people talking would be to ban living.

Egypt–The Road Ahead After Mubarak

2011-02-12T17:15:00.001+02:00

I am not an Egyptian or a politician so it seems strange for me to give advice, I am not even Turkish or Muslim but I was affected by what I saw on the TV screens. The Egyptian people were fighting for change and now they indeed have found some sort of change. The military have taken the temporary reigns of power and are hopefully with their people rather than against them. The government will stay in power for now, and things will go on virtually without change minus the self acclaimed saviour of Egypt, Mr Mubarak. This a great moment for the people of Egypt but unfortunately without rapid sweeping changes the people that sacrificed their time and some indeed their lives for this cause may find that the military could in effect hand power back to the government a few months down the line.

For the military commander in charge to announce that the police will remain the same, the people working at the state TV (which perpetrated these lies from Mubarak) and the government will also stay the same for now means change is far from complete. These government and non-government Mubarak supporters will be jostling for positions in the new supposed democracy that could occur. This would not be a good sign, old Mubarak supporters are ready to reseat their positions. With the same police force in place the same kinds of beatings and intimidation could start occurring within days from now. In my opinion, and as I said previously I am neither Egyptian, Muslim nor a politician but what is needed is sweeping changes right now, a roadmap to democracy with maybe Turkey as a template. Turkey has successfully been a democracy for many years now and as far as I am aware is one of the best templates for a democracy in a Muslim country that wishes to be a democracy. Turkey like any democracy has its problems occasionally but that is all part and parcel of being a democracy. A democracy is not there to cover up all the cracks that appear and to make it look like there aren’t any cracks at all.

The word of the day is ‘rapid’, the rapid joining of forces of democracy supporters, selecting of names that people wish to be entered in to the election processes and the police and state TV employees should be sacked or asked to resign and all jobs should be re-applied for via sets of select teams of people chosen by the people and not by the commanders of the army to interview them. This is one of the ways that corruption could be stamped out. In fact, as strange as it may seem the young Facebook users should select their police force maybe they could be part of the teams of interviewers. If nothing was to drastically happen to create change then this could quickly backpedal. At the least this should happen, the police commanders and department heads as well as all managers of all departments in the state TV and Ministry of the Interior should be replaced, these are the old guard that would quickly scupper any plans to change Egypt in to a true democracy.

To all Egyptians, you need to secure this change and if this means staying in Tarih Square and the streets until free and fair elections are held then this should be done. Remember, Mubarak is a free man not held accountable for anything in Sharm El Sheikh and the military commander, Mohamed Tantawi used to be and probably still is a good friend of Mubarak’s, how do we know that this isn’t just to get you all off the streets to maintain some order whilst giving minor changes to the people that it will satisfy most.

Iran, is waiting in the wings to see how this shapes and they are scared. Strangely, Iran seems to be doing a similar thing to Egypt’s old guard and lying to its people about what is actually happening in Egypt saying that their brothers in Egypt are having an Islamic revolution, more like a Twitter and Facebook revolution since this was many of the younger Egyptians used to spark the protests. Tehran 2009 protests were made by the Iranian people that were brutally crushed to try and find the same kind of democracy that most people desire in the Arabic countries. Let’s hope they to find this democracy.

To the Egyptian people you have accomplished so much in such a short time don’t let it slip away and go back to the days of torture and blocking of freedoms, you have reached a new age for Egypt take it by your own hands, own it and be the democracy you want to be, talk freely about what you want and become who you want to be.

Dirtiest Hotels in Europe

2011-01-28T09:00:00.001+02:00

This list has just been produced by http://www.tripadvisor.com based on votes by visitors to these and other hotels. Turkey has the number 1 and 2 spots in this list followed by London at spots 3, 4 and 5. Then numbers 6 and 7 is Amsterdam and Holland’s turn and then again at number 8 London and then finally at numbers 9 and 10 two hotels from Amsterdam, Holland again makes the list. See the list and why here:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/DirtyHotels-g4

Interesting to note that not one of these hotels were located in Spain, Portugal or France other very popular destinations. Maybe all of the hotels from the list or maybe even if they are not in the list, look to this list as a guide of how not to be.

Official YOUTUBE is finally back baby!

2010-10-31T20:27:00.002+02:00

Well, it is been a long time since I last wrote but I thought this definitely deserved a mention. The mere fact that the youtube service was banned from Turkey from a slur on Atatürk by some Greek nationals is very bad. What was also very bad was a complete shutdown of many websites, some for no apparent reason at all, that all seemed to occur straight after the Turkey and Atatürk slurring incidents. Youtube is not the demon, the people who wrote the comments from both sides of the fence were the real demons for using the internet to start a war of words between two countries that share many of the same ideals and culture and yet still there is anger over the islands of Cyprus and other deep seated problems that should be lost in the past. It is about time all parties concerned tried to put their differences to rest, I know this may be hard with the animosity that still exists but you have to try because anarchy is not the chosen route to peace. In the UK we had serious problems with Northern Ireland, they completely hated the English and probably with reason but we sorted our differences to a stage where we could at least talk and in Northern Ireland probably as in Cyprus the feelings of hatred and mistrust are everywhere.

For me this squabble over differences has been just one big pain in the ass as it has been for other foreigners and Türks too. The trying to access all sorts of normal internet sites and being refused by the ominous notice from the state that appeared to everyone who visited the sites that were banned. A rethink is needed because everyone who needed or wanted to access any of the banned sites didn't have a problem in doing so even after the ban. They just used other means that may have not made the experience easy to view the sites that were banned but still gave them the opportunity to gain information or view the videos they wanted. Youtube is invaluable to anyone who wants to learn something new and is of special value to teachers in finding videos of cartoon characters for the kids and other educational material.

The internet doesn't corrupt people, people are already available to corrupt. The ones that can be corrupted will be corrupted and the ones that are true of heart will remain true of heart no matter what they view on youtube. Let's just hope it stays around because it is a great tool for all and almost all blogs, news sites and many other informational sites use their services to advertise themselves, inform and educate. Obviously there are a few that want to corrupt too but they are few and for this ban to have taken hold over just a few is a travesty of justice for all Türks and all people who live in Turkey. The Internet started as a free medium to converse and pass information and should remain this way for the people, if people need to restrict anything then it should be left to responsible adults to restrict sites with their own filters.

Want to take on the reigns of Izmir blog.

2010-08-04T11:57:00.001+03:00

We are looking for an individual to take over Izmir Blog. We don't have the time anymore. If you think you can supply something to an international and local crowd alike and can maybe continue with this blog from where we left off. You can start publishing on this blog and hopefully have some fun like we did in the process. Email us from the address above, saying why you want the blog, a little about yourself and where you live currently and age, male or female and so on. We want it to go to a trustworthy happy home. Strictly first come, first served, (most appealing to our writing style here at izmir blog). Also please write something about an iconic area of Izmir so we can get a taste for your writing style and if all goes well this blog could be yours.

You will also need to supply a gmail account if possible so that mail and account can be given admin priveledges.

Best Regards,

Izmir Blogger

Just a quickie!

2010-02-22T12:54:00.005+02:00

Just a Quickie!

All foreign newcomers to Turkey if you wish to share your thoughts, stories about Turkey or anything else. You more than welcome to send us a thought to our blog. This way if you were unsure about something, or you have found some great piece of news or information you wish to share, maybe this could be of help to someone in need. Send us an email to the email address in the header or here Izmir stories and information and we can put it up for you. Many eyes and ears are better than a few.

Izmir Blogger

Flat required to rent and room to rent in a house in Bornova.

2010-01-19T22:14:00.005+02:00

I say normally I don't do free advertisements but as long as they are not a business and are requiring this for a good cause then I will give them a free plug. The fact of the matter is I am big on random acts of kindness this year, so I guess this is kindness. OK, so here is the ad and the first and maybe last good deed of the year.

Do you have an extra room in your flat which you'd like to rent to a male English teacher? If you have an apartment in Izmir and would like to find someone to help pay the expenses, please send an email to j.miller.rapp(at)gmail.com

Are you a woman seeking safe, quiet, furnished accommodations in Izmir until August/September 2010? Share a 3+1 in Bornova with a native English speaker. You will have your own private room in a great neighborhood; public transportation and shopping is VERY close. 330TL a month, plus utilities. Photos available. j.miller.rapp(at)gmail.com

If you are interested in either of the above, either the extra room in a flat with a male English teacher or the accommodation in Bornova apply to the email above remember to remove the (at) and change to a @ (this is just to stop automatic spamming machines from auto spamming her email address).

Good luck to all who apply and that concludes my public service announcement.

Happy New Year to All for 2010

2010-01-10T02:04:00.003+02:00

Late Happy New Year I Know.

Which could possibly mean:

a) I have had my own head up my ass.

b) I couldn't be bothered to write any more.

c) Felt like giving up Izmir Blog. "It's good putting input in, but it is always good to get output from other Izmir individuals or people in the know."

d) Too pissed from the New Year Merriments. "I doubt it somehow."

e) I have domuz gribi (swine flu) and I am over inflating the effects like the W.H.O. "I expected to catch this flu before January started and like 50% of the world be on my last legs."

f) I have like the rest of Europe been trapped in my country cottage next to a blazing open fire with only my beau and her naked body to keep me company on those -20 degrees nights. "Yeah right, in Izmir where today's temperature was like a mini barmy winter heatwave."

g) Have lost both of my hands in a severe present wrapping accident that has rendered me useless on a keyboard.

i) After losing both my hands in a severe present wrapping accident and discovering how to type with my toes, I also was rendered footless in a severe jogging accident in which my good typing toes were caught in a dog-leash rendering my newly taught typing toes a total typist's disaster. Peter piper picked a pepper....

Ok, all of the above is a bulls@@t but if there are any new kids on the block who fancy sharing their experiences on this here Izmir blog. Anything that you think foreign visitors as well as some locals may be interested in too, drop us a line at the top email address. I am running out of material and in that case maybe letter-a above was correct.

To one and all, a very very Happy New Year and Hope everyone's year is better than last year 2009.

Christmas Radio - If you can't find any Christmas music

2009-12-03T01:02:00.005+02:00

Web-Radio Christmas Playergreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

ADDED A CHRISTMAS MUSIC STREAM - I HOPE YOU ALL LIKE IT. IT IS A WEB WIDGET THAT PLAYS CHRISTMAS MUSIC.

If doesn't automatically play

You gotta try this - Elf Yourself site is open again

2009-12-03T00:58:00.001+02:00

From last year and once again the Elf Yourself site has opened it's Christmas site Yippee!!
Put your face on to an elf and either send the finished product or embed it in a web page for all to see.

You can choose from different dances and can add some of your friends heads too they can be your best friends, girlfriends, mothers, sisters, brothers or even favourite pets. Either way you have to elf yourself on this great site a classic from last year and the year before.

Here's one i made with a lion head: (imagine your head or friends head on the elf instead of the cats - to make your own now click below)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Very funny - take a look and ELF YOURSELF for Christmas or New Year.

ElfYourself

Remember an Elf is not just for Christmas they're also useful for getting those barbecue meat bits out from in between you teeth.

Videos: A couple more links that I also liked from last Christmas.

Jib Jab e cards

Pissed off Santa

Izmir-2-Blogger

Centre lane drivers and speedsters

2009-11-28T23:00:00.001+02:00

After nearly being in a bayram car collision today I realised why the statistics of traffic accidents are quite high in Turkey. This high death rate possibly has something to do with the centre lane driving tunnel vision syndrome (it's not real I made it up). What I mean by this is that a lot of drivers in Turkey like to be in the centre lane so that they have the option of overtaking and undertaking (going past a car from the right side). What this means is that you can be happily travelling along at the speed limit on a motorway 120kph in the left hand lane which unofficialy is the fast lane, when suddenly a car doing 60-80 kph pulls right out in front of you and you have to slam on the anchor to stop you from ploughing through the guys family and leaving some grieving relatives behind. This guy who pulls out in front of you could always undertake someone if needed and get past an even slower driver that way, but there is a problem with this, because the right hand lane is generally free of much traffic apart from the occasional truck or two the fast cars use this lane as well.

The guys who loves staying in the centre lane have no alternative than to just stop in the centre lane and go at a snail's pace because left and right leads to the Russian roulette wheel of possible death. Either of the side lanes, a motorist who may be applying the speed limit but just insanely frustrated, could try to pass there and inadvertently the centre lane driver could be wiped out because of the lack of applying the rules in the first place. The rule whether written or unwritten is to stay in the right if you are a slower driver, come to the middle and get back in once overtaken and leave the right lane for the hothead drivers with a deathwish to wipe out their whole family in a tragic traffic accident.

It doesn't work this way in England either but if people just used common sense on the road and in other areas of life too, the whole world would run a lot smoother.

Kurban Bayrami Kutlu Olsun

2009-11-28T22:40:00.000+02:00

Ok, I know a lot of non-Turks and some Turks too disagree with the sacrificial slaughter of many cows goats and sheep over this religious period, but it is a part of life in Turkey for many many years, so I personally don't have a real problem with it. The only part I do have a problem with as a foreigner is that I would not want to see it being done or to be the one doing it.

In many countries in the world we leave the killing of our meat to the abattoirs to sort out the nasty work. From my time in Turkey I have kind of discovered that it is like a right of passage passed down from father to son. The son being the one who eventually does the cutting of the throat of the sacrificial animal. Nowadays, there is not as much blood on the streets as there used to be because there are designated places for the slaughter to be done. However, after passing some poorer areas on visiting some relatives, I saw that it still does occur in the villages but they tend to hide in a back field. It can be quite shocking for a person from a foreign country who has never seen such a thing to see this sacrifice happen. All I can say as a foreigner is if possible lie low at this time of year if you don't like it.

If you are a vegetarian and you are not able to lie low at this time then you are pretty much screwed because meat is the main dish available for the feast and the smell of cooked meat is everywhere. Good luck to all who are eating and all who are not eating.

Iyi Bayramlar!

Migros Jet Kasa - Update

2009-11-18T09:20:00.000+02:00

Ok, the Jet Kasa system as mentioned before in a previous post is an ok system but people are its failure. The system still has teething problems of the human variety, the queues are still quite long in Migros stores and the people still need to be taught how to be their own personal shop assistants.

No, 'at the till murders' yet. Which is a good thing. Maybe this will change the whole society in Turkey, this one small machine slowly giving Turkish people too much patience that they could then wait for a bus for 18 hours like I once had to do in Uganda. Now, that does require a lot of patience. It seems like the Jet machine is trying the patience of many but once the knack of using this machine is learnt, let's just hope that it does drastically reduce queuing time in these stores.

Not checked Jet Kasa Recently but will update soon

2009-11-08T03:21:00.000+02:00

I haven't heard of any Jet Kasa Murders yet. So, I assuming that this new self service service from Migros is either running smoothly now, been closed down, or the end of the world has happened and I am the only one still alive. Now, this conjures up a question in my mind, if the end of the world was nigh would the Internet still be running (as was the intention when first invented) or at the first whiff of disaster would it fold in on itself like a pack of stacked playing cards? I suppose we will never know, well I at least I hope not in my lifetime.

Also, another question just popped in to my Alkzheimer's diseased head, If you knew that the world wasn't going to end in your lifetime but your son's or daughter's lifetime would you tell them to stop having sex immediately? It is just a thought because when some of us or young and especially if you are a freak like me you will think about these things deeply and say to yourself, "No children for me, I wouldn't want them to suffer in the event of a cataclysmic event". As you get older and wiser, you then take the stance of it won't happen in my lifetime, and then make babies and get some of your own little spudkins. We don't know though, so by giving birth to the little spuds you could be putting them on a collision course with death. Anyway! Neyse! That concludes my Happy late Saturday early Sunday morning blog. I must be getting old and bitter.

Migros and New Jet Pay System

2009-10-31T14:36:00.003+02:00

I like many others like a good idea when I see one and this Jet Payments system that has been introduced in to many if not all of the Migros stores is a good system but it is having some teething problems.

The system itself is not having problems but the people who are using it and this includes me too. The system involves scanning and paying for your own shopping as if you yourself are actually working for Migros. Now, that has to be a good thing for Migros, less staff needed right, Wrong!!

The computer system's only flaw is that the humans that use the system are sometimes ill informed or too stupid to use it. Remember the times that you have waited to withdraw money from a cash machine. Standing behind the old chap who has no idea about technology, or the mother of three crazy children obstructing her from getting her cash, or the young guy who is paying his bills one by one, not giving a shit about the person waiting (which is strangely enough is his right whilst using the machine), well this is like this but ten times as bad.

There is one assistant to help in times of need but unfortunately usually all the tills users have a need. One main problem is from the strange button that says, "fill your bag", which translated means put your frickin' produce in the frickin' bag and press the big frickin button that says so doofus. Then there are the barcode problems where it won't read and then you start typing in the number only to be passed to another screen, thinking you have incorrectly typed the number you stand there like a dork and wait for assistance. Also, you have to weigh something and there can be problems with this too, and lastly paying, putting the card in the wrong way round and thinking you have paid when you have not.

The whole system is great on paper but put this system into the real world with people with kids, people stressed out, people with love life problems, people buying something, very busy and then rushing to work and you have a tool that should not be called 'Jet Kasa' but 'Anarchy Kasa' We may think we have the brains but sometimes when we try to use our brains we can be extremely dangerous.

If you are going shopping in Migros today or in the near future, let's be careful out there. I am waiting to read in the paper of the rising tide in 'shop rage' and possible 'homicide' due to pissed off and impatient (sabirsiz) shoppers. Jetttttttt! Ouuccchhhh!!

2009-10-12T03:20:00.004+03:00

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Izmir Blogger

How Much Is The Price of beer in Izmir?

2009-09-28T00:32:00.002+03:00

I constantly see that some foreigners are looking for the price of beer in Izmir or Turkey as a matter of fact. Well, the beer is not cheap, which is possibly why it is not such a custom as in the UK or some other countries to have a few jars of ale (beer) after you finish work as a stress reliever, a winding down tool and a get merry and feel a lot better tool.

Obviously, with this social drinking in other countries, there is a side effect, which is the ever increasing amounts of drunken behaviour on the streets, the fights, the outright unneeded violence on innocent bystanders on buses or waiting for taxis and the increasing alcoholism which comes with drinking too much beer. There are problems that need to be addressed in these other countries but ignoring that completely and getting back to the real issue here which is, "How Much Is The Price Of Beer in Izmir?"

The price of beer in a can varies from 1.50 TL - 3.50 TL for the imported quality beers. You can buy in packs and get a better deal sometimes but don't trust that buying in bulk will always make a difference in the price per can. The reason I say this because there is a strange phenomena which I have noticed and this is that let's say one can is 1.50 TL exactly, this can times by 12 in a twelve pack would be 18.00 TL, on a few occasions I have seen it where the price of 12 cans actually worked out at 1.58 a can and charging 19.00 TL for the 12 pack. This may have been corrected now but it seems to happen with quite a lot of products when you buy more than one. I couldn't work it out but on some occasions it is actually cheaper to buy things 12 X 1 rather a 1 X 12 box. Check some of the products (not just beer) and you may see a similar anomaly. The latest product I saw where this was the case was a pack of 5 chocolate bars but it was cheaper to buy in singles and 5 of them. So the original pack of 5 cost 1.20 TL but the single price was 22 kurus which added up to 1.10 TL saving you 10 kurus. In the bars and drinking holes expect to pay anywhere up to 8 TL and in the clubs (like all clubs of the world) the roof is the limit, because like in most of these clubs they believe that is a your privilege for you to be there and not a privilege for them to have your presence.

The local beer Efes, which is fairly good, Efes Dark is a lot better if you're a real Ale drinker you might prefer this one. They also have a light Efes variety and Miller is now a favourite amongst a lot of people who drink beer. The bars are starting to stock a different varieties and are not so dominated so much by Efes any more.

On the whole the beer is reasonable but i find them a little bit expensive, it doesn't become a cultural thing to drink beer in more than 2 or 3's at home which is probably a good thing as far as alcoholism is concerned, although saying this the national drink Raki which is drank by many could blow your socks off a lot quicker than beer and in general is more often drank in a home surrounding than beer. Try all of the beers and see what you think!

Kids back to School - Mummies and Daddies Can Rest Now

2009-09-12T15:26:00.001+03:00

The schools are starting to brush the dust from their teaching books and the cleaners are starting to mop the floors. It's the time of year when all the kiddies go back to school and after a long break they are rearing to go. The Mummies and Daddies can now relax a little as their little bundle of joy returns to school, gets out from under their feet and starts to top up the grey matter again.

After a long break the Mothers and Fathers are all blitzed out and need the rest from the kids, in fact they need a long holiday without the kids. Unfortunately with the children back at school they aren't going to get the well deserved break, they will have to start earning big pennies for their children's upkeep and education. It's not cheap! But they are your little cherubs so be good to them and one day when they their brains are all maxed out they will bestow unto you great wealth, a wealth which you will inevitably have to throw away on their wedding day. Up in to the air so the musicians can get richer. I can hardly wait!

Be A Teacher In Turkey - But I Don't Want To.

2009-08-31T11:27:00.007+03:00

On arriving in Turkey as a foreigner after leaving your homely shores, unless you found work before you left your homeland, you will be in a bit of a predicament. In Turkey, if you want to work, then many of the jobs are in the Teaching profession. If you are from Germany then the chances are you will teach German, if you are from an English speaking country then you will teach English. That's all well and good for most people because at times it can be an enjoyable profession. But for others there can be problems. If an English teacher you will go in to the teaching arena after grabbing a quick CELTA course or another cerificate. You may have no idea about teaching before this and you may indeed be slightly nervous about teaching since, it was not your chosen career in your own country. There are not many options available to foreigners if they are in the no-mans land of a resident and a non-national. If you married your wife or your husband and are you are here for them then it can be more difficult. You stay as a teacher just because there is no option and the only other option knocking at the door is to leave the country of your partners and move back to a country you do know where they may experience difficult job finding woes.

Ok, so what do you do, well, you could do your own business. You could open a coffee shop for instance. Will, it work? I'd like to say Yes, but what with the price of the rents in Izmir and Istanbul and other places in Turkey and the amount of red tape for a foreigner and in fact a local to start up a business then is it worth all the effort for just a few lira a week. Your coffee shop could make thousands but does it have longivity and are you just staving off the inevitable closing down of your coffee shop and later moving back to your home country? Maybe it would work, but forever unless you franchise I am not so sure. They have a strange three month period in Izmir where the whole city just seems to close down so the people can holiday and go to their holiday homes. In this period, June through to the end of August, there is a staleness and business with rent costs and other utility payments I can assume find it hard and many shops are boarded up over this time only to be reopened by another entreapeneur at a later stage.

So are there other options to a foreigner in Izmir of Turkey. Yes, there are. If you can find a profitable business that sells things online to Turkey (you will need great Turkish Language skills) or to abroad which is better because the world market speaks English then you could possibly make enough money to survive and maybe prosper. There are a few online businesses available and you usually need to use services like clickbank (for payment and affiliate tracking and affiliate selling of other people's products), aweber (for automated emailing promotions - that email your customers 10 or more times in a one by one style to lead them to your sale item(s) ) and then you need the right website. One I have found in a self made business, it is actually a business in a box, you can sell all your own health products and dieting stuff too. The site is pre set up once a small fee is paid and then once you start promoting you can start to make money. No shop or depot to stock, no dealing with customers because the company does this for you and no worrying about follow ups and returns because this is also dealt with by the firm that gives you this package. It is a very well designed site and you should check it out and see what you think, don't just throw your money away. But if you are a foreigner in Turkey and you want to sell something, anything on a world market so you can get some liras coming in for your kofte or Efes beers then this has to be a good option since all the hard work has been done for you. You just have to do the adverts, which can sometimes be hard but they even supply all of the blurbs for you to do this with.

For more information about: Ready Made Internet site take a look and if you don't think you can possibly make this work or you can do better yourself then pass on it. If you don't try then they won't buy, it's as easy as that. From the site you can check all areas but if you want to start a business then click on the Make Money tab.

For more options in Internet ventures you should definitely look at clickbank because of all the vendors selling there products in most cases are offering you up to 75% commissions. If none of these appeal to you and you are still bored and annoyed with your no way out teaching job then stand on your surfboard on the crest of a wave and you may just stay on the board. If not search for more options, in google you can search for franchises and also commission and money earning. With any franchise you will have to leak a lot of money before you see anything happen in regards to money making. If it is a well known brand then it will eventually work but to build up some cash in the meantime start a cheaper to run business that may actually become your primary business.

Lady Doctor Gets Death Threats for Revealing TOP SECRET Fat Loss Secret to General Public!

2009-08-21T04:55:00.012+03:00

Recently saw this article and felt it needed a reprint here, because if it is really true then obviously people should know rather than try a life long diet that causes them to balloon in weight and then go back to their old size this sounds in theory like it's a winner.

Here is what I found at her website about this new wonder diet formula, primarily for the obese but everyone with weight problems can use it:

This lady has great information about weight loss and why we get fat. Surprisingly it is not neccessarily because we eat to much, read on.... It makes interesting reading.

A new breakthrough secret is all you now need in order to forever shed countless pounds, stay healthy, and add many years to your life!

A lady doctor from Arizona has blown the lid off the best-kept secret in weight loss ever discovered -- and this has the whole diet food and drug industries turned upside down and in nothing less than a torrential uproar।

Her name is Dr Suzanne Gudakunst, and she's marching to the beat of a different drum. And no, nothing about her "secret" is difficult -- nor does it require that you do something completely out of the ordinary or anything unnatural.

Instead, the Arizonian boasts proudly "...this is something that I caught onto just before 2002 when there was so much research and exploration going around concerning the human colon and digestive system working in harmony with nutritional absorption, and I started doing independent studies just to test things at first ... but which I later expanded on after seeing some fantastic results."

This same woman medical practitioner went on to accurately determine a definitive correlation between harmful plague and parasitic infestations of the human bowel tract, and people suffering chronic obesity -- and who despite intense diet and exercise appeared to be unable to lose any weight whatsoever.

Over the course of six years the Arizona doctor developed a number of natural treatments for the removal of these same harmful, even life-threatening plaques and rapidly reproducing digestive parasites -- and when applied to even worse-case patients suffering extreme obesity (98% of which were in immediate danger of dying) she saw a 100% effectiveness and success rate.

She then borrowed from her research on the severely obese, and applied the same strategies on milder cases of overweight persons -- only to find the same effectiveness and quality results as described above (although the individual weight loss per subject wasn't nearly as much as those obese patients 100 lbs to 200 lbs or more overweight).

So powerful is her secret that she's able to reverse diabetes, rid illness altogether in people suffering from cancer (linked directly to poor diet and overweight factors), as well as an elimination of an entire spectrum of serious and otherwise life-threatening diseases.

Nearly 100% of all her case subjects were told in the alternative by "conventional doctors" that they either had just months or years to live, or they would never live a life anything resembling remotely a "normal" existence -- yet after applying Dr Suzanne's treatments saw a complete contradiction to others doctors' prognoses.

Again, nothing about her secret is unnatural or requires someone to do any major action or modification in their lives.

In fact, her entire treatment is based completely on built-into-nature 'protection agents' scattered throughout the world in the form of select herbs, extracts, and organic constituents, and which can be found in a variety of plants -- but when combined in specific combinations and carefully chosen amounts make for a solution to what is perhaps the world's worst ever plague: OBESITY (and the illnesses and diseases resulting from it -- or at least severely aggravated or exacerbated by it).

Now to everyone else's great gain, whether suffering from just a few extra pounds and inches, to those extremely fat and overweight, this brave, bold lady doctor is releasing to the general public her secret for forever destroying the tight unrelenting closed-fist of obesity's stronghold over the now more than 40% of Americans labeled obese, and others worldwide.

Some experts and sociologists suggest that in the bigger scheme of things, the world will never tolerate a discovery of such magnitude, any more than it would be realistic to expect a car that runs on water (even if very real) to ever become commercially available to the general public for day-to-day use.

One well-respected and famous diet & wellness author wrote years ago that if anyone ever "truly unlocked the keys to permanent fat loss, they may actually suffer the same fate as JFK."

It is currently available at the following link,

Quick Weight Loss Diet.

You may want to check this out and take a read and become the slimmest on the block. It's in a very easily readable format and is quickly and readily understood. While you're there, why not scroll down and review for yourself the huge successes others are now having with this incredible breakthrough in rapid, massive weight loss and extremely improved and enhanced health, now made freely available to the rest of us!

HOT! HOT! HOT! Izmir summer is back baby!!

2009-07-24T09:36:00.002+03:00

Izmir summer is back and my outsides are melting, my insides are melting, my water intake has gone past the 'Guiness Book of World Records' drinking champions record (although mainly Coke) and my sweat is running like the Niagra Falls down my head body and legs. Hot! You could say that! Just a simple swing to the left or right in my swivel office chair is enough to open the sweat glands. You may think why isn't this person using air conditioning? Because I am a poor man, that's why! I have a (ventilator) a fan and a hand made paper fan too. I do have air conditioning but to leave it on throughout the day would cost almost more than I make in a week or maybe even in a year. I would need a world bank loan to suppliment my non existent pay so that i could keep my extravagant life bumping happily along until the world bank asks me for the money back and makes me even poorer than a third world country.

There are cheaper ways to keep cool in Izmir, find some shade underneath a bush or tree and fall asleep, so that whilst you are asleep you will only think it is cooler but really your insides are still liquidizing from the heat. Another way to try to keep cool is go to any of the following places Kipa, Carrefour, your local Migros or Tansas and any other place with industrial sized air conditioning and stay there and stay cool until the summer is over. Only problem with the smaller stores like Bim is after a few minutes they will kick you out for either not shopping, loitering, or thinking that you are stalking the female Bim shop assistant or even the male shop assistant if you are gay or a straight single female. Another idea is to maybe work in one of these places just for the summer months. Then you don't have to look like a stalker because she will be there all the time for your staring pleasure. Lastly, and my own personal favourite. I saw this on a news report about British soldiers in Afghanistan and how they keep their drinking water cool. The same can be done for people in principle I can only assume. Get an extremely large sock (body sized) and get in the sock, so that it covers your body from head to toe, cover the sock occasionally with water and hang yourself from the side of a humpvee or battle tank and the wind airflow combined with the water will keep you cool. Remember to keep adding extra water to the sock and to be careful not to catch pneaumonia. One problem you may encounter is how to find a humpvee or a battle tank in war free Izmir. Have a look, I am sure you can find one somewhere and if you can find yourself a tank, the human sized sock should be so easy to find. At the time of writing I was not actuallyy sure whether I was joking or not, must be this god damned heat!

Keep cool dudes and if you can't keep cool. Drink lots of water to keep your water intake up. Bol Bol Su!! Go to the beach if you can and don't get ripped off by the extravagant beach prices they're charging, 7-12 TL for a beer, who are they trying to kid, especially when they just give you the 1.80 TL bottle, no glass and not even a mat for your drink. Highway robbery!!! Who sets these prices? Anyhooo! That's another story for another day.

How are you coping with the heat?

Have you any wonderful ways to keep cool, that you can do on a budget?

How do you keep cool?

Are there any tricks that maybe us foreigners don't know that only the locals know about?

How much do you think beer should be on the beach?

Any beach stories, come on it's summer?

Izmir Blogger

Saglik Arena Website

2009-06-01T16:00:00.004+03:00

The website below is for searching and finding doctors, specialists, hospitals and information about health in general. They also list laboratories which is very useful if needed. This will give you more of a choice about your healthcare rather than just go to one that is suggested by your cousin or a friend that is not in the know. The site does not have a huge list but there are enough names for now, as the site grows in usage and popularity I am sure they will add more information.

When I searched, I couldn't search via town of city, maybe I didn't do it right but if I did search in the correct way, then this means a better search function is required and listing full addresses would be useful.

Currently, I noticed that only Istanbul and I saw one Ankara listing was listed. If this can be expanded to cover the whole of Turkey it will be a great database and very important but obviously needs a lot of updating, old and new doctors, new addresses, open and closed practices. There could also be a section for rating the listings, this would be a nice touch. (e.g I went to this dentist and I was in pain for a week, he wasn't caring and he treated me like I was his pet dog - score 10 (10 being the worst) or I went to this hospital with a broken ankle and through the whole procedure they were tentative and caring to my needs, I felt like they put 150% in - score 1 (1 being the best).

I was sent this website and thought it will definitely be worth a mention. Normally, I wouldn't place a blatant advert of this nature but if it is useful then why not. They may make some money out of the site in someway but for the information they provide it is extremely worthwhile. Although the site is in Turkish, it may well still be of use to our English speaking friends if they can negotiate their way around this site in Turkish a little.

The site is linked above as well as below:

Saglik arena

First 100 days of Obama leadership in the USA.

2009-05-17T03:02:00.005+03:00

Every news channel and reporter has made a report about Obama and his first 100 days. So it is only right that I follow on from my open letter too.

Dear Mr Obama,

You are doing a sterling job, currently no real enemies in the world, only fresh friendly links you have made. I wish you another 100 days of peace and hopefully prosperity for the economy. I am thinking that throughout history, only you have taken such a hard job to solve so many of Americas problems. The economy, the unemployment situation, the repossessions of homes, the corruption in US banking and financial systems, the over-payment of bonuses to failing bosses and the new threat of a flu pandemic. If you get through this in one piece I will be surprised, but I, and we, as Obama followers, have a faith in you. In times of need, there is always someone who is followed.

Now, I am not religious whatsoever, so i don't don't follow people thinking they'll lead me to a star, but what I do, is put my atheist faith in someone who can lead us somewhere better. Since the US are the big guns on the block, it's you guys I am following. And I hope that this time you don't screw it up like the other contingency - mentioioning no names of course.

You have hope behind you, and going back to a childish sentence, but quite adult like that I used to use between friends -"Limitations are a Disease of the Mind!" You can make everything happen, it just requires committment which I am sure you have. Don't be sidelined by some background suits. You have every opportunity to get the heart of the American economy pumping again, as well as keep the peace in the world and also create openings for not so forthcoming leaders to come to the table for talks. We all know America rocks (even if we don't want to say so) and we all know the leader of that country is a powerful dude in all that happens in the world. Anyone else who thinks otherwise is a a prized dufous. Good luck with all your policies! You are doing good! You don't need me to tell you this, especially a Brit. All the same, I have never met you but I can spot a bad man when I see one, and you are not a bad man. Go forth and sort this shitty world out, if it means Kyoto agreements, some kind of peace with Iran and North Korea and pushing Israel to a two state solution, then so be it.

In Europe we don't understand your closeness to Israel, a country far far away from yourselves. Israel has a right to exist and so does Palestine. Do your best! Solve Israel/Palestine problems and solve a mutitude of problems.

Good luck for the next 100 days.

EUROVISION - NORWAY - Violin BEN 10 lookalike wins contest

2009-05-17T01:32:00.004+03:00

OK, so the Ben 10 lookalike won. A mix of traditional Russian folk music with classical "You can't touch this" mixed violin. Very catchy lyrics.

In my opinion definitely not the best song overall, Iceland won that category with "Is it true". Turkey won the category of most played on radio after Eurovision contest finishes and lastly the UK won best voice and the one that should have won if the time machine had been invented.

Mr Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, the foreigners love your shows, but they're usually on holiday when they come and see your shows, not in their front rooms voting on their Nokias.

I am betting that if you hear Turkey's, Malta's, Ukraine's, Greece's and Finaland's songs on the good old radio after you will be addicted to them, but the others will just fade away into the Eurovision vaults of music history.

We'll see! I am guessing a number one hit for all of the above in their respective countries. Hope the curse of Eurovision doesn't kill you all off after your hits. Hadise is already a dance music star so she'll be alright. The rest i don't know the full story.

Eurovision still needs to check out the voting problem - I think you should not be allowed to vote for any of your nearest neighbours - only countries one country away - this would make it much fairer!!!

Norway Ben 10, cartoon hero, we love you , but don't change in to the morphing monster with the one eye, he's the scariest of them all, and it will frighten possible listeners away. Change in to the shrimp and you'll get a number one or two at least.

And finally, In Turkey they had a run-up to the Eurovision contest showing some past stars and Johnny Logan appeared, he truly is a superstar and although he has put on some weight and aged a little, he can still sing the tunes and dance like a youngster, he also spoke some Turkish because of his year stay here - good for you dude.

Check his site out below:

Rock it Man!!

Peace to all and long live the Eurovision extravaganza

Eurovision Song Contest - HADISE Turkish Entry

2009-05-16T16:36:00.005+03:00

HADI BAKALIM HADISE!!!

I think Turkish star Hadise has this in the bag for Turkey in the Eurovision song contest with the song Düm tek tek.

I don't want to hear yet another folk singing piece of crap win. Most of the judges seem to look quite modern in their dresscode and appearance, so why is it that a weird or 1950's sounding song wins. Ok, so not all of the songs are bad, but surely the Turkish song Superstar was a lot better than the song that actually won it. And what is it with all this lardy dah operatic crap. Give us a break! Please! Please! Please! judges do the judging on merit only, and not because the country is your neighbour. Everybody just can't understand why Norway nearly always votes for Sweden and UK always votes for Ireland. Come on! If this is the people's vote they need to get out more.

My country is UK but although the lady has a good voice, I don't think she will win.

Good luck to everyone and to the new voting system that will apparently cut out this tactical voting charade.

See hadise video here

Hadise myspace

Here are the lyrics below:

Hadise Lyrics - Dum Tek Tek Song Words

Baby you’re perfect for me

You are my gift from heaven

This is the greatest story of all time

We met like in a movie

So meant to last forever

And what you’re doing to me

Feels so fine

Angel I wake up and live my dreams endlessly

Crazy for you!!

Can you feel the rhythm in my heart

The beats going "Dum Tek Tek"

Always out it like there no minute

Feels like there’s no way back

Can you feel the rhythm in my heart

The beats going Düm Tek Tek

Always out it like there’s no minute

Feels like there’s no way back

Baby, I read all answers in your exotic movements

You are the greatest dancer of all time

you make me feel so special, no one can kiss like you do

As it is your profession, feel so fine

Angel I wake up and live my dreams endlessly

Crazy for you!!

Can you feel the rhythm in my heart

The beats going "Dum Tek Tek"

Always out like there"s no minute

Feels like there’s no way back

Can you feel the rhythm in my heart

The beats going "Düm Tek Tek"

Always out like there’s no minute

Feels like there’s no way back

Can you feel the rhythm in my heart?

Can you feel the rhythm in my heart

The beats going "Dum Tek Tek"

Always out it like there no minute

Feels like there’s no way back

Can you feel the rhythm in my heart

The beats going "Düm Tek Tek"

Always out it like there’s no minute

Feels like there’s no way back

Always out it like it no minute

feels like there’s no way back

Always out it like there’s no minute

feels like Düm Tek Tek

Ok it isn't perfect English but still a winner!!

Star Wars Gangsta Rap

2009-05-04T09:20:00.002+03:00

Since everything has been pretty much static in Izmir for a little while I thought some light entertainment may be in order. For any star wars fans out there just found this, it's quite old but quite funny, a Star Wars gangsta rap. I hadn't seen it before last weekend so maybe you guys haven't either. Take a look you may enjoy it.

http://www.atom.com/fun_games/gangsta_rap_se/?yref=yssp

English please!!

2009-04-06T15:28:00.002+03:00

A=apple B=ball C=cat D=Doughnut

E=English

Just a quick mention that anything sent to me in Polish, German, French or any other non English language will definitely get deleted from the izmir blogger inbox. The reason - Although they look very nice and pleasing to the eye for the folk that wrote them, they are just wasting keystrokes on their keyboards. Why! Because I can't read a damn word of it. Since this blog is aimed at an international crowd then the main spoken tongue and written tongue has to be English.

Sorry to all the guys that don't know this spoken language but get with the times, the self aclaimed language of the world is English - you can't change this at this late stage, unless of course we are taken over by a higher race and they start a new language called Skintaaachuuwaaaaaah! Then, and only then, will I learn this new language, failing that I'll get my ass kicked by a Skintaaachuuwaaaaaahian brother.

Foreign Friends in the Izmir area? French or other nationalities.

2009-04-01T17:04:00.007+03:00

I received an email recently from a French man asking if I had time to meet up with another foreigner to perhaps form a friendship and maybe do sports activities, restaurants and those other things that normal human beings do when they're friends. I declined the offer because I don't have enough time to even go to the toilet never mind travel to Urla and back what with the kids, the wife and this blog amongst other things. Since coming to Izmir it always seems like my time is being eaten away by someone or something. Each day my time is depleting, my hair is thinning and my wrinkles are developing.

Therefore, I am extending out his arm in friendship to you. If you would like to have a French friend in Izmir, Urla to be exact, then please send an email to Izmir Blogger I will then forward your email to the gentleman concerned and he will reply back to you. And after that you are on your own, free to do the things that friends do.

Also, there is a woman from Sweden who is looking for Swedish friends in Izmir. If you are Swedish, a woman or possibly male (she didn't specify). Send an email to Izmir Blogger and i will also forward it through to her and she can contact you if you fit the bill of a good Swedish friend.

Izmir Blogger

TTNET and my big but small problem

2009-03-20T16:16:00.004+02:00

I have a TTNET ADSL connection and I didn't receive the bill to pay, so, I completely forgot to pay the bill and i was cut off during the following month after the bill was supposed to arrive. I will try and list here what happened to me for anyone who falls in to the same trap as I did.

Now, you would think that if your ADSL internet connection worked before you were cut off it would still work after you got it back up and running again, but, oh no! LIFE JUST ISN'T THAT EASY, IS IT?

This may also be of some help to someone whose ADSL settings are completely screwed, so could act as a guide to getting either your ADSL box settings set-up or settings renewed at least.

I shall attempt to list the steps that caused my problem.

1) First off - the bill wasn't paid, not because of lack of money but because of lack of a bill to pay - the bill usually arrives on time unlike the credit card bills we receive (Before anyone reminds me i can pay automatically, i am aware of this but don't do this because of pure paranoia that they could in one month take too much and take a long time to refund it back)

2) The connection was cut or suspended with no prior knowledge or after the cut-off knowledge.

3) Because I wasn't quite sure that it was the bill as I thought I had recently paid it I assumed that it was just a plain old connection problem.

4) 2 days passed and I thought somethings up!

5) Still thinking that I had paid the bill and not bothering to check either way i checked all the settings as they had been set-up previously to the cut-off. They were all as they were before.

6)I used to be a computer support guy in my previous English life, so, the steps were fairly straight forward check connection sockets cables, etc, work your way back to the modem. Make sure you are getting the correct local ip settings (a series of numbers like this xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (the x's referring to numbers) from your ADSL router box and then check to see if i can also check the ADSL router settings to the outside WWW world (internet). It could see the connection to TTNET's network but couldn't gain an ip address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx to the outside WWW world.

7) At this stage I called tech service 444 0 375 option 9 for English and spoke to a guy on the phone who didn't check the settings thoroughly enough and he gave me my password to check (this I think is strange because normally a password is never given out because it is encrypted so how can this password be secure, especially if they give it out over a public line). This guy within a couple of minutes had said the bog standard stuff about turn your box on and off check the lights and password, etc, etc. But still no connection.

8) I contacted them again because I am paying for a non functioning internet connection. Still the same checks were applied and when I said no my internet light (which should turn green) is still red. They suggested I wait for a call from I believe what is there super service engineers. I talked with these guys and I can't even remember what was done but it was difficult for me since the 2nd line support guys knew English but the 1st line support guy didn't and although I know about computers the technical jargon and microsoft messages which are already a completely alien language in Turkish is like a language within a language and you don't learn it in Tömer. Maybe even the locals are not sure of this language within a language so how am I supposed to fathom it out. So after a while I left them saying "bunu deneceğim!" (I will try this! - whatever it was I worked out that they were saying) Still no good.

9) Ok, now I was getting as frustrated as a boxer without a punchbag. I then decided to frig around with my ip stack (this enables you to connect via your computer to the internet - because the ip stack is a core component of windows you can't remove and re-install only reset it) See below:

Note This section is intended for advanced computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, ask someone for help or contact a Support person.

Follow these steps to use the reset command to reset TCP/IP manually:
Open a command prompt, click Start and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) the following command in the Open box and then press ENTER:
cmd
At the command prompt, copy and paste (or type) the following command and then press ENTER:
netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt
Note If you do not want to specify a directory path for the log file, use the following command:
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt

The above is an example of windows XP

10) I did this and used a specialist repair program to repair the stack one more time to make sure I hadn't screwed it up further.

11) Then my wife decided that a Turkish speaker was needed, so she called and some guy said that the super super tech guys were now coming to check outside the house in the magic box (the one with all the cables that to a novice telecoms person like myself is like trying to find one meatball in a mountain of spaghetti). They came at least I think they did and nothing.

12) I decided on the fifth day in to go to the Turk Telekom shop were I sometimes pay my bills and see if there is a list of things I should be checking. I decided it was time to suıt up and become my own ADSL superman. Nothing! Why! Because they don't allow non Turk Telecom's people to be their own super heroes and besides I was palmed off with everyone in your neighbourhood is having the same problem. I took off my ADSL superman suit and remained at ease. Permission was denied like trying to view a page from geocities or youtube - No access dude. There may be one video out of the thousands of videos that offends somebody Turkish or French or English or Taiwanese. So of course ban everything like the swishing hand of God. Why not just shut the whole Internet down?

13) Anyhooo! At this stage I was picturing myself in a desert with no water except the desert was my apartment and the water was the lack of an internet connection. I chanted to Internet! InnTTNET! Innnnnnteeeeeeeerrrrrnetttttttttt!! And finally decided one last try was needed since I hadn't spoken to my family all week on the wonderful Skype program. I phoned a wonderful techie called TTNET Serkan, I explained I have done this, and that, and soforth. He was the only person in all of the calls to say let's recheck your settings and immediately found the problem which gave me my Internet back.

The settings I needed on the ADSL box were:

ADSL Settings

Encapsulation: RFC 2516 PPPoE

VC Settings

Virtual Circuit: 8

VCI: 35

Multiplexing: LLC

PPPoE Settings

Service name: leave blank

Username: xxxxx@ttnet

Password: xxxxxxxxxxx (the x's representing your password)

Connection keep alive redial selected and 30 secs as the default

SUCCESS!! With these settings it worked but it still doesn't explain why the previous settings worked for at least three years with no problems unless TTNet had changed the settings so the PPPoA settings no longer work. And a huge huge thanks to Serkan at TTNET support or wherever you are, you really are a superhero for me at least!

Hope this may help somebody in some way. Now I am back I wıll start posting again to izmir blog.

Regards.

IzmirBlogger

International Jazz Festival 2009 2-13 March Izmir, Turkey

2009-03-09T18:05:00.002+02:00

Apologies for late arrival of this information to izmir-blog, this was due to account problems.

Start date: March 2nd 2009 (annual event) In this lively and cosmopolitan coastal city 'The 16th International Izmir Jazz Festival shows a city with a love for jazz. Many locals play all varieties of

instruments so they have taken this love of music and formed a full on love affair with jazz.

The festival welcomes local artists as well as international artists and looks set to be another winner amongst fans.

The full line-up is below:

16. İzmir Avrupa Caz Festivali Programı

March 2, Monday

Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Center
Exhibiton “Time after Time- The Balance of Moments in Photography”
7th Jazz Festival Poster Competition Exhibition and Prize Giving

Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Center - 8.30 pm
“Opening Concert”

DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER with

İSTANBUL SUPERBAND
Aycan Teztel, conductor

March 3, Tuesday

Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Center - 8.30 pm

ELEFTHERIA ARVANITAKI
“The Voice of Greece”

March 4, Wednesday
İsmet İnönü Arts Center - 8.30 pm

SIENA JAZZ QUARTET/ EGG PROJECT

March 6, Friday
İKSEV Hall - 6.30 pm
Seminar “The legendary of CHARLES MINGUS”
Speaker: Francesco Martinelli, jazz historian, journalist

İzmir Sanat - 8.30 pm
İZMİR CITY ORCHESTRA
Hüseyin Çebi, conductor
Zafer Çebi, Arrangements & piano

March 7, Saturday
İzmir Sanat - 8.30
OPEN JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Finale Concert

March 9, Monday
İsmet İnönü Arts Center - 8.30 pm

MANU CODJIA TRIO

March 10, Tuesday
İsmet İnönü Arts Center - 8.30 pm

EUROPEAN TV BRASS TRIO

March 11, Wednesday
İsmet İnönü Arts Center - 8.30 pm

GRUPA JANKE-RANDALU feat.
MATTHIAS SCHRIEFL

March 13, Friday
İzmir Sanat - 8.30 pm

ULRICH DRECHSLER TRIO

Workshops
March 5-6-7
İKSEV Hall
OPEN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WORKSHOP

March 12
İKSEV Hall
Kristjan Randalu Piano Workshop

Internet Ticket Sales
www.biletix.com

Telefon BİLETİX
0216 556 98 00

Bilet Gişeleri

İKSEV Fuar,

İsmet İnönü Sanat Merkezi
0232 489 25 89

D&R Karşıyaka
0232 364 23 63

Pan Kitapevi Karşıyaka
0232 368 00 60

D&R Alsancak
0232 464 10 15

Palme Kitapevi Bornova

Ticket Admission Prices

Full Price

Opening Concert (2 Mart 2009)
50 TL - 25 TL

Other Concerts
25 TL

Reduced Priced Tickets

All concerts for Teachers, Students and retired over 60’s (limited seats available)
12.50 TL

Combination Tickets

Festival Combination
150 TL

Youth Combination
50 TL

Group Tickets

At least 10 people to a group %20 reduction (*).
Tel: 0232 482 00 90 / 106

(*) Group reduction is not applied to the discounted tickets.

Christmas music stream - Hope you like it?

2008-12-24T23:37:00.005+02:00

Added a Christmas Music stream - It's a little late in the day but i hope you all like it.

It is from a site in the UK that offers year round music (and not just christmas music) so after christmas dies down you may still wish to use the site.

If doesn't automatically play

Closing down for Christmas

2008-12-24T07:59:00.005+02:00

This evening some of the world is shutting down for the Christmas period. People are getting ready to close down for a few days or even two weeks if you happen to work in a factory. The effect is a quieting down of all workloads and all monetary transactions unless you work in a store where this will be your best money earning period and your busiest too.

In Turkey it is quite the opposite people are still working and they don't celebrate Christmas (for obvious reasons) and on the 24th of December they are gearing up for the New Year (Yıl Başı). So, for this reason you will still see Christmas Trees and you will still see Santa Claus (Noel Baba) and some people like to have a Christmas tree (Yıl Başı Ağacı).

They don't go as crazy as I know they do in the US and in the UK decorating everything from the outside of the house to the inside. Outside having a 10 foot Santa with a full set of 12 reindeers and inside a collection of decorations draped over everything that can have something draped over it. For children a wonderful magical scene as everything is transformed in to a sparkling Santa's grotto. The beers and spirits are stocked up, the Santa hats are worn by the brave and sometimes the not so brave, and in the air there is a relaxed and friendly feeling after you have finally completed your Christmas shopping and the last bag is finally placed in your hallway.

In Turkey as far as I know the emphasis currently is on maybe getting a tree and decorating it but is not always bought by everyone. They also buy end of year lottery tickets and plan the evening meal, or a place for a party or get-together for the 31st December. Although there is some sparklyness there is not enough for me and what I am used to. But it is great that there is that sparkle because without any sparkle, or Santa's or New Year feeling around it would be a very sorry Christmas for all foreigners who celebrate it here.

Once again to everyone who celebrates Have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas and a Prosperous New Year which in the current economical climate is a little difficult, but a wish is a wish and we all know wishes always come true, don't they?

In Da Club - Sippin' on ma bud!

2008-12-22T09:29:00.002+02:00

Weekend fun was had by rap fans in Turkey as 50 Cent came to visit and took part in a local program 'Var Misin Yok Musun' on Turkey's Show TV. The show had the man himself sitting choosing boxes with different prize money listed inside for charity. A month or so before 50 Cent's appearance there was also a special appearance by Christina Aguilera. Both seemed to enjoy the show which i believe is a remake of a popular American quiz show. Who's next? The rumour was Beyonce but time will tell.

Water cut again today! - Why? Don't ask!

2008-12-20T02:14:00.006+02:00

Since living in Izmir the water has been cut a number of times, so many in fact that i have lost count. Today once again the water was cut and i once again was left asking myself,

"Did i pay the bill on time?"

"Has someone upstairs got a leak which is cutting my supply also?"

"Has the water company cut the supply to do essential works?"

"How long will the water supply be off for?"

"Will i be able to have a shower before i go out the house today?"

"Will anyone who stands next to me smell my fusty unwashed body without me having to explain to them my shower is not working because the water is not working?"

"Does anyone care?"

The supply went off at 12 midnight and didn't come back on until 10.00 a.m. the following morning. There was no information, no warning and no emergency information or measures in place. In may have been the whole district or just my apartment, I couldn't tell you. This was the worst case for a while but i often wondered whether the water companies think that it is as important to get the supply back on more than we do. Ten long hours without any water is pretty bad service and i almost thought half of Izmir had been taken out by a nuke because it must have been a extremely large problem to take so long to fix.

In the UK the water supply, if cut, which is not that often, they will usually have it back on within the hour in most cases and if they don't they will owe you a reimbursement. They are offering a service like any other business and if they can't provide that service then obviously this deserves a refund of sorts. If you buy a kettle and it stops working under its guarantee then you take it back. If you buy food and you find a bug in it, you swap it for something else and don't eat there again. So, why in Turkey can't you get a refund for the many hours the water and come to think of it the electric are off. In Turkey, if there were a refund system in place hand in hand with a bonus scheme for efficient workers, i know that this would make them resolve problems quicker. There's nothing more suitable to make workmen get the job done than a promise of a bonus, and there is nothing more suitable for managers to push these workers than knowing if they do not do the job on time they will be losing money.

It's nearly 2009, I hope the utility companies will make it their New Years Resolution to see that their customers are well looked after and don't have to put up with shoddy workmanship and poor performance anymore. And then it will be a Happy New Year for all.

Internet Explorer Problem - Try another browser if you can

2008-12-18T18:51:00.007+02:00

I was very interested on hearing the news about Microsoft Internet Explorer's big problem only so that someone somewhere would outline all the other browsers available instead of IE 6,7,8 and onwards.

Most of the PC's worldwide are stuck with this and once you have it you can't really get rid of the thing. It's like a bad case of herpes. It's there, you don't want really want to scratch at it but you can't resist scratching at it, but you know it can get better with proper care and attention.

It is a difficult one to handle because when you do updates in some or maybe all instances it asks for an IE variety of web browser to use the update site. Please correct me if i am wrong on this? However, on this problem occurring and if you are like me and too stuck in your ways, or too lazy to try a new browser then this was like a dream come true. Microsoft inadvertantly pushed us to make a change by using bad code that constantly needs checking for bugs and security breeches.

I have now tried the other varieties of browser that i wished to try, and i am impressed with both of the ones i tried. The speeds are lightning fast and it makes me wonder what the hell IE was doing in those wasted seconds (maybe sending personal data back to Microsoft). Whatever it was doing in these crucial seconds the other browsers seem to blow it away, making a 1 MBps connection seem like a 2 MBps connection. For this reason i have placed links below so you may try them out too. See what you think?

Apple's Safari Browser for the PC

Google Chrome Web Browser

Christmas in Izmir Turkey - 2

2008-12-17T18:33:00.010+02:00

I didn't manage to find out much information about Christmas events in Izmir. It is a little like trying to find a fairy at the bottom of your garden.

I found out some information about one Christmas event.

It takes place on Monday, December 22, 2008
between 7:00 and 10:00 PM.

For more information contact the British consulate on 0232 4635151/ext 115 or 122

I am assuming that other embassies and consulates may also hold some kind of event similar to this, so check the relevant consulates for information.
Also two more interesting Christmas links i found:

Santa Claus live official website

and

Norad's tracking of the magical Santa

Some Turkish web-links I found

2008-11-17T18:37:00.008+02:00

A few websites I found related in some way to Turkey, living in Turkey and info about Turkey.

Click My Foreign Perspectives with Bea Vanni. One-half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other. Jane Austen. Exploring differences in living and working in Turkey from a foreigner's view. Provide resources for the country of Turkey. Encourage comments to provide more sides to a story.

Click Triumph and Disaster - Thoughts and feelings about life and my experiences as an EFL teacher in Europe.

Click Helping women living overseas.

Click The expat alone.

Click Life as expats in turkey. miscellaneous world travels.

Click Food food food and recipes.

Click Because my rose-colored glasses are always firmly in place--even if they are a little cracked. Currently my blushful (it's a word! I looked it up!) gaze is focused on living life in Istanbul...
Click

Click And Everything Thereafter - Watching the world from İstanbul

Click A Slightly Different Approach - My thoughts and opinions about various political, cultural, educational and other issues that may or may not be related to my life in Istanbul

Click The world is talking are you listening.

Click Foreign women in modern Turkey

Click Turkey in Photos - Izmir.

Click Turkey in Photos - Destinations in other areas of Turkey.

Click Very Arty Photos - Super set of photos from a great artist Ekin Acar - I know a few camera buffs and this is good stuff - Thanks for the link Ekin.

Click Some more wonderful pictures of Turkey.

Happy browsing!
Izmir-2-Blogger

Elf Yourself has opened it's Christmas site Yippe!!

2008-11-15T20:35:00.008+02:00

You can make yourself in to a elf by using a personal picture and either send the finished product or embed it in a web page for all to see.

You can choose from different dances and can add up to five elves they can be your best friends, girlfriends, mothers, sisters, brothers or even favourite pets. Either way you have to elf yourself on this great site a classic from last year.

Here's one i made with some cat heads: (imagine your head or friends head on the elf instead of the cats - to make your own now click below)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Very funny - take a look and ELF YOURSELF for Christmas.
ElfYourself

Remember an Elf is not just for Christmas they're also useful for cleaning toilets.

Videos: A couple more links from jib jabb that i found funny - one is related with Christmas the other, well, see for yourself! - all i shall say is censorship. Either way both still funny. Parental discretion required for the second of the two videos. Well, not really because that's the whole point it's censored!!

Pissed of Santa
Censored Art

Izmir-2-Blogger

Izmir Blog is for you the people

2008-11-14T18:24:00.005+02:00

Izmir Blog was originally setup for the passing of information too and thro to keep people updated who are new to Izmir. In Izmir, Izmirians (to us) have a strange outlook on life and because of this seasonal outlook they have, things tend to stay unfinished, don't get updated or just fade in to obscurity because either holidays or other things get in the way. This is probably just our perception but whatever it is, this is why we need something like Izmir Blog to tap in to the pysche of what Izmir is really about. From a foreigners point of view and from a locals point of view (a person moving from Ankara to Izmir for instance). This way we can find out what keeps Izmir's heart beating and the wheels turning, and also maybe along the way find out truths and lies as well as useful information for all sorts of topics.

So, here I ask, if you are reading this, and you are a foreigner visiting Turkey, if you have passed through and found or lost love, if you are a local, if you are Turkish person perhaps living in Izmir but not originally from Izmir to step up and meet the challenge. Information, love stories, East meets West stories, secret moments, street scene, city scene, gay, straight, bi any lifestyle you wish to present. Let's get this party started and start telling it like it is. I am sure Izmir is not such a sleepy place, people live here yet sometimes it doesn't seem like they do. Whatever you have, however meaningful or meaningless, we want it, to present to our readers.

Give us what you got baby, and for the fame we will stick you on our wall of fame so that you can be glorified for all to see.

Send any stories, information you have to izmir2blogger@gmail.com

Take it easy!

Izmir-2-Blogger

Christmas in the UK

2008-11-13T08:46:00.020+02:00

Ahhhhhh!! Christmas (Xmas) for me in the UK, what can I say? It is an experience that you cannot create anywhere other than in your own home, with your own family, in your own country. There are certain mystical things that just make it work and give it the magic that is Christmas. Obviously the Christmas of your youth can never be captured again, waking up on Christmas morning with an idea of what you wanted Santa Claus to buy you, and on going downstairs realising he had bought it for you. A brand new 10 speed racing bike. How did Mr Claus ever get that bike down the chimney, he's a very clever man, and the tooth fairy is also very clever for putting money under your pillow while you are sleeping without waking you. Mysteries, magical moments and wondrous times.

The Christmas I remember in my adult life (that can't be recreated in Izmir however hard I try) is a special time for me. In early December we start setting up the fake green plastic unlifelike Christmas tree with the 5-10 year old baubles and tinsel used for decoration. We then make a start on the ceiling of the living room hanging hideous sparkly dangly things everywhere we can find a space. The next job to do is to place something on every flat surface, shiny things, preferably some angels, but some more tinsel or a bonsai sized fake christmas tree will do. Then we put up the empty card holder on the wall, empty because until someone sends you some, you haven't any to fill it up with. That's it, the scene is set.

Next we need to buy presents. The whole of December is devoted to going from store to store in a hunt for presents. You set off at 7.00 in the morning to beat the rush and are still out there at 8.00 in the evening because you just can't decide what the hell auntie Jess will get a kick out off. There is no rule of thumb when it comes to buying presents for the relatives, so, it is up to you how deep you wish to go and of course your wallet limits this. If you are intelligent then you set up a system between yourself and your family that allows all families to have a spending limit and to only buy one present for each person. If you are not this intelligent or if you're from ultra rich stock, then it all just gets out of hand. One Christmas alone we were buying 14 presents for each person and if you times this by 14 people and about £10 to £30 a shot, it starts to get very expensive. Ok, so we've been out and we've have bought the presents, now what?

Well, now it's the waiting game, waiting for cards to come so you can decide who to send to. Waiting for all your favourite Christmas films and shows to come on to TV. Waiting for Christmas Eve so you can forget about work and get as drunk as a skunk. And lastly waiting for Christmas day so you can open your presents and drink wine and get merry, hence, Merry Christmas!!!

The strange thing about choosing who to send cards to is, usually all of your workmates by default get cards whether you like them or not, your neighbours either side of your house get also get cards and your immediate family. As for everyone else, we play a tricky game of Christmas card Russian roulette. You wait and if a card arrives for you then you quickly send one back out of your stock of empty (who the f@@k are you?) cards. The tricky position comes if someone on your street sends you a card just an hour before the end of Christmas Eve. If this happens and you return a card to them straight afterwards, then it looks like you have not been thoughtful enough and seen to be late sending the card when really it was them that were the unthoughtful ones. Even trickier is when a card arrives four days before Christmas from an aunt in Australia, you have no chance of returning the card because the last postal dates have passed and if you could send it, it would not arrive until January. They would know you definitely weren't thinking of them.

The Christmas and New Years eve in my home town in the UK is synonymous with getting out early in the evening to paint the town red. Also there is mission to get as many girls as possible to give you a deep and meaningful kiss, "Christmas kisses!!". Of course, there is nothing meaningful about it, it is just two people completely blitzed out of their tree with booze and crashing together in a moment of drunken stupidness. Nevertheless, a kiss is a kiss and it was good while it lasted. Sometimes you would get a long prolonged kiss or sets of kisses that would last for half an hour or more before you moved on again to the next conquest. If the kiss lasted any longer than the 'duck and chuck' type kiss (quick in and out before you realise she is a total minger) then your best friends would automatically have moved to the next bar. Forgot to mention 'pub crawl', all the bars are very close to each other and we do the pub crawl, one pint here, one pint there and then one pint I don't know where. Basically you just follow a trail until you have drunk too much and no longer care. You could have the worst night of your life and end up in intensive care but everything would be ok by the morning, Christmas Morning!

Christmas finally arrives and the magic for me is the togetherness, there is only one day (maybe two days if you count boxing day) of the year when people seem to be nice and for those one or two days you feel like this is what the UK should be like year round. Anyhow, for me it involved waking up early, listening to some Bing Crosby or Perry Como and getting in to the mood. Then we'd all wait for my sisters to arrive from different locations around the country. Whilst we waited my Mother would be putting the final touches to the Turkey. The Christmas crackers are ready to be pulled. The Christmas tree is just about ready to fall down because of the amount of Christmas presents underneath and the washing is already piling up (dirty dishes). My sisters finally arrive with bag loads of presents (God only knows how much they spent). Everything is perfect, we always wish for snow on Christmas day but because of global warming it very rarely comes these days and if it does just a few sprinkles of the white stuff. We settle down and open our presents usually smiling when thinking, "Why the hell have they bought me this?" We then eat our Christmas dinner, pull crackers and read the terrible jokes inside and drink lots of holiday spirits. From the dining room we go the living room and proceed to fart, laugh, play silly games and sleep whilst watching 'the queens speech'. My sisters eventually leave and I am left with my mother and father until someone out of the blue holds a party and I get the chance to leave, or my mother and father arrange a quick game of 21 with their friends and I stay and play. For a small amount of money we lie, we cheat and then finally finish our game of cards and then as the booze wears off we reflect on the day. A fun day with laughs and no stress but a day that also leaves a void after the day is over. Everyone goes their separate ways again and this leaves you waiting for the next Christmas.

Christmas is not just the day but the build up to the day, for me it is virtually impossible to create this experience in Turkey, however hard I tried.

Pissed of Santa - Cartoon video of how Santa really feels

Have a wonderful Christmas wherever you are!!

Christmas in Izmir - Turkey 1

2008-11-09T03:15:00.030+02:00

Christmas in Izmir Turkey. We decided to find out lots of interesting links for anyone who is interested in Christmas and are in Turkey, or are just interested in things Christmassy and are anywhere else in the world. These may include Christmas songs, Christmas e-card places, Christmas trees, christmas pictures, christmas poems, anything and everything Christmassy we can find. If you don't check out anything else, please check out the Drunk Christmas Tramp song from the B3ta website, the link is the 1st link below. It is very funny. Well, we think so.

Added some links below:

A Rude and obnoxious sing-song from a Merry Christmas Tramp on BT3a.com
(Now this is what christmas is all about - Very funny!!)

CHRISTMAS ECARDS

Christmas wavs at I Love wavs.com

Home, Music, Recipes, Games, Downloads, TV/Movies, Stories, Graphics, Trivia and Fun.

All about christmas

Christmas Candles

Christmas Trees (based in the UK - but they may send abroad.

Christmas games 1

Christmas games 2

Christmas games 3

SEXY SANTA AND HIS LITTLE HELPERS - SEXY COSTUMES

Personalised Christmas Cards

ELF YOURSELF
I don't know whether this website is still active or will be active again but for those who didn't see, it is a must see from a previous Christmas. You can add your face and be a singing and dancing elf - that's got to be worth a look in.

Overseas or Izmir flower delivery

Nice comical pissed off Santa Claus video

Pictures of tacky Christmas Gardens (Yards as they say in the US)

Enjoy!!

Obama - A new lease of life for America - Good old US of A.

2008-11-05T21:50:00.014+02:00

An open letter to whoever wants to read and Mr Obama of course if you have the time in your busy schedule.

Dear Mr Obama,

Congratulations to you for becoming the new president of the United States of America. Well done for being the first black president. Well done for sticking to your guns. Well done for beating John McCain, although i was starting to warm to him. His jokes were quite funny and i was really surprised he made a turn on Saturday Night Live comedy show. And lastly, well done for doing all this whilst your grandmother was in a critical condition and sadly she passed away. So, my condolencies are also with you for that.

Now, I am a Brit and I love America. I used to watch shows in my teens about America and all those American films and shows, for instance, 'The Six Million Dollar man', 'the Bionic woman', 'Wonder Woman' and of course William Shatner in 'TJ Hooker', what a classic!

What has the above got to do with anything you may be asking yourself. Well, 'Six million dollars', difficult to find nowadays in the stock markets by most investors, 'Bionic', super human, a little like the old US stereotype - "Everything can be done by the Americans", 'Wonder', a word that as a child I always wondered about the US and it filled me with wonder throughout my childhood years and finally, 'Hooker!'. Where does the word 'Hooker' come in to it? The current state of the economy, budget deficits and other items I don't really know much about is making your economy the hooker or prostitute (as we say in good old Britannia) of the world. The war in Iraq, Afghanistan and terrorism and extremism will not go away soon and you will throw more cash dollars down the imaginary toilet. But one thing that can be said is that Obama, you are the new boy on the block and you are carrying hopes and dreams of many on your shoulders, and I just hope that the mess that has been left in the wake of the Bush's can be swept away and be changed for the better.

You have lost a lot of ground with popularity in many countries around the world and you are on a uphill battle to gain the prestige and popularity that the USA once had. If anyone can do it then you're the man. Previously Clinton, an extremely intelligent man, could have given the US a boost as well, but he didn't have the enough time to do so, and you, also an intelligent man, but as well as this, I believe you have the ability to cross many divides. I believe you can make changes and I hope one day i can talk about the America i knew as a child from television shows and general US leakage in to our British lifestyles without feeling embarassed as if i am talking about a long dead horse.

The Russians i think are very harsh to come out with a critical statement immediately before you are about to take office. I hope this is just a scare tactic and things will not ice over with a return to an unecessary cold war. In this time of life changing climate change we have bigger things to think about as a world population and the monetary powers of the world should not fight but unite. The Kyoto agreement should be signed by all parties with a higher percentage of emission cuts and as a world this and not the economy will become a deciding factor in our lives and our conditions.

Here's hoping you stay true to your word and do change certain head-in-the-mud ideas and get your country and the world working, working together as a finely tuned mass. The leaders of the world should no longer look backwards but forwards because forward thinking is what will pull us all out of this mess the world is currently in.

Wishing you, the American people and the world the best of luck,

Friend of America.
British and proud.
World citizen.

New Turkish resident.

Izmir-2-Blogger.

BLOGS ABOUT OBAMA.

Official Barack Obama blog

An anti Obama Blog.

Obama's podcasts as senator.

Barak Obama - Is he the messiah? Blog.

OFFICIAL (IN OFFICE) WEBSITE.

Official in office website.

Beware of Turkish windscreen wiper lifters.

2008-11-05T16:13:00.008+02:00

Turkish, Turkey, Windscreen wiper lifters. What does it all mean???

Well, if you are in Turkey and have ever had the unfortunate experience of parking in someone else's spot, or blocking someone in their driveway or parking spot, even for a micro-second, you will promptly have had your windscreen wipers swiftly pulled up in to an erect position.

Is this meant to scare you? I am not sure.

Is this meant to offend you? Probably, but it doesn't.

Is this meant to make you shiver and jump out of your skin and maybe even die in a quivering mess on the floor? Who knows? Who cares?

I don't and didn't care but it leaves you in a state of confusion. Why would anyone think that by doing this it will scald you and make you feel that the wrath of God has been blasted down upon you. Do they think it will make you learn your lesson?

"You'd better not park here again or next time i will lift two windscreen wipers up in to the erect position!"
"Oh no!! Please don't Mr Irate Driver, what will i ever do?"

Of course, all you do is just flip your windscreen wipers back down, non the wiser and your on the road again. The next time you pass this place you think about not parking in the irate driver's spot again and then you say to yourself "screw him/her!" and still go ahead and park there. Once again he/she lifts your windscreen wipers up again. And so the cycle repeats itself. A perpetual scalding that is not really a scalding at all.

If you are a Turk reading this and you can explain why you don't just scratch the other person's car, smash the headlights in, or even bend the windscreen wipers, I'd really like to know? It has to be the politest form of annoyed behaviour i have ever seen.

Drivers! Enjoy your wiper attacks, and be careful you don't put your wipers down to quickly after one of these ferocious wiper-attacks. You see, you may hurt your fingey wingees!!

Izmir-2-Blogger

Useful Hospital Phone Numbers for Izmir:

2008-11-05T01:39:00.006+02:00

Alsancak - Alsancak State Hospital
0232 463 2121 _ 0232 463 3465
Alsancak - Behcet Uz Children Hospital
0232 489 5656
Alsancak - Private Alsancak Hospital
0232 464 2400
Alsancak - 1399 Sokak No 25 - Private Ege Saglik Hospital
0232 463 7700
Alsancak - 1400 Sokak 10 - Private Kaskaloglu Eye Hospital
0232 465 0505
Alsancak - 1421 Sokak No 29 - Private Gazi Hospital
0232 464 7979
Balcova - Dokuz Eylul University Hospital
0232 412 2222
Basin Sitesi - Ataturk State Hospital
0232 243 4343
Basmane - Fevzipasa Blv 172/2 - Private Sifa Hospital
0232 446 0880 _ 0232 425 8263
Bayrakli - 1644 Sokak No:2/2 - Private Central Hospital
0232 341 6767
Bergama - Bergama State Hospital
0232 633 1099
Bornova - Ege University Hospital
0232 343 4343 _ 0232 388 1806
Bornova - Bornova Emergency & Trauma Hospital
0232 374 2323 - 0946
Bostanli - 6371 Sokak No 34 - Baskent University Zubeyde Hanim Hospital
0232 330 5230 - 5337
Bozkaya - SSK (Social Security) Bozyaka Hospital
0232 250 5050
Cesme - Cesme Alper Cizgekanat State Hospital
0232 712 0777-8
Cigli - 8229 Sokak No 30 - Private Kent Hospital
0232 386 7070
Esrefpasa - Esrefpasa State Hospital
0232 433 4656
Foca - Ismetpasa Mah. 167 Sok No:1 - Foca State Hospital
0232 812 1429
Hatay - Military Hospital
0232 227 3336 _ 0232 227 3338
Kahramanlar - 1418 Sokak No 14 - Private Hand & Microsurgery Hospital
0232 441 0121
Kahramanlar - Akincilar Cad. 1421 Sokak - Private Atakalp Hospital
0232 483 1414
Karatas - 336 Sokak No 26 - Private Karatas Hospital
0232 441 4170 _ 0232 483 5687
Karsiyaka - Karsiyaka State Hospital
0232 367 6767
Menemen - Menemen State Hospital
0232 832 1333 _ 0232 832 5859
Selcuk - Ataturk Mah. Ataturk Cad. 32 - Selcuk State Hospital
0232 892 7036
Tepecik - SSK (Social Security) Tepecik Hospital
0232 433 0810 _ 0232 433 3874
Uckuyular - Air Force Hospital
0232 285 9650
Yenisehir - Heart Hospital
0232 433 3333
Yenisehir - 1138/1 Sokak No 1 - Private Kocaman Hospital
0232 433 8798

Please update me if you find the numbers to have changed.

Regards,
Izmir-2-Blogger

Driving in Izmir!!

2008-10-28T13:06:00.011+02:00

My first experience of driving in Izmir was a great experience for me because I was told that there were no rules on the Turkish roads. My first day I got in to my automatic car and started the engine. It was weird for me because i had never driven an automatic and was used to the stick shift (gear stick). Also there was a change in driving position for me. In the UK we drive on the right in Turkey on the left. The automatic gear changing and the hot melting tarmac on the roads made the adventure more exciting.

The car purred as I pulled away from the kerb. There were no cars to be seen on this lonely residential street. As I entered the main 'B' road i was joined by more of my Honda's friends, the Suzuki swift, the Toyota Corolla and of course the Sahin (Turkish classic car). All of the cars were purring the same friendly purr and everything was fine. I hadn't noticed that there were not any rules at this stage. It was shortly afterwards I was to find myself no longer in the lonely backstreets of Izmir but in the mean streets of Izmir.

The first i caught sight of this madness was when a dolmuş (shared taxi) squeezed past me at the speed of sound. I saw a white blob in my rear window. First, I thought this may had been a little present that a seagull with diarrhoea could have left behind. As the blog got bigger I realised this thing was moving. On closer inspection through the rear view mirror it started to take shape. I then realised there was a dolmus behind me trying to break the world land speed record. I could vaguely make out the four scared passengers inside gripping at their seats for dear life. Their brows sweating as if they were lost and dying in the centre of the Saharan desert. The dolmuş was quickly approaching and maybe at a speed of 100km/hr which is fast on a 'B' road. Just before he reached my back bumper, he took a steep swerve to the left hand side, so fast that the paint was nearly sucked off my car by the vacuum he left behind in his vapour trail. As he passed me, I looked to my left and the passengers inside of his car looked to their right. For what seemed like two minutes but what was actually only a split second we looked at each other in a state of disbelief. The passengers thinking they would be dead shortly and I thinking that I would be maimed in the ensuing crash in to their car after they overtook me and hit the speeding oncoming bus in front of them. I was doing just slightly over the speed limit, so, I wasn't driving slow, but the driver of the dolmus decided to take offence. In the split second whilst I and his passengers had been gripped by the stoppage of time and the fear of impending death, the dolmuş driver had managed to roll down his window extend a 'fuck you' middle finger and at the same time call me "eşek herif", which I think means "donkey head". Immediately after he had cursed me and fingered my gaze he then took a swift right hand turn back in to lane slightly avoiding the oncoming bus as the passengers breathed a sigh of relief.

At this point I was obviously pissed off, but then I was amazed. The bus driver that had been coming towards us in the opposite direction screeched to a halt and rolled down his window and from his window extended a similar and long middle 'fuck you' finger (maybe the dolmuş driver's brother) and shouted furiously "Hadi Bey! Bok Herif!", which i think meant, "come on get a move on shithead!" The strange thing was he wasn't aiming his finger at the maniac dolmuş driver in front of me. He was aiming all 250% of his fury at me. Why? Because I was driving calmly and to the road conditions which I from then on in realised I shouldn't do.

The thing they don't tell you in the guide books about Turkey is that there are rules for driving but don't read them and definitely don't take note of them.

If a car beeps you at a red light then fuck it! PASS!

If a car tries to pass you on a hairpin bend, then fuck them up, make them go down the bank.

If a bus driver gets right up your ass, fuck him up, put your handbrake on slightly and making sure your brake lights are lit so the bus has to swerve a little.

If you have an angry white van driver jumping out of his van ready to pummel your ass, pre-empt the twat and you get out first show him the finger and say, "sıktı git maymun kafası!" and then obviously start running!! Ouch!!

If some old lady is crossing a pedestrian crossing, make sure you do not stop. Also make sure that you manage to just clip her wooden leg, making sure to dislodge it from it's placement. Maybe even get it wedged in the bumper as a trophy piece. If you get more than two you can start a tally chart like the ones on the sides of old world war one bombers.

And one last thing for good measure. If you ride a bicycle or a motorbike make sure you always zigzag all over the road so the motorists behind you have to beep their horns and shout constant abuse at you.

So as you can see there are rules! Basically be a bad ass driver, take no prisoners only casualties. Make sure your stopping distances are way beyond the obstacles, swear at everybody constantly, and finally take a large object that you can hit people with in case it gets nasty, your mother-in-law will do if you can't find a piece of rubber hose.

On a more serious point, I don't do any of the above. I am a kind and courteous driver. I know where all the other drivers are on the road at all times and try to be a good driver. Now, the difference between a good driver and a bad driver in Turkey is death. But don't feel too safe because you drive like a saint because the oncoming overloaded bus or the half asleep overworked truck driver will probably get you instead. Not only do you have to look in the rear view mirror but also to the front of you, the opposite side of the road. You become a kind of private detective trying to figure out who the killer will be, not who it was. Road death tolls are high in Turkey so be careful, try if possible not to drive on Bayrams (Turkish religious holidays) and you'll lessen your possibility of being listed on the road death toll casualties list.

Drive carefully!! Or not as the case may be!!

Banned in Turkey - Blogspot.com Access

2008-10-28T12:50:00.003+02:00

My apologies, everything seems fine today with access to blogspot.com either my eyes were deceiving me yesterday or the courts decisions has been overturned due to pure stupidity in it's decision in the first place.

Banning things willy nilly just isn't needed especially in a country that is taking democracy by the reigns and also promoting freedom and advancement in all areas.

Hopefully blogspot.com and blogger.com will remain completely open and hopefully no other sites will be banned in this way.

Regards,

Slide Joins Family of Banned Sites, in Turkey

2008-10-27T18:05:00.005+02:00

Yet another site that has been banned in Turkey. A long list of sites have been banned this is a link to information about one that has been banned.

Slide Joins Family of Banned Sites, in Turkey

Posted using ShareThis

Who knows why?

Just ban it and think later!!

Izmir-2-Blogger

Unbelievable - Blogspot banned in Turkey - Why! God only knows!!

2008-10-27T16:49:00.011+02:00

Please note: This blocking was overturned in the courts and was because of some people in Turkey watching live football via the blogs I believe and I think that Digiturk complained to the courts. So blogspot.com is once again active so this story is old.

The title above says it all. Whether it is this site that made us get banned, which I doubt it very much, or whether it was someone else's who maybe said something about Ataturk, religion or the Turkish state. Or maybe even someone mentioned that the flag would look nice with two stars on it or with a hint of blue. Whatever and whoever it was probably didn't say anything that out of order but unfortunately at the moment the whole of Turkey is experiencing change. Although on the surface everything seems fine, they are implementing changes in the legal system, the health system and other areas of importance but they are jumpy at the moment and are cracking down on anything and everything anti-Turkish, anything deemed pornographic and against Turkishness. Crazy! I know!! If you have a voice you should be able to use it, if you have a pen you should be able to write with it and if you have a computer you should be able blog with it and interconnect with all manner and types of people. It is through communication with many different people that we educate ourselves.

I thought this was a small time thing blocking sites to disable the act of foreign people and local Turkish people reading what they want to read and deciding for themselves whether the facts are true or not, whether the site is suitable for them or not, but it turns out that is not allowed in fact - It is FORBIDDEN!! Why! Because believe it or not the average Turk has to have an imaginary mummy telling them what is allowed and what isn't. This isn't the reality but unfortunately the state or dark figures in the shadows believe it is. So they have banned blogspot.com, so they have banned google videos because of an offending video. What's next, they can't ban everything, or can they? Maybe it is possible like in China but who is this helping if on the surface it looks like Turkey is modernising but underneath they are actually going backwards full steam ahead to the dark ages. I feel sorry for Turks, the internet is being advertised everywhere nowadays and it is getting cheaper and cheaper but what really is the point of getting accessing to the world wide web (www) if all you will be able to access is sites with the local clergyman praying, Turkish music (as long as it is only love ballads and not that satanic rock music) and sites about how wonderful Turkey is. That may be good for a while but it is a like a sandwich without the filling. Turkey has good things but it has it's dark side too. By limiting people's ability to decide for themselves they are enslaving their own population, what's next sharia law. Turks still have a voice, how will the state stop Turkish people conversing with foreigners?

Stop all international travel.
All foreigners entering Turkey should have their mouths stapled shut and their hands cut off to prevent them writing as well as speaking truths about the world.
Foreigners should carry around a plackard saying, "DO NOT TALK TO ME I AM A YABANCI (foreigner) AND YOU MAY START THINKING DIFFERENTLY."
All foreigners who have full access to the internet will be confined to their rooms when in Turkey.
All Turkish resort areas shall stop immediately selling alcohol and the traditional belly dance will be banned also.
Turkish people will be banned from going abroad, and if they do go abroad they shall have to wear an electronic bracelet so that if activated via suspicious activity on banned sites outside of Turkey, or if they talk to any foreigners about anything that is banned by BIG BROTHER, then immediately they will be buzzed with 100,000 volts of electric pacifying energy.

It may seem far off but believe me once you start to ban things everything becomes an option to ban.

Let's hope that they don't take this too far but maybe they already have!!

I could only access my blog by a tunneling program which bypasses normal means of traversing the net but these program are well known. They are not actually stopping people from viewing these iste but just making it harder for them to access. Probably thinking that people will give up and not bother. What they are not considering and putting in to the mix is that people have a thirst for knowledge and once you have opened pandoras box the only option is to allow access, you cannot nail the lid shut. If this occurs people start to believe you are trying to hide something.

So with my blog at that time, because of the banning of blogspot.com a google offshoot, the only people who could possibly read my Izmir blog for local ex-pats and for local Turks if they are interested in reading it, is people outside of Turkey, which is not what it was intended for. So if you were outside ofTurkey you could have read this blog but if you were in Turkey, you wouldn't have been able to read it! If you wanted to read the blog or any blog on blogspot.com whilst in Turkey then you had to use a tunneling site like Z Tunnel

Censorship in Turkey including list of blocked sites and reasons.

Information on Blogspot.com

Banned writer and wordpress banned

YOU TUBE Banned Again

Funny video referring to Censorship - Censored Art ADULTS ONLY - if they had removed the censorship!

The banning of blogspot.com was only a temporary measure and freedom once again reigned supreme. But other bans are more permanant.

Happy surfing knowledge hunters in Turkey and beyond!

Izmir-2-Blogger

Driving Lessons In Izmir

2008-10-08T18:48:00.007+03:00

For driving lesson and information and driving test information in Izmir you can browse any of the below web addresses i have found but unfortunately for non Turkish speakers they are only in Turkish. If you want to do lessons and then later a test you need to know Turkish inside out especially when informing the testing staff about how a combustion engine works, which i believe is still one of the questions.

Elci Egitim Kurumlari: click here

Metro Surucu Kursu: click here

Ozen Surucu Kursu: click here

A big list of driving instructors and telephone numbers: click here

Motorcycle courses: click here

Happy driving (or at least attempting to, in the crazy driving conditions of Izmir and Turkey as a whole)

Regards,

Izmir-2-Blogger

1095 cheap long distance telephone service in Turkey

2008-09-22T22:54:00.011+03:00

This link was kindly supplied by the Manager of 1095.com a website devoted to saving you money on your long distance calls. It may be of use to some foreigners and also some Turks but the locals already know of this service i believe because it has been advertised. He says and i quote "This is something really new in Turkey, and so we’re really excited about getting the word out".

From any land line phone in Turkey, just dial 1095 and then the number. For example
1095 00 1 (xxx) xxx - xxxx for a number in the US

The rates are 6.9 kuruş per minute — less than 6 US cents per minute to the US. You also get a discounted rate when calling Turkish cell phones. The bill will come from Turk Telekom just like your regular phone bill.

English web site 1095.com

Best regards,
Yunus Çelebiler
Turk.Net Portal Müdürü

Bitch-Slapped - Not service with a SMILE!

2008-09-22T19:29:00.007+03:00

Coming from the UK i may be a little too used to the ways of the British and how they serve customers, how they spend so much time in getting the customer service right, how service with a smile is always present if only for a second or so whilst they are taking your money. On the whole i would say in general you get good vibes on entering a store in the UK because they know the end result will be your money leaving your pocket and being placed in to their till.

Since arriving in Turkey i have been extended many Hosgeldiniz (welcomes) and experienced instances when i am given something for nothing (impossible in the UK), or someone gives me a glass of tea in a shop whilst i am waiting for my photographs to be processed (also impossible in the UK). And on certain occasions i have a healthy chat with one of the employees of a shop or business because they have time to spare and seem like nice enough people. But today made me irate, i go to the same bank every week, one assistant there is nice (pardon, perfect) and always helpful yet the other is always aloof and basically a short skinny bitch with the attitude of a ermmmmmmmm! short skinny bitch. Even though i asked for the same amount 3 times to withdraw from my account, 3 times this person refused to listen and just said the thing that was in her mind, now i am not Turkish but i do know how to say numbers in Turkish and this person was just taking the piss. How do i know this because she does it every time i go in there.

I won't mention the bank, but it is supposed to be one of the best banks for foreigners. I go in this bank regularly, i always says "merhaba" (hello) when going to the till, I always say "kolay gelsin" (take it easy) when leaving and i always smile. I am also in and out of the bank very quickly (like a ninja on acid) unlike most of the customers who seem to stand at the till for what seems like a half century. And lastly, i don't ever ask them to do anything complicated for me. This one bank teller, has a serious problem not only with me it seems, but the whole world. When you leave the bank you feel like you have been physically 'bitch slapped' (like in one of the old Turkish movies "Your place is in the home and not in workplace - bitch!") After a fairly run of the mill, straightforward banking transaction i feel physically raped, like i have had my trousers pulled down to my ankles and had some strange probe plunged up my ass, not good as you could possibly guess! Not only this, but the withdrawal i made and the minor interaction that i made with this lady er! bitch makes me reassess my whole being thinking that i am causing the problem when it is quite apparent i am not.

I have come across many occasions when similar types of bad customer service has occurred and i believe that in most countries i have been to and have heard of they would not accept this kind of behaviour. In fact in the UK this woman would be booted promptly out of the job because her attitude sucks. I worked on a telephone support line providing support for Internet users in my past and even though i was verbally abused and tainted by all sorts of crazy calls, i still extended courtesy to every person that rang after the verbal beatings. It is called customer service and is the best and the only way to get return customers and indeed survive in the business world.
After thinking about this occasion i realised that this practice of being rude, arrogant and downright ignorant to customers is a widely used form of customer disservice.

I think back:

A carpark attendant: "Are you English, I hate the English! You are the scum of the Earth" (after accepting my money for the carpark)
The supermarket worker: Throwing my money in to the depths of the carrier bags at the end of the till. (because she didn't have time to put it in my hand, surely a lot easier than throwing downwards)
A lot of shop-workers (mainly bakkals): Selling faulty products with no return policy or food that is out of date.
People opening a door for themselves and letting the door drop back into your face when they know you're right behind them.
The phone operator reseller (Bayii) who after asking a question then puts his head under the counter and never comes back to answer the question. Where did he go? I don't know maybe he was under the table doing a Recip I'madickhead impersonation or is that Recip Ivedik. Either way 'dick' should definitely be in his surname.
The shopkeepers who make decisions for you, "I'll have a set of 'faber castell' pencils please", but the shop-keeper then proceeds to give you a completely different set of pencils with a strange unknown mark, 'fakin numbskull' trademark written on the side. Then for the same price as faber castell you now own a far inferior set of pencils because he couldn't reach the other ones or couldn't be bothered to reach them, and afterwards saying, "They're exactly the same quality you know!" "What like nescafe and nosecofe?"
A person bumps into you, nearly knocks you off your feet, and they don't even have the humility or kindness in their souls to say "Sorry!"
And many other occurrences which probably aren't just Turkey, but many of these are seen in Turkey on a regular basis.

If full entry in to Europe as well as the world marketplace is needed then these inadequacies in customer support need to be addressed. You can't treat your customers bad, if your customers don't like you saying, "Buyurun! Buyurun! Buyurun!" (Come! Come! Come!) a couple of hundred times then it's about time the customer service practice was reassessed and "Buyurun!" was only said perhaps two times to foreigners. Since coming to Turkey, i have been amazed at the kindness and how superb Turkish people can be but on the downside of the coin why do i see so many bad mannered people. Is it because they are not aware of it? Is it because my manners have been tuned in to say, "sorry" if i knock someone clean off their feet by accident. Or to give money in to a person's hand rather than throw it in a downwards direction to any surface it can be thrown to.

I am not a Turkish citizen so am i asking too much of people i meet on a day to day basis? I don't think so, because today's economy is all interconnected with world finances. Manners and everyday rules of life are in fact quickly adopted wherever you are. Am i seeing a broad enough base of the population to view this is in a critical way? Maybe not, but surely if these manners can gain ground in other far off countries then surely this is the way forward and can be achieved in Turkey too. If you ask any person to take their shoes off when entering a mosque, these people are doing it to be respectful, then why can't this respect be in other areas saying a simple sorry when your whole 200 kg weight steps on somebody's toes, a simple smile now and again to be given after every sale made in the local bakkal (corner shop). Surely this can be accomplished.

There is a story a while back of how the aeroflot cabin crew staff members were getting a virtual facelift because all of the staff's mannerisms that were very bad indeed. I think one of the worst customer service in the aviation world at that stage. Whether they knew this or not i doubt it but if you had your in-flight lunch thrown at you by some tall Russian blonde with a face like a baboons bottom, scowling rather than smiling, would you believe this to be acceptable?

The world is customer oriented so if your job requires that you smile, then you smile! The customers should in most cases be right. The customer has certain expectations that should be extended to them. Courtesy should be the first, kindness the next, feeling that they are your only customer when you are dealing with them, and lastly patience. A large part of Turkey's economy is based on Tourism, so Turkey should be working hard on their image like everywhere else in the world.

The strange thing about this is that if you watch an episode of 'Var Misin? Yok Musun?', roughly translated, 'Is there? Isn't there?', (a game of chance where the person picks boxes until they are down to the last two and the last box they can win the money, or failing that chicken out and accept the set money pot) then you will see a tremendous amount of outpouring of emotion and humility. Everybody cries together, everybody smiles together, everybody cheers together, what a perfect world, everybody is so nice. It appears this is only real if you are very close family or in the confines of the television box because not all Turks are like this.

Things will change in Turkey more and more. There are good people in Turkey - lots of them, there are great people in Turkey - lots of them too and there are unfortunately not so great people like in every country but it is up to the good and great people to show the not so good people how to behave for success.

And as for me, "I don't wanna be bitch-slapped no more Ms Bank Teller lady" "I deserve better!"

Bitch-Slapped Blogger
Anton J.

What's Hot? And What's Not In Izmir?

2008-09-15T15:24:00.011+03:00

What's Hot? And What's Not In Izmir?

Before reading this list please take in to account I am not an expert at this and i am not Turkish so do I have a right to even make a list. Who knows? But if anyone knows different or if I have completely made a rat's ass out of this list, feel free to add to or correct my list. It would be nice to compile a list and get an idea of "What is Hot!" and "What is Not!" in Izmir. For now you are stuck with my crappy little conjured up list:

WHAT's HOT (maybe - I'm guessing a little)

Wearing long Italian style shoes (men).

Wearing cotton clothes and other natural fibres that don't make you sweat persistently (men and women).

Big handbags (women).
The ones that you can fit your whole world in to but never find anything when you really need it, "Honey can you get my phone?" "Where in God's name is it?"

Owning a summer-house or two.

Do it yourself (DIY) (men).

Clubbing and bars (men and women).

Playing with your phone constantly whilst dining with your boyfriend/girlfriend (mainly men but women too).

Buying a big screen TV (men and women - but the man usually has to go and choose it).

Football (men and some women - just to keep their menfolk happy).
Folk dancing (anybody with a piece a sparkly material in their hands).

Branded Footwear (men and women).

Going to the beach (generally women want it more to counter their oh so stressful lives but men too).

Strange but probably sexy half cut cardigans (women - of course!).
Home made jewellery (women).

Anything clothing that covers your bum (women).

Constantly talking about the holiday home as the summer approaches (all women and older men).

Constantly talking about bayram as the summer comes to an end (women and men).

Flag waving (men, women, dogs, cats, cockroaches - if you have any hands start waving that flag).

Singing the national anthem (again everybody but excluding cockroaches they can't sing silly!!).

WHAT's NOT (maybe - I'm guessing a little)

Unbranded footwear, in fact anything not branded (men and women).

Flower selling gypsies (all varieties of gypsies).

Street kids asking you for money and selling packets of chewing gum and tissues (any little sweetheart who hassles you for cash).

Overnight illegal built up properties (men, women, families).
The type that they are currently pulling down as development continues.

Paying some guy a lot of money to fix something in your house (dodgy guys generally 45YTL for a 5YTL job).

Folk dancing (anybody with a piece a sparkly material in their hands).

Not being with your mother at all times of the day (men and women).

Kene and being bitten by one of these blood suckers (Insects with attitude).

Eating cereals (e.g. cornflakes) every day like those silly skinny foreigners (any skinny model looking foreigner).

The blue school uniform that Turkish children have to wear in a state schools (any non-smiling child).
It's like one of my mother's tea towels and that lace, they're going to school not getting married!!

Hair fallout (anybody with sink plugholes clogged with hair).
I don't know whether it is just me, but for some strange reason whether it be the arsenic in the water or the strange metallic smell occasionally in the air there is a problem of hair loss in women. Maybe this has always been there or maybe they are only just noticing the problem exists.

Anyhooooo! As of September 2008 this is my list of what I believe to be HOT or NOT in Izmir.

If you think I am completely off my trolley and I don't know what I am talking about and you have a better list than mine let me know, please feel free to email at izmir2blogger@gmail.com to correct my sorry ass. I'm waiting to be corrected!!!

Regards, Imzir-2-Blogger

Paradise Found - Izmir birds of paradise (Kus Cenetti)

2008-09-05T03:04:00.019+03:00

A Jewell in the eye of the Aegean

Kus Cenetti (Bird Paradise) is the name given to a large swathe of land and salt flats in Izmir NW of the city towards Cigli. This area has not been reserved for people but as the name suggests has been reserved for birds.

There are many types of birds that come to visit this area and I would like to name some if not all but I am not a keen bird watcher so I cannot but I can assure you that they have feathers and they can fly. Most of the birds come for a fleeting visit but some stay for longer periods of time. If you live in the Karsiyaka area of the city you will occasionally hear the cries of gaggles of geese that pass overhead on route to their paradise.

Not being a big bird watcher I am not really interested in learning the names, English, Turkish, Latin or otherwise. All I do know is that it makes for a great place to chill out from the hustle and bustle of city life. In the crowded city streets of Izmir and the crowded apartment blocks of the suburbs it's nice to know that a place like this exists.

If you travel to the bird paradise when there are few birds and it is the wrong season, you will probably ask the same question as I did, "Where are all the birds?" and you may be disappointed. Going to a place aptly named 'Bird Paradise' situated in such a vast space and not seeing a single bird, just a coffee shop/snack bar and a projection room showing the birds that the wardens have filmed could be a drag for some people. However, the staff are friendly and share a wonderful camaraderie, the place is clean and well looked after and they are willing to show the film of the fluctuating and seasonal bird population to anyone who shows an interest. The last I checked it was free. Rather than taking your children to a huge local supermarket to buy toys why not take them to see some nature instead. It doesn't cost as much and they may even learn something.

Admittedly this place is not for everyone. I must admit I was surprised to find such a place in Izmir. I assumed most Izmirians preferred to sit in a cafe, bar or restaurant eating or drinking than visiting a big open space with a slight chance of seeing some flamingos or pelicans. On the two visits to the Bird Paradise i never really saw the place busy at all, but the air quality, the lack of people and the long walking areas make this a wonderful place to recharge your batteries and to gain some type of inner peace.

A lonely road inside the area of the Bird Paradise.

In the past few years the city has moved closer and closer to the Bird Paradise as companies, conglomerates and maybe even the state are eating away the land with new developments. There is a huge industrial estate on it's doorstep, beyond that a huge supermarket and beyond that new apartments and projects that number in triple figures. Where these apartments are now, only four years ago was open and barren land. Now with Izmir expanding rapidly like every other developing countries' cities in the world maybe the stay of execution for the birds of paradise could not be far off. In the future it could be very possible that the birds of paradise's home could be slowly eaten away by the hungry bulldozers of the local property developers. The peace shattered as the earth moving equipment moves in as yet another piece of paradise is lost to the onslaught of human development. Let's hope this will never be the case.

A serene and peaceful scene in the protected area with not a budgie in site.

Links below you may find of interest in connection with the above blog:

Voice newspaper article

Bird watching tours Turkey

map
If you look to the left on the map, you should see a place called Camalti, it is towards this direction and takes roughly 10-15 minutes after the passing big Kipa in the Cigli area.

Two other driving times are possible:

By taxi = you could be there in 2 minutes but with a heart attack and four near miss crashes en route to boot.

By granny = If you want a more leisurely drive you can ask your granny to take you. It could possibly take about 6 hours via 14 hat and dress shops, and you would have the extreme pleasure of enduring almost 6 hours of idle banter about incontinence and your dead grandfather's mistresses.

A word of warning if you want peace and quiet, don't take the kids, don't take the in laws and definitely don't take a friend, just go on your own, you will find it much more pleasurable. Other people tend to have a way of rubbishing your ideas.

Regards
Izmir-2-Blogger

Izmir Summer Comes To An End.

2008-08-27T19:35:00.008+03:00

Izmir in the summer.

As the summer months come to an end and the tavla and cards are placed back in there places in the summer houses everyone starts to think about work, business, family and money or a combination of the above. Everyone melted and exhausted from the summer heat and lack of thinking straight about anything start to once again gain composure and clarity and begin with the three quarter year life that is Izmir. Admittedly not everyone goes away but for those that do it is wind down time and now is time to wind up the ratchet again and get puffing full steam ahead.

Since living in Turkey or Izmir to be exact, I have noticed that between the months of June to September life just stands still, nothing much gets done, nothing much is thought about apart from the constant calls of the seaside chant. "Let's go to Foca!", "Let's go to Cesme!", "Let's go anywhere but Izmir!". For those that have to work there is an underlying upset feeling of having to come in to hot and sticky Izmir or stay here in the 32 to 42 degrees heat. For those that don't have to go in to or stay in Izmir there's a feeling of happiness as the depression of the winter months lifts and once again everything is as it should be. Life by the beach, family by their sides, with a beer in one hand and a 'kumru' in the other. Either way Izmir city life in summer from most people's mouths, is not a nice place to be.

A nice summery scene from a beach in Cesme.

A week or so by the beach is fine for me, living in the middle of my country in the UK with no smell or taste of sea air for miles, I found that I don't crave for the sea as do other people, and I am fine living in the city whether it is hot or not. However, my other half drags me every weekend to the holiday location, I should be happy but I am not. For me, in the summer the city is quiet, you can travel around from A to B a lot quicker and there are no crowds at all. A lot of people refer to Izmir as paradise but i would only refer to it as a kind of paradise when there are not so many people there. It makes me think back to the olden days when there were horse and carriages trotting through the streets and the population was low. Ah! this is paradise! Not that I don't like people I just like peace and quiet and it is quite hard to get this anywhere nowadays.

Maybe you have a interesting story about your holidays or time spent in Izmir. If anyone has any views, stories or comments they wish to share, email me, drop me a post, make a comment, it's up to you. And as long as it is not outwardly rude or littered with blaspheming words then we can place the view/comment/story or post online.

Regards,

Izmir-2-Blogger

New Author to Izmir Blog

2008-08-26T06:00:00.003+03:00

Hi,

There is a new blog author on the block (izmir-2-blogger). The old blog author (izmir blogger) has had to let go of her baby that she nurtured since its blog-birth. She fed the blog and gave it life and now it is my job to continue the blog's life until it grows in to a full screaming adolescent. A few years pass and hopefully an ageing blog with stories to tell from the past and some still for the future.

It is up to the Izmirees and the Izmir wanabees to pick up your imaginary pen and contribute to the Izmir blog. I will contribute also and i hope that this blog will retain it's freshness and juice and still be there to help the people who checked us out before and not forgetting any new people that come to pass.

The blog will continue in the same vein with possibly a slightly different writing style from before. We will try to keep the format and everything else the same because once a formula works seems a bit silly to mess with it.

The door is always open to posts and comments so come on Izmir come on world do your best.......... or worst........... but whatever you do, just do it................

Tip for the weekends: Teleferik

2007-07-26T09:32:00.005+03:00

Surprisingly green Area in the City of Izmir: Teleferik (cable rail way)

In the area of Balçova, a district of Izmir, near the Princess Hotel and opposite of the Economic University, one can find a small piece of heaven in the otherwise busy city of Izmir. Many of our Turkish friends didn't even know this place! With a cable railway you go up a steep hill, and can enjoy fantastic views of the bay from your cabin. Even the salt lakes on the opposite side of the sea can be seen!

So what is there to do? When you go out of our cabin, you come to a plateau where several cafes and restaurants are located where you can have a drink or meal at reasonable prices.If you are the adventurous type, you can have your own BBQ!! You don't have to bring anything! A small supermarket is also there where you can buy fresh vegetables and all kinds of meat. Staff from the supermarket bring a BBQ set to your table (for free) and your work can begin! Important to mention is that no food or drinks can be taken ın the cabins! They check your bags... So there is not really a pick nick opportunity, but there are many tables and wooden benches. The view on the dam is spectacular and you would not expect the hills to be so green mid Summer! On Sundays it can be quite crowded with local people. We went on a Saturday and it was not packed at all that day. The price of a return ticket is 2,50 ytl per person.

How to get there?

Follow signs going to Balçova: when you come from the city centre: drive along the
big supermalls of Kipa and Agora. At a big roundabout you will see a sign that says Teleferik'. Continue straight ahead untill you see on your left the Economic University Campus; try to park your car on a free parking space 20 meters before the Teleferik area.

21st International Izmir Festival

2007-06-10T23:41:00.003+03:00

When: June 10th - July 14th.

Where: Ephesus Great Theater and Celcius Library, Çeşme and
Alaçatı open-air theaters as well as IKSEV Music Museum and Gündoğdu
Square.

How to get there: Special bus transportation will be provided to the shows at Ephesus, Çeşme and Alaçatı from Sabancı Kültür Sarayı at 18:00 and 19:30.

All performances begin at 21:30.

For more information please click here
or call or drop by here:
IKSEV
Mithatpaşa Caddesi, 138 Karataş-Izmir
Tel: (232) 482 00 90 Fax: (232) 482 01 66

The program:

Sunday, June 10, 2007
IKSEV Music Museum, Alsancak
Festival Gala Concert
German Brass

Monday, June 18, 2007
Ephesus Celsus Library
Electra (Sophokles)
Izmir State Theater

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Kültürpark Open-air Theater
Best of Bejart & Rumi
Bejart Ballet Lausanne

Thursday, June 21, 2007
Gündoğdu Square
Helios II - Bin Güneşin Destanı (The Saga of the Thousand Suns)
The Troupe Malabar

Friday, June 22, 2007
21:30 Efes Antique Theater
English Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
Program: Saygun, Beethoven, Brahms

Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Alaçatı Open-air Theater
800th Birthday of Mevlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi
Izmir State Classical Turkish Music Chorus
Conductor: Dr. Teoman Ünlü

Monday, July 9, 2007
Çeşme Open-air Theater
Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees
Philharmonia Istanbul

Thursday, July 12, 2007
Ephesus Great Theater
Mikis Theodorakis -Popular Music
Mikis Theodorakis - Orchestra Popular and Trifono Voice Ensemble

Saturday, July 14, 2007
Alaçatı Open-air Theater

Symphojazz: Evergreens of the 20th Century
Honograph Big Band and Strings of Akademic Musica Viva Chamber
Orchestra
Conducutor: Sergey Zhilin
Vocal: Alla Sidorova

Enjoy!

Where to buy Pork in Izmir

2007-06-07T16:02:00.005+03:00

If you're anything like me, occasionally you'll wish for bacon with your eggs, pancetta in your spaghetti carbonara or salami in your pickle sandwich....

Well, now you can indulge in the occasional treat without having to ask relatives to bring you some real pork from abroad.

Where? 1382 Sok. N° 21/A Alsancak
Tel. 421 14 54

How to get there?
From the Hilton walk down lovers' lane (parallel to the sea) towards Musatafa Bey Caddesi (the street where you have the HSBC, Starbucks, Bonjour Café, Mango etc.)

Amidst the shoe shops, bakeries and Eczane, this little corner shop with the beige blinds will be on your right (opposite DESA) as you walk with the Hilton behind you, the sea to your left.

Bon appétit!

tomorrow: Charity Kermesse @ the French Consulate

2007-05-09T17:14:00.002+03:00

Where: French Consulate*

When: 11h-18h00 on Thursday May 10th (tomorrow)

Why: Proceeds will go to the Izmir Retirement Home (Izmir Huzur Evi Yasli Bakim ve Rehabilitasyon Merkezi)

* Cumhuriyet Bulvari N°153 Alsancak

Maternity & baby gear in Izmir

2007-03-29T15:42:00.003+03:00

As some of the readers of this blog know, Izmir Blogger is pregnant. So lately, one of my key preoccupations has been finding maternity clothes....

I had noticed that the locals are crazy about kids and so the abundancy of toy shops as well as children's furniture shops came as no surprise. But I must say, I was relieved and happy to find quite a few places selling maternity clothes & gear as well.

I thought I'd share my little discoveries with you.

I've listed places that are non-specialist as well as the proper maternity/ baby shops since this year's fashion (empire line and feminine dresses, tops and leggings) has made it a lot easier to wear larger sized non-maternity clothes... at least for the first few months!

MUMS, BABIES & TODDLERS:
Benetton in Agora shopping mall (Balcova) and Alsancak have a maternity corner with a selection of capri trousers, wrap around tops, t-shirts and cardigans as well as a larger selection of baby to toddler clothes.

Bostanli market: If you don't want to invest in maternity clothes, this is the place to go! Bargain track-suit bottoms, t-shirts and practical cotton shirts from 5-10 ytl. I also found some H&M maternity pants there for 15 ytl (pictured left), and saw at least 3 stalls selling baby clothes.
The thing with markets is that supply varies, so you have to go often. If you have "early birds" among your friends, ask them to let you know if they spot things of interest and try to go there the same day. (Bostanli market is on every Wednesday in Bostanli, Karsiyaka)

Mothercare: there are two of these, one in Karsiyaka in the Carrefour shopping centre, and one in Alsancak (pictured right, on Kültür Mah. 1386 Sk. 8/B, Tel. 0232.465.16.36 just off Mustafa Bey Caddesi. Where exactly? If you are standing with your back to Starbuck's, cross the road, walk away from the sea and take the first right. Mothercare is directly opposite Gloria Jean's Coffee one street up (parallel) from the one next to Mango.

The ground floor is full of clothing for toddlers and babies, but they also stock maternity bras, maternity nighties and some dresses. Go upstairs for the baby clothes and baby related gear (bath tubs, baby dressing gowns, muslin wipes, nursing bras & breast pads, sterilizers, prams, bump seat belts, nursing pillows, etc.)
N.B. you may "order" from the catalogues available in the shops.

MUMS ONLY:
Top-shop in Alsancak and Bornova Forum have very cute A-line dresses, cardigans and tops in a variety of designs and colors. Also the Alsancak shop has a very small selection of maternity clothes that can be handy for tops that are longer in the front, maternity trousers and maternity hosiery for wearing dresses until the weather warms up! Top-shop is not cheap, but definitely trendy!

Hamile Giyim:
Dr. Mustafabey Cad. N° 11/A Alsancak. Tel 0232.465.00.47 (Walking away from Starbucks and the Kordon towards "Bonjour" café on your left).
A small selection of maternity jeans, capri pants, skirts as well as dresses and tops.

Not far from there, walking towards the Hilton, go to BellaMom (check out their website for the map by clicking on Izmir) for jeans & jeans skirts, kaki skirts, t-shirts, cardigans and both funky and plain tops & t-shirts. The owners speak English, are friendly and helpful.
I especially liked their t-shirts with removable velcro months, as well as those stating "Coming soon", "Got Milk" or "it all started with a kiss".
Again not cheap but probably worth it if you're looking for a basic like a classical skirt or jeans that you'll be able to wear through your pregnancy.
Anyway, sometimes you just want to indulge yourself - pregnant or not! Plus if you're pregnant, soon you'll be focusing on baby clothes so enjoy shopping for yourself now.

BABIES & TODDLERS:

Turning off Musatafa Bey Caddesi (walking with your back to the sea, towards "Bonjour Café", just before you hit Hamile Giyim, turn left). Walking down the street, you'll find Chicco on your right. Here they sell all sorts of prams, chairs and travel cots as well as baby & toddler clothes, milk expressing machines & sterilizers and a few other accessories.

Finally, Next (in Bornova Forum) also has lovely baby and toddler clothes with sizes for small, medium and large newborns.

That's about all for now, but should I make a revolutionnary discovery I'll update this post.
As always, please don't hesitate to write in should you have questions or information of your own to share.

Easter & Spring Bazaar-the Italian way!

2007-03-28T09:25:00.003+03:00

Easter and Spring Bazaar
@ the Italian Cultural Centre
on Friday the 30th March 2007
from 11:30 am to 5 pm
Chocolates, jam and (no doubt)
yummy Colombe & Panettoni!

Email the Italian Cultural Centre for more information:mailto:info@iicizm.org
Read more about the CENTRO CULTURALE ITALIANO "CARLO GOLDONI" in Italian and in Turkish
The Cultural Centre's website is NOT yet up & running, but in case it comes alive over night, here it is: http://www.iicizm.org/

Izmir Jazz Festival

2007-03-07T07:29:00.002+02:00

For Jazz lovers and others, below is the Programme for the Izmir
Jazz festival March 3-15th. Tickets are available from Biletix (the site is
also in English)

Festival Activities

March 3: IKSEV Hall, 3 p.m.
Seminar and Documentary "John Coltrane"
Lecturer: Francesco Martinelli, jazz historian, author. Free entry,
simultaneous translation available.

March 6: Ismet Inönü Art Center, 7:30 p.m.
The 5th Jazz Festival Poster Contest Exhibiton and Award Ceremony.
Ismet Inönü Art Center, 8:30 p.m.

Festival Opening Concert
Hi-Jazz Hicaz
March 7: Ismet Inönü Art Center 8:30 p.m.
Falb Fiction

March 10: Izmir Sanat 8:30 p.m.
Sinenomine

March 12: Ismet Inönü Art Center 8:30 p.m.
Mina Agossi

March 13: Ismet Inönü Art Center 8:30 p.m.
Musica Dal Vivo

March 14: Izmir Sanat 8:30 p.m.
Holger Mantey, piano
Workshops

March 11 and 12: Izmir Culture, Art and Training Foundation Building
The Open Jazz Orchestra Workshop with Holger Mantey
European and American Jazz - From classical music to jazz and
improvisation

March 15, D.E.Ü. State Conservatory 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Hairdresser in Izmir

2007-02-08T11:44:00.003+02:00

Recently, DominCesme wrote to Izmir Blog asking about a good hairdressing salon in Izmir:

"I live in Cesme and have been to a salon here but they're just not trained to the standard that they are in UK. I want highlights so if you know of a good salon that will colour my hair without turning it peroxide white please let me know."

Izmir Blogger is very sensitive to this subject -having grown my once short hair since I moved here in fear of having to avoid mirrors after the monthly haircut. Also, my first experience in a salon here meant I actually got a bonus shower when having the shampoo rinsed out of my hair. Luckily it was summertime. ;-)

So, if you have your highlights done in Izmir and are happy with your hair salon, or have any suggestions for DominCesme please post a comment to this post and make a woman happy.

One recommendation: the salon* is located in Konak Pier, they use l'Oréal products, the woman I dealt with is Mucize (miracle in Turkish) and she worked as a hairdresser in Germany for 20 years (speaks German). Prices are apparently a bit higher than in other salons (but everything in Konak Pier seems to be more expensive).

These are the prices they gave me:
Kesim/ cut: 25 ytl
Röfle/highlights: 130 ytl
Kisa röfle/highlights on short hair: 100 ytl
Fön/hair drying: 10 ytl
manikür/manicure: 15 ytl
pedikür/pedicure: 20 ytl

*The salon's name is "cut Diba" Tel: 0232.446.04.51
Enter Konak Pier from the entrance on the left, (along the sea, next to Burger King) turn left immediately after entering, "cut Diba" is opposite a shop called "Vestel". They have loads of L'Oréal ads and products in their window.

Alternatively: Hotels are a good idea in foreign cities. You could try the Crowne Plaza or the Hilton.

A piece of advice: a picture is worth a thousand words (especially when you don't speak the language!) so take a photo of yourself with you or even something from a magazine illustrating what you mean by "natural blond" or "golden blond" or whatever it is you want.

Hope this helps & Let us know how it goes/went! ;-)

Comments moderated

2007-02-08T10:06:00.001+02:00

Dear Izmir Blog reader,

Due a number of comments of religious & promotional nature appearing on this blog - comments will now be subject to moderation.

Comments that clearly have no link whatsoever to content, are spam, or of political, religious or commercial nature will not be allowed to appear on this blog.

Yoga in Narlidere

2007-01-31T19:42:00.002+02:00

Want some relaxing time for yourself that helps you stay physically and mentally fit? Or maybe you miss that extra motivation of a class (as opposed to doing it at home by yourself) but dislike the intensity of a gym?

Yoga classes are available in Narlidere !

in English on Tuesdays 5.00pm - 6.00pm
in Turkish on Thursdays 9.30am - 10.30am
at the Ataturk Kultur Merkezi, Narlidere **
Price: 40YTL per month
&

in Turkish but on Wednesdays 10.30am - 11.30am
at the Sahil Evleri Hobby Centre, Narlidere

for all of the above please contact
Ros Elliott-Ozlek on her mobile: 0532 615 8669

*********************************************************

If you are interested in
pre-natal yoga or yoga for children
in both English and Turkish
contact Basak Luetzen on 0505 448 1044

**the Ataturk Kultur Merkezi is a yellow and brown building at the height of the motorway exit of Narlidere, on your right if your are driving towards Izmir and away from Urla, not far from MaviYesil Restaurant

If you know of more Yoga classes in and around Izmir, please don't hesitate to post a comment or e-mail us!

Wanted: in Izmir short-term accomodation for rent

2007-01-20T08:26:00.002+02:00

Hello people,
I hope all you readers out there have started the year happily, healthily and safely. I'm pretty sure 2007 is going to be a much better year than 2006 for most. Let's just hope that the worst of 2007 will be like the best of 2006. That should be good enough. ;-)

Now to the point of this post:
One of our London based readers has e-mailed us in the hope of finding an apartment to rent in Izmir (Karsiyaka, Bornova, Konak, Alsancak, etc. - he's not very fussy), for 2 people, at the end of January. His more detailed note below.
To enlarge e-mail please click on the image.

If you have a tip, please contact him directly (tauqeerjamadar@gmail.com) or post a comment to this post.
Thanks for your help on his behalf!

Tauqeer, if you're reading this:
I can recommend Mr. Yüksel Ceylan (REMAX agency in Narlidere) who speaks English, German and Turkish.
E-mail: yuksel@remaxnet.net
Office: +90 (232) 239 09 03
GSM: +90 (533) 471 57 63

Mr. Ceylan was very helpful when we were looking to rent. Although I'm not sure he deals in short-term leases, I'm sure he will be able to recommend someone who does.

Rate Izmir Blog

2006-12-21T09:25:00.004+02:00

Below is a poll for your Izmir Blog.

You can vote and/or view other people's votes (how honest is that?!)

If you just want to view the results of votes so far... remember that um, if nobody votes, there will be nothing to see, obviously! Have fun and enjoy!

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polls.blogflux.com/poll-6535.html"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Take the poll&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polls.blogflux.com/"target="_blank">&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Free Poll by Blog Flux&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt
Thankyou

Izmir Blogger

Rate Life in Izmir

2006-12-21T09:24:00.004+02:00

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polls.blogflux.com/poll-6538.html"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Take the poll&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polls.blogflux.com/"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Free Poll by Blog Flux&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Thank you

Izmir Blogger

Ecology: every step matters

2006-11-15T20:30:00.002+02:00

Reading recent articles on the state of ecology in the world but more specifically in Izmir (see these links: hazardous waste and over 2000 truckloads of daily garbage, Environment crimes law, to mention but a few) we'd like to share some simple tips on how to contribute to a cleaner environment.

Shopping:

Take your own bag or basket or big Ikea bag when you go food shopping to avoid taking home half a dozen plastic bags you won’t re-use
If you do take plastic bags away from the supermarket, keep them and re-use them whenever possible (as bin liners, scrunch them up to surround items when you're packaging as an alternative to bubble wrap, use them as 'doggy doo bags' when walking your dog!)
Avoid buying heavily packed goods whenever possible
Buy energy saving light bulbs, they will last longer and use much less electricity so you’ll also save on your electricity bill!

At home:

Re-use old envelopes for scribbling down shopping lists, to-do lists, and notes
Old magazines are appreciated by hospitals, doctors’ and dentists’ patients (in the waiting rooms) and friends
Plastic ice-cream containers or yogurt containers can be cut into strips for seed labels for your plants, or reused around the home to contain clothes pegs, your nuts and bolts or your children’s toys or crayons or. You can also use them to store food in the freezer.
Crèches, schools and kindergartens often need boxes, plastic bags, old buttons, used wrapping paper, old calendars or greeting cards, ribbons, tiles, crockery and other materials for art resources. They may also want old phones, keyboards, etc. as learning toys.
An upside down plastic bottle with small holes in the top can be used to provide water for your plants while you are on holiday.
Broken crockery can be used as drainage at the bottom of pot plants.
Tin cans can be used as pot plant holders. Decorate the outside of the can to your liking, put some soil in it and plant away. (Make sure you put some drainage holes in the bottom of the tin before you start potting the plants.)
Avoid leaving your computer or TV on “sleep-mode” overnight. Sleep mode uses 75% of the energy used when appliances are on.
Remember to turn the water off while brushing your teeth!
Take showers rather than baths
It’s not easy to recycle when the supporting infrastructure is lacking, but you can collect your glass bottles and drop them of in the glass containers in town on your way to lunch or work

Cars:

Car pool whenever possible
Turn your car’s engine off when waiting to park, filling up on gas, etc.

Spread the word. By encouraging others to get started, we increase the savings that can be made. Also get your children involved – early education, will help them grow up conscious of the environment and waste reduction. Later, they will be able to apply these tips themselves.

Remember, even by doing a few of the above things, you’re making a difference!

For a thread on ecology related articles in Turkey please see here

and here

What does an honest blogger have to do

2006-11-10T09:22:00.003+02:00

to get you people to participate?

I know there are people visiting. I can read the reports on my statcounter. I can even see that some of you are from Izmir, the UK, Belgium, France, Denmark, US, Malaysia, Sweden, Israel, Canada, Argentina, the Netherlands, Spain...

I even know you actually spend some time on this blog. One can reasonably suppose you are browsing through it or even reading a post or two. But for some mysterious reason you remain silent.

It would really touch this blogger's heart and keep my motivation above ground level (if you know what I mean) if you would Please let me know what you think! Or like. Or don't like. Occasionally post a comment or send in some of your own tips, opinions, insights, feed-back, criticism, anything!

And as I said in this post and this one, the quality of this blog largely depends on your contributions.

I'm off for a few days again (and no, this is not an invitation to any burglars) but it would be really nice if you could, uh, just surprise me ?

But, hey, I don't want to beg here... Just in case, here's how to comment

Umph.

Latest Links October

2006-11-08T08:58:00.004+02:00

To view our latest additions to the del.icio.us tags, scroll down below, alternatively browse through the tag words in the sidebar on the right.

-a useful on-line dictionary: English, German, Turkish...

-with the weather getting colder, go to the movies at Forum Bornova's Cinema , to the opera, ballet or enjoy a musical. Alternatively, Forum Bornova and its new shops will provide an entertaining afteroon

-discover Ertugrul's tour of Turkey, including Blue Trip Cruises, Spas, and Diving

-check out SPAs in Turkey under our SPA tag for a week-end gettaway, or our Holiday tag for tips on visiting Pamukkale or Marmaris.

-find a job via Karyer.net or envisage other possibilities via kareyer.net portal including getting paid to do surveys from home.

As always, should you want to share your links or give feed-back, please write to us at izmir.info@gmail.com or comment at the bottom of this post.

Forum Bornova - a shopping oasis

2006-10-29T09:32:00.010+02:00

Recently back from a trip back home, we drove to Bornova's Ikea and were amazed to see the Forum Bornova, a village-mall not only completed but swarming with people.

The construction site of just a few weeks ago, had been replaced by a new shopping complex brimming with people on the last day of Bayram.

Next to Ikea, which opened in April 2006 but still working on persuading the local customer with its self-service DIY concept, the Bornova centre looks like a Moroccan resort sprinkled with details reminiscent of Parc Guell of Barcelona.

It even has a kind of prominent turret-like structure not unlike a bell tower or a fortress.

Forum Bornova is literally constructed as a mini village, with street names, trees, fountains, mini ponds with bridges or stepping stones, cafés, and of course a variety of shops as well as cinemas.

There is a large Kipa food store but also smaller shops selling TVs and DVDs, CDs & books (D&R), watches and jewelry, fridges, washing machines, saucepans...

A host of clothes & shoe brands are present (including Top Shop, Next, Diesel, Massimo Dutti, Hotiç, Lewis, Collins, Lacoste, Stefanel, Guess, etc.), home decoration (Zara Home, Spazio), cosmetics (Douglas) and some food and beverage stops to restore you before you drop (including a Starbucks, Gloria's Coffee and thankfully, a rather discrete Mc Donalds).(scroll down for a link to a complete list of shops)

The streets are clean, clearly labeled with directions, and the general atmosphere, if totally artificial, leaves a rather positive impression. It's great that the climate allowing for an outside mall was acknowledged and put into practice. It's perhaps not as sophisticated as Istanbul's Kanyon, but it's an enjoyable shopping experience and it's appropriate in style to sunny Izmir. A new shopping oasis is born: Shopaholics, enjoy!

More information, including
a detailed list of shops
Site Map
Pictures
A calendar of events
cinema schedule
a press review...

Learning Turkish

2006-10-08T20:28:00.003+03:00

If you’re like most people, you’ll probably pick up a few words here and there. The repeated “hos geldiniz”, “Merhaba”, “iyi günler” and “buyurun” gradually penetrate your psyche and stick after a while – but you might need more… and frustration does build up when you need to get a clear message across and it’s not happening. Whatever your reason, you might be thinking about learning Turkish, so here are a few recommendations:

First the schools:

Address English are mainly focused on English lessons, but also give Turkish lessons to foreigners. Their rate for private (Turkish) lessons is 60 ytl per hour plus 8% KDV (VAT). They are located near the Hilton Hotel, (check their website for a map indicating how to get there)

What Meryem says about Address: "To my husband and myself they presented a flexible attitude: you decide what you would like to learn. For example I would like to improve my professional (Turkish) speaking skills, so a special program for me is receiving everyday via e-mail homework exercises, and have one hour coaching sessions per week to go through the exercises. They have a professional office, with all equipment available".

Another option is Tömer (also located in Alsancak) where you can take group language lessons (Turkish, Chinese, English, German, etc.) starting at a beginner's level and up (level 1, 2, 3, etc.). Tömer schools have the same program throughout Turkey, so if you are travelling across the country, you can easily take the first level in Istanbul, the second in Ankara and the third in Izmir (provided there are enough students for each given level at your preferred date). Classes are rather intensive from 9h to 13h every day (4 x 50 minutes with breaks), five days a week, with an exam at the end of each level. This particular course costs $340.-

Like in most schools, the quality of your learning is immensely dependant on your teacher - and that might be the luck of the draw. I was lucky enough to have a great teacher at Tömer! Also, it was nice to get out of the house and meet some more newcomers and share the pain of going back to school!

Another option is of course to take private lessons; here too, prices vary as does the quality of what you will find depending on what you are looking for.

Finally, if you are disciplined enough, you can always learn Turkish on your own. "Teach yourself Turkish" (see pic right) was ranked favorite amongst us. (available on Amazon and to order in local bookshops)

Happy learning!

If you wish to share the name and contact details of your teacher (with their permission), or if you are a Turkish language teacher yourself and would like to post your contact details, please feel free to do so by clicking on "comments" at the bottom of this post!

Latest Links (September)

2006-10-05T11:36:00.004+03:00

For an overview of some of September's latest links read below, or visit the Del.icio.us tags (scroll down the sidebar to the right) and let the tag words guide you

Cooking: A useful culinary Turkish-English dictionnary Yemek Içmek

Education & Languages: Improve your command of English, Turkish or another language at Address or Tömer

Expats: Forum or Jobs

Holiday: Recall the summer or discover the beauty of Cesme and Bodrum

News: Check out a Turkish-American publication Turkuaz, review past press coverage with Turkish Press Review or read the indispensable Hurryet

Photos: See Turkey through someone else's eyes with Turkish Culture and Turkish Nature

Religion: Burak Sansal tells us all about Turkey and explains a little bit about Islam

Women: of Istanbul at the IWI (Istanbul's International Women's Association) and domestic violence reported by the Turkish Daily

What Wine

2006-10-04T13:04:00.001+03:00

If you like wine pre- or with dinner, but have been adding lots of "buz" (ice, appropriately sounds like "booze") to water down the sweetness, you might want to try one of the below:

Çankaya, Majestic or Angora (the latter exists in red and white) can be found at Tansaş and Migros.

Cheers!

Where in the world is Turkey?

2006-09-29T21:47:00.002+03:00

On the web, whether you're enrolling, subscribing, or shopping, most sites ask you to indicate where you are living using a drop down menu or a selective menu.

If it's a plain roll menu by country, then you'll find Turkey easily enough under T.

If, however, the site you are on has divided the world into regions (Africa, Asia, North America, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, etc.) then Turkey can be found in a number of places.

Middle East (along with Iran, Iraq, Syria, etc.)
Europe (along with France, Germany, Italy, etc.)
I even came across a site with Turkey under Eastern Europe! (they have since revised their geography)

Looks like Istanbul is not the only place to be crossing East & West.
I think there's more to this than whether Turkey will join the EU or not.

Where would you put Turkey?

Bostanli Market - Karsiyaka

2006-09-23T22:02:00.004+03:00

A little while ago, on a Wednesday, a newfound friend wanted to show me "the best market in Izmir". It's in an area called Bostanli in "Karsiyaka" (literally "the other side"). Karsiyaka, where she lives, is on the other side of the Izmir Gulf from where I live, so we were going to meet there. Dreading the nightmare traffic & driving I decided to try the car ferry instead.

It is absolutely brilliant! Perhaps it's not quite as good as being on the Bosphorous in Istanbul, but you still get the breeze, the seagulls surfing on the wind, that incredible smell the sea has... Only 30 minutes, but it was like a holiday! Being on the water takes you away from the bustle and includes a Simit and Turkish tea served on board - so it definitely beats the traffic! Plus it was a really great introduction to the feast of smells, tastes and sights the market offered.

The market is a typical open-air-cater-for-all-tastes/sizes/needs-market like the ones you find in many east European countries, with colorful stalls and noisy negotiating going on everywhere. A never-ending array of stalls, selling fruit, veggies, cheeses, olives, nuts, sheets, belts, sunglasses, underwear, and all sorts of leather goods. Pointing at my camera, trying to make sure they didn't mind being photographed, (some people/cultures believe you steal their soul by taking their picture), I soon found myself encircled by stall owners trying to grab my attention yelling "Check! Check!" Puzzled, I looked to M, my Turkish friend, for assistance. "It's ok, "çekim" means "to take" -they don't mind".

Well that's an understatement! The love being photographed! Many of them would lead me to their stall and strike a pose with their produce. Some even wanted to have a look at my camera to see how they looked or would take a different pose if they sold a variety of goods. So, the pics are not that spontaneous, but there you go! As it turns out , being photographed, completely distracted them from selling me their goods, so I was able to stroll through the market buying only what I needed without being coerced into buying all sorts of stuff /quantities I didn't want in the first place. There's a tip, in Izmir, when in a market or bazaar, shop with your camera!

Seriously, though, the Bostanli market in Karsiyaka (every Wednesday) is definitely worth going to!
Note: The ferry car crossing costs 7.50 YTL one-way (price correct on 04/05/2009)

Alsancak Restaurants; La Cigale & Alliance

2006-09-16T20:13:00.003+03:00

Just behind the Centre Culturel Français of Izmir, you can find two hidden away restaurants.

The first, La Cigale, serves French inspired cuisine (the menu is both in French and Turkish), and the setting is quite charming.

Each table is equipped with a neat call system which allows you to ring for service or the bill (hesap). The number of your table then appears on a screen so the waiter knows you need him.

The second restaurant is located behind La Cigale, and is called Alliance. Don't be fooled by the French name, here the cuisine is Italian.... and the personnel asked me what Alliance meant!

La Cigale
Cumhuriyet Bulvari N° 152
Fransiz Kültur Merkezi, Alsancak, Izmir
Tel: 0232. 421.47.80

Alliance
1383 Sokak N°18
Alsancak, Izmir
Tel: 0232.421.39.70

Konak Pier

2006-09-13T17:34:00.003+03:00

Konak Pier is located about 300 meters from the Clock tower. As its name indicates, it literally extends over the sea.

We have gathered differing versions as to what the building originally was; a landing for ships -it isn't very far from the (old?) customs office building- or a food market.

At any rate, it was apparently restored in keeping with the spirit of the original architecture and offers splendid views of the sunset.

"Konak" in Turkish means "mansion or large and imposing house" (Redhouse dictionary)

Konak Pier is now an attractive shopping mall and houses a number of up-market clothes and shoe shops, a book-shop (English press and books available), a cinema, a hairdresser, beauty shop, and a variety of bars, cafes, and restaurants.

Preferred restaurants include:

Mezzaluna, for a fine Italian meal, (right at the end of the pier, turn right, as if you wanted to go back along the other side)

Although the view from Mezzaluna (left) is not quite as good as the one from the tip of the pier.

Home Store Cafe-Bar-Restaurant (right at the end of the pier) where you can have a club sandwich or sushi, tea and cake, or an apéritif while enjoying the comfy cushions and the lounge music.

Konak Pier also has its own parking lot. Although small, the parking valets manage to squeeze an amazing amount of cars in! (5 YTL/hour).

Sen Manti Evi - Home made cooking in Narlidere

2006-09-09T21:36:00.003+03:00

If you're looking for real home made food, Turkish style, then this is the place to go!

At least four different kinds of çorba (soup), a variety of delicious gözleme (a kind of thin börek, or filo pastry filled with a variety of ingredients such as meat and cheese), meat balls (also available with melted cheese on top), salads, and more.

Also a great spot for late Sunday breakfast (toast, jam, honey, cheese, fruit, coffee, tea, etc.) or for a snack after food shopping in near-by Kipa, Migros, or Tansas.

In an charmingly bucolic and open air environment, meals are served steaming hot in the dishes they were prepared in, while you are seated on wooden benches under the cool shade of trees.

If you're lucky, (or tend to eat outside of regular meal times) you might even get to see the Manti prepared or the cheese beaten and squeezed in white linen cloths.

The staff are really friendly, the prices are unbeatable (for two, never paid more than 23 YTL tip excluded) and they have an English menu!

It's worth your while, check it out.

How to get there:

As always, click on any of the pics to enlarge.

Adres Restaurant

2006-09-04T18:21:00.002+03:00

A few posts, ago, I promised a virtual tour of some cafés and restaurants I have discovered of late, so here is the first.

On the coastal road to Urla, about 30 meters before turning off to Cesmealti, you will find Adres Restaurant.

Located on the very edge of the water, it's a great place for yummy roast chicken (tried & liked) and lamb (next time, maybe), as well as various meze and salads. Of course, you can also go there for an early evening drink...

"Adres" also gets points for good, timely and welcoming service.

Adres Restaurant
Kuzu & Piliç çevirme
kalabak mah. Fevzi çakmak caddesi N°10
(iskele Yol Ayrimi) Urla-Izmir
Tel. (0232) 766 35 55

A big thanks to Iris, for taking me there.

If you want to share tips of your own, or recommend good restaurants, cafés, pubs and bars, send us an e-mail or post a comment (by clicking on "comments" at the bottom of this post).

Update: I've been back and tried the lamb; it's absolutely YUMMY!

Latest Links (August)

2006-09-01T20:04:00.004+03:00

Another month has flown by, and it's time for our monthly Latest Links post

WHAT did you say this was?
A monthly up-date & recap' of some of the latest link additions

WHERE are these links?
We've placed the links in the text of this post, but you can also find them under the Del.icio.us tags (in Izmir Blog's sidebar on the right)

Yeah, but under WHICH WORD can I find the links?
Oh, you mean, which tag or keyword in the list to click on? Check the word in ( ) for the related keyword at the end of each entry. Otherwise all links on this Blog are orange (except for the "news" and "blogosphere" feeds in the sidebar which are blue -orange was not an available option)

What are the new links ABOUT? Well... read on! (using the scroll menu within the post on your right)

Human Resources Management to help you search, recruit, and analyze. The site provides a detailed on-line application form (Jobs)
Just back at work, and want to start planning your next holiday? Check out Zephyria Yachting for Blue Cruise Yachting (Yachting) or HiTiT for information of the Aegean Coast, Bodrum, Marmaris, Assos, and much more (Aegean)
For some information on the Izmir Fair check an article from The Turkish Daily News (Fair)
Interested in other local events? View the 2006 Events calendar (Events)
New to town? Check out Izmir City Guide for a list of Bars, Cafés & Restaurants as well as other useful things. (Eat; Drink; Do; Guide)
If you're thinking of getting married in Turkey, more than ever, you'll want someone reliable to help you sort out the practical issues. Check Turkish Weddings, Turkey's only in-country wedding planners for help from someone who will understand you but also knows the culture and country.

There are lots more links to be discovered (both in the tags and out there on the www) so browse around and send in your useful links by e-mail.

A great BIG THANKS to all those who already did! Keep it up please!

The Aegean Region

2006-08-28T08:08:00.003+03:00

Click on any of the photos or links to enlarge. (Note by Izmir Blogger)

The Aegean region has some of the most beautiful coastline in Turkey. The beaches are spectacular (however, a little too stony for my liking, some of the ones in Çesme at least) and the high end beaches are made of wood flooring and big fluffy cushions (also I can only speak for Çesme here too). (Real beaches with crystal sugar sand are what I want!!) Putting this aside there is something for everyone in this area.
Places of interest in this region are Urla, Çesmealti (for fish restaurants), Balikliova, Mordogan and Karaburun (for peaceful bays and quaint fishing villages). Karaburun faces the Foça coastline at the entrance to the Gulf of Izmir. On the southern side of the peninsula is the town of Seferihisar and the small and picturesque marina of Sigacik. Nearby is the Temple of Dionysus at Teos and beautiful Akkum beach. Gumuldur also has beautiful beaches, restaurants and hotels and close to these scenic areas Ahmetbeyli there is the Apollon Temple and remnants of the colossal statue of Apollo.

Çesme and Ilica resorts
The Çesme Peninsula, is to the West of Izmir. You can catch one of many buses from Uçkuyollar to this location as well as other locations on the peninsula (about every half hour in summer).
The word Çesme, means tap or fountain, this name comes from the many sources of water around the area. It is one of the Izmirians’ favourite holiday spots. If peace and quiet or liveliness is what you are after and a great selection of man made and natural unspoilt beaches as well as superb restaurants, then this is the place to be.
Çesme has a large 14th century Genoese fortress right in the middle of town and at one end of the main strip is a large marina and port for the ships to Chios, at the other end, a small but beautiful beach with clear water for swimming. Many of Çesme’s best beaches lie elsewhere and not in Çesme’s centre itself. Çesme has many shops, bars and clubs as well as boat trips for taking you to secluded bays and beaches around this beautiful coastline.
Ciftlikkoy has to have the best sandy beach in my opinion and fairly quiet compared to some of the others. It is called Pirlanta Plaj just outside of the town to the southwest, and unlike some of the beaches in Çesme (very stony) will not slash your precious toes on entering the sea. Also a little further on you can find equally beautiful sandy beaches, if not occasionally a little windy sometimes, Altinkum Plaj and Kum Beach.
Approximately 5km away from Çesme are the popular beaches of Ilica (see below).

Ilica dolphin fountain

Ilica main street - come here for Kumru

View of the other side of Ilica - Sheraton

View of Ilica bay

Ilica has a long white sandy beach (the longest beach in the area) and the excellent facilities of the Altin Yunus and the Sheraton Hotel are not far away (to use the facilities of the big hotels remember, big bucks will be needed)
Altin Yunus Hotel Sheraton Hotel Ilica

The recently renovated Ilica Hotel and Spa has thermal waters, the thermal baths around Ilica are very popular, also one of the better areas for this is at Sifne Bay, Pasa Limani. (Ilica as well as Alaçati are also famous for Kumru, explained easily as a cross between a MacDonalds and a Hot Dog, containing a mix of salami, cheese, pickles, tomatoes and peppers). Dalyan is an active fishing village and has some of the region's best fish restaurants, for an enjoyable meal with or without raki (the Turkish specialty aniseed drink).

Dining in Ilica and Alaçati

There are many fantastic and interesting small and niche restaurants and cafés in Ilica and in Alaçati areas. The first one to mention (because of the scenic view) is a café within the Alaçati Surf Club (below) that serves general food and nick nacks.

Alaçati Surf Club

Whilst you are eating you can enjoy watching the windsurfing professionals and novices surfing through the shallow water of this picture perfect bay. Another place to mention is the Kumru Keyfi in Ilica, not because it is the best restaurant but because it is an old favourite of Izmirians as well as Turks from other locations. This place makes ‘Kumru’ (the favourite fast food in this area) and they are made at breakneck speed because the first one is usually followed by a second.

Other places to mention are listed below (click here to view all of the pictures below on one page alternatively you can view them one by one from the links below):

* An old mysterious castle I found
* Ayiyorgi Bay (secret of the locals)
* Alaçati’s Tropicano restaurant
* Port Hotel Alaçati
* Port Hotel + private housing
* Seaside Beach Club
* Miko’s Siesta Café
* Antika Café Restaurant
* Alacaat Restaurant
* One of the many restaurants
* Begonville Café/Restaurant
* Sisarka Restaurant
* Alaçati Home (for beautiful furniture)
* Artura Gallery (for surreal paintings & leather art pieces)
* Feslegin butik hotel
* Bedri Baykam
* Most famous Tuval
* Keyfi Bar Tuval
* Beautiful local hanging baskets
* Alaçati street scene
* A nice shop for all your presents for family members
* OEV Hotel (another Butik Hotel)
* The original tea house for ogling men
* One of only 2 places I know of for Mexican food Picante
* Very nice place but couldn’t find the name.
* Alaçati Café Bar (Also good for watching football)
* A beautiful jewellery store “KS Toke”
* Another very colourful restaurant - maybe Kyo
* Al la Carte Restaurant
* Sailor’s Hotel & Orta Kahve Café
* Gizem Café (Tasty Coffee served here)
* Kose Café – Also meaning corner Café
* Rasim Babanin Cicek Bahcesi
* Guverte and Sabanci Kumru Café
* Alaçati famous old 3 Greek windmills
* Sardunaki Café Restaurant & Bar

Markets

On Thursdays there is a market in Ilica, on Saturday there is a market in the Alaçati area and on Sunday in Çesme yet another market. They both sell fruit and vegetables (cheaper than the big supermarkets) as well as an assortment of clothes and other household items (also cheaper than the big stores).

Wireless Internet Connections

There are a few places that offer wireless ADSL service in Ilica, these are the Ilica Hotel and Spa, Altın Yunus and the Lord Hotel. They offer the connection but are encrypted connections (meaning you need a code of some sorts) so, you may not be able to use them. I was told that at Altın Yunus, if you have a laptop you can use their connection. They also said it would just pick up the connection and I would be able to connect. However, this was not the case when I tried. If you sit and have a coffee at these hotels maybe then they will allow you to use them without charge.

There is a Internet café in Altin Yunus which charges 3 YTL/hour and an Internet café in Alaçati that charges 1.50 YTL/hour. The Internet café in Altin Yunus is faster and has far less screaming kids playing Doom 3 and shouting about Hepsi or some other Turkish band. The vital thing for me about the Altin Yunus Internet café is they do not restrict access to Java and other strangely coded sites whereas in Alaçati I only managed to send one hotmail and view 3 or 4 sites in one hour. Not good enough!

Remedies to the Cooking Blues

2006-08-27T09:42:00.002+03:00

With the weather being what it is (beautiful but HOT) it's sometimes difficult to find the courage or the inspiration to cook.
Am I alone in this case?

Well, there are definitely a few people whose inspiration is not dampened by the heat:

CoOLiNarY SpoT blogger and passionate cook, JSN combines Panamanian enthusiasm to Italian taste, when sharing her best recipes as well as her views on Homemade baby food, bugs and wine.

If you're interested in trying out some local dishes - it's definitely easier to find the ingredients - then check out Binnur's Turkish Cookbook for some delicious, healthy and easy-to-make Ottoman & Turkish recipes!

Bon appétit & Enjoy!

N.B. Both of these links can be found by clicking on "Cooking" in the sidebar, under Del.icio.us tags, on the right.

Where to live in Izmir - Part Two: Zeytinalan

2006-08-25T12:23:00.003+03:00

If you are looking to live in a house - rather than an apartment - and prefer to live away from the bustle of the centre, then Zeytinalan may be an area for you.

Zeytinalan, I am told, means olive land. The air is clean, the silence golden and time is marked by the call to prayer, the sound of crickets and birds chirping.
It's a great place to live if you're here with your family, kids and/or dog(s).
If however, you are here on your own, then we recommend you live closer to more "happening" areas.

It is located approximately, 27km from Izmir centre, and about 8km from the town of Urla (although Zeytinalan is technically in the district of Urla). The highway access in Güzelbahçe (Cesme-Izmir Otoyulu Seferihisar exit) is about 7 minutes away by car, and will speed your trip up considerably, although the coastal road will take you to Narlidere, Balçova, Konak, and Izmir centre. Although, an Urla-Izmir minibus exists, we strongly recommend that you dispose of your own vehicle and don't mind driving too much.

Zeytinalan has lots of Sitesi (or condominiums) of varying sizes and styles.

Some are very recent and have been built to withstand earthquakes, others are older but will provide you with the rare thick shade of tall trees.

Most Sitesi in this area are not too large (25 houses) and include a shared swimming pool (very enjoyable), a club-house (not very popular as far as I can see), shared gardens, and security. Some also have tennis/basket ball courts.

The gardens and pool are well kept by the gardeners, and the grass is beautifully green. Access to the condominium properties requires a security code or magnetic key. Garbage is removed daily, technical support is provided.

Zeytinalan village, sprouts a number of useful small shops including;

at least three Pharmacies (Eczane), fruit and vegetable mini markets, a couple of convenience shops (cheeses, bread, fruit and vegetables, shampoo, soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, crackers and biscuits, beer, juices and sodas, etc.) a hairdresser, a water/gas supplier, a Photo shop, and a couple of cafes, a post office, and a Mosque.

In Zeytinalan, "life is good", as they say... The houses and grounds are spacious and well kept, neighbors are international (Spanish, German, Italian, Turkish, Dutch in the one we live in), easy access to the swimming pool is wonderful. Nevertheless, for me, living in Zeytinalan took some getting used to.

I have lived out in the countryside before, but in a small city (Geneva), where distances are not an issue. Driving into town was initially a bit of a hassle.

Also, Zeytinalan "centre" is anything but international (I have yet to see a women in a cafe here, accompanied or not! Unlike in Izmir town or even in Agora's Starbucks) and most women wear a head scarf (again, not the case in town, where the crowd is remarkably multi-cultured). It also struck me, that just a few steps outside Eden-like compounds, the grass is dry, the roads are partially asphalted, and the housing very different....

Markets & Shopping:
Every Thursday sees an open air market in Zeytinalan, similar to the one in Bostanli or Balçova, although much smaller. Still, it is practical for fruit and vegetables, the odd plastic container, scarves, bath mats, and other bits and bobs.

For more serious food and household shopping, you'll want to drive to Balçova, (depending on traffic, about 25 minutes along the coastal road) and depending on what you're looking for, go to:
-Kipa or Migros (for food, books, electronics, kitchen ware, toiletries, toys, etc.)
-Agora (books and CDs, clothes, shoes, cinema, optician, electronics, Starbucks, Marks & Spencer's, jewellery, decoration and some furniture and house linen)
-Koçtaş (DIY)

Alternatively, Narlidere (about the same distance), will offer an array of smaller shops, cafés and restaurants. Closer by, Güzelbahçe has quite a few mini markets.

All in all, it is a beautiful and calm area, ideal for families. Once you get used to the drive to town, it's really not that far. I have recently discovered the ferry which makes the trip to Karsiyaka much more enjoyable, and a few friendly cafes near by.
More on the latter in coming posts... stay tuned.

Where to live in Izmir - Part One: Karsiyaka

2006-08-17T12:37:00.001+03:00

Today's post, the first of our "Where to live in Izmir?" series, courtesy of Meryem. Click on any of the photos to enlarge. Note by: Izmir Blogger

My name is Meryem and I live in the area "Karsiyaka" of Izmir. Karsiyaka literally means "On the other side" and it is, from the city center of Alsancak and Konak. A road connects the parts, but on a regular basis a passenger ferry crosses the bay. There is also ferry for the cars to Bostanli boat terminal. Opposite the boat terminal (in Turkish: Iskele) of Karsiyaka you can find the busy centre with many shops and restaurants. If you continue to walk along the seaside, you have apartments with the following view from the balcony (see photo top left). The apartments with sea view are quite nice, some bigger than others. Some buildings look very nice on the outside, and you can take it from me, that those are maintained well and are nice from the inside as well.

When you pass the statue of dolphins and small basin with water, you are in the middle of Karsiyaka and Bostanli. Opposite of the "Bostanli Iskele" (a very busy place as cars also leave form here to the other side) the area of Bostanli starts. The liveliness stems from the many shops and restaurants and some nice cafes.

On Wednesdays, there is huge market where they sell fruit, vegetables, cheese, nuts, clothes and shoes!
The area furthest to the left, Mavisehir, is relatively the newest area and very popular among richer Turkish families. It is a matter of taste if you like these high 32 store buildings, although the colored villas are quite large and have a garden as well. (see picture of pink colored house) EGE Park is the shopping area, with many luxurious shops, a bowling centre and cinema.

So this was in short a tour through "the other side" of Izmir. I have been living here for 4 years now and I like it very much! All the shops you can find are here, there is enough parking space, the parks along the seaside are green, and go on for a few kilometers, it is easily reachable by the ferry from Alsançak... The only thing is, there aren't a lot of houses with gardens to be found, only the colored villas in Mavisehir... So if you don't mind living in an apartment, than Karsiyaka is absolutely worth checking out!

More pictures of Bostanli market

IWAI Coffee Morning coming Friday @ Cafe Brownie's

2006-08-15T11:47:00.003+03:00

The IWAI invites members and guests to a free cup of (filter) coffee or tea and biscuits. (Cappuccino and other drinks need to be paid for individually)

When: Friday August 18th, 9h30 - 11h30 (or every third Friday of the month)

Where: Cafe Brownie: Owned by Seda Aksoy, a Turkish lady with excellent English. Located just around the corner from the Hilton Hotel. Exit the hotel, turn right, take the second street to your right and walk down 30 meters, Cafe Brownie is on your right. 1379 Sokak N°57/A, Efes Ishani Alsancak. Tel: 0.232.483.00.38

Come along and meet some new people!

Help us answer these questions about Izmir

2006-08-12T21:58:00.003+03:00

Where do people walk their dogs?
Where do you think is a good place to live in Izmir?
Where can you hand in any old batteries for recycling?
What is your favorite week-end place or activity?
What activities are there for children?
Where are the best bars and clubs in Izmir?
Where are the best sports places in Izmir?
Where are the best Dentists and Doctors in Izmir?
Where are the best restaurants in Izmir?
For women's and men's shoes are there any shoe shops you can recommend?

Please if you know any off these please email us at izmirblogger

Regards,

Izmir-2-Blogger

Turkish plugs and sockets

2006-08-11T19:00:00.002+03:00

Maybe plugs and sockets aren't at the top of your list as you're preparing to move. I know they weren't on mine!

Hence after having arrived here and not found any adapter plugs to buy, I resorted to asking a friend back home to DHL some over....On the other hand, you can always use this as a great pretext to go shopping... Yeah, appliances ain't my thing either.

Turkish plugs and sockets are a good thing to know about prior to moving, so you can go through your belongings, decide which things are worth keeping and using via an adapter plug (or after having changed the plug).

So, here goes....

<-- sockets look like this

<-- plugs look like this

<-- you can, however, also use this

Phew! glad that one's over! Not the sexiest of subjects, but I someone's got to do it! more information on plugs (not from me!)