Holiday Traditions With Friends

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Holiday Traditions With Friends

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”Ralph Waldo Emerson

I was in the Bahamas one Christmas when I was nineteen.  The Monday after Christmas I needed to go to a pharmacy. They were all closed because it was Boxing Day. That was my first real experience with  a holiday that we don’t celebrate here.  You never think about that until you are in a country that is celebrating their holiday.  It gives you a little more insight into a place when you see them observing their traditions.

Boxing day is traditionally the day following Christmas Day, when servants and trades people would receive gifts from their superiors or employers, known as a “Christmas box”. Today, Boxing Day is better known as a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some other Commonwealth Nations. I always remember that Dec 26 is Boxing Day though I don’t celebrate it. JZ, BAHAMAS

Cuban families in Miami have a delicious Cuban tradition that we carry on with zeal. Every Christmas Eve starting early in the morning, all the men in the family set up a ‘caja China’ (direct translation: Chinese box) in the front yard of the house. They sit outside, smoke their cigars, drink their rum and cokes and roast a full pig in this box for hours on end. When the whole family comes over for dinner, the pig is still cooking and the men cut off the skin to serve as ‘chicharron’ while the rest of the pig roasts. It’s undeniably good. Our ‘kosher’ Jewish neighbors will tell you the same.   MA, CUBA

All Saints Day on Nov 1 is big day. Croatia is a strongly Catholic country and November  1st – the day of the dead – is a big family occasion.  All Saints Day is the day that people go to  visit the cemeteries . They bring flowers , light candles and say a prayer. All the businesses are closed and it is a time for families to be together in peace and quiet. ( spirituality)  to celebrate the lives of their deceased relatives.  PV, CROATIA

In Colombia, the Christmas traditions come from Spain. They make nativity scenes  called Pesebre.  Columbia is deeply rooted in Catholic tradition. From the 16th till the 24th everyone gets together and prays to the Novena and sing Christmas songs called Villancicos.    On Christmas Eve, the families gather around the Nativity Scene    and eat pork or ham,  dulce de guayaba , dulce de guanabana,bunuelos  ( fried dough) and natilla  (special pudding dessert with sugar, cloves, panela and milk). They drink Aguardiente (fire water) and dance and sing all night. The kids write letters to Nino Dios ( baby Jesus) and wait for him to bring them presents. On Christmas Day everyone makes their own brightly colored balloons and fills them with hot air and lets them into the sky at the same time. Feliz Navidad. AN, COLOMBIA

Shavuot is a holiday that usually  occurs in May, fifty days after Passover. It is  the end of the harvest season for grain and wheat.  People brought  the first fruits  of the season to the temple to thank God. It is fun to celebrate Shavuot on a kibbutz in Israel. Everyone wears white . The girls braid their hair and  make crowns of greens and flowers .  Families bring blankets and carpets and sit out on the grass and have a picnic. They eat dairy food.  The kids bring decorated baskets of fruit. There is a “parade” of tractors and farm equipment decorated for the holiday. This is followed by a lot of dancing and singing to celebrate the day that the Torah was given to the Jewish People on Mount Sinai.   KR ISRAEL

Peruvians put up a nativity scene at Christmas, not a tree.  In the Andean city of Cusco they buy the pieces for their nativity on Christmas Eve at the festival of Santorantikuy  — “buying of saints”. The city fills up as people come to Cusco from all over the region to sell little figures they have made of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Magi, the star and the stable animals, along with an array of ornaments, moss, lichen, ferns, bromeliads and other wild plants to create the backdrop. PF, PERU

One of the events I’m going to is Maha Kumbh Mela in February.  Maha Kumbh Mela held in Allahabad , India is the “ largest pilgrimage on earth.” It attracts between thirty and seventy million people.  The Maha Kumbh Mela comes every 144 years and will occur this Feb 2013.  Hindus gather at the Ganges for a purification bathing ceremony during the auspicious days. Other activities include religious discussions, devotional singing, mass feeding of holy men and women and the poor, and religious assemblies. The devout –including mystics, yogis and sadhus (in saffron sheets with powder and ashes on their skin), spend a month there. Kumbh Mela is the most sacred of all the pilgrimages in India- the Maha being the most important. DL, INDIA  (if you are interested, some of the other videos that appear at the end are fascinating)

People prepare their homes for Christmas. Dubrovnik  is covered in Christmas lights and a lot of Christmas trees on the Stradun. On Christmas Eve, lunch is traditionally fish. (codfish-usually)That is the same in many Catholic and Eastern European countries. In the afternoon we go to our first neighbors to wish them  a good Christmas Eve. We sing the traditional Christmas song from door to door. (Colenda song – a song that has been sung for centuries). In the evening most people go to confession to wait for Christmas in the best spirit. Then we go to midnight mass.On Christmas Day our families are altogether for lunch. It is a time of happiness and celebration. PV CROATIA

New Year is a special holiday in Japan. It is leaving of old and starting of new. At the end of the year, we clean the house and decorate the entrance gate with ornaments made of pine, bamboo and plum. Bonenkai parties (forget the year gathering) are held everywhere to leave the old worries behind, and on New Years Eve, just before the temple bells ring at midnight, we eat toshikoshi soba (end of year buckwheat noodle) wishing for another healthy new year to come.

Viewing the first sunrise of the New Year is the best way for a fresh start.  We visit the shrine or temple, buy o-mikuji ( random fortune written on strips of paper) and hope for another happy year. RH, JAPAN

Happy Holidays and Fly Safe,

JAZ

BYOB Bring Your Own Books

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BYOB    Bring Your Own Books

“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.” Annie  Lamott

I love reading novels that take place in different countries. I like reading them when I travel to the countries. I enjoy getting lost in them at home.

I was fortunate to discover “Traveler’s Bookcase” in Los Angeles. The first thing I do after planning a trip is to go and get their book recommendations.  I’m either traveling somewhere they have been and loved or somewhere they want to go. They are always happy about my trips.  Sometimes when I am ambivalent (why did I pick that place?), I leave there with an armful of travel books and a lot of excitement..  They recommend the best and most recent guide books and their favorite novels .

The Traveler’s Bookcase ( www.travelbooks.com ) is owned by Natalie  Compagno and Greg Freitas . Natalie and Greg look like the cool kids that you wanted to be friends with in high school. They are good-looking, trendy and fun  –they do not look like book store owners. They love travel and books and will help in any way they can. If they don’t know something, they have a friend who does.  This list is based on their recommendations to me –they are always spot on.  If you live in Los Angeles, I strongly urge you to stop in . It is on the same block as Magnolia Cupcakes. You can’t go wrong. The first novel they recommended to me was the Master and the Margarita when I was going to Russia. .It is one of my favorite books and the first one I will recommend to you.

MASTER AND THE MARGARITA  by Mikhail Bulgakov 1937   Russia

This is an allegory based on the premise of a visit by the Devil to  the Soviet  Union. It is beautifully written and there are meanings within meanings. The novel alternates between two settings – 1930’s Moscow and the Jerusalem of Pontius Pilate. There is Professor Woland, a mysterious gentlemen of uncertain origin and his group of henchman including a gun happy fast talking cat named Behemoth.  They target the literary élite in Moscow. In the second part we meet the Master, an embittered author  and his lover Margarita. It is considered by many to be the greatest novel of the twentieth century.  (video is the Rolling Stones -Sympathy For The Devil which is based on the book Master And The Margarita, over the Russian miniseries of the book)

THE JUKEBOX QUEEN OF MALTA by Nicholas Rinaldi 1999 Malta

The story is about the Siege of Malta during World War Two. Rocco Raven an American radio operator posted in Malta and working closely with the British Intelligence, falls in love with Melita a Maltese woman who travels around the island repairing jukeboxes. It shows the reactions of the Maltese people and the military defense of the island during the destruction caused by the German bombing .

THE GLASS PALACE by Amitav Ghosh 2000 Burma

The novel is set in Burma  and spans a century from the fall of the Konbaung Dynasty in Mandalay, through the  Second World War to modern times. Focusing mainly on the early 20th Century, it explores a broad range of issues, ranging from the changing economic landscape of Burma and India, to pertinent questions about what makes up a modern society. I took it with me to Burma.

PURGE  by Sofi Oksanen 2008 Estonia

Purge is a story of two women forced to face their own dark pasts, of collusion and resistance, of rape and sexual slavery set against the backdrop of the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Purge was  based upon her original play of the same name, staged at the Finnish National Theatre in 2007.[ As of 2010, Purge is the only one of Oksanen’s novels which has been translated into English. I read it in one night. I could not put it down.

WHITE TIGER by Aravind Adiga 2008 India

This first novel tells the story of the journey of Bairam Halwai. He is  a boy from a village who goes to Delhi to work as a chauffeur and then to  Banglore where he kills his master.  He becomes a successful entrepreneur  and transcends his caste.The novel examines issues of religion, caste, loyalty, corruption and poverty in India

ELEGANCE OF A HEDGEHOG by Muriel Barbery 2006 France

This is the story of the events in the life of a concierge, Renée Michel, whose deliberately concealed intelligence is uncovered by an unstable but intellectually precocious girl named Paloma Josse. Paloma lives in the upper class Parisienne apartment building where Renée works.

The book is full of allusions to literary works, music, films, and paintings. It incorporates themes about philosophy, class conscience and personal conflict.

THE BRIDGE ON THE DRINA by Ivo Andric 1945 Bosnia-Herzekovina

The Bridge on the Drina revolves around the town of Visegrad and  the Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic Bridge over the Drina River. It is written beautifully.  The story spans four centuries during the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian regimes. It describes the lives, destinies and relations of the local villagers with a particular focus on Muslims and Orthodox Christians living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Andric won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his entire literary work but mostly for this novel in 1961.

THE BERLIN STORIES By Christopher Isherwood 1945 Germany

The Berlin Stories is a book consisting of two short novels Goodbye to Berlin and Mr Norris Changes Trains. They are set in Berlin in 1931 just as Hitler was coming in to power. They depict  a life of cafes and quaint avenues, bizarre nightlife, dreamers, mobs and millionaires. It was the basis for the play I Am A Camera which went on to inspire the musical Cabaret.

HELIOPOLIS  by James Scudamore 2009 Brazil

Heliopolis is  set in São Paulo Brazil. It follows the story of Ludo dos Santos – a young man born in  a favela (slum community). He leaves and eventually returns to the favela . It is  a comic, violent, poignant, different kind of rags to riches story.

WHITE TEETH by Zadie Smith 2000 England

White teeth focuses on the later lives of two wartime friends – Samad Iqbal and Archie Jones and their families in London. The story mixes pathos and humor .  It describes the immigrant experience In Great Britain and also satirizes the middle and working class British cultures.

There are many more recommendations. I thought we would start with these. Let me know any of your favorite books that take place in a foreign country or your own.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Top Ten Meals In Turkey

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Top Ten Meals In Turkey

“So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being” .
Franz Kafka

“Turkish food is not about experimentation but about technique”. It is about enjoying the essential ingredient.  You can have fresh fish cooked in a bit of olive oil and served with lemon, a salad with a little bit of olive oil, Fresh cheese and a bit of honey or lamb cooked with spices in its own juice.  Turkey is known best for meze. Meze  are small dishes that start the  meal. The meze are based on the seasons and the locale.  There is  usually  some white  cheese  ( beyaz peynir  -similar to feta but not as strong) served with fruit or vegetables or just some honey;  yogurt dishes –like dips (cacik or heydari) or with vegetables (esme),  meat dishes like kofte (meatballs), salads and vegetable dishes. Near the sea there will be small fish dishes – sardines, fried calamari, stuffed mussels, octopus and shrimp. Desserts are dough based or puddings with fruit or dried fruits and honey and nuts.   It was hard to make this restaurant list because all the food was amazing, very fresh and flavorful.

KOSEBASI, ISTANBUL Kosebasi located in the Nisantasi area of Istanbul, is a high-end chain restaurant throughout Turkey and the Middle East.  It has a star-studded clientele and is said to have some of the best kabob in Turkey and I would have to agree.  It was one of our first and best meals.  The  Turkish bread   was fresh, hot, chewy and light. The lamb and chicken kabobs had been marinated in delicious  spices  and were very tender.  The meze ( starters) were delicious.,   We had pastrami hummus,  bulghur salad,  broiled eggplant with yoghurt, white cheese and barbecued eggplant.  I love eggplant and the fact that I could have so many different kinds of eggplant in a meal was amazing –Two weeks later  I took it for granted.  The dessert was a semolina cake made with olive oil and pistachio ice cream. I didn’t know  until I visited   Turkey that semolina desserts are one of my favorite desserts. http://kosebasi.com/en

NAR LOKANTA, ISTANBUL. Nar Lokanta is on the top floor of  the stylish  gallery like store  Armaggan.  It is located in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul right near the Grand Bazaar and Starbucks. There is a beautiful vertical garden hanging down to the floor below outside. The menu changes daily as food is always seasonal.  It was at this restaurant that I had my first Turkish Pide and I was hooked.  Pide restaurants have wood fire ovens ( kind of like pizza ovens)  The dough is rolled and stretched into the boat shapes that form the pide.  The outside is rolled in to create a center for the filling We had many different kinds, – vegetable, cheese and lamb and cheese and olive.    Nar Lokanta uses their own olive oil which has a very low acidity and an almost sweet flavor.  It was never just pide for us in Turkey. Salads and cold vegetable dishes  are served as an open buffet – stuffed pumpkin flower, eggplant dishes, mung bean salad, artichokes with broad beans and seasonal wild herbs dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and sour pomegranate juice are a few of the many choices. There is also a large  dessert buffet which includes  pumpkin pudding, rice pudding, fig pudding, and baklava. There are many flavors of Turkish Delight.  (  homemade Turkish candy called Lokum). Turkish Delight was originally eaten after a meal for digestion.  This was not only a delicious meal but also very visually appealing.  narlokantasi.com/en/about.htm

ZIGGY, CAPPADOCIA.   Ziggy is an arty,  contemporary Turkish restaurant in the ancient city of Urgup.  The food is seasonal and they use the best quality ingredients so the menu changes daily.  I can tell you this for a fact  because it was so good we ate there two days in a row . I had the best chicken skewers of my life.  They are small pieces of garlic chicken cooked in a secret sauce and served on mini skewers.  Some of the mezze, were vegetables mashed into yogurt ,seasonal salads, vegetables cooked in olive oil and served cold called zeytinyagh (fava beans, eggplant artichoke and zucchini) and pastirma. Nearby Kayseri is known for its pastirma. Pastirma is the ancestor of pastrami and very popular in this part of Turkey. We also had an amazing dessert called borek ( which is made with layers of phylo dough) Boreks can also be filled with meat, cheese , potato and spinach.  This one was tiny boreks with cinnamon and sugar served with thin slices of green apple. ( like mini churros ) On a trip of my favorite desserts, this was my favorite.http://ziggycafe.com/about.htm

ORIENT, CAPPADOCIA.   Orient restaurant is located  at the beginning of Goreme, a beautiful village in Cappadocia. We had a salad of fresh organic herbs and vegetables.  Sealed clay pots were brought out  and broken open. Inside was steaming tender lamb cooked in these  clay pots with onion garlic and spices . This was a version of  the typical peasant dishes  cooked in those underground cities in Cappadocia. It was served over rice pilaf and  incredibly delicious.  For dessert, we had baklava. Not the sticky overly sweet version we have here,  but light and wonderful.

http://orientrestaurant.net/

BIZEM EV, SELCUK-IZMIR  Bizem Ev is a traditional Turkish restaurant  with an organic garden. It is not too far from Ephesus and has a pretty outside area in the garden.  Bizem Ev means “Our House.”  I drank my first Ayram here. Ayram is a yogurt drink that people drink all over Turkey. It is made with ice salt and yogurt and is very refreshing and delicious. (like  buttermilk which I happen to like.) This is a family run business and the mother cooks everything every day.  It is a huge buffet of fresh vegetable dishes from  their  garden as well as many Turkish specialties. Anytime the mother is cooking you know it is going to be great. You can also buy her cookbook and she will sign it for you.

UZUN EV, ASSOS – BEHRAMKALE.  Uzun Ev is located  in the small fishing harbor of Assos Behramkale , -a village near the ruins of Assos. The village is on the side of  a cliff and you have to go down a very narrow steep road  and walk part  of the way to get to the  restaurant on the sea.  It was a  beautiful day for a nice  walk.  The interior of the restaurant was very pretty but  we sat right on the water. We had a delicious lunch of fish stew with cooked greens sitting at a table  on the Aegean Sea.

http://uzunev.com/

RADIKA  CANNAKALE .  Radika is a seafood restaurant on the top floor of the Akos Hotel in Cannakale.  I had my first seafood in Turkey there. It was delicious bonito cooked perfectly. It was also my first salad. I have traveled to a lot of third world countries recently and  was in the habit of only eating cooked food. ( except pomegranate juice on the street)   The salad was so fresh and had just a bit of olive oil and lemon on it.  For dessert we had hot halvah with fresh fruit for dipping..  I was not allowed to have candy as a kid and we always had halvah in the house (the  store-bought Middle Eastern version – sugar butter and sesame paste.) I found it disgusting. Turkish halvah is made with semolina, butter and sugar  I was just planning to taste this dessert. It was amazing  and very different from the chewy, crumbly cardboard stuff of my childhood. .  It was another one of my most favorite desserts

http://www.hotelakol.com/en/restaurant.html

MEZE, ISTANBUL Meze is a contemporary Turkish restaurant located across the street from the Pera Palace Hotel. It is cozy and cool inside.  We were there during the Bayram and so I ate lamb in honor of the holiday. It was really tasty (from a not meat-eater)  – I don’t really like lamb except in Turkey. ( They say it is because they slaughter the lamb young and their diet is wildflowers.) Meze serves the traditional Turkish starters with a more sophisticated twist. Their mashed fava beans, stuffed grape leaves, and eggplant salad is slightly different  and really good. Their dessert with banana, cream , honey and pistachios  shouldn’t be missed.

http://www.mezze.com.tr/

MANICI KASRI HOTEL, YESILYURT.   I haven’t talked about all the fantastic hotel breakfast buffets  because I’m not a huge breakfast eater. The Turkish word for breakfast, kahvaltı, means “before coffee”. It was customary to drink tea for breakfast – not for me. This area ( at the base of Mt Ida where Zeus was born) has seen many civilizations such as Trojan, Leleg, Midilli, Persian, Roman, Selcuk and Ottoman  and you can feel the influence on everything. The village is known for its less ascetic  olive oil and honey. Most of the trees are olive trees.  I think being in a village made everything fresher.  Perhaps it was the extra oxygen in the air up there that made me hungrier.   I had my usual breakfast but it just tasted better here.  There was fresh Turkish yogurt  in a bowl with  honey, from the village.   I had delicious pomegranate juice. I had some cucumber and tomatoes with a bit of  their olive oil. and the sweetest Turkish melon.    My favorite things are fresh hot Turkish bagels.  They are rings of dough covered in sesame seeds. They are known by different names in different areas but mostly they are called simit. They are often sold by street vendors in trolleys. or carried on their heads. After, I took a walk through the village right after the sunrise. (local olive oil, hotel, sunrise)

http://www.manicikasri.com/english/manici-eng.html

SAGLAM, BERGAMA and ZERDALI, AVANOS . Saglam is near the ruins of Pergamon and the Asciepion ( ancient Greek Medical complex) Zerdali is in Cappadocia.   We covered a lot of ground on this trip and had two lunches at restaurants  attached to gas stations and one in the airport in Ankara. They were all good.  I remember hearing the real estate was high and it was easier to have a large restaurant attached to a gas station. One family owned the gas station, the other did not.  The pide was excellent. At Saglam we also had kabob which was good (I was full from all the meze and the pide before the kabob.   I didn’t have dinner that night.  At Zerdali I had really delicious lentil soup with the pide.  I had a lot of lentil soup in Turkey. It is usually made with red lentils . It was always delicious but the one at Zerdali was particularly good.

I could continue listing restaurants .  But when you go to Turkey and try any of these places,  you will have a great meal.   I will miss this food.

For more info on Turkey – Things I Learned In Istanbul https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/things-i-have-learned-in-istanbul/

Iyi  Uguslar,

JAZ

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Favorite Foreign Documentary Films

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“In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director. “  Alfred Hitchcock

Favorite Documentary Films in A Foreign Country

As I get older, photography and documentary films fascinate me.  It is capturing that moment in time that will never be the same.  Documentary films are like reality TV but with good editing and less manufactured drama.  Watching a  movie that takes place in a foreign country is a way of traveling for me.  I can see things  that I would  not see as a tourist. It is  learning the mentality, resilience and heart  of the people.  I am always amazed at how much I have in common with someone in a village in Africa, or a woman in a burka . At our core,  human beings are not very different.  Apparently we need to be reminded of this all the time.    They are in no particular order and you can probably get them on netflix or watch them on HBO.

Burma VJ  (Myanmar)

Director: Anders Ostergaard

Stars: George W. Bush, Ko Muang,  Aung San Suu Kyi

Using smuggled footage, this documentary tells the story of the 2007 protests in Burma by thousands of monks. Burma’s videojournalists risking torture and life in jail make undercover videos and news reports with small hand video cameras. They smuggle the tapes out of the country to the international media. I saw this film after I planned to go to Burma (Myanmar) and instead of frightening me, it made me feel that there were so many brave people in this country.  How many people would be filmmakers if it meant risking their life every day?

A Small Act (Kenya)

Director: Jennifer Arnold

Writers:  Jennifer Arnold, Thomas Schlesinger

A young Kenyan’s life changes drastically when his education is sponsored by a Swedish stranger. Years later, he founds his own scholarship program to replicate the kindness he once received. It is a true story of  the ripple effect of a single act of kindness. You always get back more than what you give.  It is my favorite documentary film. I gave it as Christmas gifts one year.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi  (Japan)

Director: David Gelb

Stars: Jiro Ono and Yoshikazu Ono

A documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his business in the basement of a Tokyo office building, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu. It is also a good insight into the Japanese mentality about family and obligation.

Buena Vista Social Club (Cuba)

Director: Wim Wenders

Writer: Nick Gold

Stars: Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer and Ruben Gonzalez

Aging  Cuban musicians who had performed at a music club in Cuba in the 1940’s and fifties,  were brought together to play with guitarist Ry Cooder on an album entitled Buena Vista Social Club. (the club’s name) Wim Wenders documented the performances and lives of these musicians. It was a resurgence of their careers and the golden age of Cuban Music. They only enjoyed it for a short time because they died soon after.

Born Into Brothels (India)

Director: Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman

Stars: Kochi, Avijit Hlader and Shanti Das

Born into Brothels follows the lives of seven children. Their mothers are prostitutes in the red light district of Calcutta. The children are given cameras and taught to see the world. It won the Academy Award for best documentary film  in 2005.  It is another example of how teaching the arts to underprivileged children can only help.  I love this movie.

The Desert of Forbidden Art (Uzbekistan)

 Writer -Directors: Tchavdar Georgiev, Amanda Pope

Risking being denounced as an ‘enemy of the people,’ Igor Savitsky rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artists’ works and creates in a far desert of Soviet Uzbekistan a museum now worth millions.

Pray the Devil Back To Hell (Liberia)

 Director: Gini Reticker

Stars: Janet Johnson Bryant, Etweda Cooper and Valba Flomo

This film tells the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war .

Thousands of women — ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim — came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about an agreement during the stalled peace talks.
 Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia

Wasteland (Brazil)

Director : Lucy Walker

Stars:  Vic Muniz, Zumbi,  Taio,  Sulo,  Isis

Wasteland is filmed in the world’s largest garbage dump Jardin Gramacho outside of Rio de Janeiro Brazil. It is here that artist Vic Muniz and the garbage pickers ‘catadores’ create art. The project evolves into photographic portraits of the garbage pickers out of the garbage.   It is a beautiful transformation story of art and the human spirit.

An African Election (Ghana)

Director: Jarreth J. Merz, Kevin Merz

Writers: Erika Tasini, Shari Yantra Marcacci

This political film follows the elections in Ghana in 2008. Anyone who takes their vote for granted should see this third world democracy struggle to have a fair election.

Koran by Heart (Egypt)

Director: Greg Barker

Koran By Heart follows two boys from Senegal and Tajikistan, and a little girl from Maldives – who go head-to-head with kids nearly twice their age in the pronunciation, recitation and  memorization of the Koran during Ramadan. It the oldest Koran competition and takes place in Cairo.  They are caught between fundamentalist and modern Islam. It shows  our similarities more than our differences.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (France)

Director: Werner Herzhog

Writer: Werner Herzhog

Stars: Werner Herzhog, Jean Clottes and Julien Monney

The film ( shot in 3D) follows an expedition into the  Chauvet Cave in France, home to the most ancient cave drawings known to have been created by man. This pristine artwork dating back to human hands over 30,000 years ago  is almost twice as old as any previous discovery.

Beneath the Veil (Afghanistan)

Director: Cassian Harrison

Stars: Saira Shah

This is a documentary film made in 2001 about the conditions of women living in Afghanistan under the Taliban. It is brutal and barbaric and worst of all true.

Al Wei Wei Never Sorry (China)

Director: Alison Klayman

Al Wei Wei is China’s most famous artist. The film chronicles Weiwei’s struggle for human rights within his country and his use of art and social media to rally global audiences to his cause. I am a big fan of him and his work. When he was in jail, I  signed the petition to free him. Apparently because of the internet, it went on my permanent record. It was interesting for me to see this in depth film.

Let me know some of your favorite foreign documentary films.

also, see favorite foreign films.

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/favorite-foreign-films/

Fly safe,

JAZ

Things I Have Learned In Istanbul

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Things I Have Learned In Istanbul

“Life cant be that bad, I’d think from time to time. Whatever happens, I can always take a walk along the Bosphorus”   Orhan Pamuk.

 Istanbul is the only city built on two continents – Asia and Europe.

Istanbul was first known as Byzantium . The name of Constantinople came from the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great who rebuilt the city on seven hills, to match the famous seven hills of Rome. The name finally changed to Istanbul in 1930 when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk proclaimed the Republic. To ensure the usage of the new name, Turkish authorities resent all mail and packages that were sent to a previous city name.

Istanbul has been capital of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, yet it isn’t the capital city of modern Turkey, which is Ankara. Istanbul is however the largest city in Turkey.

The Basilica Cistern is the largest and most spectacular of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city. The cistern  was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor  Justinian.  It was used to bring water to the Imperial Palace and later Topkapi Palace. The cistern looks like an eerie underground cathedral with Roman columns and Medusa. It was the setting for the 1963 James Bond film, from Russia with Love. James Bond once again appeared in Turkey  more recently in Skyfall. We had dinner at the same restaurant.

Istanbul has the biggest car ferries in the world on the Sea of Marmara.

  Suleyman the Magnificent wanted a mosque qppropriate to his title. He commissioned architect Mimar Sinan to build the Suleymaniye Mosque which was completed in 1557. The mosque had a madrasa, houses, infirmaries, caravansarais, a medical school, hamams, a Hadeth school, a hospital and shops. It is the largest mosque in Istanbul. The Suleymaniye Mosque is a beautiful example of Ottoman Islāmic architecture. There is a wonderful light spiritual feeling inside. (inner courtyard, recycled columns, interior, exterior view)

Be physically and mentally prepared to shop in the Grand Bazaar. Be thirsty for you will drink many cups of tea.  Wear comfortable shoes because there are over 5000 shops and sixty streets. The street names refer to the different trades and crafts.  I must have been on leather jacket street. Be in a good mood to deal with shopkeepers who will try to lure you in. You will have many best friends and marriage proposals.  Hone up on your bargaining skills. Allow plenty of time to explore. Take advantage of fresh squeezed pomegranate juice for energy.  Most important  – never forget your luggage allowance or you will spend the rest of your trip wondering how you will get all the leather jackets home. The Bazaar has come a long way from the original construction in the fifteenth century. They now  have a website.

Bibliophiles will want to head towards Sahaflar Çarşısı (Old Book Bazaar), which is found in a shady little courtyard west of the Grand Bazaar at the end of Kalpakçılarbaşı Caddesi. The book bazaar dates from Byzantine times. Its stallholders sell books both new and old.

The Spice Market (also known as the Eygptian Bazaar because a few centuries ago it was the market for goods brought from Egypt) was built in the seventh century near the Galtaea Bridge on the Golden Horn. It is across from the ferry docks. Spices, dried fruits, olive oil, cheeses, sausages, jams, nuts and seeds, teas, lokum  (Turkish Delight), sweets, caviar and other edibles fill most of the shops. It has become a lot more touristy in the past ten years. It is not easy to make a living just selling spices and so many other shops are now in the market as well. I should have bought saffron.

The Pera Museum has a lovely collection of European, Ottoman and Turkish paintings. They have interesting temporary exhibitions as well.  It is closed Mondays.  My favorite new painting “The Turtle Trainer”  by Osman Hamdi Bey is there.

Rustem Pasha Mosque was commissioned by Suleyman’s son in law and built by Sinan. It was completed in 1561 It is located in an old and busy market area. The mosque is known  for its beautiful Iznik tiles from the sixteenth century covering entire walls. It is a very special mosque and really lovely inside.

The Bosphorous is the biggest canal in the world.

Hagia Sophia is the most important building in Istanbul. It was built in the fourth century and is the masterpiece of Byzantine architecture.

People who live in Istanbul are called  Istanbulites.

The Asian side of Istanbul is a great place to live if you are a Turkish Yuppie. (T-uppie?) They have cool restaurants and stores, gyms, many Starbucks and a Pinkberry.

The historic Sirkeci Train Station is in Istanbul. This was the last stop on the Orient Express “king of trains and train of kings” – between Paris and Constantinople from 1883 to 1977. Agatha Christie was one of the passengers of this famous train. She wrote her  novel “Murder on the Orient Express”  in Istanbul at the Pera Palace Hotel ( I stayed there)  Her book fans always want to see her room.

If you ride trains in Turkey, they’ll most likely not be from Istanbul, as all intercity trains from Haydarpasa Station on the Asian side of the Bosphorous have been cancelled until 2014,  while the rail line eastward is upgraded.

Istanbul has the third oldest subway in the world, built in 1875. It is 573 meters long and located in the Tunel neighborhood in the Beyoglu district. The  London subway was built in 1863 and the New York subway was built in 1868.

Istanbul has the only soccer stadium where you can see two continents. Turkish people take their soccer seriously. It is not unusual to see the police ready for a big game.

The first recorded international treaty in the world was the Treaty of Kadesh between the Hittite and Egyptian Empires, Hattusilis III and Ramses II, in c.1275 BC. You can see it  at the  Istanbul Archeological museum. I wish I could say that I saw it, being that I was at that museum, but I was obsessed with the Alexander Sarcophagus.

The Alexander Sarcophagus was made in the fourth century (Greek) and is covered on four sides with an exquisite bas-relief of Alexander the Great in action. It was discovered in an excavation led by artist Osman Hamdi Bey who became director of the museum.  It was at first thought to have been Alexander the Great’s sarcophagus but that was found to be untrue.  The figures are quite lifelike as is the movement and pain on the faces. It is among the most important classical antiquities ever discovered. It is totally intact and in almost perfect condition. It is said to have been done by as many as six sculptors (which is what I figured out by staring at it for a while)

The Golden Horn is entirely in Europe. It leads into the Bosphorus, which is the water that divides the two continents,  which joins the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which in turn leads into the Mediterranean.

Topkapi Palace was the primary residence of the Sultans for four hundred years. Construction began in 1459 by Sultan  Mehmed II and continued over centuries. Architect Sinan redid the kitchen quarters in the sixrteenth century. It is a good example of Ottoman architecture. It houses the famous Topkapi Dagger ( made famous by the movie Topkapi) and important holy relics from the Muslim world including Mohammed’s cloak and dagger.

The Harem of the Topkapi Palace  has more than 400 rooms and was home to   the Sultan’s  mother,wives, concubines, children, servants and eunuchs. Many of the rooms and features were designed by architect Sinan.

When Istanbul was part of the Ottoman Empire there were over 1,400 public toilets all around the city. At the same time, there weren’t any in  Europe.

I don’t know what to say about the Dolmabahci Palace after looking at so much beautiful pristine  Mosque architecture.  The design could be described as Baroque Rococco Neoclassical Ottoman style.  They were not afraid to use too much gold.  The Dolmabahci Palace is the largest palace in Turkey and  has a beautiful view of the Bosphorous.  It cost five million Ottoman gold coins  in 1856. It was home to six Sultans and Ataturk. The world’s largest Bohemian crystal chandelier is in the center hall. Dolmabahçe has the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the world, and one of the great staircases has banisters of baccarat crystal.  Turks  may come to see this because Ataturk died here but they do not like this palace. It was a lot of money to spend at a time when life was not easy for most people.

Four bronze horses which  decorate  San Marco Cathedral in Venice today, were taken from Istanbul (Constantinople back then) by the Crusaders in the 13th century. I took a picture of the stolen horses when I was in Venice if they need evidence.

The Blue Mosque is the only mosque in Istanbul with six minarets, which is the largest number you can have in a mosque. It is called the Blue Mosque because of the 20,000 blue Iznik tiles inside.  The façade is  built in the same way as the Suleyman mosque. It was designed by a student of Sinan. It Is exquisite but a major tourist attraction and always very crowded. You must just stare at the ceiling if you want to feel any spirituality.

Istanbul Modern is the first and only modern art museum in Istanbul.  It opened in 2004 and is home to modern Turkish artists and Istanbul fashion week.

.The most precious remnant  of the Hippodrome and oldest monument of Constantinople is the Egyptian Obelisk, which was erected by Pharaoh Thurmosis lll  in Karnak 1471 BC. (this looks exactly like my Washington Monument photo – we are copycats)

The old city walls are a nice place to hang out.

Whatever happens, I can always take a  cruise down the Bosphorus.

For more info read Top Ten Things in Turkey

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/my-top-ten-favorite-things-in-turkey/

Top Ten Meals In Turkey

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/top-ten-meals-in-turkey/

Iyi Yolculuklar.

JAZ

How To Leave Myanmar

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“If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all”.
- William F. Buckley, Jr.

How To Leave Myanmar

There are very flew airlines that fly to Myanmar and flights are booked months in advance.

You will be taken to the airport by an English speaking guide and a driver. They will not be allowed into the airport.

Wait on line for two and a half hours.  A line means that any foreign  tour guide carrying fifty passports will be waved in front of you. Airline personnel from any airline can bring random people and  large  familes in front of you at all times.

Just because the concierge at your hotel (right out of a Somerset Maugham novel) tells you that he has gotten you a seat on the morning flight, doesn’t mean that it will be true when you get to the  airport desk.

Talk your way into getting a seat on the evening flight. Make sure to get a confirmation number.  Otherwise this same scenerio will repeat in the evening.

Everyone will be rude to you.

Spend day alone in Yangon, Myanmar without friends or English speaking tour guide.

Driver is waiting to take you back to the hotel. “Schwedegon?” he says.  He has decided to take me to the most important Buddhist Temple in Myanmar. He knows that I did not go the day before with my friends. I decide that he doesn’t look like a terrorist or serial killer and say ok. I walk around with him and  his friend ( who appears at the temple)  for an hour on  the grounds of this exquisite temple. I wondered when I became a person who walked alone in Burma with two young men in longyi (sarongs) who did not speak English.  I rely on my vast knowledge of gestures and hand motions.  I hope I am not doing the Macarena or the Hokey Pokey.

.Everyone at the hotel knows that you didn’t get on the flight.  They have a room waiting for you and your luggage is quickly whisked away. The concierge unasked says he cannot find an English speaking tour guide  . Instead he has found a car and driver who speaks English for twenty dollars for the afternoon. By English, it means he knows a few words.

You decide to go back to Scott Market to shop since you wont be going to the local areas.  It doesnt look as strange today.   You run into the young girl monk who you took pictures of yesterday. She is so happy to see you and brings you to her friend’s shop.  You buy a painting from a kid. Word spreads that someone is buying art. You are surrounded by kids and paintings.  They are not supposed to take folded money in Myanmar but they take it in the market. You run into your English speaking tour guide with a new group .  He has been worrying about you and is happy to see  that you are fine. The driver is more of a body guard/package carrier. He is only a bit happier than my son to be shopping but  has good humor about it. He laughs when I tell him that I will let his wife know what a good shopper he is . He shakes his head.

.You leave the market on a very long narrow street.  The car in front of you is stuck. Three very skinny people get out and push the car very slowly down  the street. Everyone is teasing them. We follow very slowly behind them.

The tour sends another English speaking tour guide and driver to take you to the airport. He turns out to be the person that your travel doctor in LA has told you to contact to find his aids orphanages to help. He knows all the best Buddhist teachers in Burma.

This time , the driver is allowed in to the airport to help you with your luggage. The girl at Security waves hello and says welcome back.

Everyone is nice to you.

The man who this morning was bringing everyone in front of me smiles and says “I remember.”  He takes my luggage. He points to a chair. He puts up ten fingers. In ten minute he comes over to get me. My luggage is already up on the counter. A woman is standing there with fifty passports. He waves me in front of her.  That is Myanmar.

Tar Tar ( from  British rule –  Ta Ta) and Fly Safe,

JAZ

The First Thanksgiving

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The First Thanksgiving

“If you’re going to America, bring your own food.”     
Fran Lebowitz

I overheard a conversation between four immigrants.  They were discussing Thanksgiving  with  the confidence of people who had celebrated all their lives.  “My wife makes the turkey but we always do Israeli cous cous, salad and hummus to to go along with it, “ said the Israeli man.  “I have to have rice. I like to put my turkey on the white rice and eat it, replied the Vietnamese woman.  “ We make the turkey more spicy. My family likes spicy”, added the Colombian woman. “My friends and I go out. I love my turkey on Thanksgiving “, said the man from Budapest. I listened to the different accents discussing the best way to cook a turkey. It was clearly their holiday.

Most of them learned about the tradition from their kids. It is the same way that my grandparents learned about America. The kids assimilate first. They learn in school how to be  American kids.  My Vietnamese hairdresser said his son came home from school one day crying that they didn’t have turkey to eat. “So I went and bought a turkey breast and cooked it Vietnamese style with soy sauce and spices. Now we make best  American turkey in my family. Every year we learn more and we do it better.”  My Vietnamese manicurist said the first year they bought a turkey leg and cooked it with vegetables and rice and shared it with ten people. Now she cooks a roast on Christmas, a lamb on Easter and a whole turkey on Thanksgiving.

A Russian friend told me she learned about it at work.“Everyone asked what I was doing for the holiday and I didn’t know about this holiday. They told me that Columbus discovered America and there was a bird involved. I needed to cook this bird for the holiday. They told me it was Appreciation Day. Every year we say what we appreciate.  The first year I followed the recipe they gave me for the stuffing. No one liked it.  Now I make a Russian buckwheat stuffing which we love.”

I remember my Italian neighbors always had a pasta  on the table. “We can’t have a holiday without sauce”,  the mom would say. My  friends in Japan studied in the US.  Every year they miss Thanksgiving.  One of them makes a turkey every Thanksgiving. She puts the pictures on facebook.  Her small children who don’t speak English yet, have celebrated Thanksgiving in Japan every year since they were born.

I don’t know if any of these people know the story of the Pilgrims and the Indians.  It is  only discussed in elementary school.

But what I do know is for this one day in America,  we are all doing the same thing. Thanksgiving is the only day in this country that surpasses race, religion, ethnic background,  economic background, location,  country of origin, age, sex, sexual orientation and political affiliations.  We are all  having turkey  (or side dishes if you are vegetarian) with friends and family.  If we can all agree to have turkey on Thanksgiving,  some day we can learn to agree on other things. I guess that  is what Thanksgiving means – a day of peace, hope and gratitude. Maybe they do know the story – the modern version.

When I first met my daughter’s boyfriend, he told me that his family didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving because they are South African.   Our dinner is at their house this year.

Tell me your Thanksgiving stories.

Fly Safe and Happy Thanksgiving (The day before Thanksgiving is the busiest flying day of the year in the US)

JAZ

My Top Ten Favorite Things In Turkey

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“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” 
—Roald Dahl 

My Top Ten  Favorite Things In Turkey

. 1.Cappadocia could be among my favorite places in the world.  The dramatic landscape is the result of volcanic eruptions that happened millions  years ago. Wind and water eroded the land leaving these odd surreal land formations, fairy chimneys, and caves and underground cities.

Goreme Open Air Museum is a group of cave churches and monasteries from the 11th-13thcentury.  The most famous and most restored one is Karanlik Killse (Dark Church) which is filled with elaborate Byzantine frescoes. Early Christians escaping from Roman persecution found shelter in Cappadocia.

Yunak Evleri Hotel is an amazing  Cave Hotel carved into a mountain in the ancient city of Urgup. (.yunak.com/en/index.html)

Ziggys  is not the restaurant you would expect to find in an  ancient cave city.  It is cool with interesting decor and great music . It is owned by Selim and Nuray Yuksel. Nuray is an artist and also runs a beautifully displayed  gallery filled with crafts and jewelry from local Turkish artists  downstairs.   The food is so good that we ate there both nights. ( ziggycafe.com )

Hiking through the Mushroom  Valley, Love Valley,  Goreme Valley, walking all around Urgup early in the morning

Hot Air Balloon at dawn over Goreme valley.

2.Any restaurant or menu chosen by Oguz Kaya.  I  have never eaten Turkish food before.  I had no idea it was my favorite food.  Every meal was “the best one”. We ate in expensive restaurants,   gas stations,  hotels, outdoor seaside restaurants, an organic garden , a mosque,  –even the food in Ankara airport was good. (Uzun Ev Restaurant in Behramkale, Daruzziyafe,  Ottoman restaurant in Suleymaniye Mosque by Sinan in Istanbul, Orient restaurant in Cappadocia)

3.Any mosque by architect Sinan especially Selimiye Mosque in Edirne I loved the Selimiye Mosque and it turns out that it is Sinan’s favorite mosque as well. He wanted it to be greater than the Hagia Sophia.  His genius was in his  use of form, simplicity, light and balance. It all worked when you walked in. He is also considered to be  one of the first earthquake-proof engineers. ( Selimiye mosque,1575, notice the recycled columns)

4. Hearing the call to prayer early in the morning at the Hotel Manici Kasri in Yesilkurt.  In a tiny village of stone houses at the foot of Mt Ida is this charming hotel. Yesilkurt (which I still can not pronounce – it is harder than it looks.) has the second highest concentration of oxygen in the air  in the world. It is a small hotel  with pomegranate trees and great food.  It was very quiet in those mountains and early in the morning I awoke to the call to prayer – the only sound in this village. I could have been in any mountain village but the call to prayer in Turkey always reminds me to take a minute and be in the present. (www.manicikasri.com )

5 Hammam.   I like a good hammam. I didn’t know  that until I got to Istanbul and found out what it was. You’re taken to a warm, humid room with a raised stone platform (goebektas) in the center, surrounded by bathing alcoves. The light, diffused through glass in the ceiling is soft and relaxing. You lay  on the platform (usually with other people), and you’re scrubbed cleaner than you have ever  been. They use  a coarse mitt to remove layers of dead skin and then comes the soap. A lacy cloth is used , like an icing bag, and  they blow through it to create bubbles so you’re covered from head to toe with white frothy bubbles. It is followed by a massage.

6 Hagia Sophia   I studied this masterpiece of Byzantine architecture in  school and always wanted to see it.   It was built in the fourth century as a church and converted to a mosque in the sixteenth century. It was the world’s largest cathedral for 1000 years and contains remnants of all the renovations.    It is now a museum and very crowded but I was able to block out the noise and feel the history and remember the architectural elements. I had so many questions but I  was overwhelmed and couldn’t  speak.  It was real. I was finally in Istanbul at the Hagia Sophia.

7.Drinking fresh pomegranate juice on the street and picking one from a tree and eating it.

8. “The Turtle Trainer” by Osman Hamdi Bey.  This painting is in the Pera Museum in Istanbul.  It shows a man ( self-portrait of the artist) in what looks like a religious red robe, holding a sufi flute trying to train turtles. But the turtles have no ears and a thick shell  so they probably don’t hear him.   The lesson is that change is difficult and requires patience.  Osman  Hamdi  Bey was an important artist and intellectual in the Ottoman Empire. He established the first School for the Arts in Istanbul. Who can say why a painting touches you?  But I will always remember this painting.

9. Shopping for leather, carpets,  scarves, bracelets and pottery .    Shopping again .  And again.

10. Stopping at  an empty caravanserai on the silk road from China to Europe  and hearing the call to prayer.  This time, I pictured the caravan drivers hearing the same thing.   The caravanserais were built like forts. They were a safe places for caravans.  Once within the caravanserai a weary caravan could look forward to warm food, a bath and a safe shelter for the night for both men and animals. They provided food and lodging reportedly at no charge for 3 nights and free repair to footwear. They were conveniently spaced a day’s camel ride apart. (camels can ride from sunrise to sunset. The riders worked like truckers and had their routes.)  Built to promote trade, they brought prosperity to the communities hosting them. Nobility and their entourages used them too. So did the military. (Hoca Mesut Caravanserai 1231-1239)

“Think, in this batter’d Caravanserai, Who portals are alternate night and day, How Sultan after Sultan with his Pomp, Abode his destined hour, and        went his way.”             Omar Khayyam

There are countries I visit that I love and then there are countries where I leave a part of myself so I will come back. Turkey  is  a place I will return to.

For more info on  Turkey read Things I Have Learned In Istanbul https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/things-i-have-learned-in-istanbul/

Top Ten Meals In Turkey

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/top-ten-meals-in-turkey/

Things I’ve Learned In Ephesus

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/all-roads-lead-to-ephesus/

In Ruina

Iyi  Uguslar,

JAZ

Things I Have Learned In Turkey

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.“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

Things I’ve Learned  In Turkey

It’s hard to find turkey in Turkey ( but I found one in a cage at the caravanserai on the silk road).

Skembe (tripe soup) is a popular hangover cure.

If a hotel  in Turkey has a good personality, it is not five-star.

The tulip originated in Turkey and was exported to Europe during the Ottoman Empire. There are tulip tiles in many of the old mosques. (Rustem Pasha Camii , Istanbul)

In some villages, if a girl doesn’t know weaving and a man cannot make pottery, they shouldn’t get married.

Most Christians were illiterate in the time of Constantinople.  Now Turkey has a literacy rate of one hundred per cent.

Fresh Turkish bagels in Istanbul are better than Jewish bagels in New York. Pastirma is Pastrami in Turkish. It does seem strange having amazing pastrami and bagels  in Turkey. ( no mustard or cream cheese)

The world’s tallest man is Turkish (8 feet 1 inch).

Turkish toilets are like Japanese toilets.

Hillary Clinton and I both stayed at the Lugal in Ankara,

People can go into any mosque in Turkey.You do not have to be a member of a mosque –even on the Bayram  (high holidays).I happen to be in Istanbul on the Bayram ( last four days of the Muslim calendar). On the first day ( while many  Muslims are in Mecca) according to the story of Abraham sacrificing his son, livestock is slaughtered and shared with the poor, friends and relatives.  Traditionally the skins are given to the Turkish Airforce to make jackets.  Every part of the lamb must be used for God.  It is a holiday for visiting the sick, elderly, honoring the dead and giving to charity.  It is a bloody day in the villages.   I ate some amazing lamb meatballs wrapped in phyla dough in honor of the holiday. ( Uc Serefeli Camii, Edirne)

There is no such thing as buying too many leather jackets in Turkey. Everything is best quality and best price. (www.kircilar.com.tr)

The highest peak in Turkey is Mount Agri (5,166 m). It is also said to be the place where Noah’s Ark came to rest.(Mount Ararat)

It was in ancient Anatolia that writing was first used by people.  The first coin in the world was minted in Turkey as well.

Anatolia is the birthplace of Homer, King Midas, Herodotus and St Paul the Apostle.

Turkey is the only secular Muslim country among all the Muslim countries in the world. The thirteen countries surrounding Turkey are unstable. “You take Iraq, Iran and Syria and we will take your problems.”

Pide is Turkish pizza. Pita is not. (Nar Lokantsi restaurant, Istanbul)

It is better to read a book about Ataturk written by a foreigner because it will be unbiased. Turks worship him and rightly so – He is responsible for the way Turkey is today. (Ataturk memorial, Ankara)

Turks accidentally became Muslims. They started as shamans and encountered Islam on their way to Turkey.

Restaurants connected to gas stations in Turkey are delicious. Don’t try this in the U.S. (  If you are headed to the ancient  Greek city of Pergamon stop at Saglam Restaurant – Mehmet Saglam -Bergama)

We are luckier than the ancient Greeks because we got to take a cable car up a very steep hill  to  the Acropolis of Pergamon. We are also lucky that it wasn’t windy.

Turkish people take care of the old, sick and homeless in their families. If someone is homeless, the Turks blame the family for not taking care of them. If they don’t help them “they put them in the fire.” I think I saw one homeless person in the time I was there. Where was his family?

According to a Global Sex survey, Turkey is the world’s most virile nation.

I like the name Turkish Delight much more than the actual candy. I like the green m and m  pistachio candies a lot.

Don’t tell a Greek or Turk this but their food, dessert, liquor , coffee, evil eye jewelry, prayer beads, backgammon sets and seaside resorts are very similar.

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If you are a woman, the only establishments that you need to be aware of are the Turkish tea houses. If you are in doubt look around and see who else is in there.

Some hotels in Turkey have airport security. Airports have double security, first to come into the airport and then to go on the plane.

A hotel that cannot be run worse can have a restaurant that can be run best.

In a Hammam (Turkish baths), the Turkish women and children wear bathing suits. The foreigners do not . If you did not know this and you end up in a small hammam with Turkish families, it can be awkward.

It’s best to wear light slip on shoes when visiting mosques.

Julius Caesar proclaimed his celebrated words, “Veni, Vidi, Vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered) in Turkey when he defeated the Pontus, a formidable kingdom in the Black Sea region of Turkey.

You can still get on the 6:00  car ferry from Gallipoli across the Dardanelles to Cannakale if you arrive at 5:57. (Cannakale morning)

Azerbaijan looks like a nice place to vacation. They have a lot of commercials for tourism  on Turkish TV.

Zeus was born on Mt Ida. King Priam sent his son Paris there to grow up with the bears.

Turkish carpets have double knots which make them the strongest carpets in the world.  Seeing how carpets are made are a big part of Turkish culture.

Hand woven carpets are dyed naturally.  Red – rhubarb, pomegranate; brown –wet walnut, blue-indigo, yellow-saffron, orange-onionskin and green –sage. (gallerycappadocia.com)

The Turkish government subsidizes the carpet industry. Carpets are shipped  anywhere in the world for free. Yes, I took advantage of that and also the best price for a beautiful dowry rug. (made by a village girl)

The most valuable silk carpet in the world, is in the Mevlana Museum in Konya with 144 knots per square centimeter. In the 13th century, Marco Polo wrote “the best and handsomest of rugs are woven here, and also silks of crimson and other rich colors”.

Turks introduced coffee to Europe but they do not grow coffee. Their coffee is famous for the way it is prepared. One of the few words I learned in Turkish ( a very hard language for me) is “tsekeses” – no sugar.

The property rates for homes are quoted in dollars and not Turkish lira.

According to Turkish tradition a stranger at one’s doorstep is considered “A Guest from God” and should be accommodated accordingly.

Mother in-laws in Turkey are smart. They know they have to get along with the daughter in-laws.  Daughter in-laws in Turkey are smarter, they know they have to respect the mother in-law.

Turkey provides 70% of the world’s hazelnuts; the nut in your nutella was most probably grown in Turkey.

If you happen to be on the road to Iraq and Syria, stop off in Cappadocia.

In Turkey, you can change continents several times a day. In one day, you can be in Troy, Mesopotamia, Byzantium and Constantinople.

The most important thing to bring to Turkey is pants with elastic waistbands. The food is amazing. It is a combination of Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean.

The Famous Trojan Wars took place in western Turkey, around the site where a wooden statue of the Trojan Horse rests today. There is another wooden horse that was sold to the city of Cannakale (nearby) from the Hollywood movie Troy. I saw both fake Trojan horses.( Troy, Troy, Heinrich Schliemann excavation at Troy, Cannakale-Trojan Horse from the movie Troy)

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Part of Turkey’s southwestern shore was a wedding gift that Mark Anthony gave to Cleopatra.

The are eight million Kurds living in Turkey. They are not all terrorists. The ones who are, control the drug trade through Turkey.

Iranians and Turks are not considered Arabs.

Gallipoli was the bloodiest battle in World War One.  It was an eight month campaign. In that time the total Allied deaths were 43,000. The total Turkish deaths were 63,000.  Many Australians and New Zealanders died there. (ANZAC forces) Many come to Gallipoli on April 25 which is ANZAC day. I met a few Australians in Cannakale who had come to see it. There are many memorials and cemeteries in the Gallipoli memorial park. (ANZAC memorial, location of fighting).

Quote on the Ataturk Memorial at Gallipoli ” Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”  Ataturk 1934

Whirling dervishes fascinate me. Belonging to the order of Sufism, they dedicate themselves to a life of poverty and spinning around.   They detach themselves from the here and now, to reach a state of religious ecstasy that I think can be achieved in easier ways.  Also, whirling dervishes are slow.

Turks do not throw their own garbage away in Starbucks or McDonald’s.

The opera and the ballet are state-owned and not as popular as soccer.

There are no images in mosques because God is unseen. The ban on images of people led to the development of the detailed and beautiful calligraphy that is the principle adornment of mosques and other Islāmic religious items. (Eski Camii, Edirne, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Sokullo Mehmet Pasa Mosque, Istanbul)

The only thing you have to do in Turkey is accept a drink every time it is offered. ( This will  happen in every shop you walk into. It is very time-consuming but pleasant -especially if you like apple tea or Turkish coffee).

for more info see

Top Ten Favorite Things in Turkey

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/my-top-ten-favorite-things-in-turkey/

Things I Have Learned In Istanbul

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/things-i-have-learned-in-istanbul/

Top Tem Meals In Turkey

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/top-ten-meals-in-turkey

Things I Have Learned in Ephesus

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/all-roads-lead-to-ephesus/

In Ruins

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/in-ruins/

I am “very good lucky” to have been on this trip.

Tsekkeru Edarim Turkey,  Fly Safe ,

JAZ

Best Things To Do In London (With A Little Help From My Friends)

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Best Things To Do In London  (with a little help from my friends)

” ‘The British really have everything in common with America nowadays except of course, language. “ Oscar Wilde

One of the nicest meals I had in London was at Square Pie in the basement food hall at Selfridges on Oxford Street. I had spent a week in London with my sister, and we had gone to restaurants like J Sheeky and The River Cafe, and had filled our days and evenings with sightseeing and theatre. One afternoon we were so tired from museums  and shopping that we collapsed at Square Pie, where we stood in line and had delicious and probably very un-PC lamb and kidney pies and mushy peas.    TN

I would recommend  taking in Hyde Park. Formerly one of King Henry VIII’s private hunting grounds, Hyde Park was the site of the triathlon at this years Olympics. Enjoy a spot of tea at the café on the river before you hop on a paddle boat and enjoy London on the river. Admire the Queen’s swans and gawk at the protesters at Speakers Corner. This  continues to become a part of recent history as there are monuments to Princess Diana and a shrine to the victims of the 7/7 attacks.  It’s a change to the outdoors if you get tired of being in museums all day. Enjoy the park and all its beauty.  AA

Anything in Covent Garden. i LOVE Covent garden.   HS

My favorite place to visit in London is the famed Silver Vaults.  These subterranean vaults, on Chancery Lane in the heart of the legal district, opened in the late 1800’s renting strong rooms to London’s wealthy elite to safeguard their household silver, jewelry and personal documents.  The strong rooms morphed over time into silver shops and since 1953 rapid expansion of the retail business has led to the present format.  The rooms range in size from elaborate and spacious to virtual closet and all manner of dealers are present offering their wares with the delightful addition of the “is that your best price” haggling element added to elevate the buying experience from conventional to enjoyable and delightful.  It’s a wonderful place to see  things silver from marrow spoons to salt cellars and everything in between.  HM

I enjoyed being at “Ye Old Cheshire Cheese Pub”, a historic literary pub on Fleet Street. There has been a pub in that location since the sixteenth century.  The famous people who have drunk in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese include Sir Arthur Conon Doyle, Charles Dickens, Samuel Johnson, Mark Twain, Oliver Goldsmith and Alfred Tennyson. It is one of the 5000 pubs in London LS

I absolutely adore the British Museum. I can take any ages there and there are pieces of ambient Greek, Roman, Egyptian history (and more). Architecturally, the building is a marvel. Free admission. I will sometimes go on my own. It is a short walk to Soho and Covent Garden. I like the Southbank as well as I love the National Film Theatre to watch films on the Thames. Also, I enjoy going to the Buddhist temple In Wimbledon.  DZ

Loved going to Notting Hill flea market  and seeing where  the Notting Hill movie took place!   EW

A couple of absolutes. First the half price ticket office on Leicester Square in the theater district. From 2-6 day of performance, most theater at half off and potentially great seats. Second on Jermyn St. which is the men’s street for clothes and shirts. Turnbull-Asser. The best dress shirts for men in the world. Expensive but worth it.  A few nights at Cliveden, in Maidenhead about 45 min. from the airport. One of the great estates in England. Formerly the Prince of Wales, the Astors, where the Profumo affair rocked England 50 years ago. This magnificent estate sits on 500 acres and on the Thames. Have them pack a lunch and take their boat for a trip up the Thames. The experience is right out of the Great Gatsby. Expensive but something you will never forget.  SG

I went to see the Cecil Beaton exhibit at the War Museum – a place i have never been to. They had some interesting other exhibits and it a great place to take the kids on a Sunday – a lot of large tanks and planes from WWI and II.  I always visit the Tate Modern as well. This time they had a really fun performance art piece going on in the large entry hall. It was fun to have a coffee on the second level and watch everyone’s reaction as they walked in. Museums in London are free but you do have to pay admission to the special exhibits.   This time I stayed at the Charlotte St Hotel.  it is one of those boutique hotels where every room is different. It is really cool and everyone knows you .  i would stay there any time I am in London.  This is a big recommendation coming from me because I love to try different hotels.     JAZ

Take in a show at The National Theatre.  Make an evening of it by walking on the Southbank of the River Thames and dining there before taking in one of the critically acclaimed show that have some of Britain’s brightest and rising stars. Get a ticket early, because the best shows sell out every night of the week. We have big Hollywood movies, they have big budget Theatre.  AA

We enjoyed  going to the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. They had a really good Karl Lagerfeld  exhibit.  We loved  eating and shopping on Portobello Road in Notting Hill.   SF

I think one of the things I like best (aside from all the usual) about London is all the ethnic food.  British food is awful, but you can find fabulous Indian, Italian, Chinese…all over.  AR

I love the taxi cabs in London.  Cab drivers in London must memorize 320 different routes, 25,000 streets, and 20,000 landmarks to be certified as drivers. It is called “The Knowledge” and takes two to four years to complete. A study of their brain scans show that their part of the brain that deals with memory has become enlarged.  It is the opposite training procedure of taxis in NY where I grew up. The only requirement seems to be that you have a taxi license  with a picture and have been in NY for five minutes.   JAZ

I  always go for the tour of Buckingham Palace when it’s open.  I love tea/cocktails at Claridges, I always go to the flagship store of Manolo Blahnik, I always visit a funky little boutique called Egg, I love dinner at River Cafe, J Sheekey & The Woolsey, I love the theatre, I always visit the Victoria & Albert Museum & I know there’s other stuff I love because I love, love, love London! CL

For more info go to things I have Learned In the UK

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/things-i-learned-in-the-u-k/

Fly Safe,

JAZ