Magazine

A Day in the Life of Istanbul’s Baker

The freshest loaf of bread is still warm from the oven: Crusty and soft inside. As morning stretches around the world, families everywhere start their day with a visit to the bakery for the ‘freshest loaf of bread.’ and in Istanbul this is not the exception.

There’s a bakery, located deep within the Beykoz District, that works around the clock to keep bread fresh. It’s 10:00 pm and the work shift has just begun. How is the bread still warm at 9:00 am? Employees work intensively for ten hours to make that happen. To unravel method behind mystery, one must consult the artist behind the dough.

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Hardcore: Public Transport in Istanbul

Travelling by public transport in Istanbul has many advantages. It is pretty cheap, you avoid taxi drivers that may charge you too much money as you are a foreigner and if you take the metro, metrobus or the ferry you will not get stuck in (too much) traffic. The metro-system also keeps getting bigger and bigger. If you have the Istanbul-Kart it is only 2 Lira to go from A to B. There is also the “Trafi” app which gives you the best advice on how to get where. Sounds perfect, right? But such rides by public transport are something quite different. A very special experience is a ride on the Metrobus.

The Metrobus is a bus, which has its own street line. It goes from the European side via Bosphorus Bridge to the Asian side (and all the way back). It is the fastest connection from the European to the Asian side, but it is sometimes a challenge for tourists.

The last stop of the metrobus has a swanky name: Söğütlüçeşme. If you want to go there: you must first remember this name, write it down, and pronounce it correctly. This is a real challenge!

Here is some help for everybody without Turkish language background. The “ğ” is silent, the “ç” is like a “cz” as in “Czech Republic” and the “ş” is pretty easy as it is said like a “sh”. Then, of course, there are all the “ö” s and “ü” s. “Ö” as in the “e” in “her” and “ü” as in the “u” in “lure”. Easy? So now try it all together: Söğütlüçeşme. Right. And then try to say that fairly fluently while being on a crowed, noisy Metrobus stop in the middle of Istanbul to ask for the way.

If you have done this first step, you are (hopefully) at the right place now. But now you have to get into the stuffed Metrobus. If you are worried that you will not get in contact with locals on your visit to Turkey, you will see that this worry is totally unnecessary if you take the Metrobus. Sometimes you have to hold on to another passenger who is just two centimetres away from you because the bus is so crowded you cannot find anything else to hold on to. There is a wonderful Youtube video that reflects this situation accurately.

Of course, you need to know this video is mocking a promo-video from IETT, the public transport provider in Istanbul. In this video, a well-off man is leaving his house to go to work using the Metrobus. In the Metrobus, he reads his newspaper comfortably while the Metrobus takes him to his job very gently. A voice comments this situation and tells you all the opportunities of the public transport in this modern city. Here is the video.

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But here is Hayrettin’s (Turkish Comedian) more realistic version.

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When you finally arrive in Söğütlüçeşme, basically bathed in sweat, then you have gone through your baptism of fire and are ready for all the other kinds of public transport in Turkey. For instance the Dolmuş.

The legendary Dolmuş is a big taxi. Again, filled with no shortage of physical contact with other people. Dolmuş means “filled up” and this is the principle of this minibus. The driver has a certain way to go and he waits until the car is full. Then the trip starts. You cannot use your Istanbul-Kart here. You have to pay cash between 2-7 Lira. The money is passed through the car to the driver and the change also passes from one hand to another. You also have to know some Turkish here: Bir tane, iki tane – one or two persons to Taksim, Üsküdar, and Yeşilköy. Then the cosy, slightly dangerous, and very quick ride through the city begins. You cannot buckle up in the Dolmuş, and it is very possible to end up on the lap of your seat-mate in the steep curves.

Anyway, after dealing with the payment rituals, sort of being seated, and overcoming the fast drive, the stress starts again when you try to get out of the Dolmuş. It is very helpful when you already know the route. Or if someone can help you to let the driver know where you have to get out. Because if you do not want to get out at the last stop, you have to tell the driver.

The great thing: When there is a lot of traffic – and there is almost always lots of traffic – it is possible to get out anywhere. But that’s of course also a little scary for newcomers and foreigners: how do you know where to get out of the Dolmuş when there are no signs? Or no obvious system? And how do you tell the driver? Now, here again you get your chance to communicate with locals.

There is a computer game which reflects the atmosphere of rides in a Dolmuş perfectly. In this game you are the Dolmuş driver and you have to collect the passengers and let them out and you have to be as fast as possible. You will get dizzy just by looking at it. A real Dolmuş ride is basically the same.

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When you survive a Dolmuş ride, physically and mentally then you deserve a very special award from the public transport in Istanbul.

A ride by ferry on the Bosphorus is also a unique tourist experience. At the same time, it is actually a way for people to get to work every day. That’s why this is as cheap as any other route. But on the ferry, you will think this ride is only created for relaxing and enjoyment. There is the smell of the ships and the sea. All of a sudden it becomes silent around you and peaceful. You enjoy your seat in the sun, with seagulls flying around the boat, water beside you and sometimes even dolphins come join. And you also can look at Istanbul from afar. You see the other side of the Bosphorus Bridge, the old town, Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. And the ride becomes even cosier when you order tea, orange juice, and a sandwich.

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This ride alone compensates for all the jostle, sweating in the Metrobus, in the Dolmuş, and the bustle in all the other transports. But all these different transportations are special, and you will certainly have stories to tell afterwards.

From Nazi Germany to Istanbul University

“Although the situation seemed to be hopelessly in spring 1933, due to the existence and the congregation of the Emergency Assistance Association for German Scientists, the working opportunities in Turkey, the success of the scientists and the established connections, there was a positive feeling of revolution. […] I and my friends knew that we adopted an important mission at the same time: to represent the real German spirit and culture. The burdens of this mission gave us not only the feeling of pride but also security.”[1]

The Jewish Professor Philipp Schwartz started with these words his book about his memoirs in Istanbul after his escape from the Nazi Germany depicting the feelings of the persecuted German academics. The need of academic support of the newly established Turkish Republic of that time rescued numerous Jewish and opposing professors from the Nazi persecution.

As 1923 the Turkish Republic was proclaimed, the country stepped in a time period of state organized reforms with the purpose to diminish the Ottoman traces and modify the state according to the European modernity. This approach was also applied to the higher education. Financially dependent on the state, at the outset, darülfünun known today as the Istanbul University could keep its autonomy. However, both the absence of appropriate scientific work and the unwillingness of the university to support the state reforms led to the official closing of darülfünun and to the foundation of the Istanbul University in 1933.[2] The idea to appoint not only young Turkish intellectuals disposed for reforming but also European scholars caused the engagement of the Swiss professor of education Albert Malche by the government who should later adopt the intermediary role between German professors and the Turkish state.[3]

Einstein's Letter to Atatürk — Einstein’s Letter to Atatürk

Meanwhile, Germany started the year 1933 with the coming into power of the Nazi regime. In February the Reichstag Fire Decree was passed as the first attack against human rights followed by the Enabling Act which suppressed the fundamentals of the democracy. Moreover, in April non-Aryans were outlawed from the civil service.[4] After all, with the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 the omnipresent policy of racism became legally fixed by the Nazi dictatorship.[5]

Racial discrimination and politically persecution strained the life of numerous Jewish and politically opposing scholars in German universities why the Jewish Dr. Philipp Schwartz escaped from Germany and founded the Emergency Assistance Association for German Scientists in Zurich short after the Nazi takeover. Together with Albert Malche, Schwartz convinced the Turkish government to appoint the persecuted German professors for the free positions in the higher education.[6] Finally, contracts up until five years were signed.[7] Over time around 150 academics immigrated to Turkey while most of them were from the economic, finance, law or medical fields. Social sciences played a less important role.[8]

Freundlich, Gleissberg and Aslan Tufan (Reporter of the Turkish Magazine Yedigün)

The re-establishment of the university in the old Ottoman war ministry and its surrounding area in Beyazıt went along with the attempts to enlarge the teaching and learning content.[9] The initial phase of the lessons was affected by several obstacles like the resistance of the old academics to the reforms. Another obstacle was the lack of space and material for teaching especially in the medicine department. For example, Professor Schwartz talks about a limited number of microscopes which had to be used rotatory in different institutes.[10] However, the major barrier seemed to be the language. Included in the contracts, the Turkish government expected from the emigrants to teach and publish first with the help of translators but within five years also in the Turkish.[11] Besides lack of appropriate translators and mistranslations, the professors had troubles to learn the Turkish language due to its unfamiliar structure in comparison to European languages. The economist Fritz Neumark tells about his first attempts to speak Turkish with these words: “Because during the four-day journey I could not learn to say ‘teşekkür ederim’, in other words I was not able to memorize these words; I felt a deep despair that I still can remember”.[12]

Nevertheless, the cooperation yielded fruit at both sides. On the one hand despite troubles, after a few years numerous professors could continue their academic output in Turkish. On the other hand they were also able to start scientific work which later would contribute to their career like the economist Wilhelm Röpke and his works “Civitas Humana” or “International Order”.[13]

Some emigrants stayed just view years in Istanbul, some turned back after the Second World War and other lived until the death in Turkey but their imprint in the Turkish cultural and scientific life is undeniable. Just to mention a few names, the sociologist and economists Gerard Kessler taught numerous students, who established influential labour unions in Turkey. Walter Gottschalk an expert of librarianship shaped the Istanbul University library and taught later Library Sciences. Andreas Schwartz and Richard Hönig trained the first members of the Turkish jurisprudence in the republic.[14] Furthermore the university provided public lectures Istanbul and so called “university weeks” in Anatolian towns and villages for the propagation of scientific knowledge and the reforms.[15] The success of these offers was visible by the popularity of surgeon Rudolf Nissen. Some families in Anatolia named their children after him.[16] Finally they also occupied important academic positions in Ankara, introduced there Turkey´s next academic centre and influenced the government. The most famous example is the architect Clemens Holzmeister who led the construction of significant state buildings like the Grand National Assembly.[17]

Social Solidarity in Exile; İzmir Trip of German Settlers in İstanbul

Overall it was a fruitful cooperation. The state found an initial medium to build up the Istanbul University and spread their ideology and teaching according to the European modernity. The emigrated professors could not only escape the Nazi pressure but also continued their scientific work. Fritz Neumark ends his book about his memoirs in the Turkish exile with these words:

[su_quote]First of all while I am finishing the telling of my experiences in a country that was at first alien but later become more and more our second homeland I thank deeply and sincerely the Turkish Republic, that not only housed us but also offered us appropriate working conditions as the country that we were born threatened the lives of our children.[18][/su_quote]

[1] Philipp Schwartz, Kader Birliği: 1933 Sonrası Türkiye´ye Göç Eden Alman Bilim Adamları (Istanbul: Belge Yayınları,2003), p: 33
[2] Ilhan Basgöz & Howard E. Wilson, Educational Problems in Turkey 1920-1940; Indiana University, Bloomington: 1968, p: 161-166
[3] Fritz Neumark, Boğaziçi´ne Sığınanlar, Türkiye´ye Iltica Eden Alman Bilim, Siyaset ve Sanat Adamları 1933-1953; Neden Kitap Yayıncılık, Istanbul: 2008, p: 15-19
[4] Richar J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich; Penguin Books, London:2004, p: 331-437
[5] Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann, The Racial State, Germany 1933-1945; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 1991, p: 45-50
[6] Stanford J. Shaw, Turkey and the Holocaust; The Macmillan Press LTD: 1993, p: 4-5
[7] Philipp Schwartz, Kader Birliği, 1933 Sonrası Türkiye´ye Göç Eden Alman Bilim Adamları, Belge Yayınları Istanbul 2003, p: 20
[8] Philipp Schwartz, Kader Birliği, 1933 Sonrası Türkiye´ye Göç Eden Alman Bilim Adamları, Belge Yayınları Istanbul 2003, p: 15-16
[9] Philipp Schwartz, Kader Birliği, 1933 Sonrası Türkiye´ye Göç Eden Alman Bilim Adamları, Belge Yayınları Istanbul 2003, p: 49-50
[10] Philipp Schwartz, Kader Birliği, 1933 Sonrası Türkiye´ye Göç Eden Alman Bilim Adamları, Belge Yayınları Istanbul 2003, p: 83-84
[11] Philipp Schwartz, Kader Birliği, 1933 Sonrası Türkiye´ye Göç Eden Alman Bilim Adamları, Belge Yayınları Istanbul 2003, p: 20
[12] Fritz Neumark, Boğaziçi´ne Sığınanlar, Türkiye´ye Iltica Eden Alman Bilim, Siyaset ve Sanat Adamları 1933-1953; Neden Kitap Yayıncılık, Istanbul: 2008, p: 130-136
[13] Fritz Neumark, Boğaziçi´ne Sığınanlar, Türkiye´ye Iltica Eden Alman Bilim, Siyaset ve Sanat Adamları 1933-1953; Neden Kitap Yayıncılık, Istanbul: 2008, p: 75-76
[14] Stanford J. Shaw, Turkey and the Holocaust; The Macmillan Press LTD: 1993, p: 6
[15] Fritz Neumark, Boğaziçi´ne Sığınanlar, Türkiye´ye Iltica Eden Alman Bilim, Siyaset ve Sanat Adamları 1933-1953; Neden Kitap Yayıncılık, Istanbul: 2008, p: 232-233
[16] Fritz Neumark, Boğaziçi´ne Sığınanlar, Türkiye´ye Iltica Eden Alman Bilim, Siyaset ve Sanat Adamları 1933-1953; Neden Kitap Yayıncılık, Istanbul: 2008, p: 99
[17] Stanford J. Shaw, Turkey and the Holocaust; The Macmillan Press LTD: 1993, p: 7
[18] Fritz Neumark, Boğaziçi´ne Sığınanlar, Türkiye´ye Iltica Eden Alman Bilim, Siyaset ve Sanat Adamları 1933-1953; Neden Kitap Yayıncılık, Istanbul: 2008, p: 257

Istanbul’s Seven Hills

Number seven has always been a mystical number, whatever one’s faith or culture. Consider for a second, stories about the creation of the world. Also, consider its appearance in the three major religions. Seven sins and seven virtues, seven heavens, seven days of creation, seven gates and layers of Hell, and so on…

Interestingly enough, the number seven is also a favourite digit of many people around the world. However, Musa ibn Nahman, known as Nahmanides, a Jewish scholar from Andalucía, attributes this to a cabalistic explanation – number seven is the number of the natural world. The number appears in many forms, including seven days of week, seven colours of the rainbow, seven notes of the musical scale, seven mouths of the Nile, Seven Wonders of the World, and so on…

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How To Make Dolma At Home

A very popular dish to eat is the dolma. Many try to make this recipe at home, but cannot get it right. However, this recipe is perfect for first time dolma makers. Enjoy the recipe!

Today we will make plain rice stuffed dolma, in your choice of vegetable.

You can choose from: tomato, eggplant, zucchini, or bell peppers.

For the dolma filling you will need:

150g of short grain rice
1 white onion (finely chopped)
2 small tomatoes diced (don’t add if you are using tomatoes for the filling)
2-3 tablespoon of oil
2 tablespoon of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon chili pepper
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon powdered black pepper
1 teaspoon mint
1 bunch of parsley
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon pomegranate juice
8 good sized vegetable of your choice for the filling
Salt
Black pepper

For the tomato sauce:

2 table spoon domates Salca
1 teaspoon oil
2 cups of water
Salt
Pepper

Let’s start with the vegetables which will be filled first. Slice the top of the vegetable and save the head. Start by scooping out the inner core of the vegetable, but make sure not to pierce the skin because then there would be a point for the amazing juices to exit. When making dolma with eggplants, try to find eggplants which are not that long; they should be small and round as this will make it easier for you to scoop the core out.

Once that is done, keep the vegetables aside (along with their head) and move on to the filling!

Take a bowl and mix all the ingredients together, except the rice and parsley that have been mentioned. If you are using tomatoes as your core vegetable then there is no need of adding tomatoes to your filling, but at the same time do not throw away the pulp which comes from the centre of the tomatoes either. Keep it aside as it can be used for the tomato sauce later on. For the filling, we need to press and mix all the ingredients together for a good 2-3 mins so that they are all well combined. Next, add the rice to it and mix it for a few more minutes until each grain of rice is coated properly. Make sure to taste the filling before adding the rice! If you feel some tartness is necessary, then you can either add lemon juice or nar (pomegranate) juice. Make sure the seasoning is not to salty, as there will be salt and pepper in the tomato sauce as well. Once the rice is mixed together, chop half a bunch of parsley and add it to the mixture, then give it its final mix. Cover it with cling film and put it aside. The reason we are adding cling film on top it to keep it away from bacteria as well as various smell that could be absorbed by the filling and give it a bad flavour in the end.

While the filling is resting on the side, we can get on to the tomato sauce. For that we should keep it simple. In a pot, add a teaspoon of oil and let it heat up. Add the tomato sauce and let it cook for about 2-3 mins. Make sure to stir frequently otherwise the paste will stick to the bottom of the pan. Once that is done, take your water and add it slowly to the pan. You will see the sauce begin to thicken. Add both the cups of water and let it cook for 3 mins. Add the seasoning at the end to taste. If you have kept the tomato pulp on the side, you can add it to the tomato sauce and let it cook for a little bit longer.

Once the sauce is complete, take the filling and stuff your selected vegetables. Make sure to add the top of the vegetable back onto the top of your (now filled) vegetable. Next, in a deep rectangular shape ceramic dish evenly stack your dolmas. Once they are nicely tucked together, add the tomato sauce in the centre of the dish or wherever you see an open space. Cook the dolmas for about an hour, depending on the size and thickness of your vegetables. Check after 50 minutes and you can feel if they are done or not. The way you will come to know if they are done is by feeling them. They will be succulent and if you taste the rice in the centre, the rice should be cooked. If the tomato sauce gets too thick while cooking, while it’s in the oven you can add a bit of water to maintain the consistency of the sauce.

Once it is cooked, take the dish out of the oven and you are ready to serve! You can place the entire dish on the dining table, and your guests can serve themselves; or you could place each dolma on a plate and serve it with bulgur to enjoy this meal with your loved ones. Afiyet olsun!

To Constantinople on a Bicycle: The Journey of Two American Adventurers in 1891

William L. Sachtleben and Thomas G. Allen Jr.

Have you ever heard the names William Sachtleben and Thomas Allen Jr.? They were two young American graduates who, in June 1890, embarked on a journey to bike around the world. After finishing their studies at Washington University they travelled to New York City, where they started their adventure. They returned 3 years later, after pedaling some 29,000 km on three continents including Europe, Asia and North America, this was the longest bicycle journey ever made, which made them famous world-wide. They also chronicled their matchless journey with two novel compact Kodak film cameras which they referred to as the “mysterious” black box in the book they wrote.

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10 Favourite Poems for Istanbul

İstanbul is a bad romance for those who has been there once. We can not give up loving it even if there are so many times when it disappoints you, or put you out of temper. Still, the city of İstanbul is a crusty and lovely lover that we’ve yearned and poeticised for centuries.

Several poets have poetized this beautiful and crusty lover since time immemorial. Let’s see how the masters poeticised it.

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Necip Fazıl Kısakürek – Dear İstanbul

Like they melted my soul and frost it in a cast
And placed it on land as İstanbul
Is something fumes in me, air, color, affection, climate
Is my darling that went beyond time and space
Its flowers are golden stars, Its water is shiny
Moon and Sun are two İstanbulian from immemorial times
Sea and soil, achieves a meet only in it
And dreams achieves an example in it, in it

İstanbul, my precious one
My country, ah my country
İstanbul,
İstanbul….

History’s eyes there, holes on bulwarks
Redwood, shapely redwood, curtain to afterlife
Curveted on cloud, the greyish horse dating from Fatih (Sultan Mehmed II)
Domes made of diamonds, maybe 1 billion carat
Minaret through skies is index finger
Same meaning in every decoration; We will die, no way?
Death is more alive than life, mercy more dominant than sin
While Beyoğlu stomps, cries Karaca Ahmet

Find that meaning, ah find !
Only find in İstanbul!
İstanbul,
İstanbul…

Bosphorus is a silver brazier, boils the coolness
In Çamlıca, lies on floor, the deepness of skies
Playful waters are guests of the ground floor of waterfront
Chrestfallen about new world, old ambassador in Picture
Everynight fire breaks out from windows in Üsküdar
Haunted hardwood mansion, big as a city…
Some sound, i don’t know if its like tambour or its like lute
Causes my clerk groan in rooms that have a bay window

Its woman is like sharp knife
Warm as fresh blood
İstanbul,
İstanbul…

Time makes a gergef* on seven hills
Seven colours, countless appearances from seven sound
Eyüp* is orphan, Kadıköy* is decorated, Moda* snippy
Wind in island, is cause of flying skirts
Everytime in break of day, arrows darts from bows
Screams still come from Topkapı palace
No lover exists as mother, no land as İstanbul
Not only laughing one even the crying one is fortunate..

Its night smells lillian
Its Turkish senses nightingale
İstanbul,
İstanbul…

*gergef > A tool that girls use while decorating clothes, fabrics with colourful fibers, with needle

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Orhan Veli Kanık – I’m Listening to İstanbul

I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed:
At first there is a gentle breeze
And the leaves on the trees
Softly sway;
Out there, far away,
The bells of water-carriers unceasingly ring;
I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed;
Then suddenly birds fly by,
Flocks of birds, high up, with a hue and cry,
While the nets are drawn in the fishing grounds
And a woman’s feet begin to dabble in the water.
I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed.
The Grand Bazaar’s serene and cool,
An uproar at the hub of the Market,
Mosque yards are full of pigeons.
While hammers bang and clang at the docks
Spirng winds bear the smell of sweat;
I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed;
Still giddy from the revelries of the past,
A seaside mansion with dingy boathouses is fast asleep.
Amid the din and drone of southern winds, reposed,
I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed.
A pretty girl walks by on the sidewalk:
Four-letter words, whistles and songs, rude remarks;
Something falls out of her hand –
It is a rose, I guess.
I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed.
A bird flutters round your skirt;
On your brow, is there sweet? Or not ? I know.
Are your lips wet? Or not? I know.
A silver moon rises beyond the pine trees:
I can sense it all in your heart’s throbbing.
I am listening to İstanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

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Nazım Hikmet – Tell Me About İstanbul

Stop! Let the water of the coffee boil,
Tell me about İstanbul, how was it?
Tell me about Bosphorus, how was it?
June is washed by the runaway rains with vibrations,
Would that seven hills get dried by
Such a hot sun like a mothers care…

Tell me people laughed there,
In trains, ferries, buses.
I like it even if its a lie, say it.
Always agony, always agony, always agony
Had enough…

Stop! Let it stay, don’t turn the TV on
Tell me about İstanbul, how was it?
Tell me about the city of cities, how was it?
While looking in my forbidden eyes from the hills of Beyoglu,
Make compliment about bridges, Sarayburnu, minarets and halic.
Could you say a hello, secretly…

Tell me people laughed there,
In trains, ferries, buses.
I like it even if its a lie, say it.
Always agony, always agony, always agony
Had enough…

Stop! Leave it, don’t move stay like that, please
Your scent is like İstanbul, and your eyes like İstanbul nights.
Now come and hug, hug me the one with henna.
Under the sky, just there together
The dream of starting over by saying thanks god
Is like a river in the desert of your longing.

Tell me people laughed there,
In trains, ferries, buses.
I like it even if its a lie, say it.
Always agony, always agony, always agony
Had enough…

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Mehmet Akif Ersoy – Dream of İstanbul

The boat was rolling over in an ocean…
The dream threw me on the shores of Marmara!
I saw from only a couple of miles away
your blackened İstanbul clear as crystal,
Its forehead shining like a crescent:
She’s laughing; coquettish, charming and attractive.

What base destitution now, alas!
What arrogance, what ostentation!
Many schools are opened, men and women study;
factories are in full steam, textile industries progress.
Printing houses work day and night.
New companies emerge for the benefit of the people,
New parties arise to enlighten the people,
Economy prospers
And ships unload wealth from length to length of her shores.

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Yahya Kemal Beyatlı – From Another Hill

I looked at you from another hill, dear İstanbul!
I know you like back of my hand, and love you dearly.
Come, come and sit on my heart´s throne as long as I live
Just to love a district of yours is worth a whole life.

There are many flourishing cities in the world.
But you´re the only one who creates enchanting beauty.
I say, he who has lived happily, in the longest dream,
Is he who spent his life in you, died in you, and was buried in you.

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Ümit Yaşar Oğuzcan – İstanbul

A room in the house, İstanbul in the room
A mirror in the room, İstanbul in the mirror
The man lit his cigarette, an İstanbul smoke
The woman opened her purse, İstanbul in the purse
The child cast a fishing line, I saw,
And he started to draw it, İstanbul on the line
What kind of water is this, what kind of İstanbul
İstanbul in the bottle, İstanbul on the table
It walks with us, stops with us, we are puzzled
She is on one side, I am on the other, İstanbul in the middle
Once you fall in love, I understand
Wherever you go, there you see İstanbul.

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Ahmet Selçuk İlkan – An Another İstanbul

I sat down, another istanbul, i thought
more you inside, more with you
Its green is more green, its blue is more blue
that, with your hands makes everything more beautiful

Erased all the stars from sky
instead your eyes, i put, your eyes
spread your hair over İstanbul
Painted everywhere to the color of your lips

Now istanbul is bright, that shining
your smell, i made blow from seas
with your beauty i decorated gardens

I made you istanbul, istanbul you
in every street i wrote your poem line by line
now, all the parts of this city tells about you

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Bedri Rahmi Eyüpoğlu – İstanbul Epic

Just say “İstanbul” and I think of
A basket full of reddish-colored grapes
On a fine evening at Sehzadebasi
A girl walks by, ruthlessly female
Three candles on top of the basket
I would kill myself for her attitute
Taste of grape honey on her full lips
Desire filling her from top to toe
Willow tree, summer breeze, harvest dance
Surely she was born in a wine cellar
On a fine evening at Sehzadebasi
Once more the keel of my heart
Runs aground on the rocks
Just say “İstanbul” and the Grand Bazaar
Comes to mind the Algiers March
Arm in arm with the Ninth Symphony
A perfect bridal suite a splendid dowry
Only the bride and groom missing
For sale cheap cries the auctioneer
And in the corner a pot-bellied oud
Bedecked with mother-of-pearl
Tamburi Cemil Bey on old 78s…

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Attila İlhan – İstanbul Gate of Felicity

World war years with the beauty of a frightened woman

When the good cheer kept vigil at the Kuzguncuk landing
Turned like the pessimistic cadets of kuleli toward sultan reshad
And no one was there for the last autumnal ferry
No helva vendors from beykoz or phonographs with odeon horns
Pouring out songs in an ancient mode only the captain’s cymbals
Alla turca made in yildiz and lifted from the bazaars

İstanbul straits with the sulkiness of a wounded vulture

When monocled german officers argued at kramer’s beerhouse
Moltke versus bismarck in their fissured tongue
Downing three bitter dark green doubles of pilsen beer
Torpedo net heroes rich in numbers as the imperial band
Return to the galician front under the cold russian rain
Swept night and day by long range battery fire
Red crescent tents blossoming like wet flowers
Enormous flowers of extremely bloodstained white
Back to the galician front the operetta remedy

In ikdam false news of victory on the syrian front

At the ministry of war the commander in chief enver pasha
With colonel suleyman of military secret intelligence
Knows nothing of how time passes until morning worship
In the unfiltered glass-shattering darkness of a cellar
Before an execution the nervous motions of prayer
Of cowardly shadows in bekiraga prison
The sticky sweat crawling on yakub jemil’s temples
The torn union and progress membership card on the floor
The rattle of a mauser being loaded the order to shoot
The lilacs fade life lightning in the water jug there is no cure

Those world war years with the beauty of a frightened woman

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Ivan Bunin – İstanbul

Starved, mangy dogs with mournful, pleading eyes,
Descendants of the ones that in a bygone
Age from the steppeland came, and, stung by flies,
Dragged in the wake of dusty, creaking wagons.

The conqueror was rich and powerful,
And with his hordes, proud city, he invaded
Your palaces, and named you İstanbul,
And then sought rest, a lion gorged and sated.

But faster move the days than birds in flight!
Black loom the trees in Scutari; unnumbered
The tombs they shade, their marble shapes as white
As bones bleached by the rays of many summers.

Upon the dust of shrines and temples falls
The dust of ages, and the plaintive howling
Of dogs the gloom of desert sands recalls
Beneath Byzantium’s walls and arches crumbling.

Bare the Serail, its glory spent and past,
Its trees, now dry, bent low in desolation…
O İstanbul! Dead nomad camp, the last
Great relic of a last and great migration!

Survival Guide for the Exchange Students in Istanbul

Twice a year, many students embark on a journey, and have, what should be, the best year of their lives. This journey starts in a city where things work differently; Istanbul, a large, vibrant, exciting but sometimes overwhelming city. If you are one of those lucky enough to be part of this experience, you probably know where we are getting at; the exchange program in Istanbul. Many do have the best time of their lives during the 6 months or year they spend in the city. But some are unable to find that same spark. Although most Turks are unbelievably honest and would go the extra mile to help you rather than rip you off, in a city with well over 18 million inhabitants, you’ll always find a few people with different intentions. This article, written by and for exchange students, helps you navigate the city and hopes to ensure you have the best time of your life.

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A Detailed Guide to Healtcare in Istanbul

Health has always been one of the basic necessities of human life. As the time passes, healthcare delivery systems have developed as an inevitable extension of this necessity. I will try to briefly describe the health and healthcare system in Turkey. In addition, I am going to speak about what to do if you get sick, or face any kind of health problem. In order to understand the Turkish Healthcare System, you first need general information about the following: general health insurance, private health insurance, hospitals, pharmacies, dentists, mouth&dental health centers, and how they work.

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Rose of Cité de Péra

In this article I will be discussing the life of Madame Anahit who was born in 1926 and spent most of her life playing her reddish accordion in Cité de Péra aka Flower Passage in İstiklal Street. When she passed away in 2003, after playing her accordion for over 40 years, she had become an icon in the streets of Beyoğlu.

Her journey with her accordion started when she moved to Büyükada where she would spend her youth on the beautiful island after she graduated from Armenian Eseyan High School. She saw her young Greek neighbour playing an accordion. His name was Yorgo and she fell in love with him. The young girl decided to learn how to play an accordion and impress Yorgo with touching and moving melodies which would flow through her instrument. With her girlish pride, she went to her mother and said “I want to have an accordion.” Her mother could not resist Anahit’s insistence and bought her an accordion from Papa Jojr for 170 Liras. Papa Jojr was an important Istanbulite with a strong network at that time, and he helped her to get in touch with Arto Benon who would proceed to teach her how to play. After spending 2 years with him she decided to work with another accordionist; Norayr Dırızyan, who later became her first husband. At the age of twenty, she started to play in marriage ceremonies but then she decided to play in Flower Passage in Istiklal Street. You make ask, what had happened to her marriage? After spending 17 years together they decided to get a divorce; however, they remarried 10 years later. The explanation for their remarriage was the fact that they loved each other.

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Turkish Covered Meatball: İçli Köfte

If you look carefully, you will find many hidden places on İstiklal street. Some of them are, for good reasons, better to be avoided. But there is also that other kind: places, that should be visited by everyone truly excited about food. So if you walk up to the last floor of an ordinary building in the middle of İstiklal street, you will end up in a cosy restaurant filled with enormous number of flowers. Your effort to climb up the stairs will be rewarded not only with the breathtaking view of the whole street – you will also get an opportunity to taste one of the delicacies of the Ottoman Cuisine, içli köfte.

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The Meaning of “You Are God’s Guest”: Turkish Hospitality

“The mentality of Turkish hospitality is, whatever religion you are from,

whichever country you come from, whatever language you speak,

you are god’s guest.”

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When you come visiting Turkey, no matter which place in special, you will be overwhelmed by a kind of hospitality you never experienced before. The people will go out of their way to assist and help you, wherever they can. During my stay in Istanbul I experienced that hospitality, which is a cornerstone of the Turkish way of life, many times, and learned to love it as one of the best things in Turkey.

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An Ultimade Guide to İstanbul’s Football Clubs

Football (Americans, read: soccer) in Turkey has a detailed and interesting story which began in the cities of Thessaloniki and Smyrna during the last years of the 19th century when some Englishmen living in the country started to play this sport. At the beginning, it was forbidden for the Turks, and so only the Greek and Armenian citizens could show interest to it. However, as the time passed, the Turks’ love for football outweighed their love for the sultan. When this was the case, the sport began to develop, and became organizational in the capital city of İstanbul. The first football league – Constantinople Football League – was played in 1904. Since then, oceans of football clubs have been established within the city, and while some won the favor of İstanbulities easily, others found almost no lover in such a city of millions.

In this article we’ll mention about İstanbul’s football clubs. To keep the list at a manageable length, we’ve only included İstanbul’s historical clubs, important local clubs, and the clubs that currently play in the Super League. Overall, 16 teams – Enjoy!

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How To Make Simit At Your Home

It is probably the most famous Turkish street food. For just one Turkish Lira you can hold centuries of Turkish cuisine in your hand. At first sight it might seem like a bagel to you, but simit is more than just a bagel. Simit comes along with a wider outside diameter, so its way bigger than a bagel but also more somehow more elegant. Outside they are really crispy and side soft and fluffy. The variety of different simit types is distinctive. Each region and even city tends to have its own version.

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How To Make Iskender At Your Home

Winters are here and just like me I know there are others who are extremely lazy to get out of their warm and cozy beds, however guys I have the perfect warm hearty winter satisfier for you. Living in turkey I know that Iskender is something that is very difficult to resist. Being a doner dish that is cooked vertically on a steel rod I know it would be extremely difficult for one to do that at home. No one wants to go through the hassle of rotating the piece of meat again and again and then slicing it so Ladies and gentlemen here is the solution to the difficulties we all have been facing.

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The Bloody Sunday of Istanbul

1905 Saint Petersburg, 1920 Dublin, and 1969 Istanbul: These are a few examples of bloodstained blots in the modern history provoked by social and political conflicts and resulted in civil injuries and deaths in often notable urban places of the world. Called according to the day of occurrence, the “Bloody Sunday” still keep its place in the historical memory of that states.

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Introduction to Turkish Soups

Soups may not be the star of the Turkish kitchen, but they are always the starter course of a typical Turkish meal and sometimes the favourite choice for breakfast. Turkish people developed a very rich variety of soups. Each made in various ways, in different regions, and with ingredients such as meat, chicken, legumes, flour, yoghurt, noodles, fish, black cabbage and fruits.

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Journey through Nostalgia: Pascal Sébah of Istanbul

19th Century Portraits of Jews in the Ottoman Empire by Pascal Sebah

[su_quote cite=”Quote, ascribed to Sultan Abdülhamid the Second.”]Her fotoğraf bir fikirdir. Bazen tek bir fotoğraf, yüzlerce sayfalar dolusu yazıdan daha fazla siyasi ve duygusal önem taşıyabilir. İşte bu nedenle yazılı belgelerden ziyade fotoğrafların yardımına başvurmayı tercih ediyorum.

(Every photograph is an idea. Sometimes a single photograph conveys more political and emotional importance than thousands of pages full of writing. For this reason I prefer to appeal more to the help of photographs than to written documents.)[/su_quote]

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