Another phase of grand construction on Istiklal Street has begun. Istanbul Municipality says here Turkish granite will be used this time. And where were you before dudes? Weren’t you the same people who used the Chinese granites a year ago. Welcome to the super dusty Istiklal Street! Your municipality won’t allow you to enjoy the street. No need to try…

I am told that a student club, Yaşam Platformu, organizes a photo exhibition of Istanbul pictures taken by Erasmus exhange students in Istanbul Bilgi University. Photos were not intended to be exhibited which in turn makes them more attractive… I don’t know where the exhibition exactly is but it is in Kustepe campus and it might not be hard to find then…

tomorrow (may 26th) a discussion entitled animals, poets and philosophers will be held in sermet cifter hall of the yky kultur sanat building in galatasaray. martin puchner, amanda claybaugh, henry turner and rebecca walkowitz will talk about animal rights, violence and creativity, ferda keskin will moderate the discussion. provoked by “elizabeth costello” by j.m. coetzee (the novel has been translated into turkish ), organised and presented by cogito.

I am sure better images can be uploaded. This is what I have right now:)

one ex and one lazy author of the metroblogging istanbul is on tv today. yay!

berivan akmanoğlu and mert maviş who are the founders of the blog kardeşliği (you can check it out what the hell is blog kardeşliği from here), hasan yalçınkaya from pillinetwork, okay karadayılar from 3yanlış and biranabor buzzing about the turkish blogosphere.

and the program starting at 23:00 in CNN Türk today (22 May 2006).

An Istanbul lover Di welcomes the summer in Istanbul. A good, nostalgic take on Istanbul!
Iain Mayhew from Daily Mirror praises Istanbul’s history, culture, food and Nighlife.

I have just finished reading Hakan Erdem’s Zaman Coktu [Time Collapsed?] It is a fantasy-SF novel that takes place mostly in Istanbul. A city covered by sea except its hills… Evolving sheep fight against humans, the poles of the earth changes and ancient Istanbul re-appears.. If you are into detective novels, Celil Oker’s novels all take place in mostly familiar districts, streets we wander around… Of course, Orhan Pamuk’s Black Book among his others is a pearl of Istanbul urban legends in its chaotic style… Reminder: This is a just short note, i have no claim to list all novels of relevance…But i might gradually expand the list maybe with your help?

The two exciting events waiting for me in the next two weeks: LOST season finale and Efes One Love Festival. I am not a tragically-hip festival goer but this year Morrissey changed my mind. I have been listening to his ’sounds happy but feels miserable’ songs since i was in high school and it would be stupid not to listen ‘the story of my life’ live.
The event is on June 9-10 .The festival lasts for two days, I am not into Black Eyed Peas but Oh, Morrissey, you have killed me. The tickets are running out, so it is for you to decide.

Some of my students are into this cool activity. Between 21 May-1 June, there will be several plays by experimental theatre groups performed in public areas like bars and cafes. Here is the website for the programs and let me remind you, there will a party on May 21! At the same period, there will also be Istanbul Theatre Festival and Istanbulites will have more than enough theatre these days:)

Now that i have a regular job (i.e., i have to get up early, be seen in the office between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and drink lots of coffee) after having worked freelance for more than three years, my breakfast routine has been compromised. i am not a big fan of food, i just eat whatever i find when i am hungry, but i rarely miss breakfast and “breakfast time” used to be my precious hour of the day in my freelance days. during the first weeks of the new job, i really tried hard to be content with the pogaca (a lump of foul fat and “too-soft-to be-true “dough) of simit sarayi and felt lousy the whole day. then i came across the tadim soguk sandwich people.
(more…)