Istanbul Metblogs » ist_tara http://istanbul.metblogs.com Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:03:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 en fool (in) the rain http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/10/31/fool-in-the-rain/ http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/10/31/fool-in-the-rain/#comments Tue, 31 Oct 2006 15:38:46 +0000 ist_tara http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/10/31/fool-in-the-rain/ now that it’s raining coke bottles and bananas -sorry uncle tom (i meant) cats and dogs, rain drops on my fingertips sometimes give me the blues- the best way to use the excess water is to pay visits to istanbul fountains. with little jolts to the system, pretending that the water is pouring out as it used to years ago is not so hard, pseudohallucinations rulaz!

quoting -never! mind the mistakes- from the website of the ministry of culture and tourism; endowing money for the construction of a fountain and a water supply line to it was an act of piety which played an important role in ottoman life. hardly a sultan, sultan’s mother, sultan’s daughter, grand vezir, or other august personage did not endow a fountain in expression of their economic, social and political standing, and fountains became an important part of the architectural tradition. fountains were decorative features of both outdoor public spaces like squares, and intimate indoor spaces in private dwellings, and they reflected the architectural taste and styles of their time.

as a guide book, fountains in ottoman istanbul is the best suggestion. warm footware, light clothes and a good quality umbrella could save the day.

]]> http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/10/31/fool-in-the-rain/feed/ the hair(y) deal http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/09/07/the-hairy-deal/ http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/09/07/the-hairy-deal/#comments Thu, 07 Sep 2006 14:36:20 +0000 ist_tara http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/09/07/the-hairy-deal/ besides everything said, written, claimed, suggested, witnessed, experienced (and the list goes on and on and on…), one can easily say, write, claim, suggest, witness, experience (and the list goes on and on and on…) that turkish men might not be the best “barbarians” in the whole wide world but definitely the best “barbers”.

the gene that is inherited from one generation to another fed since young ages with local education, is exclusively for turkish men though, we; the turkish women carry the gene only to enjoy a satisfactory hair-cut or care and what comes along with it; manicure, pedicure and oh yes a decent wax!

it takes a certain amount of trust and anticipation to let a stranger touch your valuable face, pet your throat with an extremely sharp razor, flame up your ears and dig your nose with scissors, but what the hell? that’s what you must pay for a brighter face free of excessive hair and a relaxation caused by a turkish style resurrection done with unique and ancient forms of grooming and hygiene.

for an inexpensive and a refreshing experience, have faith and do drop by your local barber shop. not only you will get a nice hair-cut, a shave and a massage, you will be enjoying a lifetime insight to the contemporary local way of life for a very reasonable price. and the language barrier might be a problem for you, but definitely not for the barber, nor the cook, the thief and their wives and their lovers, and the list goes on and on and on…

turkish federation of barbers and coiffeurs
dial 112 and 155 respectively in case of emergency
direct link in case of mistreatment

time killers:
barber paradox, barbershop paradox

]]> http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/09/07/the-hairy-deal/feed/ albert gabriel; the archivist http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/09/04/albert-gabriel-the-archivist/ http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/09/04/albert-gabriel-the-archivist/#comments Tue, 05 Sep 2006 04:09:22 +0000 ist_tara http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/09/04/albert-gabriel-the-archivist/ jolly jolly good news!

the archive of albert gabriel, the french historian, traveller, architect and archeologist who is the most important figure in the studies of ottoman architecture in our country, is in istanbul!

when pierre pinon, yet another french architect, archeologist, traveller (+artist and curator), discovered the dusty archive, in gabriel’s house in bar-sur-aube untouched since his death in 1972, he decided that they must be brought out into the daylight. receiving no kind of recognition at all both here and there (here; you know what i mean, there; in paris, france), pinon finally managed to bring out the archive consisting of gabriel’s hand drawings, water colours, photographs of various places and buildings here and there (here; you know what i mean, there; you get the picture; rhodes, middle east, etc.), the first photographs of hasankeyf ever taken and his study kits plus personal possessions.

albert gabriel (1882-1972) was an expert on ottoman art/architecture who came to istanbul in 1926 and couldn’t leave this land for many years. he taught history of art/architecture and archeology at the university of istanbul and took part in the founding of the french archeology institute. during his long stay in istanbul, besides administrating the institute, he travelled in anatolia and made detailed studies of important structures.

to honour his dedication to “introducing the real turkish art and architecture” first to france, then to the world and his translations of yahya kemal beyatli and ahmet hamdi tanpinar poems into french, his archive is being expected to be “the most visited” exhibition of the year by, well, me! kisses to rodin and voila!

ykkm - kazim taskent galerisi
15/09 - 11/11 2006

pick a boom boom! (in turkish)

]]> http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/09/04/albert-gabriel-the-archivist/feed/ recordturk http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/26/recordturk/ http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/26/recordturk/#comments Sat, 26 Aug 2006 20:23:52 +0000 ist_tara http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/26/recordturk/
ercan imre, an avid fan of album art introduces us to a wonderful collection of records of turkey’s golden era of music including rock and psychedelia (a.k.a anadolu rock, rulaz!). currently working as a host at acik radio and writing articles for bant magazine (some might remember him as a columnist at the daily birgun) is collecting records since 1979 and has compiled more than 20 thousand, both turkish and foreign. the site might be only in turkish but the fun is international, enjoy witnessing the turkish history in a musical way!

suggested categories: absurd, pop art, copy-cats, erotika, football, eurovision and all the rest.

(via: e! and may the stars shine for you, too.)

]]> http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/26/recordturk/feed/ istanbul design week http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/21/istanbul-design-week/ http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/21/istanbul-design-week/#comments Tue, 22 Aug 2006 00:29:40 +0000 ist_tara http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/21/istanbul-design-week/ who does not love istanbul -the bridge between cultures- especially when she moves in mysterious ways? here is a good chance to enjoy the city; istanbul design week activities providing a liaison with her dedicated designers and the hoi polloi. idw 2006 will be welcoming new talents, professionals and everyone else related to sector as well as the curious. seminars, contests, exhibitions, workshops and many other activities will be held under the very same topic but this time including disciplines such as fashion, food, architecture, graphics, etc. aiming to add istanbul to the design centers of the world list, idw 2006 will start on the 12th of september and last for 5 days. not enough to create a new world but thanks to gaia the event also aims to be annual.

]]> http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/21/istanbul-design-week/feed/ backing the wrong horse? http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/01/backing-the-wrong-horse/ http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/01/backing-the-wrong-horse/#comments Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:45:39 +0000 ist_tara http://istanbul.metblogs.com/2006/08/01/backing-the-wrong-horse/ “horse racing is a social need for modern society.” k.ataturk

horses meant a lot for turkish people for centuries; once we were riding them all day long, now keeping up with the modern ways of life we prefer watching them from time to time. though some of us still all day long… according to the turkish jockey club around 30,000 citizens live on betting horses which needs clearly a basic instinct (meaning deep love for horses which i believe is embedded to the genes of some of “friend of ours”) and a total dedication to follow the news in the equestrian world.

here is the turkish jockey club providing info also in english about everything that concerns races, bettings, horses, stables, publications, relevant history, etc. and here is a humble suggestion for every foreigner to experience while breathing in turkish oxygen: do drop by “veliefendi hippodrome” some time to feel the power of one of the most beautiful creatures of mother nature and the real passion of turks instead of watching on tv half naked mares horsing around in summer time and turkish stallions on fire trying to tame them.

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