Istanbul Metblogs » ist_win

Anti-Whities Team

ist_win — Fri, 12 Aug 2005 15:52:14 +0000

the turkish media has been busy with an underpants controversy for about two weeks. almost every columnist has written about it, some were pro, some others contra the whities forces, so let’s give a short summary of the situation:

in istanbul, where the sea water is really filthy (wih 3.874.129.687.244.113 -seriously, I counted them one by one- Escherichia coli per person), the municipality announced that the water is now clear (meaning 3.874.129.687 Escherichia coli per person) and that people can go swimming in the public beaches. then those who cannot afford to travel to the southern part of turkey rushed to the beaches of the city. The problem was that, most of these people went swimming with their underpants, although swimsuits for rent (for a fee of app. 1$) were supplied. to sum it up, the coastal line of istanbul resembles a nude camp, as the whities preferred by the swimmers are perfectly transparent when wet.

Then Selami Ozturk, the mayor of Kadik

Drive for love, not war

ist_win — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 16:46:38 +0000

A very strange and funny Mercedes is to be seen driving on the streets of Istanbul. Painted with various colors, it symbols Peace. With lots of peace emblems, the “no to war” slogan and figures of guns with flowers painted on it, the car aims to bring peace into daily life in istanbul. Have you ever noticed the similarity between the Mercedes logo and the peace emblem? We Istanbulers now have, thanks to the Peace Mercedes.

All things aside, I could not figure out what is meant with the figure of the rifle with a tap-shaped barrel. Maybe “no more bloodshed?

Asia to Europe in fifteen minutes

ist_win — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 16:33:05 +0000

The famous Formula pilot David Coulthard was on the Bosphorus Bridge on Sunday. This was meant as a publicity drive for the Istanbul Grand Prix, which will start on August, 19th. He thus became the first formula pilot to drive from Asia to Europe and then from Europe to Asia in fifteen minutes.

I watched the show on TV and could not help but feel embarrassed of the huge cracks on the asphalt of the bridge. Then Coulthard said that he could not drive fast enough because of the cracks. Kudos to the organizers. Well, then he declared that he made a test drive on the Istanbul Formula track and liked it. We formula lovers cannot wait to watch the races.

Istan-Rock

ist_win — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 13:15:36 +0000

The first one of a lot of summer-music festivals awaiting us - Rock Istanbul - ended yesterday. Well, the name is not very creative, just like the other ones we have before us: Rock the nations, rock republic, rock’n coke etc. Although all have the word “Rock” in the name, musicians and bands from various genres join these festivals.

Back to Rock Istanbul. I guess the target audience was especially those who had the big OSS exam on Sunday ( OSS is the university entrance test, which is a Turkish peculiarity). The festival was in Kilyos, app. 1.5 hours ride from Istanbul. The festival area was by the sea, with a moderate beach. Many preferred to take the shuttle buses which, by the way, really did not meet the needs and all buses were full. The bus I took yesterday was no exception and had an extra bonus: a couple started to fight during the journey; the guy’s t-shirt was all torn and the gal fainted and even that did not keep the bus driver from driving on.

What awaited us was a real rock concert. Megadeth came on stage after an hour of sound-check. Dave Mustaine seemed a bit depressed and distanced; but, all in all, the performance was great. Then, after about one and a half hours, Garbage was there. Shirley looked gorgeous with her mini skirt.

The festival was ideal for getting away from the chaos of the city; in between the concerts masses rushed to the beach to listen to the sweet melody of the waves. Now we have Rock Republic before us, which will take place in the woods, with birds singing all around the place. We all will have many chances to get away from the city and have some fresh air, thanks to the festivals.

Nargile Ceremony

ist_win — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 13:01:16 +0000

The recent boom of the waterpipe cafes in istanbul has made addicts of us all. Sooner or later, one is urged to visit one and choose from a variety of types.

A few years back, waterpipe used to be served at old, traditional coffee houses to the elderly people with tombeki, the genuine tobacco type. Now, it is served it with apple, strawberry, mocca etc. flavor in new fashioned coffeehouses, with hype music playing in the background. The only thing that remains is the importance of chatting with friends during the 1-2 hours of smoking ceremony. The duration of the nargile ceremony depends on the service of the house; the embers has to be refreshed every 30 minutes; when the coffee house is full, you have to wait for the service-guy to come along and feed your nargile with a new embers. I would recommend the Mat Rock Cafe at Taksim.

As for the flavors, my favorite is the one with apple flavor, which is milder in comparison to the others. Those who would like to experiment a bit could mix the cappucino and caramel flavored tobacco and have the bottle filled with milk instead of water. But as I mentioned, chatting is more important than flavor, when you have good company, you can forget about the flavor.

And, one last thing. A new album with songs for the nargile ceremony came out: Hava Narghile. Do not mind the funny cover, it goes well with the ceremony.

Beerpool

ist_win — Thu, 26 May 2005 19:02:56 +0000

Leaving work, i decided to go to Taksim, the city centre, on foot. On the day of the UEFA final, buses or the subway were already out of question. Arriving at Taksim, i saw the disctrict was all in red, Liverpool fans all over the place, on the streets, in all cafes and bars. Even on trees. I saw a fan who has made himself comfortable on a tree branch, drinking his beer. Those who have preferred to stay safe on the ground also had beers in hands. They were all red and drank beer. As reported in a local newspaper, the beer stocks of the whole district (not only taksim, but the whole European side!!!) were already emptied by afternoon. So, the UEFA final match was the biggest international sports event istanbul has ever hosted and 25th of May will also be recorded as the day of extreme beer consumption. cheers to liverpool.

Tribute to Tantuni

ist_win — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 19:23:02 +0000

When finely chopped meat roasted in water and fat is wrapped in a thin sheet of dough, a miracle called Tantuni is born. For some, the weird name stems from the sound (Tan-Tun) the wooden spoon makes when it hits the container whilst stirring the meat. Thanks God, the sound is not something like Hart-Hurt, then the kebap would be named Harthurti. Tantuni is served with hot pepper pickles or finely sliced radish.

Mostly all nights of excessive alcohol consumption in Taksim end up in a Tantuni place and one cannot get enough of Tantuni. The cook who delivers the most delicious Tantuni in Taksim is Suat Usta (Suat, the chef) who has migrated to Istanbul from Mersin, the hometown of Tantuni.

He used to have a little shop with only two stools; now he has expanded the business with a few more stools. He is distinguished from other chefs with his slender figure (most Turkish cooks have big, fat bellies.) I find it fascinating that such a thin man can cook so well. Long live Tantuni.

The teeny weeny subway of the giant metropole

ist_win — Wed, 13 Apr 2005 20:02:54 +0000

There’s nothing like the Istanbul subway. We now have it for about 3-4 years and it’s an experience to be had.

First of all, there is the security issue. The security cameras placed everywhere do not record anything. Only one of all 100 people carrying bags are searched thoroughly (yeah, we all got a bit paranoid after the bombings last year). Then, there are the passengers who constantly try to pass over the yellow line and the security staff warning them to stay back in a very unfriendly manner. Bored of waiting for the train, when you try to watch the ads on the metrovision, the huge Exit sign blocks your field of view. An alternative to that would be watching the passengers on the other platform, who all try to find the Exit sign helplessly. When the train arrives, the battle between those who try to get off and on takes place and adds to the joy.