We’re momentarily blessed with beautiful weather so like the good Istanbulite that I am, as soon as I saw the sun this morning I set out to walk to Kurucesme for grocery shopping.
I was very pleasantly surprised when I got there because of the travel ads for Greece that were plastered all over the walls.
Don’t believe everything you hear, even though there is a supposed hatred between the two countries, I think it’s time for everyone to grow up, get over it and embrace each other before it’s too late.
Hopefully the ads won’t be defaced.

Hürriyet posted about 11 places in the boundaries of Istanbul. One day i will see those sites but not this weekend! There is our conference. Come to the conference and travel later:)

the Istanbul mayor declared that in order to decrease Istanbul’s Monday traffic, cabs will work with 50% discount 3 days a week. the Mayor had stated that the head of Taxi Drivers’ Chamber promised to do that. Check out Yalçın Bayer’s column [in Turkish] on his suspicions about this idea and other traffic-related projects…

Finally, someone wrote on Dolmuşs. At first I thought the article was about those small vans that were available all the time. They are my favorite ones though I don’t use them much. In the chaos of traffic, despite what it looks like, I trust most of dolmuş drivers. They are bricoleurs, fast, furious but skilled and experienced drivers. Not necessarily they are gentle but in case you are in a hurry, or in case you are stuck in the middle of night…some lines work 24 hours a day…they are the solution. However, Today’s Zaman article(Appreciating Turkey while packed in a dolmuş) is about those bigger dolmuşs; that have similar logic of transportation with the smaller ones yet they are more annoying and they are mostly available in “normal” hours of the day, until after a little later that official public transportation means stop….

According to the newest municipality plan, Istanbul will be divided into three zones. The authorities have London and Singapore in their minds.. Here is the news item. But no worries this won’t start before 2012!

This is not totally new. But Mr. Erdoğan was more vocal this time and stated his wish to limit migration and car ownership in Istanbul. However, paying to enter downtown areas seems to be more plausible, not to mention the issues of citizens’ right for mobility… Well, Turkish citizens were hoping to move in Europe freely but they might not even move within Turkey if Mr. Erdoğan’s wish can be realized….

That’s the amount needed to solve Istanbul’s traffic. That is what the Mayor says…(in Turkish)

On Friday, there will be a high profile meeting between the four ministries and Istanbul municipality in order to solve the ever growing traffic problem. Istanbul mayor Mr. Topbaş says in order to develop and finish Istanbul subway system on time, they need the state aid. Mr. Mayor is ready to forward the subway to the Ministry of Transportation…and according to an OECD report, Istanbul needs 60 billion in order to make investments to reach the EU standards……

As it is already known, the Pope is in town. This historical visit is a test in multiple levels, but i suppose there is at least one who fails the test. Many Istanbulites got angry with the traffic yesterday. Because of security reasons which streets would be closed were not announced and many people who just left their work had to spend incredible amounts of time to reach home or wherever they were destined to go. I can understand the logic of security reasons but i wish the officials in charge would also care about thousands of their own citizens. I am sure our pain could be alleviated with a better organization. But would our officials care about that?…

I knew it, I knew it. I always hated that cell phone ban in those ‘green’ public buses. Supposedly, it is for the security of us: cell phones may interfere with the electronic devices of the bus and cause accidents. That is not true according to a Sabah report. Even if that was true, then one should ask why we would be using them. I cannot imagine all Istanbulites would obey the ban, in fact they did not- that is also a matter of civility of course. Then, as a public official, you shouldn’t have imported that kind of buses. That is itself a threat to public safety.
Cell phone ban also provided some people to satisfy themselves in a weird way: Mostly, older men shout at younger women - as I witnessed today once again- The guy did not say anything to an older woman, but when a girl began to use her cell phone, he shouted at her…. (I am sure, most of us have other interesting occasions to witness). I always turned off my cell phone and probably continue to do but not because I really believed in the ban itself. If only I was let to take karate courses in my childhood, I would be bolder, I guess….