Türkce ögrenmek icin bir hafta zamanim var -

or how I can learn Turkish right now in the week we got no classes because of the Bayram. Kurban Bayram is the nationally celebrated holiday which is considered to be the highest Islamic celebration.
A related ritual is the butchering of a sheep - the whole citys is surrounded by a disgusting smell of these poor animals.
among these lines - iyi bayramlar

Sunday we made a short excursion (ha ha, actually we spent one and a half hour in the bus) to Üsküdar which is located on the shore of the Bosphorus. Along the dozen nice places onward the water you have a wonderful overview of the whole silhouette of the city. The atmosphere is pretty more relaxed compared to the crowed European site. Mostly Turkish people come here for simply enjoying their cay under the wind protecting sunshades. So it can easily happen that you find yourself among wedding guests. Only the mass of people who try to sell nearly everything (ok sunflower but roses, pencils and photos?!) is a bit annoying.

Finally we also baught a package of sunflowers. Being able to open them with your teeth makes you really Turkish. No matter how old you are or to which social class you belong, in Turkey EVERYBODY can do this. But please believe me - it is not that easy as it looks like. I tried it with half a package but still I did not find out the right technique.

 

Our midnight snack we had on the forth floor terrasse of the famous Mado. Their Baklava are heavenly and the view is once more stunning and marvelous.

Cappadokia - land of the beautiful horses

Distance means so little when something means so much.
Because Cappadokia definetly belongs to the great places to see before you die not even the over 10 hours long bus ride could scare us of going there.

In the middle of the arid Anatolian steppes, there suddenly appears an otherworldly landscape of bizarre rock formations and fairy chimneys: Cappadocia. The landscape appears so surreal that at first sight, you could easily mistake it for a mirage. Indeed, many visitors will tell you that the first word that comes to mind when looking at Cappadocia’s scenery is magical. The extraordinary landscape is made up of a soft kind of lava, known as tufa, which has been carved into distinctive shapes by years of winds and rains, the results of which resemble a moon-like landscape.
Read more: http://www.theguideistanbul.com/news/detail/855/Wondrous-Cappadocia

The view over the first panoram city we stopped was beautiful and stunning at the same time. I have never seen mountains and stones  in such a surreal form and it is really hard to describe it in words - hopefully the picturese will help you carry a bit of this marvellous atmosphere to your home.

A tree of the evil eye that protects you from vicious sights

In a factory of ceramic I bought one of these for the chaos of my earrings I have in my room (I was able to loose one of them in a room with not more than 15 square meters) 
The desicion was very hard - which one is your favorite and guess which color I have chosen?

Also we could not resits to buy one of these handmade dolls from the women in front of the underground city we were down. They were hardly trying to sell them and as she told me she got six children to feet I could no longer resits - a good deed done (foreven  only one lira) and I am really growing to like her - does anyone have a suggestion for a name (the right one?)  ;)

 

 We are always running for the thrill of it thrill of it
Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it
On and on and on we are calling out and out again
Never looking down I'm just in awe of what's in front of me

- by empire of the sun

little visitors I found while climbing up the hills (luckily I had my trainers on but unfortunatly my jeans did not survive the way up - no it has a little rip on the knee but those who have scarfs have experienced)

doesn't the shape of the stones remind you of toadstools apart from the color and the missing dots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had so much fun exploring the endless landscape and discover secret holes and steps upwords that we did not realize that our bus has been honking several times - but half an hour was definetifly to less time! And the photos are totally worth beeing taught off by the buddies.

Ihlara Valley

 

one of the beautiful little churces inside of the valley

 

 

Thank you girls for the wonderful weekend! 

Happrness is only real when shared

 

The weekend started on Friday evening with home preared MANTI, cok lezzetli.

This evening was supposed to be only a half HAM night, not comparable with the last, real HAM night.
We danced to the beats of a German DJ in a closed street in a club called Kasette somewhere around Taksim.

Saturday I feel pretty comfortable in between my Greek friends who learned me important words to survive in their language (which should better be not posted here..)

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The training has just started one week ago  - but I did it.

 

The Nike 5 kilometer run through Istanbul along one of the most famous shopping streets and along the seaside - but not without leaving traces in my face

I ended up red as a tomatoe :D but happy & proud of the medal I got.

                                                                

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HKoqNJtMTQ

Let the sky fall, when it crumbles
We will stand tall
Face it all together
At skyfall

Skyfall is where we start
A thousand miles and poles apart
When worlds collide, and days are dark
You may have my number, you can take my name

But you'll never have my heart.

Because there is nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline no matter how many times it's sent away - Sarah Key - via realtiaetsblogade

                    

                                    

tekrar gelmek - coming back.

It took us more than five minutes to find out what to say when we left the shop were we could find so many beautiful scarfs in every color and every pattern. The woman was sooo very nice and did not get tired of showing us once more what she can offer. The smile on her face when we left was a real one coming from the heart.

 

ISTANBUL MODERN

new works, new horizons

A museum is a home for art. It provides an alternative to the forces of consumption & production that we experience in our daily lives. As well as serving to protect, document and exhibit art, a museum also feels like a spiritiual place where art can live & breathe. Art knits together a complex web of relationships through the chronological, thematic and stylistic approaches that characterize exhibitions. A museum is the point where the viewer & the artist intersect. It is a safe heaven where art can establish itself. 

- Levent Calikoglu-

read & learn more:

http://www.istanbulmodern.org/tr

 wonderful view from their terrasse

Bedri Baykam

I wish I had a harem - Bir Haremim Olsun İsterdim

- Why?

Because life is worth living despite of everything. And nowadays have a magical beauty. Everything is happening now and here, there is no “future”... Everything is now...

- Love

 

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Transformation - a view on chinese contemporary art

 

External growth of inner spirit
features artists that manifest the cultural memory formed by Chinese art from prehistoric times to our days

Spring, river & flowers on a moonlit night

- Zhang Rhoxu -

春江花月夜
　　（唐）张若虚
　　春江潮水连海平，海上明月共潮升。
　　滟滟随波千万里，何处春江无月明！
　　江流宛转绕芳甸，月照花林皆似霰；
　　空里流霜不觉飞，汀上白沙看不见。
　　江天一色无纤尘，皎皎空中孤月轮 。
　　江畔何人初见月？江月何年初照人？
　　人生代代无穷已，江月年年只相似；
　　不知江月照何人，但见长江送流水。
　　白云一片去悠悠，青枫浦上不胜愁。
　　谁家今夜扁舟子？何处相思明月楼？
　　可怜楼上月徘徊，应照离人妆镜台。
　　玉户帘中卷不去，捣衣砧上拂还来。
　　此时相望不相闻，愿逐月华流照君。
　　鸿雁长飞光不度，鱼龙潜跃水成文。
　　昨夜闲潭梦落花，可怜春半不还家。
　　江水流春去欲尽，江潭落月复西斜。
　　斜月沉沉藏海雾，碣石潇湘无限路。
　　不知乘月几人归，落月摇情满江树。

Moch ma mal a Jausn

luckly we got invited to special Austrian Dinner called Jausn. 
Here is what leo says about it: "a meal or snack consisting of bread, cold cuts, cheese etc., usually between breakfast and lunch or in the evening!"

Everybody was curious what was actually hidden behind this phrase and the evening turnded out to a real "Gaudi" Special thanks to Christian for the invitation, his parents who brought all this stuff along to Istanbul and his grandmother for the delicious self made bread. (after 4 weeks in Turkey I really miss dark bread)

A cheer for Austria!

Wake me up when September ends
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjNJmwwf7QA

Summer has come & passed - luckly the sun is on our side and the summer lasts a little longer. Unbelievable that I´m here for for 29 days; for four weeks; for one month. And still I get at least one time a day the song of Max Herre in my mind "you are so beautiful" because you Istanbul are so beautiful. Even when you spend hours and hours standing in buses and you become really pissed of by the long distances you have to overcome just to get from a to b together with 1000s of people you find in the end something in this city which was totally worth it - no matter if it is just the smile of the man you by your simit from when you are able to order in Turkish aaaaand can  also ask for the price (bir simit lütfen, ne kadar?) or once more an amazing view over the silhouette of the mosques.

Sunday we took once more the ferry to the European side - mission of the day: move up to the Galata tower. With thisidea we were not alone so we ended up at the top (after standing in line for about an hour but rome wasn`t build in a day) in the middle of felt 100 people around - every one with the intention to take the best picture ever. (the Japanese people where especially interested in taking picutures of us). Istanbul showed herself from the best side and the sunrise completed the atmosphere.

Knowing that coffee is good for wellbeing (recently discoverd on http://www1.lavazza.com/corporate/de/coffeculture/wealth/ - you can also find out how to read the tea leaves which is very common here and stands also on my to do list on this site - very interesting) we went to Lavazza for having really good coffee which is very hard to find in Turkey when you don`t prefere the Turkish taste (very strong like 10 espresso for me or the much to sweet 3in1 Nescafé sticks). When we payed the waiter over the counter gave us some cookies in the form of a gingerbread man :) But because they look so nice to eat we bought traditional Turkish sweet cake for the ride back with the ferry. Back to black in the never ending bus...

Galata tower one of the oldest & most beautiful towers in Istanbul was built in 528 during the sovereignty of the Byzantine Emperor Justanianus. Having been used by the Genoese in the 13th century the tower was caputured by the Turks in 1453 when the Byzantium was conquered by them. It measures 61 meters high from the ground and 140 meters from the sea level.