17 November 2010

An old friend at the Archeology Museum

Five years after my first trip to Istanbul I went back for a week-long vacation with my fiancée. Naturally, I regaled her with stories of my previous adventures in the city and took her to many of my favorite spots.
At the archeology museum I found a pleasant surprise, the very friendly, fluffy cat that I remember from all my trips to the museum was still there.

Here he is in 2005,

and in 2010.


If you make it out to Istanbul, head over to the archeology museum and say hi to him for me.

Happy Travels!
Alex

10 August 2006

Third and Final Installment of the Wedding in Batman

And this makes all twelve. To keep the quality high and your experience worthwhile the files are fairly large, be prepared to wait a few minutes for the downloads. The links below take you to their pages on the internet archive, the actual downloads are one click away.

Chapter 09 - 3 min 23 sec
Chapter 10 - 4 min 10 sec
Chapter 11 - 11 min 12 sec
Chapter 12 - 7 min 26 sec

09 August 2006

Second Installment of the Wedding in Batman

Again, these are some large files, be prepared to wait. The links below take you to their pages on the internet archive, the actual downloads are one click away.

Chapter Five - 13 min 39 sec
Chapter Six - 12 min 01 sec
Chapter Seven - 6 min 39 sec
Chapter Eight - 5 min 17 sec

08 August 2006

First Installment of the Wedding in Batman

These are some large files, be prepared to wait. The links below take you to their pages on the internet archive, the actual downloads are one click away.

Chapter One - 7 min 40 sec
Chapter Two - 7 min 17 sec
Chapter Three - 7 min 59 sec
Chapter Four - 2 min 33 sec

31 July 2006

The Rest Will Have to Wait for Next Time

And so the fairy tale draws to a close, thank you for being my audience through these misadventures. It's hard for me to put into words what being in Istanbul feels like. For me moments would come where I felt inspired and adventurous, up stairways to hidden vistas or leaning against the rail of the ferry, straining to take in all that passed. There's something magical about this place, or maybe it's part of human nature, something awakens in us when we take root to different soil.


Here's a young cat enjoying a bit of shade. The humidity and heat have struck again, this weekend all we managed to do was lie around the apartment complaining about the weather before working up the strength to spend the afternoon in the mall. Soulless box of consumerism aside, Cevahir is air conditioned. For this reason (I think) I see many women sporting the incredibly conservative black drapes doing their shopping in the mall. Mecidiyeköy isn't exactly that conservative, even in the neighborhoods that have a much more religious feel I don't see the voluminous black garment. But my guess is when the shopping needs to be done a drive across town is totally justified by the air conditioning that awaits. Having spent high school as 'super goth' with a black trench coat in the summer months, I can sympathize. But enough flippant remarks about the benefits of air conditioning.

Cevahir mall is if nothing else, full of stores and I had a little mission in mind before leaving Turkey. Because so many cloths are made here, and cloths tend to be really cheap. I thought, "Gee Alex, time for that suit. You might find yourself in situations where a Utilikilt won't be appreciated as formal attire." I've got to put in my full recommendation on doing this, with a lot of help from one of the ladies I came to something that makes me look like I'm paying attention. Textiles are inexpensive in Turkey, particularly wool, compared to the US and so deliciously soft.

I have been given an open invitation to return to Turkey, an offer I will take repeatedly I know. But, my plane leaves at sunrise, it's time to put away these misadventures. I hope you enjoyed reading, see you later. I'll post video projects as they are completed, so check back in a week, you might see something.

28 July 2006

Four Days Left, Yikes

Unfortunately the vacation up to the Black Sea didn't get off the ground. No seaside fish cookout and evening hikes this time. But that means one more weekend in Istanbul, and I have a partner for the excitement. The ladies returned from the South coast and one hopped on another flight a less than a day later! Crazy ladies, they can't seem to stay in one country for more than a week.
Last night, in the spirit of Western decadence, we ordered Pizza from Little Caesar's and watched a movie. I've seen many chains that I really didn't expect to see, not just Little Caesar's, Quiznos and El Torrito surprised me when I saw them.
That's something that startled me as soon as I arrived in Turkey, all these companies that I thought of as a subset of 'American' actually have a much larger scope. But rather 'American' is becoming subordinate to these entities, buying a hamburger wrapped in paper without leaving your car isn't a uniquely American thing. I guess just wasn't expecting to see so much that was the same when other flags were flying. Some more naïvety left behind I suppose. That said, the pizza was so delicious, they put sesame seeds on the crust, kind of like a simit. And you can order lamb on your pizza, which sure beats slimy pork sausages.

26 July 2006

From the Ferry



What a view, enjoy.