Dupnisa Cave

(Photo by Rob Pieh)

This weekend I went to the Dupnisa Cave, near Demirköy\vaguely near Kırklareli on the Bulgarian border. The cave has some kind of historical and linguistic relation to Dionysos, although I think some unsubstantiated writings of "ceremonies, including human-sacrifice" in the cave are a bit suspect.    I went with BÜMAK, my school's cave exploration club (and I think one of the very first in Turkey.) The 3.5 hour bus-ride became an (enjoyable) 6 hour ride  thanks to frequent stops and lively dancing in the center aisle of the bus. We made a rather surreal stop in a very empty and restful Kırklareli around 3 am to buy bread from a local bakery that had just opened for the morning. One sleepless local told be of a nearby town called Ceremi (Jeremy), but I haven't been able to find it on any map.

Baba Zula

Last night I went to hear Baba Zula, Turkey's top psychedelic Electro-Anatolian Bağalama band... It was interesting. The band, especially the lead player, was dressed as if they what looked like old Janissary "Mehter" costumes that had accumulated 100 years of dust in the attic of the musician's aunt's house. The highlight of the night was a song called "Pırasa," meaning "leek." The performance culminated in a single leek suspended from a fishing line that was lowered down to the stage. As it dangled, the band danced around it in various levels of seemingly drug-induced delirium. They sung directly to the leek, and perhaps the leek was singing back to them in a sense as well. While I didn't have the state-of-mind to understand what the leek was saying to them, luckily they translated through music. The song climaxed as the lead-player began to violently strike his instrument with the leek. The stage went dark, except for a spotlight on the leek, which was then raised back to the ceiling.

Istanbul Photos: Rain and Portraits

İstiklal Cd. Nostaljik Tram

İstiklal Cd. Nostaljik Tram

Turnacıbaşı Sokak: 1am

Mushrooms in Hurriyet...

An article in today's Hurriyet says...

"Mushrooms that decorate the woods with their cute umbrella appearances are an indispensable dish for many, but the characteristics of those that proliferate in Turkey’s forests are widely unknown...'A poisonous mushroom called ‘Sour Mehmet,’ resembling a sheep’s belly, is often sold in bazaars,' said Barutçiyan." 

Istanbul Photos

Donkeys In Today's Hurriyet

A gem quoted from a Turkish English-Language newspaper...

Free Donkeys on Shores of Aegean

The offspring of doneys left by Greeks who left Turkey after the Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913 number in the thousands today and are roaming free. During the Greek exodus, most migrants traveled to Greece by sea after transporting all their goods to shore by donkey. The donkeys, however, were not taken on the journey. According to elderly locals the Ottoman Government tried to look after the donkeys and ordered the district governors to gather them together. "They first gathered them at castle constellations or in the village countryside and tried to take care of them," said a local elder called Uncle Cevdet. "There were people who wanted to take ownership of some of the donkeys but that was a difficult job. The donkeys did not have saddles or leashes and you couldn't make them move even by holding them by their ears. They are stubborn animals," Cevdet said, adding some people even died from kicks while trying to move the donkeys and when they brayed in chorus the sound was unbearable. Eventually, the donkeys moved to districts like Çeşme, Ayvalık.  

Turkish Visa: In 15 easy steps!

Getting a Turkish Educational Visa in 15 easy steps. . . a true account.

1. Goto the Turkish Embassy in New York at 10:00 am (a reasonable time). Assume that credit cards aren't accepted so bring a check. 
2. Learn the the consular  office is only open from something like 2:30 to 4:30 pm, leading to a 3 hours Starbucks excursion. 
3. Return to the Embassy and wait on line for 45 minutes. 
4. Learn that the Turkish government only accepts cash. . . 
5. Run to a Chase ATM
6. Return, wait on line. . . hand over your passport. 
7. Leave New York City, with no opportunities to return for 3 months. . . 
8. Wait 2 weeks. . . 
9. Receive an email from a Turkish consular officer stating that you've applied for your visa too early and  that your should "apply again at the last minute"
10. Argue to be allowed to mail the passport back in a month or so. 
11. Return to the consular office 3 months later. 
12. Wait for consular officer to write a hand-written receipt on a blank sheet of printer paper.  
13. Sign on the hand-written "X__________"
14. Receive Visa...
15. Depart for Turkey!