Hotel Gonluferah Bursa

... Planet guide, that
didn't have any rooms. We did meet a friend of the hotel owner, who
was a vice-principal. Amhe is a great promoter of his city and
invited us to join a group from his friend's hotel who were going to
see the Whirling Dirvishes at a 800-year-old, recently-refurbished
Cultural Centre. There was no cost, as it is the city's way of
promoting cultural.


It was a treat to hear the three strong singers, five talented
Bursa, Turkey noalarmclocks

... the same as if a banquet were to take place. I got from the fellow that it was a "fixed menu," which rang in my mind $$$. But, damn the torpedoes.

I was given a two person table right in the middle of everything. Everybody, that is to say, though the place was still filling. There was a plate of some munchies: olives, a sliver of cheese, a slice of cucumber, a date, things like that. After consuming a portion I noticed that nobody else was eating anything. So I stopped, thinking ...

During the nine days from August 22nd to the 31st I was pretty fully occupied in a volunteer involvement called the Nilüfer Sanat Kampı (Nilüfer Art Camp). It was pretty much a 24/9 engagement. Even when I was able to get to my rented home, sometimes at 1:30am, all I had time for was a shower before bed. Then it was up in the morning with just enough time to get to a pick-up spot on the street for a shuttle bus drop at the camp site.

There were two working ...

... the the defeat of the Greeks in a "civil" war of independence following the First World War. Historical records of the church are, I guess, non-existent. I asked, (playing Devil's Advocate) why they wanted to restore the church rather than tear it down and build a nice new building. I was told "because of the law." About the time we were finished with our tea we were invited to a community event, which initially was thought to be a sünnet, a ...

... Sal picked me up at the park near my house in Tophane at 6 am Saturday morning. He had invited his friend Mehmet, who Sal had met while doing his military duty on the border of Turkish-Iranian border. "Mehmet is the money," said Sal, nudging his friend. "That's why I keep him around. But if he runs out of money, we'll drop him off somewhere." Mehmet had just bought a brand new cd of popular Turkish Black Sea music, which we ...

... Turkey was a contestant, and the cafe was set up as a viewing parlor, Hamdi Bey reserved a front seat for me (unsolicited). Unfortunately, he didn't quell the cigarette smokers all about me. Hamdi Bey took my picture on the cafe veranda. He was thrilled with my picture of him, and I intend to get a print of it for him. Other of the servers also greet me by name these days.

A couple of doors down from the cafe, and in a direct line between the door of the mosque and my ...

... town to the Muradiye Complex, walking slowly but still breaking a sweat in the heat and humidity. Along one street I was invited to join the "boys" -- a group of men about my age, sitting by, as the Turks are wont to do--for a tea. A man was emerging from a home as I passed, and seeing me as a foreigner asked if I was German, as also is the frequent case. I said no, I was American. And the invitation was extended. I sat with them for perhaps a half or three quarters of an hour ...

Don't read furth** unless you want a toxic dose of it.

About a year and a half ago I began assembling what I call "Apocalyptic Notes." I read fairly widely, although v**y concentratedly in the New York Times. But, in a wide range of obs**vations. Taken cummulatively they "fuel" my cynicism. Below is my preface to the collection. Note that the first entry--at the end of a long list--actually predates by about nine months my law professor friend's being "scared" by an even more ...

Sunday was my "hiking day." (And I'm thinking of changing to Saturday, as I usually hike myself into such tiredness that I'm not able to get going very well on Monday (See notes with pictures). Then Sundays I can do the lighter diversionary excursions)).

From the previous Sunday's hike, in which I fell into a family picnic, I had seen the other side of the gorge and wanted to explore up into that far side. Which I did. Nothing much to say about it. (Although I can ...

... a hole at the top of the back! It was even dribbling out of the soap dish tray at the front top. I freaked, and fearing water in the electronics, pulled the plug.

But, with the machine off, I couldn't open the front-loading door. So I had to turn it back on to open the door, which then poured water and I immediately noticed the floor drain was too clogged to drain rapidly and a lake was forming on the floor in which I didn't want to be standing ...