Otantik Club Hotel Bursa

... she could only think about how amazed her mom would have<br>been to know she was actually in Turkey watching the Dirvishes whirl<br>before her eyes! As a young girl, she heard her mom complain that<br>she and her sisters were racing around the place like Whirling<br>Dirvishes, not knowing what they were! What a wonderful remembrance<br>of Konya!<br><br>A long, eight-hour bus ride took us to Bursa, where we found a budget<br>hotel next to the one suggested in our ...

... in this form in the later fifteenth century, a century and a half after Osman's death in about 1323, this dream became one of the most resilient founding myths of the empire, conjuring up a sense of temporal and divine authority and justifying the visible success of Osman and his descendants at the expense of their competitors for territory and power in the Balkans, Anatolia, and beyond. [This quote from Caroline Finkel's Osman's Dream, p.2; and she in turn quotes the ...

... perhaps it had something to do with Bayram. But, the sun had gone down. Not far enough, I guess. A dish of greens was served to each table, and bread (except to me). After about a half an hour a distant boom could be heard (presumably a canon shot at the true sunset), and people began to eat. Though the setting might be called a semi-fancy one, the patrons all seemed to be middle class couples, groups and families. I assumed, therefore, it was a restaurant dedicated to ...

... flowers or vegetables as they may choose. The camp is a series of one room cabins with a tiny toilet and shower room, and in the main room a counter and sink for food preparation. All else, I presume, was left to the owners or renters to supply. The larger camp is still under development, and an unassigned section had been apportioned to the art camp volunteers, most of whom were from Europe (Germany, France, Switzerland, Romania, and Moldovia). Two non-europeans, being ...

This is not going to be very interesting. Just a few of the things I did on the weekend. Though a weekend in and around Bursa, Turkey. But as lived by a slightly eccentric sexagenarian. The day started out as usual: reading while breakfasting. I had seen a poster announcing some weekly event at 2 pm (make that 14:00) at the Karagöz Museum. Karagöz are Turkish shadow pupets. To be honest, I had not been particularly attracted to this cultural ...

... that the world will end, not with a bang, but with a whimp**. <br><br> What follows are collections of news articles, mostly, that off** insights into the daily abrasions to which humans, mostly, are inflicting upon the global environment, its own social organizations, and its seemingly precarious continuance. <br><br>26 Octob** 2007 [My "Forward"]<br><br> The first article reprinted h**e has come 10 months aft** I first began assembling this document (for what purpose I don't ...

... days. Which points out another fact. Parenthetically, I have a contact with a university professor of environmental law. She has recently been shocked--after all these years--by a report of some agency relative to the failure of the Arctic ice cap to coalesce this summer. And she urged me to "spread the word on climate change" here in Turkey. <br><br>Well, I am reluctant to share my cynicism with her. Or any one, for that matter. (On second thought, I'll provide a toxic ...

I think I wrote last that this would cease to be a "travel" blog as I settled into a "life in Bursa" routine. But, as this weekend proved, there are still Turkish travel blogable experiences to be had. Especially if one goes out exploring on weekends.<br><br>On Saturday, therefore, I sought to escape the heat and humidity of Bursa by going to the coast of the Sea of Marmara, at a nearby town of Mudanya. It worked. There the heat was less, and ...

... The rentee's "man," Ibrahim, offered that his wife would perform the cleaning for 50YTL, or about US$41, by my last check. For most this is an easy choice. Now, I wouldn't call my self miserly, but I do internally deliberate these things, probably more than most, and often do opt for discomfort over paving it over with cash. But in this case I went for it.<br><br>So, last Thursday the house was pretty thoroughly cleaned, by Ibrahim's wife, and Ibrahim. I think they were here about six ...

... you have to have patience because I get pretty detailed. It may be worth it.<br><br>I come to this Friday, and really want to take a shower, and wash some clothes . . . . in hot water. So, just after 9am I text-messaged this young lady to ask if she had time to help me locate the gas company office, and get the gas service turned on. Well, not today, actually. She wasn't to be free until after 6, and by then the offices would be closed. "No worries," I said, I've ...