sultanahmet diaries

Friday, May 30, 2008

Modern Architecture in Istanbul

These .pdfs are taken from the Kontakt Magazine website (the whole magazine can be downloaded there). I wrote an article about modern architecture in Istanbul:

kontakt_Apr-May08-web%2030.pd f
kontakt_Apr-May08-web%2031.pdf
kontakt_Apr-May08-web%2032.pdf
kontakt_Apr-May08-web%2033.pdf

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=105202

Moving towards a healthier Turkey

On Monday, a law banning smoking in public areas went into effect in Turkey. The law, passed in January by the Turkish Parliament, outlaws smoking in all enclosed public spaces, including restaurants, bars, and sports complexes. Basically, any building with a roof of some kind will be required to become a non-smoking space in Turkey. The first adopters of this new law are office buildings and public structures, as the "bar and restaurant" portion of the ban has been put off until July 2009. While most non-smokers would agree that delaying this section of the law is undesirable, it is impressive that Turkey is taking steps toward eliminating smoking in such a way. After all, "To smoke like a Turk" is an unfortunate phrase that is commonly used to describe someone who smokes excessively. While smoking does seem like an indelible part of Turkish culture, from the nargile to Turkish tobacco, perhaps this ban is evidence of change.

According to a report published in 2004 by the Turkish Respiratory Journal, almost 50 percent of men and 20 percent of women are smokers in Turkey. With a population of over 70 million, this stand for almost 25 million people in Turkey. That's almost twice the current population of Belgium! Needless to say, this is a huge number of people. This may explain why enjoying a smoke-free meal is a rarity in Turkey, as inevitably someone seated nearby lights up at some point during a meal. Finding a "non-smoking" section is a bit of a quest as most bars and restaurants don't want to chase their smoking clientele away. After all, when a third of your customers smoke, it doesn't make sense to make life difficult for them. This is one reason why the ban isn't being enforced in bars and restaurants yet. Instead, they will be given a little over a year to comply with the new law.

Will the ban help smokers quit? According to a 2005 report on ABC "World News Tonight," four years after New York City banned smoking in restaurants, bars, and offices, the number of adult smokers fell by 500,000. In San Francisco, smoking bans are credited for a 6 percent drop in local lung cancer rates. National Public Radio interviewed Richard Hurt, an internist at the Mayo Clinic's Nicotine Dependence Center, in 2007. Regarding smoking bans in the United States and Europe, he stated that the bans helped to "de-normalize" smoking. In countries that had seen smoking as a normal part of life without any restrictions, more people smoked. Alternatively, once bans had been put in place and smoking was no longer the norm, there were fewer smokers overall. This is simple and logical, yet it takes time to make changes.

As a non-smoker, I've been wondering if I would see any smoking ban-related meltdowns in Istanbul this week; more aggressive taxi drivers, altercations in the street, or co-workers chewing pencils down to the lead. However, nothing was out of the ordinary and it seemed like a quiet week; I wonder if this wave of the law is just the calm before the storm. I'm fairly certain that the real challenge is going to come once bars and restaurants have to ask their smoking patrons to put out their cigarettes or leave.

In California, I witnessed the smoking ban come into effect in the bars there, which greatly dismayed my friends who smoked. A smoking ban had been passed into law in 1994, yet it took until 1998 to enforce it in bars across the state. Bars had been the last bastions for smokers, the only place with four walls and a ceiling where smoking was allowed. Most bars complied with this law, yet in my old neighborhood in Oakland, there was one bar that had some kind of deal with the local police. Bartenders would announce to the clientele that the police was coming by, so patrons would put out their cigarettes and hide their lighters. Even though a thick cloud of cigarette smoke hung in the air, the police officers would walk through and leave as if nothing happened. Smokers flocked to this bar like it was the last place in the state where they could enjoy a cigarette, which in retrospect, it perhaps was.

I had forgotten about that bar until this week, when I thought about how Turkish restaurants and bars would deal with this ban next year. I'm sure most companies and businesses won't have any problems complying with the new law, after all, it is in the interest of health. However, I do know that if some places in California got away with allowing smokers to smoke, the same thing will happen here in Turkey, but perhaps on a larger scale. Enforcement is going to be a challenging task to undertake and with so many people smoking, it's going to be especially difficult in Turkey. However, these kinds of laws and changes in Turkey are progressive and will be positive for smokers and non-smokers alike. Perhaps one day we'll look back and forget what "to smoke like a Turk" means, since Turkey seems to be moving in a healthier, smoke-free direction.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

i'm busy.... hence the links to other writing!

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=93887

and from my latest column.... getting political:

find the column here

Watching the upcoming American presidential elections unfold from overseas is a bit like watching theater from the last row of the highest balcony: it's easy to become bored and distracted by what should be a riveting drama taking place on stage. There are the main players and their assorted sidekicks, spouting hubristic monologues, participating in heated exchanges, and revealing character flaws which may or may not prove to be strengths. It's a classic story with a modern twist; instead of the typically white male cast of the past 200-odd years, we're presented with a different choice of casting: A strong-willed woman whom we've got to know through a previous production and a dark-skinned newcomer to the stage, both defying preconceived notions of who should get top billing for the next four years.

Every presidential election I can remember seemed like a fantastic melodrama, from the angry debates to the non-stop media coverage of each and every detail of candidates' lives. Researchers dig up dirt from the past, creating smear campaigns which seem like the worst kind of soap operas, and are just as petty or fictional. From my distant viewpoint in Turkey, it's easy to tune out the noise and forget that anything is happening in my motherland on the other side of the world. For the past few years, I've tended to turn off CNN when I see President Bush on the screen, reminding me of the actions and policies of the Bush administration that I deeply disagree with. It has been slightly uncomfortable in Turkey at times when people ask me if I'm American or not, asking probing questions about how Bush got elected, about my feelings regarding the war in Iraq or about the escalating tensions with Iran. Despite having passionate feelings about these issues, I've unfortunately been a passive protester of the current administration, silently hoping that time would pass and the next presidential election would somehow come sooner than it has.

Finally, 2008 has arrived and Americans will elect a new president in November. The main Democratic candidates in the election are Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, either of which I'm sure would make fine leaders of the U.S. One of them will be chosen to be the Democratic presidential candidate soon, and I hope that somehow it will be a Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton ticket. Is America ready for a female president? An African-American president? I sincerely hope so but I have my doubts. Despite being a modern, advanced country, the U.S. has never come close to electing a female or African-American president, regardless of their politics or views. In 1984, Walter Mondale ran for president with a woman, Geraldine Ferraro, as his vice-president. They lost the election to incumbent Ronald Reagan, and that was the closest a woman has got to the White House. That was 24 years ago, so I would hope that we've got past a candidate's gender or skin color when electing the leader of our country. It's the issues that are important, and we need a president who is able to make great changes. Either Clinton or Obama taking office would be a historic step for the U.S. and I hope if it happens, they will be able to make the kind of changes America and the world needs.

Americans living abroad experience American politics different to those who live in the U.S. We've been able to see how the U.S. is perceived through foreign eyes, through foreign press, and through our day-to-day interactions living abroad. Personally, my eyes have been opened to the amount of distrust the rest of the world has towards America, due to the wars we've started and the actions we've taken. Living abroad gives us perspective and a deeper respect for the world as a whole. Americans who live abroad have varied backgrounds and reasons for living in other countries; some of us were placed here by companies, others came by choice and never left. Our common threads are curiosity, the need to explore the unknown, and the desire to understand “the big picture.” Instead of thinking only of the lands within our borders, we're aware of the global community and how the U.S. fits into that space. It's an important viewpoint and we should not be passive viewers in the back row. I know from experience that it's easy to turn off the television and pretend nothing is happening, but we need to participate. We need to educate ourselves and become active global citizens. As expatriates, we may be far away, but it's important to remember that we still have a vote and a voice in our country. It's not just a faraway melodrama. This is a year of change and we should each participate in some way, whether we support Clinton, Obama, McCain or Huckabee.
I urge Americans living in Turkey to register with Democrats Abroad online at http://www.democratsabroad.org or Republicans Abroad at http://www.republicansabroad.org and register to vote!

Sunday, January 06, 2008

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=92634 http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=91255
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=90532
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=89385

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

M.I.A.

Istanbul sunset
Originally uploaded by camille_in_istanbul.

i know, i know..... i have been missing in action for about 2 months, but what can i say? life goes on.... i've been busy busy busy.

my parents are arriving from colorado tomorrow and visiting turkey for the first time. i am very, very excited!

i will post more later but for now, i am rethinking this blog and may launch something totally different come the new year.

cheers and happy holidays from istanbul!

xoxox

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

tour guides

The sea and land. Oludeniz, Turkey.
Originally uploaded by .......c.........

spent the past two days playing tour guide to my friends dustin and his wife, mastaneh. they were here for a few days prior to attending an awards ceremony in budapest for the cartoon they made last year. okan and i went to sultanahmet and met them at their hotel, then took them around, ate kebabs, explored passages for cheap goods, and walked in the rain. the grand bazaar was closed (much to their dismay) for the bayram, so we tried to substitute little stores for the bazaar. yesterday we went to ortakoy and took a boat ride up the bosphorus (which is honestly the best 5 YTL spent in istanbul, IMHO), and then ate desserts at ozsut in taksim. mmmmm. yum.

they're on their own today exploring the yerebatan sarnici (underground cistern) and doing last minute shopping.

it had been five years since i'd seen them, which is shockingly sad and i can't believe it has been that long! the last time i remember really seeing them was at their wedding in LA, which i always remember as the best wedding i've ever been to as it mixed both jewish and persian traditions. it was colorful and exciting, unlike most of the cookie-cutter white weddings i've been to over time. yawn.

anyway. it's another grey day here..... in a week i'm going to be on a turkish game show. BAHAHAHAHAH!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Fisherman and the sea
Originally uploaded by .......c.........

i'm sitting here on a rainy tuesday morning, rain is pelting my wilting geraniums and people are walking by with various colors of umbrellas. autumn is definitely here and i can feel the chill of winter coming in the air. i'm not ready for another istanbul winter!

just wishing that i was back on holiday.... okan and i went to south turkey and visited oludeniz, butterfly valley (kelebekler vadisi), kayakoy, and fethiye. it was late in the season, but still warm enough to swim in the sea and sunny enough for me to get a little tan. (note: the tan will probably fade in the next 72 hours!) everything was lovely except for one thing: the 12-island tour we took. normally, these tours are fabulous and relaxing, and ours started out this way, too. the boat takes you to little islands and secret coves where you can swim among ruins and sunbathe. it's magical. magical, that is, until a giant white squall rolls in and almost capsizes your boat while it's in the open sea! this storm rolled in incredibly fast-- almost instantaneous, which was incredible. we were on our way back to fethiye and suddenly the wind picked up, rain started pouring down, and the waves got violent and strong. the boat was rocking at a terrifying degree and i was sure we were going to capsize and end up in the mediterranean. yikes. (NOTE: the photo above is NOT of the boat we experienced this in! that's the little fisherman's boat that took us to butterfly valley)

anyway. back in istanbul. ramazan is almost over. things are going well.

my parents bought tickets and will be coming to istanbul in december! i can't believe it. i'm absolutely thrilled that they will be able to see istanbul and experience a little bit of what turkey is like. i can't wait!

Thursday, October 05, 2006

finally.

The Bosphorus and the Golden Horn
Originally uploaded by .......c.........

again, sorry for the lack of posting, but things have been extraordinarily busy here (with work, with okan, with life!) so this has kind of taken a seat on the back burner. things are good though. friends came, tours were had, work has been crazy....

it's thursday morning and, as usual, i have myself seated with a cup of coffee as i write this. i have to hurry though because i must get ready for work.... weeks have blurred together into a fog of running around, going out, enjoying ramazan, enjoying life.

we are going to fethiye on saturday night (actually, hisaronu?) and i can't wait. i need a holiday. i haven't really taken one this year and i'm incredibly burned out from working 6-day weeks and taking this management job. i need to just get out of istanbul and relax. it's going to be lovely!

work = fine
life = good
boy = good
istanbul = fair
desire to get out of istanbul and go on holiday = complete and total!