I decided to write an essay about famous Romanians i know. I am sure my English will suck. Because translating a text and writing an English essay two different things. And it is very difficult for me to express my thoughts in English because i think Turkish. So please forgive me for my mistakes.
1)While i was going to middle school i guess in one of our history lessons I first heard about Vlad Tepes-Dracula-Kazıklı Voyvoda(Voivode with Stake)He was so terrifying and interesting.He was a bloodthirsty man. I remember i thought that nailing of him ambassadores´ turban clothes to their heads is very unfair. After i had watched the movie "Bram Stoker´s Dracula", i had a sympathy to him. Because in the movie while he was in the battlefield Ottomans was sending a message to his fiance telling that Vlad is dead (a lie for revenge) and his fiance was killing herself and because of this tragic event and his unanswered prayers he was denouncing God and turning into a monster.(Of course this is fiction but I found this very touching) Also Gary Oldman who was playing the Dracula was so charismatic in that movie this can also explain my sympathy to Dracula. By the way i am a huge fan of Gary Oldman since that movie. I also tried to read Bram Stoker´s novel but the only one i could find was English and reading a big novel in English always bores me. So i haven´t been able to finish it yet.I want to finish it.
2)Second Romanian i know was Hagi. I was going to middle school and i heard a very famous footballer was coming to the team (Galatasaray) i support. I was very excited. I think his first goal was against to Trabzonspor from a freekick. I have been a fan of him since that match. I also remember i made a bet with my friends.The bet was "as long as Hagi plays in Galatasaray we will always be champions". I was right but i have never got my 2,5 litres Coca Cola (my bet prize). Hagi was a Turk in my eyes. He was very angry and he was playing with his heart. He was like a Spartan warrior. I have always thought him as one of us. Popescu was also a great player. I always remember his last penalty and our joy when we won the UEFA Cup against Arsenal.
3)I was a nihilist some time ago and i was thinking everything is meaningless and in vain. World was the most horrible place i could imagine for a human to live. I was thinking humans are strangers in this world and everything is absurd. Then i read a book of Cioran. He was telling the same things.He was so bitter and pessimist. His style shocked me.I felt his anger and disappointment in my veins.
4)I was in a depressed mood(not a long time ago) while i was reading Panait Istrati´s novel Mihail. But Istrati´s warm writing style and his optimistic thoughts about life and friendship effected me a lot. I decided to look at the world from an optimistic perspective. I also decided to read his other novel Mediterranian. It was also a good read. Despite the fact Panait Istrati tried to kill himself at a time in his life, he was so optimistic and full of hope in his novels. In his these two novels you will witness the importance of true friendship.
5)I have always thought about Turkish history. I have always thought we tried to conquer whole Europe in the past and Europeans will never forgive us for this. I have thought all of the European historians agree that we are barbaric people. But then i read about Nicolae Iorga. He was one of the three foreign historians who wrote whole Ottoman History. And i also read that he was a very neutral historian. I decided to buy his big Ottoman History. I started to read his work from Fatih Sultan Mehmet part and i found him as they tell. There was not a single bad word about Turks. And he was also appreciating Fatih Sultan Mehmet for his good behavior towards Christians. I was very surprised. And i appreciated him a lot.
So i want to thank all these wonderful Romanian people for changing my life.