Re: Aircondition in Turkish Hotels: Some require that you pay extra. My reputable hotel located in Sultan Ahmet did not have Air condition. I too cannot tolerate heat and humidity.

You must have had a bad experience!

The Turkish national government got on this thing a few years ago about people getting fit, so they started installing free gym equipment in public parks. It seemed to me, though, that they were only putting this equipment in parks near rich neighbourhoods,

----- I TOTALLY DISAGREE, BECAUSE I NOTICED A FEW WHILE WALKING ALONG THE MARMARA STARTING FROM YEDIKULE TO KUMKAPI----

which never made any sense to me because rich people can afford to go to the gym.

But people were coming off the machines huffing and puffing and sweating, so I think there’s some real exercise going on here.
http://melissamaples.com/2007/12/29/free-fitness-in-the-great-outdoors/

At the bank
We went to the bank yesterday, and as we were sitting around waiting for our number to be called, I was reminded of a cultural difference I often notice but fail to report: the Turkish inclination to flash money. Now, perhaps it’s not so strange to see people holding money in a bank, but in most banks in the United States and Europe, people would keep their money concealed until they got up to the counter. In Turkey, if you look around the bank waiting area you notice that most people have their money out where everyone can see it. Check this guy, for instance— even though he has an envelope in his hand, he has taken the money out of it, and as you can see, it’s a stack of hundreds about half an inch thick. If I measure, for example, the first hundred pages of a book, it’s about the same thickness as that stack. So that’s, what, $10,000? I saw him counting the money at one point, and can confirm it’s not a stack of singles with a hundred on top.

I guess in the bank itself, my Western panic about “don’t give people a temptation to mug you” is a bit silly, since there are two heavily armed guards at the bank door and no one would be stupid enough to try mugging someone. Still, I don’t feel comfortable displaying my cash. I was raised to think that finances are a very private thing, and that you should guard any information, including how much money you have in your pocket, from prying eyes.

Turks seem proud of how much they have— I have Turkish friends who have absolutely no problem telling strangers how much they make every month and how much is in their bank account at any given moment, even if it’s not a lot. And if they come into some unexpected money, they announce it as they would the birth of a child, and everyone celebrates the good fortune together.

Me, if I won some money or had some other windfall, I wouldn’t tell anyone outside my household. Aside from the fact that I don’t feel it’s anyone’s business how much money I have, I have a healthy dose of cynicism in me— I’ve certainly been on the receiving end of people coming out of the woodwork, and in my experience the only way to avoid it is not to let people know when you’re unexpectedly flush. Most of the Turks I know would be happy to tell everyone how much they won, and give a loan to whomever asked for one. They’re so much nicer than I am.

21 May 2008, 14:24 | Posted in Life In Turkey

Australia:

http://www.rickgunnphotography.com/project.php

I am searching for the name a certain enclosed garden with fountain the next street over from Yedikule, which I visited recently, on one of the enclosed walls this garden has beautiful tile displays of Yedikule and Iznik flower designs. Did find the location on Google Earth, but not the name. Have written to the Mayor via e.mail. No reply. Somewhat frustrating

or Zeytinburnu?
Appreciate pm reply.

The sudden hike in temperature in the past few weeks is a not-so-subtle reminder that summer in Turkey is right around the corner.

After all, June is the month that has historically seen average temperatures rise all over the country, from Istanbul to Ankara and beyond. Summer is the favorite season of most Turks, as well as the millions of travelers who flock to Turkey to enjoy the benefits of cool seas and warm beaches. For those of us without yazliks (summer houses) or available long holidays, however, summer presents an interesting challenge, especially when stuck in the city. Istanbul, in particular, can be excruciating in the summer, as the humidity, as well as the temperature, rises.

One of the first and most pleasant solutions for beating the heat is to simply go up. Istanbul has countless rooftop terrace bars and restaurants, most of which have shade, cool breezes, and cold drinks. Throw in a Bosporus view and most people would have a hard time finding a more enjoyable way to pass their time in Istanbul, much less than in any other city in the world. There's really nothing like discovering a new terrace with beautiful views of both the Asian and European sides of the city. Terraces and balconies become luxuries in the summertime, as we enjoy looking out at the city while enjoying the cool winds coming from the Marmara Sea. Although Istanbul sprawls out in every direction, from above it seems majestic; the frenetic pace of life on the street below is easily forgotten.

Of course, if you can't go up, you can always go indoors. Most of the larger malls and shopping centers have air conditioning, which is a welcome relief on scorching hot days. The only problem for me is that as an American, I am used to the subzero, Antarctic-like air conditioning that exists in the majority of malls in the United States. In California for example, during the summer the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors feels like the difference between summer and winter. Outside, the sun beats down and sweat beads up on foreheads easily. Passing through the doors of a mall makes you wish you had somehow carried your winter coat with you. The sweat on your brow vaporizes almost instantly as you walk into the wall of freezing air waiting just beyond the front doors. It's refreshing, yet somewhat shocking.

The same cannot be said in Turkey. Due to several factors, such as the high price of electricity and cultural dislike of cold air blowing directly onto oneself, air conditioning is usually not on a subzero setting. Instead, it's on a comfortable, cool level that suits most people. According to a study done by REHVA (Federation of European Heating, Ventilating and Air-conditioning Associations), people are generally most comfortable, awake, and productive when the indoor temperature is a moderate 22 degrees Celsius. In the workplace, their study reported that for every 1degree Celsius change from 22 degrees Celsius, either a reduction or increase, suggested a reduction of work performance by about 1 percent.

Perhaps shopping centers keep the temperature around 22 degrees, but I've always felt as though they keep it slightly higher. Of course, I can't be sure about it, I only know that it takes about 10 minutes to cool down upon entering a Turkish mall versus 2.5 seconds in the United States. Despite this difference in temperatures, any place with air conditioning is a good place to be on a hot and humid day!

Whether you're somewhere indoors or outdoors, you still have to get there somehow. If you have a car, it's simple, although you do have to deal with traffic, parking, and the ever-climbing price of gasoline. Those of us who use public transportation in Istanbul have other battles to fight during the summer: how to stay cool on a bus full of half-melted commuters packed inside like sardines; how not to sweat profusely during the ride, albeit brief, on the metro, and which brand of deodorant is actually going to stand up to the task of keeping its promises during the Turkish summer. The simplest solution I've found is to find someone, usually a man perched on a corner, selling knick knacks and little paper fans. A small paper fan is possibly the best YTL 2 purchase I've ever made! Admittedly, for men it's probably not the most masculine solution, but you could always fold up a magazine or newspaper for the same effect.

Summer in Turkey is amazing. It's hot, it's humid, but in order to get through June through September, it's necessary to prepare for the hot weather. Whether you're on holiday or a resident of Turkey, it's important to find those terraces where you want to spend your weekends and make plans to enjoy the sun. Personally, I'll be looking forward to exploring more of Istanbul and finding some new terraces with Bosporus views to enjoy a cold drink. There's really nothing like it anywhere else in the world.

CAMILLE LEGANZA
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News

The Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century was regarded by strict regulations of society. Religious codes of Islam organized the social classes, religious beliefs, social genders status in daily life, according to a hierarchical order. Religious rules differentiated the Muslim, Christian and Jewish people. Every professional group, even the marginal layers of the society belonged to a certain guild, a fact that reinforced the authority of ruling elites. The servants of the Ottoman palace were completely segregated from ordinary people whose mentality and way of life were opposites.

Also man and woman lived in separate spiritual worlds where the woman occupied only a small area for improving or expressing her personality. The life of the Ottoman woman was programmed nearly at birth. At the age of fourteen or fifteen her marriage was arranged. She was expected to fulfill her marital duties, to bear many children and to raise them. The best years of her life began as an elder. She could reach a higher status within the larger family where sons and grandsons obeyed her rules. The mother of the patriarchal family was considered as the secret patron of the house.

This is about a study of Turkish woman's relationship with her enclosed area by exemplifying the market street, Avrat Pazari. Avrat Pazari was a commercial street in Istanbul, where among sellers and customers were women. The article also investigates the bazaars' position in its environment and within the historical urban pattern.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27330897_ITM

was a Turkish novelist and feminist political leader. Best known for her novels criticizing the low social status of Turkish women and what she saw as the disinterest of most women in changing their situation, she also served as a soldier in the Turkish military during Turkish War of Independence.

Halide Edip was born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire; as a girl, she studied Arabic and mathematics, and graduated from the American College for Women in 1901; the college was an influential force for reformist social change at the time. With her first husband, Salih Zeki, she had two children before they divorced.

Her first novel, Seviye Talip, was published in 1909. She remarried, to Dr. Adnan Adıvar, in 1917, and the next year took a job as a lecturer in literature at Istanbul's Faculty of Letters. It was during this time that she became increasingly active in Turkey's nationalist movement, and after the end of World War I she and her husband travelled to Anatolia to fight in the War for Independence; she served first as a colonel and then as a sergeant in the nationalist military.

http://maviboncuk.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html