That is what is called GLOBALISATION nowadays.

A very large population of ignorant workers, satisfied with TV soap operas, computer games, brand addictions, soft drinks and fast food etc. all collectively thinking nonsense and working, working, working.........; while another group of very few unidentified and selected manipulators rule them unawares, also collectively thinking.........but only of themselves, their profits and keeping the status quo intact.

Wars will not be allowed, as long as profits of the elite continue to roll.

I never thought about getting an ice cream maker, but that sounds like a great christmas gift idea! The only problem might be stopping oneself from making the ice cream..

make fruit flavored vinegars, you can start with either using a cider vinegar which goes well with fruit or a balsamic one

also you could make syrups for later in the year to add zest to cooking or drizzled on yogurt icecream or on a nice cracker with goatcheese

I read blood tie and birds without wings (actually read that one twice since...SOOOOO GOOD!)  I also recommend Forty Thorns by Judy Ayyildiz.  The story is actually about Ms. Ayyildiz´s mother in law who lived through the Balkin Wars and WWI and it´s aftermath...very interesting.

I have a Breville ice cream maker and my favorite flavor right now is Key Lime Pie.  It´s a 1/2 cup of granular sweetner for ice cream, 2 tablespoons of corn starch, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, 2 cups of low fat milk, 1 cup of 1/2 and 1/2, one egg yolk, 1 teaspoon of lime zest, 1/3 cup of key lime juice and then I throw in some graham cracker crumbs (for the "crust").  I got the recipe from Southern Living Magazine (they have some of the best comfort food recipes!!)

some other suggestions are

Blood Tie  again Mary Lee Settle - In ways reminiscent of "The Ugly American", "Blood Tie" explores the lives of a group of expatriates and reveals the impacts they have on the Turks living in a small coastal community along the Aegean. Settle does a beautiful and poignant job of immersing the reader in the landscape and lives of the characters. The story is believable and accurate. Her writing transported me back the town on which the setting is based. Excellent reading for those seeking to understand social transformations taking place in Turkey in recent decades.

Birds Without Wings -BIRDS WITHOUT WINGS is a rare specimen in the genre of historical novels: a success. It is a compelling, readable, and historically credible tale of love and tragedy at the time of the Ottoman collapse in Turkey. Told from multiple points of view, with chapters narrated by the diverse cast of characters themselves and biographical segments on the career of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, this novel tells the story of how modern secular Turkey was forged out of the crucible of the Balkan Wars, World War I and the Greek War of Independence. The narrators are the ordinary men and women -- Christian and Muslim, Greek and Turk -- of a small village near Telmessos (now Fethiye) in southwestern Turkey. The stories they tell of war, loss and survival are fully human and utterly heartrending. I will not soon forget de Bernieres´ sorrowful depiction of the cross-deportations of Greeks and Turks from lands they had inhabited for centuries. Neither will I forget the dignity and romance of characters like the aga Rustem Bey, his mistress Leyla Hanim and the village imam Abdulhamid Hodja.

Anatolian Days & Nights: A Love Affair with Turkey -  write vividly about their journeys through a one of the world s most vibrant countries. The landscape and people slip beneath your skin until you are no longer sure whether you´ve become a part of Turkey or whether Turkey has become a part of you. As a frequent visitor to Turkey, I applaud Stocke and Brenner for skillfully weaving a tale that leaves me yearning to return

Have a happy reading day to all

you might also like Mary Lee Settle - Turkish Reflections which is an excellent read about Turkey in the late 70´s and her return to Turkey much later.

 Best investment I ever made!  So much fun too!

Lol

I dont want to speculate how hallow Orhan Pamuk is.  Obviously he is a hollow as all other nobel winners like Garcia Marquez, Ernest Hamingway etc..

I think Elif Safak should read more in my opinion and should spend more time with crafting the story. She seems like she HAS TO write a new book every 6 months!! The latest book I have read from her was Iskender and the plot seemed very obvious in the middle of the book!! I bet it was the same for many Turks. Because she did not spend enough time researching about the topic she is writing about, the life of a young man-Iskender- in London was quite superficial and almost imaginary. 

I think she is quite good at writing about religious and mystical part of our ´past culture´!!