Hi everyone!!

I really enjoy using this forum but after tomorrow (January 1) I will be off-line for a while as I am going into hospital for tests and probably an operation on my stomach I hope to be back soon on the Forum but in the meantime I wish all the members Mutlu Yillar ve iyi bayramlar

NO!!! .. to the Death Penalty!

Mutlu Yillar ve Iyi Bayramlar

Nothing!! Nothing is bugging me today as I'm in quite a good mood!! Don't ask me why..maybe it's because I slept enough!

I hope everyone had a good day yesterday .. in the end I think all people can celebrate Christmas in some way or another .. it is important to respect other people's holidays even if they are not your own. iyi bayramlar everyone!!

Twas the Night Before Christmas ... wow, that brings back memories of my youth .. and almost brought a tear to my eye!!

Reading about these aqueducts has given me the desire to visit them the next time I am in Istanbul

What's bugging me? It's Christmas Eve .. and I'm working. Today is Christmas .. and I'm working!! AND it's pouring rain!! (apart from that I am in a good mood! )

iyi bayramlar and wishes for a better 2007 to everyone

From Robert

You could get to Batman quickly with the "Bat-Mobile" !

I can't drive so that rules me out of this survey!!

Unfortunately this is the modern world we live in. Or maybe it was always like that but we just didn't know. But can it be changed or by now is it too late?

What a game last night in UEFA Cup. From 0-2 to 2-2 Fener proved that it is the pride of Turkish football. Now it will go on to win the UEFA Cup (hopefully)!!

You can Camels in Italy too. Oh, hold on, that's a brand of cigarettes!

Sorry .. I'm going in February. I wanted to go for the New Year but I have to work

oh, I nearly fogot, I have Turkish elma çay in my kitchen

I'm working towards being a "Turkey addict". I have a big "evil eye charm" above my bed which watches over me. I play turkish music at work (even if not everybody appreciates it!) and I have different photos of Istanbul on my computer as screensaver!

Another good website is www.gtahotels.com I know the site because I used to work for the company that runs it. They found me a good hotel for my visit (which is also in February from the 14th to the 20th). When are you going to be there Andy?

Robert

Wow!! What an amazing insight into the Yeni Camii. You've given me a lot of new information. Thanks!

Yesterday (Sunday) I couldn't access the website at all during the day. Today the connection is fine

Thanks Trudy. Lucky you .. only 23 days to wait I'll just have to be patient

Mor ve Otesi - "Yaz Yaz Yaz"

I am so happy!!! I have just booked my flight tickets to fly to Istanbul. I will be there from 14-20 February 2007!! Part of the reason for going is work related - I am going to take part in the East Mediterranean Tourism and Travel Exhibition which is on from Feb 15-18. However I also hope to see my friends there again

QUOTE : Not at all, as far as I am concerned we should give N. Ireland back to Ireland - but do they all want it??

Ehh .. let's not start that discussion, we're supposed to talk about issues relating to Turkey

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=61222

Just finished reading this news article!! It makes for scary reading! And this is the modern world? Sounds to me like the land that time forgot!! I'm interested to know people's opinions on this.

I'd like to be with my family in Ireland for Christmas but I can't as I work in Italy (and I'll be working on Christmas Day at 8am!!). However I will phone them on Christmas morning so at least I can hear their voices.

Poets are people who have found a way to express the thoughts and feelings that they have inside of them. For this, I admire them

P.S. I'm glad you didn't ask what do I think of politicians because then I would have to spend the rest of the day writing my opinion!! Maybe someone else wants to respond to that!!

I agree that the emphasis of the site seems to be more towards translations than general chat about Turkey. More general Turkish topics please!!

For the moment I'll go with 2) Tentative!

Very interesting!! As a history lover, I really enjoyed reading that website.

First of all, Galatasaray didn't win the Championship last year .. Fener threw it away by not winning their last game.
Tonight Fener will show who is the greatest team in Turkey!! I think 2-0 will do nicely (Fener could score more but it would be a shame to REALLY embarass Galatasaray! )

Tanti auguri da Italia, Sophie!! Buon compleanno!! (Many greetings from Italy. Happy Birthday!).

I'm sorry to hear stories about people being led on, especially when you feel that you have built up trust with that person.
Life goes on though and there are plenty of good people out there who will offer true friendship and/or love.

teşekkürler Derya

I'd like the correct way to say:

Sorry, my dear, I must go. I am busy. I will be back later.

thanks

I would be curious to know more .. about the price, location etc. Unfortunately I know very little about average house prices in Turkey so I'll have to trust you for the price

It's been raining here in Sicily for nearly 24 hours non-stop. This good news however has brought some sunshine to the day

It was important that the Prime Minister Erdoğan met the Pope so as to give a good sign to the Turkish people

Barcelona by freddy Mercury. great song

thanks for the advice

I want to travel from Italy to Turkey in spring 2007. From rome to Ataürk Airport, the price is about 300 Euro round-trip. But if I go from Milan to the airport on the Asian side, the prices start from 100 Euro. Is it worth my while saving money by arriving on the Asian side if i then plan to stay on the European side? I don't want to take a flight and then find myself with a long bus journey from the airport.

I would also like suggestions for a good Turkish grammar book that I can order on the interent, through Amazon or some other site. çok teşekkürler

I think it is a brave move by the Pope to continue with his visit to Turkey, especially in light of all the controversy ahead of the visit. I hope something good will come out of all of this.

I normally get nervous when I see the people in white coats coming towards me!!

Are we invited to the festival too as your guests?

Tamam. çok teşekkürler Trudy

I want to send a fax to a company in Turkey and at the top I should write:

"for the attention of (name of person).."

Help, please!

There are moments when I regret having left Istanbul to return to Italy. I mean, I am happy in Italy but I regret having left certain people behind in Istanbul

teşekkürler Lionheartedboy

I'm sure you are, dear

That's not good to hear!! Hopefully in the future if/when Turkey joins the EU the cost and the hassle for Turkish citizens travelling abroad will be reduced. Maybe you should collect donations from the members of this forum to cover the cost of your girlfriend's travel

I can be a bit grumpy in the morning, but as soon as I've had breakfast and a coffee I'm a new person

Emails, chatting on MSN Messenger, text messages, her photo as the background on the desktop of my computer ( ) .. put it obviously isn't the same as being side by side with the person

Günaydin!

My Turkish friend sent me an email last night, and I want to respond by saying, to start with: "Thank you for the email. It always puts a smile on my face when I hear from you." Can you translate this please?? çok sağol

Now I've started to listen to the album. I really like it I'll have to get more of their music.

that's a lot of non-Germans. Are there no Germans out there using this forum? Just to balance things up a bit

I think the sweeter the sound of the language the easier it is to learn. No offence intended to German speakers but I prefer the sound of the turkish words

Tebrikler I wish many happy days together to both of you

http://www.morveotesi.com/albumler.tsp?al=album_detay&album=12

This link for their website should give the lyrics for all the songs on the album as well as from other albums

That alright then .. I think!! :-S

Interesting words from the Turkish language! I hadn't got as far as learning those yet

Hey, I'm nice even without drinking

tsk, Sanja

I thought that's what you meant. English, no. Irish, from Dublin, if you must know haha

"ingilizsin tabii" ?? Not sure what that means

I've never tried kunefe but I just found a receipe. Sounds nice

Suits me!!

çok sağol

A competition? That could be interesting! Come here and I'll organise the competition And the wage will depend on how good you are!

Have you tried the website www.mymerhaba.com? There are classified ads on the site including jobs. Maybe you can find something there. Bol şanslar!

I can't find anywhere where I live that makes baklava. I'm no expert in the kitchen but if someone has a receipe for baklava I'd like to try it .. or else give it to one of my friends to try

ok, but I bet you can't make tiramisu as well as the chef in my restaurant If you can, I'll give you a job here

Thank you for the replies Robyn and Canli .. but which one is correct. Or are both correct?? Help!

Merhaba. I want to start writing in Turkish to a friend of mine (instead of writing always in English) but I know there is so much that I can't say in turkish.

To start with, can someone tell me how to say:

"I miss you. I think about you everyday and I can't wait to see you again".

çok tesekkürler

Çanakkale is a nice town to visit, and of course from there you can visit the ancient ruins at Troy However if you go to Troy in the summer, bring a hat or something to shade you from the sun. There is practically no cover there!!

I'm not sure how easy it would be to get medication there, especially if you weren't a resident. However I know there are international hospitals in Istanbul, for example, which might be more helpful, or else if you check the online English Yellow(or is it Golden?) Pages for Turkey, you might find some useful addresses for information regarding medication

Merhaba!

I want to learn Turkish and would like to chat online with someone who will help me. I can maybe offer to help with English or Italian (I have been living for 8 years in Italy).

Hope to hear from someone

Robert

And there are lots of other places worth visiting in Turkey that aren't on the list

I'm looking for that song right now

That's the spirit. iyi şanslar

Sorry to hear about your situation. Is there no way you can get the time off work? Maybe you could promise to work an extra day in place of Jan 1 later in the month?

Merhaba!

I'm not familiar with her music so I'm at work now downloading some of her songs from the internet and I'll listen to them tonight when I go home.

Iyi günler

As I am resident in Italy, I am looking forward to seeing tonight's game between Italy and Turkey. I don't usually get the opportunity to see the Turkish team play in TV so I'm interested to see how they perform tonight against the World Champoins

I worked last year in Istanbul for a travel company. I didn't need a knowledge of turkish as they spoke English at work. If you send me a private message I'll send you the email address for the company

If you don't include food & accommodation, I think $300 for a month should be okay. Of course, help from locals and /or people who know the city will help you reduce costs. What do you plan to do for the month?

Merhabalar!!

After a long absence I am back using this site and this time I hope to really try hard to learn Turkish so I can impress my Turkish friends and make another trip to turkey

I look forward to any help that members want to give me.

güle güle

Robert

I hope your cooking is better than your sense of humour

also most Turkish greetings are in the plural to be more respectful ..

iyi akşam(lar)
merhaba(lar)
iyi gece(ler)

and so on. I think it is one of the things that makes the language so wonderful

iyi gün(ler) ..

I agree that any problem can be solved. No country has a perfect life or perfect system of administration. Once people take the time to see what Turkey has to offer they will find it difficult NOT to stay there There are so many interesting places: Bursa, Çanakkale, Samsun, Trabzon, and others.
And Turkish food, turkish music, Turkish hospitality .. do I need to give more good reasons to stay?!

does that mean that you are going to become an expert in turkish cooking? If so you have to send samples to everybody signed up on this website so we can evaluate your talents

Some Italians use the same gestures as well, especially in the south of the country and in Sicily, where there is a strong Greek community.

I should have said that these are all in Istanbul. For other areas of Turkey the Hostelworld website should help you.

There are a number of hostels on the same street in the Sultanahmet area. These include:

Orient Hostel
Sultan Hostel
Sinbad Hostel

and others ....

You should find their websites through Google or else you can make confirmed bookings through www.gomio.com or www.hostelworld.com

Let me know if you need other info. Robert

Of course anyone at all who wants to make friends with a 29 year old Irishman is welcome to contact me. I have a wide range of interests from sports to history, politics to playing chess!! I look forward to hearing from people out there.

Merhabalar! I am trying to contact any Italians who live in Turkey or even Turkish people with an interest in Italian. I am actually from Ireland but after living for 6 years in Italy, I want to keep speaking Italian (maybe even teach some Italian) now that I am living in Istanbul. spero di sentire qualche risposta

I am trying to get a residence permit in Istanbul. I have been told to go to the polis in Aksaray. The problem is that there are so many people who try to apply there that many people line up from 4am!! There must be somewhere else I can go to. I am currently living in the Sultanahmet area.

I like the picture iyi bayramlar to everyone

Günaydın. Come to İstanbul. There is always a warm welcome here. and the winter this year is much milder than last year There is work available with the company İ am working with let me know

İ'm also interested to know if there is anything important to know about treating Turkish girls. İ have started working in İstanbul and don't want to make any big mistakes with anyone

Sorry. I can't help you with places in Ireland .. haven't lived there for over 6 years. Most of that time İ've been in İtaly. Now İ am working in İstanbul

iyi aksamlar!! Hello, I'm Robert, from Dublin, Ireland. I have been a member of this site for about a month. I have the interest in Turkey as I am going to start a job in Istanbul on Dec 30th with a tourism agency.

I am interested to hear from other people, especially from irish people with an interest in turkey. This could be the 'new market' of Europe so this is the time to make links with the country.

Write to me here or else by email at robert@agorahostel.com

slan!!! Robert

Selam!! Well done!! Keep up the study and you will slowly start to realise that the language is not as difficult as it might seem at first

Tesekkùr edirim...that information helps me a bit

I live in Italy and there is a lot of importance placed on the use of 'formal' italian when talking with important people or people who are older. is there the same importance in the Turkish language and what are the main forms of addressing a person formally?

I am interested to know more about the Bairam festivals. You say it happens 2 times a year. Is it always at the same time of the year or do the dates change? Are there other festivals in turkey that are important to know about? tesekkùrler!

Gùnaydin! Ben Italyasyorum, ama ben Irlandadanim. In Italy, I often see foreign people use gestures which are normal in their country but in Italy are offensive. Some of these people have lived in Italy for a few years but have never really learned the Italian culture. These same people then say that they don't understand Italians!!!

tesekkùrler. I'm only starting to learn Turkish so obviously I make lots of mistakes. Iyi gùnler

People must remember that when learning a language you should also learn something about the culture to fully understand what you saying. hakiki mu?

The important thing is that you are happy. If people ask you how do you know if he is being faithful, tell them how important trust is in a relationship.

iyi gùnler ..