I know I just have to blog this now otherwise the hype will be gone. I went for Brainstorm (Prata Vetra in Latvian) concert last night and it was FANTASTIC! The concert started at 11pm but we were already in by 8pm. Luckily we managed to be at the first few rows... very near I must say because there were 30,000 people who attended the concert in conjunction with the 800th year celebration of a city in Latvia called Sigulda. People were still lining up to enter even after the concert started 30mins. It was like a fest in there. There was a DJ on the stage to warm us up for the concert and there were tents of Brainstorm merchandise, food and drink stalls. By the end of the concert, my neck was so painful coz I was looking up all the time and you know how tall those westerners are... I was jumping most of the time during the concert so that I can see... sigh...
The whole concert was in Latvian of course but it was great! I don't feel alienated because the music is still the same as they produce their albums in English version as well. The voice of the vocalist is just so special that I could instantly recognize their song on radio eventhough I have never heard of that song before. Ah.. words just can't describe...
I first heard of Brainstorm was when I came to Latvia. Their songs were constantly playing over the radio. They were the first Latvian group who won the Eurovision song contest in 2000. Then my first encounter with Brainstorm was when I attended the International Boy's Choir at a Church in Riga, Latvia 3 years ago. They performed as special guest. Then one day, my friend told me that one member of the group died in a road accident. We travelled one hour to another city for the funeral and that was my second time meeting the group. Such an unfortunate and tragic loss.... Before I left Riga 3 years ago, I had missed out on their concert which they hold every year on 1st September because I had to fly back to Malaysia. This time with such coincidence that I came here and thanks to my great friend in Latvia, she bought me the ticket as an early birthday gift! Liels Paldies, Ilzite!!
At a scorching heat of 40 degrees yesterday held the general elections in Turkey to elect members to the 550 seat Parliament which will form a new government. Out of the country's population of 74 million people, around 42.5 million obligatory voters went to the polling stations where 14 parties and 700 independent candidates were competing to secure a five-year term in the Parliament.
Election campaign at Kizilay city center
I managed to see the process of voting when I followed his family to the school where the location of the poll stations were for his district. Instead of crossing the box for the party we vote for in Malaysia, here, they stamp "Evet" which means "Yes" in the box for the party they vote for. This time, however, a new step was imposed where voter's left forefinger was dipped with ink that will stain for the day in order to refrain them from voting again during this election. Take a look at this:
(candid pics of him voting! hehehe)
The finger (this is considered an extreme mild one, some infected the whole nail)
During the counting, the poll results were monitored live as if it was the stock market...
And here are the results:
Source: http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr
For the first time in 53 years a ruling party won an election victory with an increased number of votes in Turkey. How ironic when the hatred shown towards this party was pretty obvious with aggression from the opposition parties and demonstrations from the public. Although it was predicted that the rulling party would sit at a majority for a second term, however, the percentage of votes stormed everyone.
Let me give you some lil info about Turkey. A country that is unevenly divided between Europe and Asia, of which Istanbul is the only city of its border called Bosphorus and the rest is on the anatolian (asian) side. Despite the fact that Istanbul is the largest and most popular and crowded city in Turkey in addition to its industrial and commercial hub, many thought that it is the capital, but officially Ankara is where the government reside.
The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk from the fall of Ottoman Empire. The ideology was centered on secularism and nationalism (I'm sure we have all read about him in our Form 2 History textbook which described him as the Father of Islamic modernization). 99% of the population are muslim but the society do not consider the country as an Islamic country due to its secular domination and the obscure Shariah Law. In the 1980s control over religion was tightened further with a ban on wearing the headscarf in universities and public offices because it was said that the cloth was a powerful symbol. And to my recent surprise, I was told that covering hair was never stated in the Quran. I am now wondering if the contents of Quran are being read the same in every "Islamic" country.
OK, just noticed that my blogs are beginning to sound serious and boring, so I will blog about my vacation next ;)
This coming Sunday marks the general election for Turkey. Politics has been the talk of the town lately especially at our weekend breakfast table - the candidates and their manifestos. In fact they talk about politics all the time even if it is not the election season. Since last week the campaign was finally seen with cities across the country decorated with banners and various parties flags, buses and vans driving around with loud speakers playing their slogans, media airing the election rally and party leaders' speeches. The parties vary from left wing to right wing and not so left wing to not so right wing ...etc, so to speak.
Demonstration & Meeting held at city centre, day & night
Since I arrived 2 months ago, I've seen so many meetings, protests and demonstrations on TV and real life on the streets. The liberalism in this country was not as I have expected. It was higher. Coming from a multi-racial country, we were raised not to bring up "sensitive issues" in order for peace and harmony in the country including censorships and media control. This is just a way to make us shut up and not question any doubts for the benefit of certain people. Such bullshit and naiveness.
This country has a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them hence the name Republic of Turkey. A form of government whose head of state is not a monarch but a president. I always thought that a country has either a Prime Minister or a President. I then realised my shallow knowledge in politics when I got to know that the Republic of Turkey has both a Prime Minister AND a President who serve different roles. Although I don't have the right to vote here but all the hype have interested me to read their manifestos and review them with the opinions from the locals.
All these have made me realise the importance of voting as a citizenship duty with which we can shape the future of the country. False hopes, empty promises, disappointments I foresee... SPR, I would like to register for my right to vote, please?
Last weekend was nice, like every other weekends but this time we went to the swimming pool! People here get to fully enjoy outdoor swimming only for 3 months during summer so be thankful if you get to swim outdoor the whole year round! I realised that I didn't bring my swimsuit and goggles from M'sia except for my swimming cap... how smart... So we had to buy me a new swimsuit and goggles for the swim and thank god the swimming cap was of good use as it was compulsory to wear a swimming cap in the pool. Since his dad was in the navy, we went to this military club house kinda place exclusively for military people and their families. Of course I am not allowed to go in alone but luckily they didn't ask for my "member" ID because we went in by a car and they only asked for one ID at the entrance.
Being still the shy me, I was the odd one out wearing a swimsuit instead of a bikini. Unlike in M'sia, wearing a bikini would quite be the odd one out or rather the one being stared at. I envy those who were wearing a bikini because my tan was not fully covered coz of my swimsuit! Argh, need to get a pair for myself soon because I am going to the blue lagoon! Yes! This end of July, I will go to Fethiye and Oludeniz (The Blue Lagoon)... sun, sand, beach, mediterranean sea... can't wait! woo hooo~
On the first weekend in June, we had an opportunity to go for a festival at an old town called Beypazarı.
Located 100km from the city centre towards the west of Ankara and on the way of the historical Silk Road, it is one of the oldest residential areas in the Anatolia. Beypazarı was under the sovereignty of Hittites, Phrygians, Roman, Byzantine, Anatolian Seljuks and Ottoman Empire. A place full of cultural richness and natural beauties, it is listed as one of the tourist spots in Turkey. This town is famous with its traditional Turkish houses where the main walls of buildings were made of stone, remaining parts were made of wood and plastered from outside with a roof of tiles.
At the entrance to the street bazaar, we were given a welcome drink that was locally produced at a spring in a valley just 6km away from the town. It was the carbonated mineral water of Beypazarı! It's been one of my favourite drinks in Turkey so far. Taadaa!
Beypazarı provides 60 % of carrot production in Turkey. It is like ala Cameron Highlands with strawberries where you see strawberries, strawberry juice, strawberry balloons, strawberry pillows everywhere. Similarly, you can see people selling carrots, carrot juice... even carrot bolster (of it's natural figure)! Unfortunately, that is one forgotten picture to take but I'm sure you can imagine that!
The town shops
For a living, the residents make handicrafts like "chevre" (an embroidered handkerchief), yazma (a special headscarf), bindalli (a local garment made of velvet), handworks like silver filigree, copperwork, yemeni (another special kind of headscarf), traditional food like dolma (stuffed grape leaves), kuru (a kind of hard biscuit of Beypazarı), guvech (a kind of hotpot dish), kapama (a kind of casserole dish with rice and meat), hoshmerim (a special dessert) to survive.
Festival Street Bazaar
After walking along the street bazaar and around town, we decided to embark on to the nearest valley called Inozü Valley. It took us 4km far towards the north, feeling exhausted and dehydrated, but it was worth it! Look at the scenery! I felt like I was in a mini Grand Canyon... hehe...
Along the valley
Upon the 5th km, we spotted the first restaurant in the valley along the highway. It was a nice and cosy outdoor restaurant called Zindancik.
Zindancik Restaurant
They serve traditional Turkish Food with the local specialties. This was what we had for lunch...
Finally, it was time for us to go back... another 4km return to the town in time to catch the bus. Though we were hot and tired, it was a wonderful experience for me. Last piece of picture for you to enjoy... taken in the bus on the way back home...
Weekends are our the happiest times! Why? Because we get to "balik kampung" and this is where we hangout most of our Sundays:
Lalahan country side
It's peaceful and quiet, a great place for a getaway from the urban life. It's located at a suburb of Ankara where tradional cultures and customs are still being practised with little modernization.
Plantations
They are still baby plants and should be ready by next month or so... can't wait to pluck and eat them fresh! hehe...
What's more? All my favourite trees!! Cherry, apple, pear, apricot, walnut, chestnut, almond... errr... just remembered that I didn't take pictures of the trees except for cherry. Nah, I show you cherry tree first... this weekend I take pictures of other trees and show it in my next blog ok?
Cherries
And this is where we have our meals when the weather is fine! Beautiful roses huh? What about my macro photography skill? There will be carnations soon too!
Patio
It's not easy to take care of this piece of land and "masallah" we have 2 lovely ladies to thank for this wonderful landscape, who are also working hard in providing us fresh "sebze" (vege) and "meyve" (fruits). They are none other than Anne (mom) and Anneanne (grandma)! *standing ovation*clap*clap*clap*. Of course, it would have been less challenging if not for the other 2 female menace...
The females
Can't wait to go back again this weekend to pluck more cherries and to check on the growing fruits and nuts! Another reason to look forward to going back is the return of his brother from the sea! Yup, he's in the navy... a man in uniform... any takers? ;)
We stay in Mamak with his granny, which is about 5km from Kizilay city centre during the weekdays and we travel 25km from Mamak to his hometown at Lalahan for the weekends to visit his parents. Spending 5 days in the bustling city, we look forward to going back to Lalahan because there is where we get to enjoy nature and serenity with delicious local home cooked food!
I feel like blogging today so I am finally back on track! I must apologize for my long silence here. First Thing to Blame: Auto Select Language Encoding! As I’m not technically savvy as other bloggers, I couldn’t convert blogspot webpage from Turkish to English but with persistency, I managed to user define it to English so that my friends can have a fuller insight to my life in Turkey! Of course it did not take me one whole month to fix this so I guess the Second Thing to Blame: Laziness...
As you can see from my previous blogs, I have not been very consistent and since I am currently unemployed, I might as well let myself be engaged in this some what contemporary profession. At least it gets my brain moving and have something to work on.
It’s been a month since I arrived in Ankara. Life has been treating me good so far with new found friends and limited Turkish words/phrases to get me through daily life. However, it has also been a test of patience and tolerance with various feelings and emotions. I can’t deny the fact that I was so homesick the other day until I shed some tears but I was also glad that we are here, painting our future together…
It is indeed a beginning of a new journey for me. It’s End of Spring time! Flowers bloomed and blooming… I have proof! Look!
How's my macro photography skill? hehe :P
When I arrived, daisies were everywhere and the yellow daffodils have already turned cotton light flying with the wind...
Now, with the slight increase of temperature to 26 degrees, the roses are blooming too much and the daisies are dying... :(
You must be wondering what I do at home everyday. A lifestyle of a typical housewife (cooking and cleaning) and online most of the time like an obsessive internet geek. Err ok, not so chronically geeky... I think... but I do sit in front of the laptop dreaming and figuring what I can do online... damn, I need to get a life!!
Dear colleagues....Yours truly... ;)
Woohoo!! It's been a hectic start of the year! Had a wonderful new year celebration with my gang *kAmpAi* Though not much fireworks seen this time around but the time spent together was truly appreciated!
