Another Turkish Gecko

Yet another Hemidactylus turkicus gecko I saw this summer. These cute, pink lizards are all over the place in the Mediterranean, I've also posted their pictures before. This particular gecko seems to have lost its tail recently, but the not-quite-so replacement already growing in its place.

Echoes from the Golden Age

Built by the German Architect August Jasmund around 1906, the house of Ragip Pasha dominates the beautiful beach strip of Caddebostan, on the Asian coast of Istanbul.

Here are some details from this magnificent structure. Its extravagance and sheer size reflect the power of the Ottoman upper class in the last years of the empire.

The building is still privately owned, but lies abandoned due to financial difficulties. In my dreams I'd like to break in and explore its depths.

Ragip Pasha, who lent his name to this building, was a palace noble who also built the first Raki factory in Turkey. True to his tradition, the park in front of his mansion is crowded with teenagers every day, enjoying drinks and each others' company on the grass. You can also see a map of the surrounding area, with Ragip Pasha's house on the center, at this link.

Some Slugs from London

As some of you know, I am currently trying to get may MA on in London. Of course London means rain, and rain means... some of my favorite animals, the slugs. Here is a compilation of the various slugs I've encountered here so far.

Here and above you can see a tiny black variety I commonly encounter at our campus at Goldsmiths' college, here seen with a rarer white variety. I don't know if the white one is a different species, or the molluskan equivalent of an albino. Both were little over a centimeter long.

But this giant was as big as a small egg and quite heavy to boot.

I found the titan around Deptford, lying under leaf litter. I tried to get it to "open up" by placing it on a straight surface, but it never showed me its face. Sadly, I have no means to identify any of these guys. Perhaps I should pickle the next ones I find and send them over to Mr. Aydın Örstan?