Return to the Great Salt Lake

The bleak, unearthly landscapes of the great Anatolian Salt Lake (Tuz Gölü) stretch before us, to infinity.

En route to Cappadocia, me and my family stopped over at the Salt Lake for a brief rest.

The weather being warm, my sister immediately walked into the water. I'm saying "walked in," because the lake is never more than a few meters at its deepest point. It is possible to walk inside for miles and the water doesn't even come up to your knees. I immediately followed her, although I had to strip off my pants and shoes to enter the water. This left me in an uncomfortable, Borat-like situation which I quickly avoided by running as far away from the shore as possible.

Our brief "expedition" was rewarded by a rock encrusted with huge, pink salt crystals...

...and feet stinking with tar-like, alkali mud, which lies immediately beneath the crust of salt that covers the lake bottom. At some times, the experience was comparable to walking on a great big birthday cake.

Co-incidentally, this had not been the first time I'd walked on the Great Salt Lake. Here, on a photograph taken exactly ten years ago, me, my brother and our friend Necdet are trekking across the gleaming, mirror-like surface. Unearthly.

Akmar!

Behold the entrance of the Akmar arcade in Kadikoy, on the Asian shores of Istanbul!

Located in a center of schools, university prep-courses, cafes and bars built on (naturally) the houses left vacant by Istanbul's Greeks, Akmar has something of a legendary reputation in Istanbul.

It was in Akmar that the heavy metal craze first hit Istanbul, during the early nineties. I was too young to know about it back then, but Akmar was (and still is) full of record shops and clothes stores selling metal paraphernalia.

Its legend grew in intensity when in 1999, when self-termed "Satanists" murdered a young girl and the resulting Satanist hysteria branded Akmar as a "gathering ground" for junkies, devil-worshipers and wayward punks. There were even rumors of orgies and sacrifices taking place in its depths.

Of course, Akmar was never such a place. Most of its stores were (and are) innocent bookstores that sold schoolbooks and old magazines. The most threatening thing to be found there were probably some Turkish gothic lolitas.

(Well, not completely. I think there was some drug dealing going on down there in certain times. Still, that's a far cry from the Satanic blood dungeon newspapers portrayed Akmar to be.)

Now recovered from its hysterical labels of the past, Akmar is a more quiet place. Most of the heavy metal record shops moved away, and the school-book shops dominate it almost entirely. But there are still those of us who remember...

Millipede Special

Millepede time! Here are some millipedes I encountered last month while trekking over the hills of Smyrna (Izmir.) This black, shiny variety was a familiar species...

...while I'd never seen these yellow ones before. Weird! Recall that this was not my first encounter with unusual millipedes, however.

Apparently, millipedes can only be identified with precision after microscopic dissections of their male genitals, so I'm completely lost over their exact identities.

Extremely Provocative Graffiti - The Aftermath

Remember those extremely provocative graffiti I'd seen on a Peran street? Well, here's how they looked like when I checked out a mere two weeks later. Dogma-bashing vandalism had been challenged by counter-vandalism in the shape of these frustrated marker scribbles. It used to say "I'm gay and I'm dominant" here...

...while it used to say "I wear the hijab and I love anal sex" here. The offended censors have crossed out "hijab" and "sex", but apparently the word "anal" causes no problems for these unknown defacers.

This battle between slogan writers and cross-outs continued for over a week before the Pera (Beyoglu) municipality took heavy-handed action. Here, a blanket of paint covers the "I live in Tarlabashi and I want to stay here" slogan.

The municipality painted out not only the offending slogans, but an extremely large "gallery" of pretty and meticulously-done street art. If those cats could speak...

...they would tell you that the street which looked like this... (Sofia took this photo.)

...now looks like this.

But fear not, for in each death there is new life. Only a day after the paint-out, new graffiti began appearing in the same street, mourning the tragedy. Is there no tomorrow? I don't agree. I'm sure the talented street artists of Istanbul will get the place dancing with new works in no time.

The Thirteen Churches of Besiktas

Let's take a stroll through the Old Town quarter of Besiktas, on the European coast of Istanbul. Besiktas is also the name of a famous Turkish soccer team, whose emblem is the majestic black eagle you can see here.

During the last century of the Ottoman Empire, Besiktas housed officials who worked in the Dolmabahce palace nearby. With them there was also the usual Ottoman mix of cosmopolitan Greeks, Armenians and Jews. Here are some houses from a random back street in the district, clearly showing influences of Greek neoclassicism.

Loads of churches still exist in Besiktas, more than thirteen according to one source. This is the Pananagia Greek Orthodox church...

...and its door, which remains closed for most of the year.

This is the Surp Asvadzadzin Armenian Catholic Church, again with closed doors.

I looked for a way to get inside to take more photos, but this was the closest I could get.

Although a little deserted and melancholic, the streets of Besiktas nevertheless hide a lot of historical surprises such as these. Perhaps I will tour there again in the future, and try to find the rest of the thirteen churces... of Besiktas!

Unintentional Accuracy

Two sculpted beauties from the "French Street", (Formerly known as "Algerian Street,) in Pera, Istanbul.

These statues' garish color schemes ironically make them some of the most accurate imitations of the antiquity I've seen. It is a little known fact that almost all marble sculptures and buildings were all brilliantly colored.

Orthodox Easter in Istanbul

Xristos Anesti! This midnight, scenes like this will once again brighten the Hagia Triada in Istanbul, as thousands of Politis Greeks and Hellenic visitors will gather to celebrate Pasxa, the Greek Orthodox Easter.

These candles are lit from the "holy flame" that is passed out exactly at midnight.

The place gets quite crowded as thousands of visitors try to get a better view of the holy flame.

Compare the scene above with this serene view of the same church in a weekday. Not a soul is to be seen.

Although Easter celebrations take in many places in Istanbul, the ceremony at Hagia Triada is the most popular one every year. Here is the church where it all goes down!

Harvestmen

Opiliones-r-us! During my trips to Cappadocia and Smyrna (Izmir,) last week, I had the chance to go trekking and turn over lots of stones under the warm spring sun. During those trips, I kept running into these things, commonly known as "harvestmen," "daddy long legs," or "spiders" in English. Although they do look spidery, these creatures are Opiliones, relatives of spiders and scorpions. The truth is, they are not spiders, scorpions or anything else. Opiliones constitute an arachnid order entirely of their own.

On this picture, a nice harvestman possibly of the species Mitopus morio, from around Ürgüp, Cappadocia.

Here is another Mitopus, but this time from Smyrna, at the other end of Anatolia. Look at its body, which consists of just one, football-shaped segment. Two tiny eyes, much like those of a scorpion, stare back at us. Although they look all gangly and nasty, Opiliones are absolutely harmless to humans.

I found this dark, brown, unidentified Opilione just next to the Mitopus shown below. My first idea was that maybe it too was a Mitopus, but of the opposite sex. Maybe, this was the case. But maybe, these two belonged to different species. Without enough data, I could not tell.

By the way, did you know that male Opiliones are the only arachnids with dicks? Yep. Opiliones are also one of the rare Arachnid orders that can ingest solid food, rather than having to liquify it first. Talk about tough men!

Mysteries of the "Armenian Crypt"

The Baglarbasi neighborhood on the Asian side of Istanbul has always had a sizable Armenian population. Although they have recently been crowded out by immigrants from villages on the Black Sea coast, the Armenian influence in the district is still visible from schools, houses, churches and ultimately, graves. Here is one of the largest Armenian graveyards of Istanbul. It was established in 1558, when the Ottoman Empire held sway over one third of Eurasia.

But it's not this graveyard that I want to show you today. A kilometer or so away from the big graveyard stands this enigmatic structure that is locally known as the "Armenian Crypt," although its Armenian origins and its function as a crypt are both not certain.

The structure has been standing for as long as I can remember (+-15 years,) but I distinctly remember it being in a better condition in the past.

Its "front" is decorated with these circular medallions, which used to have pictures of a woman's face in the past. As you can see, vandals have hacked the beautiful portraits away at some point in the last decade.

The "back" is unadorned and is connected to water pipes. So this thing is almost certainly not a crypt. Perhaps it was a water reservoir or a fountain?

Whatever it is, this structure will not last much longer if someone doesn't take measures to protect and restore it.

I Shit in Your Art

That's an ugly crack: My opinion of the three-million-pound waste of money on the floor of the Tate Modern in London. Some fancypants people think it "...clearly represents a tear in the fabric of society." I think it's just a bloody crack on the ground. I actually managed to drop a little nugget in before the security escorted me out of the premises.

My Spider Friend

This unidentified little spider built a web next to my window and was constantly around during the last six-or-so months I was in London. Winds and rains kept tearing its web, but it persistently built it anew. I wonder how the little spider is doing now, now that I am back in Istanbul for a month...

Newspapers from the Past

I saw this crappy old piece of discarded furniture on the street the other day. I was just about to pass it by when...

...I saw the piece of newspaper that had been glued to its base, and realized that the thing was older than I was! Click on the picture above to get a super-enlargement, the date is 16th of March, 1984! Important news on that day's newspaper include:

*A Vietnam vet pilot having a sex-change operation.
*A man with his throat slit writing the name of his murderer on the walls with his own blood.
*Some long-forgotten artists coming over to visit Istanbul.
*A famous Turkish film star (Ahu Tugba,) going into prison, but don't worry -it's only done for a film!
*Two girls offering two random guys shelter against rain, and promptly getting raped. ("It rained and they lost their virginity!" reads the title.)
*An old woman looking for a young and beautiful girl to marry her younger husband.

As you can probably figure out by now, the newspaper, TAN, was its day's Turkish equivalent of the Sun.

Extremely Provocative Graffiti

Last week in Pera, behind this street in Istiklal Avenue, I saw a series of striking graffiti that punched straight to the heart of the ethnic, religious and social tensions that exist in Turkey. I couldn't resist the opportunity to take pictures of the entire collection.

Here are the shocking pieces, complete with English translations. I don't know who did them, but a local anarcho-art collective called Ic Mıhrak might be behind the scenes. Anyways, here we go:

(Ps: Wow! This post attracted a huge number of visitors, some of whom are beyond reading and understanding English. Just to be safe so that this site doesn't get banned in Turkey, here we go with the big, red and bold Obligatory Turkish Disclaimer:)

Bu sayfadaki duvar yazılarının hiç biri tarafımca yazılmamıştır ve görüşlerimi yansıtmamaktadır. Burada görülen duvar yazıları, meçhul sokak sanatçılarının eserleridir. Tepkilerinizi buna göre vermenizi rica ederim.

"I am a gypsy and proud! So what?"
This one seems to refer to the social stigma that is attached to Gypsies ("Roma", to be politiclaly correct,) everywhere.

"I (smoke weed) on the streets without fear! So what?"
Wow, you're like, so cool and fearless! Wanna hang out sometime? (Thanks to Eksisozluk user Ehoyyy for the correct transliteration!)

"I am a gay soccer player! So what?"
This particular piece seems to refer to certain homophobic arguments that took place in the Turkish soccer scene a few years ago.

"I live in Tarlabashi and I want to stay there! So what?"
This is the only bit in the whole bunch that I actually find pretentious. Tarlabashi is a nearby district that used to belong to the Greeks of Pera. After they "left", it became a no-go area of drug dealers, Kurdish gangs and illegal immigrants. Now, there are plans to wipe it clean and restore it to its former splendor. Many local "artists" are protesting this move with the predictable knee-jerk reactions, but I'm sure they'll be the first ones to show up in the new bars and galleries once Tarlabashi is gentrified.

"I am a Kurd and I speak! So what?"
This one is about the ridiculous ban on the Kurdish language that was enforced during the harsh conflict between Kurdish separatists and the Turkish army in the 80s and the 90s. Yes, they actually banned a whole language, or tried to.

"I want to read in Kurdish! So what?"
More protests about the improbable language ban.

"I am a Turk but not a Fascist! So what?"
Some of you might know of the argumentative quirk called Godwin's law. Along similar lines, I propose a new "Memo's Law", which states that; "As an artsy-fartsy discussion rages on about politics, the probability of someone evoking Fascism approaches one." It's so true!

"I am an Armenian and I live here! So what?"
I guess the meaning behind this one is quite obvious.

"I am a transvestite and I'm in a school! So what?"
In Turkey, being a transvestite automatically means you are a shameless piece of wasted skin, out on the prowl for cheap sex.

"I'm an imam and I smoke weed! So what?"

"I'm gay and in the parliament! So what?"
Sadly, it will be a long time before we see such confessions made for real in the Turkish parliament.

"I'm not a Kemalist! So what?"
Oh yeah, a recent artsy-fartsy trend in Turkey is the relentless criticism of Kemalism in the name of "cultural relativism"...

"I'm a lesbian and I wear the hijab! So what?"
The headscarf, also a highly politicized issue in Turkish politics, has not escaped criticism either.

"I grew up and I don't want a car! So what?"
Then I guess you can take the bus for the rest of your green, carbon-neutral, boring life.

"I wear a hijab and love anal sex. So what?"
A common stereotype of hijabi ragheads in Turkey portrays them as experts of premarital back-door action, in order to preserve their vaunted virginity. Come to think of it, this "myth" may have a large amount of truth behind it. Once again, it's great to see this written out on the streets, where everyone can read it.

"I am a woman and I don't want a husband! So what?"
Sadly, most Turkish people's views on marriage are still similar to 50s America.

"I am neither active nor passive! So what?"
I guess everyone is entitled to their own choice...

I personally loved this series for sticking it to every single dogma in Turkish society. Ok, the Tarlabashi and the anti-Kemalist ones were a bit daft, but that's just me. I wonder how long will these burning questions remain on the walls before someone paints them over again?