BOZCAADA DOORS

Doors from Bozcaada (Tenedos), a small, wine maker Turkish island in Aegean Sea...

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Bağlarla dolu, 2500 nüfuslu küçük adamızdan kapılar... 

RELAXING TIME IN BOZCAADA

On one side upcoming elections and unbelievable scandals we are hearing about the government, on the other side banned Twitter, YouTube and other crazy stuff. Turkey is little bit busy but not boring at all in these days.

Despite this traffic of events, we left Istanbul for few weeks behind and headed to Bozcaada (Tenedos Island) to have some relaxing time in our stone house. Half empty island, silent vineyards, warming sun, cats in every corner...

Just perfect.

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Bir yanda yaklaşan seçimler ve hükümetle ilgili duyduğumuz inanılmaz skandallar, diğer yanda Twitter, YouTube yasakları ve diğer akıl uçuran olaylar. Memleket bugünlerde çok yoğun, insanın sıkılmaya vakti olmuyor.

Biz de bu arada, bütün bu olayları ve İstanbul’u arkamızda bırakıp rahatlamak için birkaç haftalığına Bozcaada’daki evimize kaçtık. Neredeyse bomboş, bize kalmış ada (artık sadece sezonda üç ay adada çalışıp, yılın gerisini Çanakkale’de aldıkları evlerinde geçiriyorlar adalılar, gerisini siz anlayın gari), ıssız bağlar, insanın içini ısıtan güneş, her köşebaşında kediler...

Daha ne olsun?

MEANWHILE IN TURKEY ...

Since yesterday, Turkey has a new internet law. Are you aware?

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Dün nurtopu gibi yeni bir internet yasamız oldu. Farkında mısın?

ALAÇATI BLUES

HEADING TO SUN

Our three years stay in our little kingdom comes to an end and we are heading back to sun, turquoise blue Aegean and Mediterranean waters, fluffy street cats, variety of juicy and tasty fruits and vegetables, amazing smell of the bakeries, adventurous motorcycle rides and Mediterranean style slow living.

There is a long list of the things we won’t miss like rain, unbeatable British summers, health and safety craziness, tea with milk but we gonna miss our home, the pubs, antiques shops and markets, city foxes, first class football, film quality British dramas, the smell of the fireplaces in the middle of the city, Guinness, canal walks, small theatres, delicious Indian food, our friends in London and also in a very special little pub in Edinburgh.

But,
at the end,
the question still is:
What’s the meaning of Stoneheeeeeenge? 

90th YEAR OF TURKISH REPUBLIC

Today we celebrate 90th year of Turkish Republic. 90 years ago today, the founder of modern Turkey, Atatürk declared the republic and us, the Turks (or Crazy Turks as they call us), we will defend forever his heritage, our secular republic system, our country, our liberty against fundamentalist enemies of our republic.

Photo source here.

HOMEMADE CORN BREAD

There is no such a good thing as starting to the day with the smell and the taste of homemade bread. Happy stomacs, happy people!

Corn is one of the major products in northeast part of  Turkey and people living there consume a lot corn and corn flour in their kitchen. Today’s bread is from this region: Black Sea style corn bread. Yummy! 

THE SMELL OF THE AEGEAN SEA

Since three weeks we were in Turkey enjoying the last days of summer, eating fresh figs, fresh wallnuts, green tangerines, aegean fishes, goat cheese, laying down under the sun, swimming in cristal clear aegean waters with calamaries and fishes.

And we left our hearths in Aegean Sea, again...  

SOLSTICE IN STONEHENGE

Yesterday was the longest day of the year and to celebrate the solstice, we headed to Stonehenge, to one of the most spectacular places where the celebrations take place.

We visited first time Stonehenge two years ago. The circle of 4 tones stones was under protection and visitors could only walk around the circle. But for the solstice, the circle was open the public and we had a chance to visit every part of this 5000 years old archeological site.

The site was open for the celebration from 7 pm Thursday evening untill 7 am Friday morning. Because of the weather conditions, Friday morning we couldn’t see a spectacular sunrise but it was very interesting to see people coming, different costumes, rituals, musics, dances from the evening until early morning.

We couldn’t see the sunrise but considered ourselves lucky when we heard  that it rained fourteen hours without break last year. We really enjoyed to be there but it was sad to see the damage caused by people in this 5000 years old archeological site in only twelve hours.

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Since three weeks we are very excited about what’s happening in Turkey. Last week, we couldn’t keep following more from the internet and tv and we went there for one week. We became more excited when we saw the good things happening there and we felt sorry about our died, injured people during the resistance for democracy, freedom and human rights. We came back few days ago but our hearts are still in Taksim. 

ISTANBUL TAKSIM GEZI PARK AND THE CHILDREN

In Turkey the islamist government decided to demolish Taksim Gezi Park in Istanbul to build a shopping mall.

Since 20 days not only in Istanbul, around all country people resist to protect the park, the liberty and the human rights while the government is using teargas, pepper spray, water cannons with chemicals and plastic bullets.

The best  response to the government who is not able to understand why,  is from the children.

TWO LONG DAYS

Yesterday we opened our terrace season and had a short break from our computers. Because since two days, except this little break at the terrace and sleeping a couple of hours after the sun rise this morning, we spent almost all of our time in front of our computers, sharing photos, videos and information about what’s happening in Istanbul.

Normally, we don’t talk about politics in A Cat From London but today we will make an exception and talk about Taksim Gezi Park. Since ten years, the islamist government is doing unbelievable things in Turkey. Lately, they decided to built a shopping mall (Istanbul has around 60 shopping malls and don’t need another one) at the Gezi Park in the main square of Istanbul.

Activists, resisted to save 90 years old (same as the republic) trees. The government sent police forces, thousands of them against their own people. Police used force to pacifist activists (even the animals, lots of dogs lost their lifes in two days)  and at the end, it was not the thing of saving the trees and a park anymore, it was saving the human rights and the democracy. Police used pepper spray directly to the faces, used gas bombs and plastic bullets targeting the faces and vital organs. Hundreds are injured. Turkish media (except three channels) didn’t published any of this and all informed and communicated by social media.

Today, the people, young, elder, turk, kurd, muslim, christian, jewish all are united and occupied Gezi Park in Taksim Istanbul and don’t give up from our trees, our democracy and the human rights. Here are some photos of Istanbul:

Police using pepper spray (Photo by Osman Orsal –injured also by tear gas canister thrown by police - Reuters)

How many for one? (Photo by Yücel Tunca)

Turkey rises (Photo by Burak Akbulut -Anatolian Agency)

These are not clouds, gas bomb in Taksim Square! (Photo by Osman Orsal-Reuters)

Gas bomb canisters yesterday in Istiklal Avenue, in one of the main streets of Istanbul. (photographer unknown)

All the smoke you see is gas bomb not fire. (photographer unknown)

Photo source: Occupy Gezi  

HERE AGAIN

We have been away a while from our little kingdom. During this time, we enjoyed the sun and the sea in this beach...

We ate a lot of these...

and these from our garden...

We met with old friends...

We made some new friends...

We received these beautiful gifts from Tülin... (Thank you!)

And came from 25-30 °C, flip flop, summer wear, to 8 °C, boots, coat. Today is springish in our little kingdom and we hope it will be better and better and better? 

BEST SURPRISE EVER TO A BASKETBALL TEAM

Turkish basketball team Anadolu Efes players think that they are in a concert hall to listen a classical music concert but a big surprise is waiting for them.

Fabulous idea! Loved it!

A VERY BRITISH CHRISTMAS FEAST

Last year was our first christmas in London and we were very excited about it. We were familiar with christmas traditions in our country and many other countries but, except the one of the best christmas movies Love is Eveywhere, we didn’t have so much idea about British christmas.

We decided to experience it in a fancy place with a nice christmas dinner.  (Then, we were thinking that the christmas feast and the turkey time was Christmas Eve like in a lot of countries but we were wrong. Brits eat Christmas feast on 25 of December, Christmas Day and not dinner, lunch). All restaurants were taking reservations for christmas dinner (which was totaly different thing, this was for the christmas parties which people make with their friends in restaurants instead of home and during all december but no in Christmas Eve or Day.) So we didn’t make christmas dinner shopping and until last day kept our hope for finding somewhere but we were wrong again. At the end, christmas eve and day were not very “feast”ive days for us. After some light snack at home, we went to one of our favorite pubs (luckyly was open) and enjoyed the live music and warm British beer.

This year, after watching since two years all kind of Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey, ...etc  “christmas special” food programs, we decided having our “Very British Christmas Feast” at home. Days before we made our grocery shopping and ta taaa!

British turkey stuffed with meat, chestnut and onion  and oven roasted potatos with goose fat: done!

Brussel sprouts and carrot cooked in our style: done!

Christmas pudding with brandy cream and mince pies: done!

Christmas crackers (of course purry ones): done!

Instead of eating on Christmas Day, we had our christmas dinner yesterday evening, on Christmas Night. After the dinner, we realised why Brits eat christmas feast at lunch instead of dinner when we were drinking cups of tea and trying to digest all those goose fat, brandy cream, etc. After the dinner we were planning to go to the pub for the live music, having more booze and dancing. But we were knock-out and drinking tea, lying at the couch and looking to our christmas lights.