Belly Ache :-(

Today is Victory Day (Zafer Bayramı) in Turkey to commemorate the victory in the Battle of Dumlupınar, the final battle in the Turkish War of Independence in 1922.

It is a public holiday so I get a day off, but I have spent the entire day at home recovering from belly ache that I contracted during a trip I made to Ankara on Tuesday this week. Two other colleagues fell ill at exactly the same moment with the same symptoms, right after we had a coffee in the morning during a meeting. I think it is related to the recent water cuts put in place by the Ankara authorities during August as a number of colleagues in Ankara have also been ill over the last few weeks. Having just read this article in the Turkish Daily News I am not surprised...

The cases of infectious diseases has increased in Ankara especially after August 1, the day the water cuts began,” said Secretary General of Ankara Chamber of Medicine Ercan Yavuz in an interview with the Turkish Daily News.

According to him, water cuts are not a remedy because the hygienic and fresh water should be kept in the pipes. It should be chlorinated and consumption limited. Otherwise, health problems arise due to practices employed to save water and the pressure shifts in the pipes when the water flow restarts.

You should not drink the tap water in Turkey anyhow, but when you see murky water coming out of your tap you wonder about bathing in it too. Take a look at Idili's istanbul polluted water photo in flickr.

Football Focus

Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe have both won a place in this years UEFA Champions League.
With just 17 days left in Istanbul it would be unfair to leave the city without having mentioned these beloved soccer teams. I have not had the pleasure of attending a football match here in Istanbul - although I was invited to attend the Beşiktaş match this weekend but my colleague has since blown me out! I am very disappointed, I live very close to the Beşiktaş stadium and enjoy the atmosphere as supporters arrive and depart from Taksim.

This post has also been prompted by Erkhan's field diary, a Besiktas fan, that points to this great site in english called TURKEY(TURKIYE) FOOTBALL(SOCCER)

The lights around the Fenerbahçe stadium are also something to behold.

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the current blogosphere...

On the news that Abdullah Gul is officially the 11th President of Turkey I decided to report on some of my favorite blogs...

me and others - reverts to the recent rain fall in Istanbul rather than talk about Gul

ignore me if you can- in the posting farewell my pretty, the author feels so strongly that it has provoked her to leave Turkey.

The Istanbulian a fantastic site that I just discovered today, reports that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan official website was hacked 3 days ago.

Erkan's Field Diary as ever points to a number of interesting articles, including this one from the New York Times.

James in Turkey posts about day two thousand, six hundred and fifty-nine of Ahmet Necdet Sezer, former President of Turkey.

and finally here is the BBC's Have your say

Mehmet Kavukçu

Mehmet Kavukçu, originally uploaded by louise makes stuff.

How cool is this! This is the work of the Turkish artist Mehmet Kavukçu in Eski Kilise /Zafer Meydanı, Çanakkale. The building is in fact a church in the gypsy area. This installation was part of the Troia Festival. The Arts projects were curated by Denizhan Özer and Seyhan Boztepe, under the title Borderline. I have uploaded my photos to Flickr.

Mehmet also made an installation on 2004 in the cistern in Istanbul. I found a photograph of it on the web - it looks amazing. Mehmet is based in Erzurum.

Geliblou

57. Alay Sehitliği (The 57th Regiment Cemetery for Martyrs, originally uploaded by louise makes stuff.

I visited Çanakkale Arts festival a few weekends ago and have only just got around to posting my photos on flickr. While I was there I took the opportunity to visit Gelibolu/Gallipoli battlefields. It was a memorable visit and I have enjoyed adding information from various websites about the cemeteries and monuments I visited.

Sites that were particularly informative include:
diggerhistory2
nzetc
wikipedia
e-turkey

COWS

The Cow Parade is in town. The cows are gathering around shopping malls, major squares and attractions around Istanbul including Şişli, Nişantaşı, Harbiye, Beyoğlu, Bebek, Ortaköy, Sultanahmet and shopping malls; Kanyon, Akmerkez, Profilo, Metro City ve Cevahir. The cows arrived on August 1st and will leave on 31 October 2007 (1 Ağustos – 31 Ekim 2007). People seem to be intrigued by them, both locals and tourists. The last time I saw cow parade was in Athens, most of the ones on central Athens were trashed, partly due I believe to the student riots that had been taking place around the city last year.



Continuing the cattle theme, it has been reported by the BBC today that Gordon Brown has been called back from his holiday because of an outbreak of foot and mouth has been reported in Surrey, England.

Feeling HOT HOT HOT!

Turkey reeling under extreme, scorching temperatures

Urban regeneration ZONE

Roma neighbourhood of Sulukule awaits demolition. Sulukule situated in Fatih along the Golden Horn is one of the largest and central districts of Istanbul, in the heart of the city. Since it constitutes the old quarter of the city conquered by Mehmed II the Conqueror, even today it is also called as the "real Istanbul" or the "first Istanbul".

Human Settlement Association is an NGO which is working as volunteer legal council for the people of the Sulukule in their case against the Fatih Municipality, in regards to the proposed urban renewal and gentrification of the gypsy settlement. They are also working to organize the Festival called 40 days and 40 nights, which will celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the Roma people of the Sulukule with music, arts and crafts, and festivities for the months of March and April.

Zaman Today 23 April concert

On the back of continuing scare mongering related to the fear of a pending earthquake in Istanbul, Sulukule renovation is used by Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKI) to qualify for demolition. It could be interpreted as pressure to complete the Urban Regeneration Project for Istanbul City of Culture 2010 or simply an excuse to open the way for speculators to make a hefty profit. This situation is seen by the decision makers in black and white; Sulukule should be left as it is OR raised to the ground What is missing from this blinkered view is participatory decision making; taking into account the views and ideas of the communities that are effected. Decisions that should be made sensitively and for the benefit of the people and city.

The video below is from Sulukule online

interim security zones

Security zones could affect election in southeast, local politicians argue

On Thursday the military announced new “interim security zones" in the regions of Şırnak, Hakkari and Siirt in the face of cross-border raids by the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) that have claimed at least 10 lives this week alone. But the area also includes constituencies that will produce nine members of the next Parliament. Some locals say the security crackdown will hamper campaigning and robust political competition but elections officials at the Supreme Election Board (YSK) yesterday quickly dismissed the claim.

Iraq minister offers Turkey talks

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has told the BBC his government is ready to discuss with Turkey how to deal with the PKK Kurdish separatists.

BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul said on Friday 8 June that Turkey has sent thousands of its troops to the border...

an that although many Turks would argue such a move would be fully justified politically, most fear the military would be dragged into a quagmire. Whilst a unilateral intervention might well win votes at the general election next month, our correspondent adds, analysts warn it would spell disaster for Turkey's relations with the US and EU in particular.

This week I have heard much talk of Turkeys role in The Greater Middle East Project I found this recent article in Turkish Daily News. And here is the map

Turkish FILMS to watch

my mission for the next couple of weeks - further recommendations welcome...

Press and Pressure

After this weeks suicide bomb in Ankara the Police are to be given 'terror authorisation'
Hürriyet reports the draft bill proposes:

- Authorisation of use of all types of human and technical resources and intelligence activities, including the use of cameras, voice recording facilities and the internet, to survey possible criminals. It was explained that this could also mean the ability to listen to telephone conversations without obtaining any prior permission.

- The police will be able to obtain fingerprints from anybody applying for a gun license, driving license or passport.

- The police will be able to carry out body searches and searches of cars, personal documents and personal effects after obtaining authority from the civil authorities.

Then from the UK...

The home secretary, John Reid, made clear yesterday he is prepared to declare a "state of emergency" to suspend key parts of the human rights convention if the law lords do not overturn a series of judgments that have weakened the anti-terrorist control order regime...... MPs fear the control order regime is in danger of becoming a public laughing stock since six of the current 17 terror suspects subject to orders have managed to disappear.

In the Guardian this week Press Repression in Russia and Turkey Growing

Yavuz Baydar, the ombudsman for the Sabah newspaper, spoke of a similar pattern of fear and self-censorship in Turkey following the murder of Hrant Dink in January this year.

Investigative reporting was disappearing. There was a sense of fatigue among editors. As many as 15 of Baydar's colleagues now had round-the-clock bodyguards: some had armoured cars and feared for their relatives.

Journalists, intellectuals and writers had become used to being jailed in Turkey, said Baydar. However, the murder of a leading commentator such as Dink was different: it was intended to unleash instability, polarise society and legitimise hatred.

Baydar said he could not pretend that the murder of Dink had resulted in solidarity among journalists. There had been a march of 100,000 mourners protesting at Dink's murder - but he had seen only one rival editor at the funeral, and no rival publishers or proprietors.

Another weekend of Turkish flags

The 19th May is the Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day, or simply Atatürk Commemoration (Atatürk'ü Anma) or Youth and Sports Day (Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı). It is an annual national holiday to memorialize the start of the Turkish War of Independence.
Huge flags adorn many of the buildings in Istanbul to celebrate this significant day.







AND...

The BBC reports that:

Tens of thousands of Turks have massed in the city of Samsun in the latest demonstration in support of secularism. The crowds waved national flags and chanted slogans opposing any change to Turkey's secular political model. The protest in Samsun, a port on the Black Sea, followed huge rallies in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.Samsun was the place where Ataturk launched the country's war of independence against ruling powers after the end of World War I. Police estimated that about 50,000 people attended the rally, Reuters news agency reported.

Istanbul-tattoed

I love living in Istanbul. I have been here since February 2007 and will return to London this September. I have joined a flickr group called ISTANBUL-TATTOED. I made my first posting this week of some graffiti I saw in Galata down Yüksek Kaldırım Cad. where all the music shops are. It is really worth taking a look at the Graffiti Research Lab blog.

All eyes on Izmir

Hundreds of thousands of pro-secular Turks gathered in the third largest city of Turkey on Sunday to protest against the Islamist-rooted government that they fear is working to raise the influence of religion on society and pressure the secularist center-left parties unite ahead of parliamentary elections set for July 22.

Organizers of the pro-secular rally estimated the participating crowd at around two million. This was the first ever rally which was staged simultaneously both on land and sea as scores of small ferry boats and fisherman boats packed with demonstrators joined the rally from the sea.

FROM TURKISH DAILY NEWS

This follows on from the rally in Ankara on 14 April the Istanbul in 29 April 2007

olympics v local allotments

PRESS RELEASE by Julie Sumner

'GREEN' OLYMPICS TO BULLDOZE 100 YEAR OLD ALLOTMENTS FOR 4 WEEK FOOTPATH.

'Food Heroes' Hassan and Reg, featured on Rick Stein's BBC series, will be preparing food fresh from the plot alongside Islington's Moro restaurant owners Sam and Sam Clark, throughout the allotment Open Day on 2nd July, 12 noon til 5pm Manor Gardening Society Allotments, Waterden Rd, E15
(directions on the map attached).

The event is to draw attention to the campaign against plans to bulldoze these 100 year old allotments to make way for a footpath to the Olympics.

In direct contradiction to their recently launched strategies, the London Food Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy, the Mayor and the LDA's Olympic Final Masterplan reveals the intention to destroy a working example of local food production, sustainable environment and integrated, diverse, community all rolled into one.

As Sam Clark of Moro restaurant says,
‘It’s like a small island of nature and wildlife, a paradise next to the industrial sites and busy bus stations of Hackney Wick. The water protects us from the urban wasteland and every visit brings a feeling of peace and the chance to unwind from hectic London life. The allotments are fifteen minutes from our house in Bethnal Green but once you’re there it feels as though you are in the heart of the country.’

Cleve West, gardening writer for Independent and Garden's Illustrated is outraged by the act of vandalism this represents, 'If the Olympic ideal means anything, it should apply to much more than four weeks of running, jumping and swimming. Friendship, tolerance, vision and healthy, sustainable living are fanfared by those at Manor Garden allotments. In my book, theirs is a torch worth carrying to the ends of the Earth.'

He and Tak Hoshimo, Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the University of East London agree that, ‘The Olympic Park design represents old-fashioned nineteenth century thinking which favours hard surfacing and iconic civil engineering rather than an integrated, softer approach as embodied by say, the Eden Project.’ and that, 'most good landscape architects consider local distinctiveness a priority. The 'blank canvas' mentality ignores the attachment a piece of ground has with its surroundings.'

As the writer and local Hackney resident, Iain Sinclair, stated on The Today Programme the morning after visiting Manor Gardening Society's last Open Day on 21st May 06, 'we don't want it (the Olympic Park Design) over-imagined. We don't want it imagining for us. We want to imagine it for ourselves. I'm worried that the soul of the place, as represented by sites like Manor Garden Allotments, will be lost.'

Professor Peter Roberts of The Academy for Sustainable Community, adviser to the Government, made clear in a recent lecture that lack of local ownership of a development project and top-down authority-led planning, leaves people feeling alienated and dispossessed. The resulting wasted landscape inevitably leads to a need for further regeneration in twenty years time and spiralling costs.

The Millenium Dome comes to mind!

For further information please contact Julie Sumner, email aireyworld@aol.com or phone 07956 890 825

leaflets a plenty!

The Camden Green Fair was fun. I came back home with loads of leaflets and sunburn. There were a number of interesting projects including a spoof parking ticket campaign by the Alliance against urban 4x4s, an eco-design fair and a trading system to link up communities called Just Change UK where I paid 2 quid for 80 bags of Nilgiri tea from India - it is gorgeoous. I will note down some more links and info in the next day or too.

love london 2006

With world environment day coming up on 5 June, London is gearing up for a whole bunch of activities... London Sustainability fortnight begins on 4 June until 18 June 2006. I found out about the festival from a little booklet that was popped into my vegetable bag last week by my fantastic supplier, farmaround. Sunday 4th June will see the launch of London Sustainability Weeks at the Camden Green Fair held at Regents Park from 12 noon to 7pm. The fair is the largest environmentally friendly festival in London.

The Fair aims to inspire Londoners to help make their capital a world-class Green City, letting visitors find out about the huge and growing number of sustainable companies, products, campaigns, and lifestyle choices that are available to us all, every day. Ranging from energy, holidays, transport, leisure and food to shopping, health, beauty, and gardening, the Camden Green Fair has something to discover for everyone, and with over 100 stallholders last year selling everything from herbs to electricity, it's a great opportunity to do a bit of shopping too, without it costing the earth! The Camden Bikefest combines their annual event with the Camden Green Fair. There are bikes available for you to have a go on, and various bike activities to promote and encourage cycling.

My pledges for the fortnight will be...
1 - Take lunch to work at least 3 times a week thereby saving on packaging and helping to use up more of the veg left in my fridge - not to mention saving money!
2 - Recycle my plastic containers - hunt down local plastic recycle bins.
3 - Buy new long lasting eco bulbs for my non-dimmer lights.
4 - Make sure I am using the best eco-electricity supplier
5 - Get involved in local campaign to help shape the Tottenham Hale Masterplan to insure that the impact to the environment is minimised and that creative sustainable options are considered.
6 - Write to Haringey Council in respect of accountability for sustainable targets.
7 - Have at least one buy nothing day in the fortnight

Amnesty: we must free the internet

This Sunday 28th of May the Observer and Amnesty International launched a much needed campaign to take a stand on basic civil liberties, demanding freedom of expression over the internet. The campaign is called irrepressible.info.

The web is a great tool for sharing ideas and freedom of expression. However, efforts to try and control the Internet are growing. Internet repression is reported in countries like China, Vietnam, Tunisia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. People are persecuted and imprisoned simply for criticising their government, calling for democracy and greater press freedom or exposing human rights abuses, online.

But Internet repression is not just about governments. IT companies have helped build the systems that enable surveillance and censorship to take place. Yahoo! have supplied email users private data to the Chinese authorities, helping to facilitate cases of wrongful imprisonment. Microsoft and Google have both complied with government demands to actively censor Chinese users of their services.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. It is one of the most precious of all rights. We should fight to protect it.

Take action now...