Gizeh (Cairo), Egypt and Teotihuacan, Mexico

Reading books about history and mystics, I was always intrigued by the pyramids.
I visited Gizeh in 1977 and Teotihuacan in 1983. Just 21 years old, since they told me if you visit both, you will be part of a Golden and Heavenly triangle..))
Will put pictures of Gizeh, Asam (Egypt) and Sudan later here. And will ask a German photographer to allow me to use his beautiful pictures taken in Mexico on this blog.
I have still some nice stories about Mexico to tell.

The Last Stalinist: read and Judge.

Mismanagement

While Erdoğan is often accused of mismanaging the presidential election process, the total fiasco of Baykal is just ignored.

By Yusuf KANLI

It must be peculiar to Turkey. Is there a similar situation anywhere else?
Sure, in a democracy people may oppose certain policies of the leader of their party. They may have a very strong position about certain practices undertaken by their leader. But I do not think there is such a widespread “Voting for my party despite my leader” feeling anywhere else. With this huge success, perennial opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal must have earned a distinguished place for himself in the Guinness Book of Records. If he was not given a place in that book, he has all the right to complain of being subjected to a gross injustice.
The Turkish electorate sent a very strong message to the CHP back in 1999 by keeping it out of Parliament for the first time in the history of the founding party of the modern Turkish republic. It received only 8.7 percent of the votes. The message was loud and clear: Change and get rid of the antagonistic mentality, conservatism, and live up to the heritage of your and the republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk by converting yourself into a progressive force. Another message was that members and supporters of the CHP wanted a rejuvenation of the party. They were against their party becoming a Jurassic park of geriatric dinosaurs.
Read more here.

My first trip to Mexico - 2

Detailed view of Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan, Mexico. It is 70 meters high and is the third largest pyramid of the world! More later...

Yazidis and G.I. Gurdjieff

Yazidis are members of a small religious group. Their religion is little known to outsiders, but contains elements of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and also includes the veneration of Peacock Angel, as shown above.
They were attacked yesterday, Wednesday August the 15t by Al-Qaida, and probably the most violent attack after the fall of Saddam Hussein.



As they believe in a Supreme God, they don't believe in hell, sin or the devil.
The Yazidis' cultural practices are observably Kurdish, and almost all speak Kurmanjî (Northern Kurdish), with the exception of the villages of Bashiqa and Bahazane in Northern Iraq, where Arabic is spoken. Kurmanjî is the language of almost all the orally transmitted religious traditions of the Yazidis. Thus, religious origins are somewhat complex.

The Yazidis, perhaps because of their secrecy, also have a place in modern occultism. G. I. Gurdjieff wrote about his encounters with the Yazidis several times in his book Meetings with Remarkable Men, mentioning that they are considered to be "devil worshippers" by other ethnicities in the region.

G.I. Gurdjieff is a Greek Armenian thinker who spent some time in Istanbul in the beginning of the 20th century.
And he is most notable for introducing the Fourth Way, while he is also recognized for introducing other concepts, such as the Enneagram.
His mystic teaching influenced management theories in the last decade of the 20th century.

Gurdjieff's teaching mainly addresses the question of people's place in the Universe and their possibilities for inner development. He also emphasized that some people live their lives in a form of waking sleep, and that higher levels of consciousness, higher bodies, and various inner abilities are possible.
Gurdjieff taught people how to increase and focus their attention and energy in various ways, and to minimize daydreaming and absentmindedness. According to his teaching, this inner development in oneself is the beginning of a possible further process of change, whose aim is to transform a man into what Gurdjieff believed he ought to be.

It's sad that Yazidis, although known about the stoning of Du’a Khalil Aswad in April of this year, were victims of this brutal attack.

That French thing...

We came back from France last Thursday evening only after 10 days of touring around. I will write more about our tour in my blog, but here I want to report my first observations.

- The cities on the French Riviera are not that special except for their esplanades.
- I didn't see many beautiful French women. Are they all hiding up in Paris, or their beauty is hidden to the eye? :-P
- I don't want to hear anybody complaining about the way we Turks and/or Italians drive any more after seeing how the French are driving. They are crazy. They drive fast on highways, in the cities and, worst of all, inside the parking houses. They do not obey most of the traffic rules and if you point out their mistake they get angry and they always have a finger ready to show you where the sky is. I don't even want to comment on how the women are driving and behaving in traffic...
- If you have a SUV, stay far away from the parking houses in France, because they are made for tiny little cars. On many occasions we were afraid to enter these houses with our car since the max height was most of the time 1.80 meters (and in two of them even 1.70 meters)! Once we parked our car in a parking house but were not able to open the trunk because if we did, it would have touched the ceiling!
- You eat very well in France but you also pay quite much for what you eat. And those crepes... How much we ate.. We even looked for an open crepe shop (most of them were closed for vacation) for over an hour under rain in Lyon, waited for the girl to prepare our crepes for about 20 minutes and ate them again under the rain.. with no umbrella.
- It was very strange to find more than 90% of the churches closed. We love going inside churches, studying their architecture (not that we know anything about architecture, but it is fun) and trying to find some elements, symbols that hint the presence/influence of the Templar knights, Freemasons, Mary Magdalene etc. Do not miss out the cathedral in St. Maximin if you also like that kind of stuff.
- What is it with the French and their love for lingerie? I have never seen so many lingerie shops on one single street in my life.
- I have been stopped by people that were asking for directions many times. They thought I was French. I am not sure whether this is good or bad... that I look 'French', I mean... :-)
- All in all France is a beautiful country definitely worth many other visits. But beware: it is not a cheap touristic destination.
Now I have to pack, again, since me and by sweety are off to Austria this Saturday. We will be relaxing on the mountain in a spa hotel for a week.

Consensus, compromise and collaboration

Now that probably A. Gül will be the only candidate for the president vacancy in Turkey, some columnists are already stating that he is not a consensus-candidate. Yes, he is not. But is a consensus-candidate needed? With a party which has gained 47% of the votes, for sure, if there was presidential elections with a popular vote, he would win. And is Deniz Baykal a consensus and compromise like minded CHP party leader? More a dictator...

In my opinion, Turkey needs a compromise-candidate. But without any input from the opposition, how can this be achieved? The anti-government stance of CHP, in all that the AK-government is doing, brings themselves out to the spotlight and out to the true democratic decision making process. The fact that they already announced to boycott the elections in the Turkish parliament, shows only how a-democratic they are. And they will boycott all kind of events when A. Gül will be president, ensuring that there will be more tension in Turkey, paving the way for the military.

Dialogue and debate are two major pillars in a modern democracy. That's what is lacking in Turkey. If the CHP which has the word of 'republicanism' in their banner, they really must understand what Republicanism means: it's the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, with an emphasis on liberty, ruled by the people, and the civic virtue practiced by citizens. Republicanism always stands in opposition to aristocracy, oligarchy, and dictatorship.

It's time that the CHP begins to collaborate, in the true spirit of democracy.

Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis has an exotic name, and an interesting and impressive background.
What I don't understand is why he, as an intellectual, is using all kind of inappropriate language to get his message across. His writings in the American Chronicle are sometimes good for a laugh. But most of the time, it's irritating to see a person of this caliber falling in platitudes.
Here is the last part of his three pieces: "The Impossibility of Muslims’ Integration in Europe".
I am just waiting for the day that he will come with some solutions instead of random accusations only.

Dutch Courage

Looking at this picture, and reading the entry below of Walksfarwoman2007, makes me proud to be a Dutch person who is part of Europe. I hope one day that my Turkish friends come home with the same stories. Turks are great in stories, and can contribute to the European system....
Please find below an amazing story:

By Walksfarwoman;
I had a lovely holiday in the spring. I drove to Newcastle and took a leisurely 12 hour overnight ferry to Amsterdam. My cabin was on the bow deck, at first I thought I was in the movie Titanic….the reality was I couldn’t see anything but the bow and the two men who ceremoniously came and took down the flag when we left port and then raised it again just before we entered the visiting harbor. But it was a peaceful and enjoyable trip, the sea was so calm and with the gentle motion you felt like a babe in arms being rocked to sleep, it was such a restful experience.
During my trip I met the most wonderful human being, a transsexual named Emma. I adored her on sight. It was obvious she was male but her taste in clothes and accessories, her style, her deportment and her manner and grace would put many women in the shade. She was on the guided tours I had signed up for so we mixed with many other British tourists some of whom I was deeply ashamed of.

They made comments loud enough to be heard by everyone but Emma looked the other way. They rudely stared at her large hands and firm legs but she carried on with such dignity that it moved me to tears. On one occasion I was on the point of making my feelings known in a very belligerent manner but realized that to do so would only bring attention to a sensitive situation so I linked my arm in hers and off we strolled into the magnificent Dutch Royal Palace, we were soon chatting like old friends and inseparable the rest of the trip.
Over the ensuing week, many of my fellow travelers came around to a different way of thinking. Emma was good at telling jokes and had the most contagious laugh. She knew so much about Dutch history and was riveting to listen to. She was caring in the way she took the time to listen to everyone without interrupting and never made complaint even though she had due cause. When she finally had the courage to open up, her personality was awesome. She was shining her light!

During our time together I learned that in her former life, she’d been privately educated to a high standard and traveled the world in a professional capacity. I was curious as to why she’d want to mix with a bunch of tourists some of whom were blatantly aggressive. She said… "Life is not living if you have to isolate yourself for fear of offending others or getting hurt yourself. I’m the same person I always was only my appearance has changed. For my own sanity I need to become the person I need to be and to do that I have to take the rough with the smooth, I just want a little acceptance and a shot at some kind of normality."
Our last night was in Arnhem scene of the tragic battle in WW2 and recaptured in the movie ’A Bridge Too Far’ - how strange that it should also be the place where Emma found peace. There was a resolute table of 4 who would have been more suited to a tour of penitentiaries, who glared and whispered mouth to ear in give away furtiveness - I now felt sorry for them. The rest of the party filtered over to Emma between courses and thanked her for making their trip so much fun, some hugging her with genuine warmth. She broke down and cried, even feeling the need to stand up in that crowded restaurant and tell us all how we had made her feel so happy.

She was wearing a stunning black dress that suited her tall, lean figure and was bedecked with a dazzling array of fine crystal necklaces. She them off one by one and gave them to the ladies sitting at our table as a token of friendship. She was bowled over when we discreetly revealed a package from under the table. She’d made such an impression upon us that we’d clubbed together to buy her a gift as a reminder of her trip.

Money, position, power mean nothing if you don’t have the opportunity to be your true self. We have no right to judge another, we have no right to deny anyone their place in the world. There are no ’terms of existence’ we are each free to live life the way we choose as long as it doesn’t harm or encroach upon our neighbor. Too often we dwell on the negative and classify minorities into clumps of rejected undesirables. We need to look at people as individuals and if we can’t…we need to look at ourselves.
© WalksFarWoman 2007

The Milky Way...

Beautiful.
And...are we alone, or are we together...this big question remains unanswered.

Nailed down

This is the first time in my whole life that I feel completely numb.
Nailed down by some Turkish nationalists, I only can cry. The hate and nasty remarks by them, shows that some parts of the Turkish society (a minority but a powerful one) attacks those who don't have an opinion like them.
Raised up in a family culture, where respect for other religions means: practice the words but also the deeds.
Raised up in a country where respect for other race still is in our constitution and our hearts, it's sad to say that some people in Turkey think otherwise: Read the comments here.

A Romantic Evening in Istanbul (by a fellow Dutch)

Michael P.F. van der Galiën

A Romantic Evening in Istanbul
Aug 8th, 2007 by Michael P.F. van der Galien

Imagine the following: you are greatly in love with a young woman who is 20 years old (you are 23). You love each other to death and know that the only thing you want to do with the rest of your life… is to spend it together. Imagine that you both believe that the two of you were made for each other.
Imagine that the girl is Turkish and you are Dutch. Imagine that the love you feel for each other makes it possible to have a relationship while the two of you live thousands kilometers away from each other - and you can only visit each other a couple of times, a couple of weeks, per year. Imagine that, although it is difficult, extremely difficult and that, although your heart is broken every time you say goodbye to each other, you can overcome all the pain in the world because your love for each other is so big.
Imagine that.
Now imagine that, one night, on Tuesday August 7, 2007, the two of you go to a place in İstanbul called Ortaköy (also see image above to see what it looks like by daylight). You are the Dutch young man. You have something in your pocket: a small, very small, box. The two of you go to Ortaköy walking hand in hand. You kiss the girl you love on her forehead and on her cheek. You look her in her eyes and tell her how much you love her and how happy she makes you.
Then the two of you sit down, looking out over the Bosphorus. A magnificent picture: the light on the other sides, the Bosphorus itself, the Mosque in front of it (with lights) and, of course, the Bosphorus bridge with all of its lights: now the color of the light is blue, a little later it is red, again later it is yellow… it changes constantly.
Imagine sitting there.
Imagine telling the girl - that beautiful Turkish girl - that even death cannot destroy the love you feel for her. Imagine telling her that you never thought you could feel this for anyone. Imagine her looking into your eyes when you talk to her, sitting next to her: her big brown, loving eyes and that beautiful sweet smile warming your heart.
Imagine falling on your knees - even though there are many other people sitting at the coast as well. Imagine taking that box out of your pocket and imagine you asking her, “benimle evlenir misin?”
“Will you marry me?”
And then - imagine the girl saying, softly but very happy, “yes.”
Now imagine that the boy was me and the girl my Turkish girlfriend. Do that, and you know what we did yesterday...

Live from Iraq, by Mohammed in Bagdad

"I have received this email from a friend of mine who lives in Syria, I'm not sure of its credibility but this is the third time I hear about such things, so I thought to share it." (Mohammed)

Large groups of Al-Mahdi army has infiltrated Syria for the prosecution and the killing of the Sunni Iraqis who had fled from the militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Iraq to save their lives. He said, "We have received reliable information from Damascus that militias are roaming in alleys, parks and gardens, especially in November park and Al-Zohoor Park ... trying to capture images via mobile phone to whom they want to eliminate in order to be sure of the victims prior to pounce upon them after they check it with their leaders, Riding a white GMC car licenced 5083-Wasit"….etc.

The Maliki and The US withdrawal

In the context of the debate on the possibility of reducing American forces, Al-Maliki said the Iraqi government is able to take the responsibility in the event of a "reduction or sudden withdrawal of the international forces." Maliki also talked about the escape of Al-Qaida members to the neighboring countries due to the success of the security plan!!!!! I don't know how does this man think! Where did he feel the success, in the increasing number of the unknown dead bodies thrown in the streets, or maybe he felt it in the almost non-stop explosions and bullets, I think I have lost my senses, I can't feel it, I don't know why. Nuri al-Maliki said, "We are able to take over full responsibility in the security file at any time that the international forces withdraws," but re-affirmed that his country's troops are still needed further rehabilitation and weaponry, My advice for him that before you think about rehabilitation and weaponry why don't you think about how sectarian your forces are? Why don't they have the loyalty to Iraq why are they loyal to Iran, why don't you teach them how to follow the law not the Mullah and Imam?.
At the same time the American Secretary of Defense Robert Gates pointed at the elements of the Iraqi police as sectarian in nature, as the American army launched a raid yesterday left 13 people dead, including six police members (working as militants also) east of Baghdad, here I can see how his forces are ready to take control. Gates said that "the training and capabilities and credibility of the Iraqi security forces is uneven and in some areas a source of great concern." The commander of the American forces in northern Iraq Benjamin Mixon said that Washington might begin to withdraw its troops from the northern region in nest January. Mixon pointed out that he had about five or six brigades under his leadership and that the number might be reduced to half in 18 months, on the condition that the security situations improve and the Iraq forces are ready.

Another dead photo-journalist

Security and medical sources announced the killing and wounding of dozens of Iraqis in a series of attacks yesterday in parts of Iraq, there have been violent clashes between the American army and members of Al-Mahdi Army in Al-ameen neighborhood in south-east Baghdad following the fall of a number of mortar shells.Nearby hospitals received the dead bodies of at least 13 people from the area of clashes, in addition to about twenty injured. US troops called for Air Force support during the fighting, among the dead is Reuters photographer and a driver, there was conflicting reports on the circumstances of the death of the photographer Namir Noor Al-Deen (22 years) and the driver Said Shmag (40 years). Eyewitnesses and the initial report of the police said that they were killed in the indiscriminate bombing by the American with nine other civilians by a rocket or a missile on a minibus carrying the wounded in the confrontations. Noor Al-Deen was taking pictures in almost the same time as American helicopter fired a shot at the bus. The American army announced the opening of an investigation and confirmed that both of them died during clashes with the militants. Read here.

My friend

And yes, she is here again. Flying! Today she took off with her mother for a 21 day visit to India.
Born in Suriname, grown up in the Netherlands but her roots are there.


I like this picture. Heeee Sandra, Red was a better color!


And guys, don't argue with her, she will hit you there exactly where you don't want to get hurt..))

E-governance Turkey

Yesterday I read a story in one of the main stream Turkish newspapers that Turkey was among the top-ten countries world wide in E-governance. I think they made a simple mistake: Turkey ranks among the top-ten in E-governance in developing countries.
In his 'piece', the journalist didn't provide any links or details. Only that Germany and Switzerland were behind Turkey. And in his excitement, he wrote a name of a company which did the research; a company which is untraceable! Turkish people deserve better than this fake bragging.

I remember a conversation with a dear friend of mine in the Netherlands. The founder of the IT Trend Institute of KPMG. He was approached for a project of e-governance in Turkey about one year ago. But he refused it since 'they' as he said, 'don't know what they are talking about'.

In the survey of this company even E-stonia wasn't mentioned, or Finland.

Turkey can be a major player, or let me say, a nearby outsource country for ICT. But a lack of self confidence from Turkey's side and no knowledge about the possibilities in Turkey in Europe and USA on the other side, favors Romania's position.

My first trip to Mexico - 1

More than 20 years ago, when I was in my early 'twenties', I took a break and went to family in Southern California, more precisely Mission Viejo and Irvine. I planned to study at one of the most prestigious departments for Movies/Drama at UCI, where I was accepted as one of the 2 places for a person from the Netherlands.
After 2 weeks of talking around, and having fun with my cousins, I decided to make a trip to Mexico DF. Capital of Mexico. But my family told me not to go there! Too dangerous and a long trip.
Yes, by bus it was a long trip; almost 2 1/2 day non-stop. And two drivers who changed every 6 hours. With a 15 minute break each time. And they didn't count the passengers while leaving, so be aware to be on time. So, against the 'will' of my family, I booked a ticked. My trip started south of LA, Laguna Beach.


I took the Greyhound, and as the travel agency told me, it would take me all the way to Mexico City. 2.700 km. But in Tijuana they changed the bus. And now I was stuck in a bus of 'the Tree stars of Gold' by a Mexican bus company. Not very comfortable. But I took precautions: bought a bottle of Vodka! To get me sleepy, sitting around the night! No way that you could pull the chairs down!
A Mexican guy next to me suggested to mix it with some orange juice, but getting some straight shots of vodka in my veins helped me through the first night.
When we departed from Tijuana (see picture above) to Mazatlan (see picture below) -and no, I didn't go to the beach - I was not aware what was waiting for me.

The way from Mazatlan to Guadalajara was better. No bubs and no screaming from people who were in another bus which took off before us: they crashed and found their way in and along the road, or into a ravine.


This is a picture of Guadalajara. Not how it was but how it is now: modern.
When I was there for the first time, everywhere there were the pictures and flags of the PRI, which you can compare with the CHP in Turkey. A party which caused stagnation in Mexico, as the CHP did in Turkey.
But Mexico went under a transformation like Turkey is going now: and for your information; Monterrey in Mexico is seen as the most developed city of Latin America.

The PRI as the CHP, kept the poor people under their thumb.


One year before this trip to Mexico I made a trip to Greece, Egypt and Sudan.
It has been told that the 'flat' pyramids in Mexico are built with the same Pyramid-shaped structures which are built by many ancient civilizations like The Egyptians.
When I crawled through the Great Pyramid in Gizeh, Cairo, I sensed different feeling when seeing these ones. Btw, I have old slides available about Gizeh, but my camera was stolen in Mexico. That's why I use pictures from Internet.

Talking about Mexico DF, Mexico City, after Tokyo, Sao Paolo and NYC the largest city in the world, will take some more postings. And my way to Huehuetenango in Guatamala and back to the USA even more...to be continued...

Last of the Iraqi's

By accident (serendipity) I came across this amazing blog: Last of Iraqi's by Mohammed, a dentist in Baghdad. Especially the story of the 'Jail' is worth reading.
Amazing how people can survive like this. And this blog proves again that Social Media became more and more important than the traditional media.
The blog of Mohammed is without any rhetoric, simple basic facts, and experiences.

This is not Turkish Delight...

Super Hero put a posting with the catchy title: sexual obsession on his blog.
I agree with him on many points, but as long as the the main Turkish press are putting these kind of filthy pictures in their newspapers, what can we expect?
Today, after work, at 5 PM, I did some shopping, and walked home. Suddenly in the middle of the street a guy was screaming and yelling. His eyes were full of hate. And he had something in his hands. The closer I came by, I saw a 'killer knife' in his hand. I stayed relaxed and passed him by on 3 feet.
What I understand was that it was about a woman.
Now looking how mainstream Turkish main newspapers 'cover' the news, I can only say: learn something about media ethics. And bravo Hürriyet to create anger and hatred with the above picture. For sure, you don't like women, and are obsessed with Ms. Hilton...
Sustainable...a word, that the boundary spanners of Turkey still don't understand.
If your secularism is based upon that: stop complaining. You are keeping the stereotypes alive.
And it's time that you show that women are not meat. Yuk!

Bilgi University and Erkan

Went out today to see my friend Erkan, since he is appointed as lecturer at Bilgi University in Istanbul at the communication department.
For people who never met him but are reading his blog, and there are around 1.000 hits he gets on a daily basis from all around the world: he is a nice guy! I met him now in several settings, and this weekend I will let him take the last 'test': I will cook for him an Indonesian dinner at my home, and he can say; Nay or Yay. I will make it hot and tasty, and he will get enough beer, to blush the fire....

Funny thing was: we discovered that through our site, he gets a lot of traffic. Google Analytics shows it clearly...
Keep on doing the good work Erkan!

Mexico

Was planning to write about my bus trip from South California to Mexico DF, and from there to Guatemala and back to Mission Viejo, California. But absolutely no inspiration today. Will do it later this week. Btw, I am sick and tired of the heat...

My friend

Okay, I admit, publishing Sandra's pictures is good for both of us. We both get more attention...
This picture is maybe typical her: tough and rough.



And this is how Bollywood will discover her.