so next week is finally spring break so I have actually made plans to leave Istanbul and see some more of this country I've been calling home. This weekend I will go back down to Hatay, technically for a thesis research trip. I will revisit the mound and the site of the excavation. Also I will hopefully have some time to see the town of Antakya as well and some local sites. Then after I return next monday, on tuesday morning I will go with my friend Deniz to Ephesus. Our greek professor lives nearby so he will take us on a tour of the Roman site and other places depending on how far away they are and how much time we have.
I am super excited, to see new places, old places and to eat some delicious künefe with ice cream in Antakya!
There will definitely be some pictures coming in the next couple weeks.
happy spring :)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
greek...
so, we are just about to start reading a section of Odysseus in our greek class and it has reminded me of my favorite poem so I am posting it here, along with a cheesy video interpretation complete with pretty pictures.
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=74&cat=1
enjoy!
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=74&cat=1
enjoy!
Monday, March 14, 2011
blog design
sorry for the constant changing of the blog design but I have yet to be really happy with the aesthetics that it presents. It also happens to be a great procrastination tool :) if anyone happens to have good design ideas or color themes that work best I would be more than happy to listen. Also, I have yet to figure out or take the time to make a personalized header with a picture from my own archives, which I think would be most effective in representing my collection of thoughts. Today, I also happened to figure out the reason blogspot has not been working on my computer at home in the apartment, because Turkey has banned blogger.com! Good thing Koç Univ. allows access to all blocked websites so at least when I am at school I can access such exciting and scandalous sites.
till next time...enjoy the yellow:)
till next time...enjoy the yellow:)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Ottoman fieldtrip to Bursa and the Marmara Sea...
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| Ottoman Class Fieldtrip to Bursa |
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