Istanbul is Great

I happened to visit Istanbul last month.Its a great city.Istanbul ,one of the great historical cities of the world, is the only city in the world located upon two continents with one arm reaching out to Asia and the other arm to Europe. Through the city's heart runs the sea channel called the Bosphorus(the sea that divides istanbul) which reaches north to The Black Sea and south to the Marmara Sea.

The old city, where the majority of historical monuments are found, lies along the Golden Horn. The most famous of these monuments are St.Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, The Wall of Theodosius, Topkapi Palace, Suleymaniye Mosque, Underground Cistern, St.Eirene, St.Saviour in Chora, Archeological Museum, Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. (The picture is from the famous Istiklal Cad in Taksim)

It's as modern as any other city in the world. It has great location and great night life.The streets of Istanbul are full of life even after midnight(taksim) .There are lots of places to hang out and i still cant get over the city even though its been over a month since i have been there.I had a great time and hope to stay there for some time on my way back to india.

My turkish

This a very interesting topic because considering the length of time i have spent in Turkey.My Turkish is not getting any better.I know the language enough to survive but nothing much.I think i need to put a little more effort to learn the language.It would be very interesting to see how much of turkish i actually know before i get back home.

To learn any language you need a lot of motivation and a very good memory power to remember all the complex words the language has to offer.So I have come up with a strategy .I have a few local friends who own shops or cafes near my appartment.So i have decided to practice my turkish with them in the evenings or when ever i get the time.Lets see if this works.The reason for this is they actually enjoy talking to me and find it really fun when i make hand signs accompanied by some great expression.

It's getting cold

Its early december and nearly 4 months since i have come to Turkey.I have picked up a little bit of Turkish and gotten used to the food.The weather is Turkey is strange.Its very hot in summer and cold winters.In the last weeks the weather has changed from being cool to cold.So the warm clothes are every where,unfortunately i did not know turkey would get this cold and brought only a few warm clothes from india.

My trip to Antalya

The first place i visted in Turkey is Antalya .Its 500 kms from Mersin.After 10 Hours of travelling in a bus thorugh winding roads i finally reached Antalya.This tour was organised by Aiesec. The organisation iam associated with in Turkey.There were two people from Aiesec, who picked me up from the bus station (autogar).We then caught a service bus( which is provided free by the bus company) to Akdeniz University. where all of us were supposed to assemble and leave for olumpos.

The road from Antalya to Olumpos was beautiful with the coast on one side , Mountians and forest on the other.It was a two hour drive and i thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.olumpos is a very interesting place with tree houses suitated in the middle of no where and the beach just a few minutes away from the tree house.They had arranged for us to stay at the tree house called Kabir's,With 5 of us sharing a small cottage and very cold showers in the moring( which i will never forget).I thought it was pretty good start.

We started off the day exploring the ancient city of olumpos.It is supposed to be an old roman city.The city is really ancient and there is not much of it left today,but ruiens.What fasinated me the most was the location of this place.It had everything you wanted as a tourist the sea,history,nature.As we tracked through the old city there was a narrow passage between two small hills,as i passed the passage appeared the great olumpos beach(considered one of the best beaches in Turkey).Its was a breathe taking view,with the sea as blue as ever and crystal clear waters.That afternoon we did some water sports and went back to the tree house to get some rest as it was a very exhasting day.That evening they took us to a place which amazed me even more .Its called the eternal fire,Due to the natural mixture of gases the fire that burns on these rock never goes off.I had never heard or seen something like this.

Then we came back to the tree house and had a great party with games,dancing.singing.The next day unfortunely it rained the whole day and we had to go back to Antalya.Since i had time i thought i will go around the city for some time.Its a nice city Espescially the old part of town and the sea behind it was really beautiful.After all that fun, the time had come for me to get back on the bus to Mersin and be in office on monday morning to start another boring week of work.

Chappathi in Turkey...Had to use a bottle no chappathi making equipment:)) 

Me and Dragos my friend from romaina.(My first week in Turkey) 

Turkish food

The turks like their Kabab's and Chay rather then the western fast food.When the whole world is going for the pizzas and burgers you hardly find western Food in Turkey(except the Tourist places).

They love their kababs which you can find on every street.They have a large verity of food and sweets. The ones i like are Dolma(rice stuffed in capsicum)Kababs and the Bucklava (sweet).
When i first came here i had a tough time getting used to their food because theirs is bread based food and i have been eating rice all my life .In my region in india it is only the people who are sick(fever,Flu) that actualy eat bread. Now i have not only got used to the Turkish food but also started liking it.

Its Been 2 interesting months in Turkey

Its been 2 months and some days since i have come to Turkey.There is a different feel to the air these days.When i first came here the weather was hot and humid.The people were diffrent,food and everything so strange but now everything looks and feels so familiar.

I live in a small city called Mersin on the Mediterranean coast.Its a small but nice place and the people here are warm and friendly.The company i work for is called IES-Intervega.Its a education abroad agency.The work keeps me busy during most part of the day.I live with an australian guy(Joe) and there was an other guy from Romaina(Who left Turkey yesterday).So its me and the australian guy Who Share the appartment.The apartment is nice and big but nothing luxirious about it.

Till now its Been an interesting two months getting used to the food,people,language(hardly anyone speaks English) but its helped me learn and experience a lot of new things.I will be in Turkey Till May 2006.Hope my Stay in Turkey gets better and its an experience of a life time.

MERSIN



Mersin (Greek Μερσίνη) is the capital city of Mersin province in Turkey (named İçel province until 2002). It is located in the South Anatolia Region, to the south of the country, south of the Taurus Mountains, by the Mediterranean coast. It had a population of 537,842 according to the 2000 census.

Mersin port is the major source of economic livelihood. There are 23 piers in the docks built in a total port area of 786,000 m² (194 acres), with a total capacity of 3,800 ships per year.

Also located adjacent to the port is Mersin Free Zone established in 1986 where warehouses, social services, manufacturing, trade, banking, insurance, packing-repacking, labeling, maintenance, assembly-disassembly, engineering, leasing, renting and exhibition facilities are situated. The zone territory is publicly owned and the zone is a center for foreign investors with proximity to major international markets (Middle East, North Africa, East and West Europe, Russian Federation and Central Asian Republics). The Mersin Free Zone is the first free zone established in Turkey. The trading volume of the free zone was USD 1.6 billion in 2002.

Transportation to the city is possible through alternative methods. The city has highway connections to all provinces, also is connected to the southern railroad hub. Transportation by sea is also possible through the Mersin Port to more than 100 international ports. The international Adana airport is at a distance of 69 km (43 miles). 60% of the male population and 16% of the female population is employed. Unemployment is about 22.7%.