This Monday, the Muslim holy month of Ramazan (Ramadan) begins. At least it begins in Turkey. The start of Ramazan is determined by the moon, and countries that are more exacting in their intrepretation will wait until they specifically know which day the moon is correct for the start of Ramazan.

Millions of Muslims around the world will not eat, drink, smoke or make love during daylight hours. In Turkey, fasting is a personal decision and is not as widespread as in the more conservative Muslim countries.

The Ramazan changes I will personally notice in Mersin:

-My boss, Ahmet, and fellow employee, Serkan, will consistently fast; other workers may fast on the odd day. Every late afternoon, all office staff will share in the fast-breaking bread and soup (normally lentil – yummy), even those who are not fasting.

-At about 5am, or some other ridiculous time, a drummer will walk past the street below belting his drum. Last year, I could hear the BOOM of the drummer twice or even three times in the same early morning!

The purpose of the drummer is to wake everyone up for their pre-fast meal before the sun rises.

In modern times, with the advent of alarm clocks, this drumming is not a practical necessity. However, what keeps it going is tradition.

At saner times of the day, the drummer knocks on doors requesting donations for his work. The only positive I can see from the drumming, is that it gives unemployed work.

-People will give more to charities and the poor. The supermarkets have special packages of basic foods (flour, spaghetti, oil, tomato paste, etcetera) at special prices for people to either buy for themselves or buy and give to less fortunate people.

-Some restaurants will be closed for the whole of Ramazan.

-Ramazan pide, a style of flat bread, will be produced by the bakeries in the afternoon, traditionally to be eaten with the fast-breaking soup. This is the only time of the year that this bread is widely produced. I like the bread and wish it was produced more often!

-From the evening of the 24th to the 27th of November is the Ramazan feast. I will write more about this later.

…I could be partying at an African night in Aleppo, Syria.

A month ago, I ventured to Aleppo via Antakya, to pick up my Turkish work visa from the Consulate-General. At a fruit juice stall in the centre of town I met a wonderful couple, Bengali and Celine. Celine is French whilst Bengali is a mixture: Ivory Coast origin, lived 7 years in Cairo and later, moved to France where he met Celine. They now work for The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, based 30 km from Aleppo.

Tonight Bengali was to be DJ at ICARDA’s African night and I could have been there…except for work. As the Muslim holy day begins Thursday evening, Syria, like many other Muslim countries, has Friday and Saturday for its weekend. That is why the party is on tonight, the last weeknight. By the way, Ataturk adopted the western Saturday-Sunday weekend for Turkey when he founded the secular Turkish Republic, almost 80 years ago to the day.

On 26 July 2001, shortly after I arrived in Mersin the first time, I took note of prices for certain goods and services. Below are the price comparisons between then and today, 22 October 2003. All prices are quoted in Turkish Lira.

Exchange rates:

AUD$1: Then=670,000 TL; Now=1,034,000 TL

USD$1: Then=1,320,000 TL; Now=1,475,000 TL

EUR€1: Then=1,155,000 TL; Now=1,725,000

Notice the devaluation of the USD to the AUD.

Goods and services

1 tantuni (similar to kebap but largely found in Mersin) at my regular lunchtime restaurant:

–Then=500,000; Now=1,250,000

1 glass of ayran (yoghurt drink) at the same restaurant:

–Then=200,000; Now=500,000

A 45 minute haircut including shampoo, condition and ear clean!:

–Then=2,000,000; Now=4,500,000

The Turkish Daily News newspaper:

–Then=300,000; Now=1,000,000

The Turkish minimum monthly wage:

–Then=107,323,000; Now=223,749,000

1 local intra-city bus ride:

–Then=400,000; Now=750,000

1 simit (ring-shaped bread covered in sesame seeds):

–Then=150,000; Now=250,000

The above increase in prices is stark evidence of hyperinflation. Turkey has experienced hyperinflation for decades. A couple of months ago I found a Turkish coin from 1960; its value? 25 kurus, or a 1/4 of a lira or 200,000 times less valuable than today’s lowest value coin, the 100,000 lira!

Believe it or not, inflation in the last 12 months has remained below 25% for the first time in many, many years!

With the reduced inflation, there has been pressure to keep wages down. However, businesses are used to increasing their prices dramatically every year. Soon, I believe, the higher prices and moderated incomes will lead to consumers spending less, forcing the businesses to level their prices.

The weather today in Mersin, just like the past fortnight, was wonderful; sunny, mild to warm (around 25 degrees C) and calm. I can’t believe how good and enjoyable it is. Even sitting in the office all day I can still appreciate the brilliant weather – the windows and doors are open and the nearest air conditioners and heaters could be a world away for all I care…..alas, the hot, humid summer has only recently passed and the the cold, wet winter is just around the corner…..

This morning I called the Australian Taxation Office on 61-2-6216 1111. They were kind enough to call back. A lady named Kim listened to my questions and details and then gave me the information I required. I am almost ready to finish my tax return!

I should get about AUD 70 back. Although this is not much, it still goes a fair way in Turkey. I could always treat myself and buy Pearl Jam’s new album and DVD , both to be released in November.

I am now trying to work out my tax return for the 2002-2003 Australian financial year. It is such fun (not), particularly from the other side of the world.

Thank goodness both:

a) The Australian Taxation Office have enabled online returns; and

b) My parents are so helpful and understanding to look through my documents in Adelaide, Australia and send the requested information.

My blog has emerged from hiding!

All I now need to do is to change the colours, formatting, links, directory and a few other things! They will be changed in due course.

Here I will be writing random stories about whatever I see fit.

The Hamam

On Saturday evening I went to the local hamam with my boss. The hamam is just around the corner and on the same block as my apartment. The wash, massage and kese (think of someone rubbing sandpaper on yourself) were very enjoyable. I came out very clean!

This was my first visit to this hamam, although I had previously walked passed it hundreds of times. ‘Mersin Hamami’ has a small swimming pool, sauna, washing compartments, hot stone, massage areas, showers and restroom/foyer. In the middle of the restroom/foyer area is a pool with catfish and two very lazy tortoises. I was very surprised at how far the hamam went under the apartment block, particularly given the very innocuous entrance. One interesting aspect of the hamam was the naked (no pun intended) fluorescent light in the hot sauna! I don’t think this would meet appropriate occupational health and safety guidelines!

The Restaurant

Following the hamam we ate at the Afyon Cumhuriyet Sucuk Restaurant. Sucuk is a famous Turkish sausage with a strong flavour unique to its own. For desert I ate ‘ekmek kadayifi’ with some of the famous Afyon cream’ Adding the cream to the desert more than doubled its price!

The Nightclub

After dinner I caught a bus west down the coast to Davultepe. There I met a friend, Orhan, at a nightclub. The nightclub was supposed to be having a ‘dark rock’ theme that night. Entry was 5 million Turkish lira, which was pretty good, as it included 2 Efes Dark beers. Despite the theme, there was no rock, let alone, ‘dark rock’. The music (house, techno, pop stuff) was okay, although it was against expectations and very few people who arrived, stayed. After the 2 ‘free’ beers we caught a bus back into town, having an earlier than expected arrival home.