Today I received my replacement South Australian drivers licence in the post. I had lost my original one several months again.
To obtain this replacement, I:
a) requested the sending of a form
b)visited the embassy in Ankara for a witness to my signature; and
c) sent back the completed form along with a credit card authorisation for AUD$11
The funny thing is the diplomat’s signature at the embassy cost AUD$20, almost twice as much as the licence itself!
Last night I saw my friend, Toygun, for the first time in several months. In early November 2003 we visited Anazarbus and in December he started his compulsory military service. 6 months later he exited the army. Toygun described his military service as very boring as he didn’t have much to do after his initial training period.
Turkey is moving towards a more professional army with less reliance on poorly-trained military service conscripts. Compulsory military service is a huge waste of money and the resources used should be put towards far more useful purposes. Having said that, military service in Turkey does provide a great discipline and development tool. Toygun himself acknowledged the military turns boys into men. He now wakes up earlier and keeps his room tidier than before!
PS: Both yesterday and today the ADSL Internet access is very intermittent, making surfing the web or sending emails extremely frustrating. I can’t complain too much, though, I could be doing military service!
The Israeli High Court suspends the ban on pork sales in 3 localities. I would love to go there to celebrate by eating some bacon or roast pork or ham or…
The funniest and saddest part of the article is this quote from one of the local Jewish fundamentalists:
“The High Court has driven a central nail in the coffin of Jewish identity in the state”
Pork is not banned in Turkey and is freely available where there is a demand for it, including the tourist resorts and in large supermarkets of the major cities. Unfortunately, it is not easily accessible in Mersin. I do miss pork but not enough to go out of my way to find some.
A variation of the ‘move my money’ scam. This is the first email I recall attempting to garner the sympathy vote by the sender writing he will die soon. This scam doesn’t get my sympathy.
—– Original Message —–
From:
To:
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 5:51 PM
Subject: URGENT ASSISTANCE
>>
>> Dear sir,
>>
>> As you read this, I don’t want you to feel sorry for
>> me, because, I believe everyone will die someday.
>>
>> My name is Saeed Ahmed a merchant in Dubai, in
>> the
>> U.A.E.I have been diagnosed with Esophageal cancer .
>>
>> It has defiled all forms of medical treatment, and
>> right now I have only about a few months to live,
>> according to medical experts.
>>
>> I have not particularly lived my life so well, as I
>> never really cared for anyone(not even myself)but my
>> business. Though I am very rich, I was never generous,
>> I was always hostile to people and only focused on my
>> business as that was the only thing I cared for. But
>> now I regret all this as I now know that there is more
>> to life than just wanting to have
>> or make all the money in the world.
>>
>> I believe when God gives me a second chance to come to
>> this world I would live my life a different way from
>> how I have lived it. Now that God has called me, I
>> have willed and given most of my property and assets
>> to my immediate and extended family members as well as
>> a few close friends.
>>
>> I want God to be merciful to me and accept my soul so,
>> I have decided to give also to charity
>> organizations, as I want this to be one of the last
>> good deeds I do on earth. So far, I have distributed
>> money to some charity organizations in the U.A.E,
>> Algeria and Malaysia. Now that my health has
>> deteriorated so badly, I cannot do this myself
>> anymore.
>>
>> I once asked members of my family to close
>> one of my accounts and distribute the money which I
>> have there to charity organization in Bulgaria and
>> Pakistan, they refused and kept the money to
>> themselves. Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as
>> they seem not to be contended with what I have left
>> for them.
>>
>> The last of my money which no one knows of is the huge
>> cash deposit of eighteen million dollars
>> $18,000,000,00 that I have with a finance/Security
>> Company abroad. I will want you to help me collect
>> this deposit and dispatched it to charity
>> organizations.
>>
>>
>> I have set aside 10% for you and for your time.
>>
>> God be with you.
>>
>> Saeed Ahmed.
>> E-Mail Address:MATGRA2005@NETSCAPE.NET
>>
>>
>>
>>
Loz, a friend and fellow UniSA AIESEC alumni is now on her way to Sweden to spend a year on the Swedish AIESEC national committee. Her blog, A Swedish Adventure, has just started. The only problem with the blog is one has to be a member of the actual blog to post a comment. Maybe that is a good thing…
A few weeks ago in Ankara, Betul had a wonderful idea to cook banana pancakes, inspired by her South East Asia trip. For the pancake base we ended up using ‘gozleme’, a large (about 60cm in diameter), round and very thin bread popular in Turkish cooking. The banana was wrapped in the gozleme and slow dry fried. In combination with either honey and lemon juice or peanut butter, the pancakes were delicious and well appreciated by the house residents except for two traditionalists, Beyza and Ozgur, who insisted on have white cheese (Turkish style) in the gozleme instead of the infidel banana.
In the past two days I have gone several steps further.
On Thursday night I made 3 different pancakes:
a) banana & chocolate
b) strawberry & Nutella, and
c) banana, strawberry, apricot, chocolate & Nutella.
Last night I devised a savoury version with barbequed chicken, yellow cheese, tomato and green chilli wrapped up in the gozleme. Dry (no oil or fat) frying in a saucepan is a great alternative for a kitchen with no oven or grill.
Gozleme pancakes will now be a regular addition to the menu at the Joe’s Ramblings bachelor pad.
NOTE: Sliced pitted black olives makes a great addition when added to above savoury version.
“…Gabriel Debbas was once the “prince of Beirut,” a powerful Lebanese banker who married a celebrated Hungarian ballerina. He founded Lebanon’s stock exchange and developed the world-famous Casino du Liban, a favorite haunt of Saudi Arabian royalty. He rubbed shoulders with presidents and prime ministers.”
Later in the article:
Debbas was born Dec. 31, 1909, in Mersin, Turkey, then the Ottoman Empire. The Debbas family was prominent, tracing its lineage to 800 A.D., with landholdings throughout the Middle East.
Read more at Prince and ballerina love story survived war, loss, move
