I have been very busy, both work and non-work wise, so I haven’t had time to update the blog. I now just have time to add another image of Ataturk.

The following picture is from an Isbank (“Is Bankasi” in Turkish) bank cheque (or “check” for those who can’t spell properly).

Note that Isbank is a private bank and not government owned. The love of Ataturk in Turkey is not just promoted by the government but from other sectors as well.

An A-class comedian (she’s my second cousin, so I’m slightly biased), Emily Taheny will feature in the next series of Comedy Inc on Australian television. The Sydney Morning Herald requires registration, so here is the article:

Comedy Inc – The Late Shift, Nine, 9.30pm

This sketch-comedy show returns tonight in its usual format, but with more polish than the previous series. It’s huge inkwell of writers – 17 regulars and 25 contributors -has made some attempt to eliminate the lame fillers that always took the shine of the show’s better gags.

The cast includes Ben Oxenbould, Paul McCarthy, Katrina Retallick, Emily Taheny, Mandy McElhinney, Genevieve Morris, Jim Russell and Gabriel Andrews, and the sketches home in on the usual targets of our popular culture, including the TV shows Sunrise, Dancing with the Stars, Lost and 60 Minutes.

Who are Kane Hodder, Martha Reeves, Alex Michel, Lash Leroux and many others?

From these absolute superstars you can pay USD 20 for a live phone call, USD 300 for a phone appearance or USD 5 for a video greeting card. Visit Hollywood Is Calling for all your Z-list celebrity fantasies!

For secular holidays and national events, many schools and government buildings display large Turkish flags and pictures of Ataturk.

The following is from Bakirkoy, European Istanbul and was most likely put up for the 19 May holiday.

The picture is more surreal than the life-like images of Ataturk usually displayed.

Fatih was generous enough to let me stay in his apartment in Bagilar, near the airport in European Istanbul. Fatih was a classmate of Umut’s in Mersin University. He was fun to stay with and I saw a part of Istanbul I had never been to before. Here is Fatih, Umut and Beysun in Ortakoy:

In Istanbul I also met Kerem and Fati.

Kerem is a friend from Mersin, who did his military service in Afghanistan and is now working for a zip manufacturer in European Istanbul.

Fati, an Istanbul native, and I first came into contact when she worked for the University of Santa Barbara Extension, one of many foreign education institutions my company deals with. Last week we finally met face to face over mocha in the suburb of Moda, Asian Istanbul.

Fati is now the corporate communications head for BSH Turkey, whose main brands include Bosch, Siemens and Profilo. Her American boyfriend has spent the last year developing Moda Jewels, an online shop selling Turkish jewellery.

From last weekend: Umut and Beysun’s wedding was held in “Rakkas” a multi-purpose venue located in an old Ottoman mansion on the Bostanci coastline, Asian Istanbul. I felt very privileged to be at the ceremony.

Also at the wedding were Mutlu, Fatih, Tuncay, Cuneyt, Gokhan, Ozge, some of Beysun’s and Umut’s relatives and others I had met previously.

It was a great night, as the following photos hopefully show:

Rakkas

The celebrant presiding over the civil ceremony at the start of the evening

Beysun looking radiant (with the 500 lira hairstyle: the standard fee in Istanbul to prepare a bride’s hair)

An amateur in between two professionals

The cake (using the ‘candle’ feature on the camera)

The bellydancer

Umut hearts Beysun

The wedding car

Taking a leaf from the Turkish tradition of displaying flags for national days and important events, I decided to hang up my Australian flag in tribute to the recently deceased former king of Australian television, Graham Kennedy.

The pipeline from Baku, Azerbaijan to Ceyhan Port, Turkey has just started flowing with oil. It is a major logistical achievement and has huge potential economic benefits for the Caucuses.

The Ceyhan Port is located around 100 km east of Mersin. One day I may have to visit, just to say I’ve been there and to see how large the pipeline actually is. The oil will take several months just to reach the other end of the pipeline!

I haven’t had time to do a full rundown of the Istanbul trip/wedding, so that will have to wait.

Tonight, at 21:45 Turkish time, much of the world will be glued to their TVs watching the European Champions League final.

On Sunday, there was another major soccer event in Istanbul, an event with far greater local ramifications. Fenerbahce beat Galatasaray 1:0 to win the local league title.

By the time the game began I was on the bus to Mersin. However, whilst in Besiktas, on the European side, I did manage to see a special ferry service take a boatload of Galatasaray fans (or hooligans, if you prefer) across the Bosphorous to Kadikoy, the game’s location.

Following are a few photos. Note the real tough heroes on the roof (sarcasm intended).