In August, Foreign Direct Investment Magazine, part of the Financial Times Business stable, believed Mersin was the Turkish city of the future:

The most popular housing regions for foreign executives are on the Mediterranean coast and villas in the nearby Toros mountains. The Tarsus American High School founded in 1888 prepares bilingual students for universities in Turkey and overseas. Manual workers are paid an average of €4.36 per hour, while secretaries and middle managers make just €4740 and €7272 per year respectively. The city’s administrators have an international outlook and are actively seeking foreign investors.

On a point of difference, I have extreme doubts about manual workers being paid an average of €4.36 per hour here. Maybe €1.36 per hour!

Hopefully, the article has foreign investment executives looking at Mersin as a place to invest.

On Saturday afternoon a thunderous noise alerted work to the ‘Turk Yildizlari’ or ‘Turkish Stars’, a Turkish airforce jet stunt team. Although They were performing for the assembled audience at Cumhuriyet Meydani (Republic Square), away from work, our office could still see the jets fly past. In ones, twos and the odd multiple formation the Turkish Stars put on a thrilling display flying at low altitude just above the city apartment blocks.

See here for a picture and news article (in Turkish) and here for the official page’s photo gallery.

According to an article from TrackProfile.com in runnersweb.com:

The 2005 Winter Throwing Cup will be held in the southern Turkish cith of Mersin.

Whatever it is (all the athletic throwing competitions in a throw-off? Dwarf throwing? Something to do with with running?), it will be different for Mersin and definitely worth going to.

UPDATE [2005/01/31]: See the official 2005 Winter Throwing Cup website at Mersin2005.org.

In August I wrote an article about my friend, Huseyin abi (photo), and his shop, Can Can Tekel ve Bufe. Huseyin abi was having financial difficulties. Basically, the profit from the shop did not cover his family’s expenses. I helped him change the shop and provide some inspiration in the hope sales would get better.

For the past year I have spent many evenings with Huseyin abi at his shop, chatting in Turkish with hand signals and enjoying each other’s company. Now, I will spend no more evenings there with him.

Last month Huseyin showed me the sign on the shop window saying the shop lease contract was for sale. One evening last week I walked past Can Can Tekel ve Bufe and Huseyin was not there. In place of Huseyin was a family. The next day I bought some chewing gum and the young man (well, younger than me) at the counter confirmed that Huseyin had finished. This was reconfirmed when I spoke to Yasar from Istanbul Pastanesi, a cake shop across the street. Huseyin had gone to Ankara where his family comes from. I think Huseyin and his family will be based in Mersin until his son will finish the school year and/or the house rental contract is up. From previous discussions, he is likely to look for a driving job as his next earner. Whatever he does I’m sure he will enjoy not being stuck at the shop for 80-90 hours each week.

Huseyin is a good man but he is not a marketing or retail person. It is just not in him. After a few years at the shop he was not very motivated and happy to get out of it. Can Can Tekel ve Bufe is still there in name, but its heart has changed. Although I have only seen a little of the shop under new management, it looks better and cleaner. I wonder how it will work out for them.

I will miss Huseyin abi, but the shop won’t miss him nor will he miss the shop.

Last week I finished reading my first novel in a long time, Star, by Danielle Steel. In a place with a large selection of English reading material I would be embarrassed to go near a Danielle Steel book. Mersin is not such a place. Sevil gave me the second-hand paperback novel when she returned from the UK in summer.

I took a few months to read the first 60 or so pages. The last 340 pages were read in 4 nights. On one night, after 10 pm, I went through 170 pages (Shannon, you would be proud)! I was hooked and could not wait to read the next chapter.

Putting it simply, Star is a roller coaster story of love between a man and a woman set after World War 2 – sound clichéd and done-to-death? I didn’t find it so (maybe because I had nothing to compare it to).

The story involves different subjects, including: racism, politics, the basis of marriage, war, the Hollywood Machine and many, many others. Star contained several plot twists and most of the time I was clueless as to where the story was going next. I recommend it!

This novel has kick-started my reading habit and I hope to read several more books from now on.

Well, Today I don’t feel proud to be Australian. The fact that a dishonest, policy-free government can get re-elected is disgraceful. They may even control the upper house of parliament as well, either on their own or with the help of Christian fundamentalists, Family First.

The main reasons for the re-election I believe were:

a) The strong, low-interest rate assisted economy

c) Latham’s name was not well know enough – he had not been in federal politics long enough

b) The pro-Howard mass media

For their assistance with this election the Murdochs and Packers will want a payout. Expect the media ownership rules to be drastically loosened. The ABC will continue to lose funding, whilst at the same time, face more governmental pressure.

I’m glad I got my university degree when it was affordable – soon only the rich will be able to afford one.

At least I helped with the change in party sitting in my local seat of Hindmarsh.

Australian deserves what it gets. Following is an example of why Australia has re-elected its government. This discussion was on another blog with two other Australians – one living in Australia (P1), the other another expatriate (P2). For privacy reasons their names are not included:

Joe: P2, perhaps New Zealand could be a good place to live if incumbent party wins the election this Saturday (not a good thought).

P1: Better the devil you know, than the devil with botox in his forehead, whose party has a history of f*cking up the economy..

P2: Give me a frigged economy over the Liberal party anyday. And give me the Libs over life in NZ in either case.

Joe: Botox is a bigger sin than lying to the Australian public when taking Australians to war?

P1: Yeah, it is. Botox is about lying to the Australian Public on a daily basis about what you really look like.

P1: If someone is going to lie about that, how can you have any trust for what is coming out of their mouth?

I checked my stats this morning and found I have a record number of visitors for a day and it is only 8.30 am! Most of the visitors have arrived here via a search for Fishty Cuffs, a fun game to play with an Australian election theme. The game was devised in conjunction with Sydney Aquarium and has a fish theme.

I guess Fishty Cuffs received media attention in Australia earlier today (the election is tomorrow). For convenience, the post where I link to Fishty Cuffs is here.

UPDATE: As suspected, Fishty Cuffs did receive a media mention: in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Spike column near the bottom of the page.

Last night a storm hit Mersin. Although there was thunder, lightning and rain it was not a major storm – except for the fact I can’t recall rain in Mersin since the start of summer 4 months ago months ago. The storm brought the frogs out and by the time I left work there were several small, mustard coloured hopping things hanging around the front of the office.