Category: News and Politics

You make the call

My wallet was stolen last November.  What a hassle that was.  You can read more about it here. Six of Ankara's finest arrived on the scene. They spent a couple of hours questioning me at the location, preventing me from calling my credit card companies immediately. They never questioned any of the neighbors who came... Continue Reading →

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What are you smoking?

I realize it is no longer popular to smoke. (By the way, that makes it much more difficult to buy a quick gift from a tourist shop.  Remember the terrible ash trays your parents had in the 70's?)  So this post is not about whether I smoke, cigarette butts on the streets, or banning smoking... Continue Reading →

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May 19th – Controversy Over a Turkish Celebration

May 19th is an official holiday in Turkey.  No, they don't celebrate Malcolm X's birthday!  The date is officially dubbed, "Youth and Sports Day." More importantly, May 19th is the day that  Mustafa Kemal (a.k.a. Atatürk, founding father of modern Turkey) landed at Samsun, which is regarded as the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence. This year's celebration... Continue Reading →

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Newspaper Delivery

March will be two years for me in Ankara, and I have yet to see a mailman, although I am certain they exist. Every once in a while I get mail from my undergrad university, or from the PA Bar Association. Even the IRS seems to get their mail through to me! Yikes! But most... Continue Reading →

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The Duchess of York

I just can't comment on this.  Videos can be found by searching YouTube. Turkey charges Duchess of York over orphan film Turkish prosecutors have charged the Duchess of York for secretly filming a documentary critical of conditions in Turkish orphanages, the Turkish media ANKARA- The Anatolia news agency said the duchess, better known as Sarah... Continue Reading →

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Turkey, Iraq, PKK and the Death of Innocents

29 December 2011 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL The following is the full article as posted in today's paper: Questions abound over airstrike that killed 36 in Southeast The deaths of 36 people, who may have been locals smuggling in goods from northern Iraq, killed in an overnight airstrike by Turkish warplanes in southeastern Turkey have... Continue Reading →

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On Being Gay in Turkey

No, I'm not gay.  Although I do have a former neighbor who might argue that point.  Lot's of my friends are black, I mean gay.  I have to laugh here.  I have heard so many times over the years, upon an acquaintance discovering I am part African-America, the same sentence, "Lots of my friends are... Continue Reading →

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Turkey is Grieving

Last week, I was checking out a friend on facebook and noticed her profile pic (a small icon) was all black.  When I clicked on it, I found a black picture, with a white flower and a red ladybug.  Being the nosy-body that I am, I let her know that she needed to adjust her... Continue Reading →

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Living with Bomb Threats

On September 20th, a bomb went off in the neighborhood of Kizilay, about a 10-15 minute walk from my home.  I was walking down a street in my neighborhood at the time.  I saw the big cloud of smoke, and thought nothing of it. I didn't hear anything.  Moments later, a good friend called to... Continue Reading →

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The Power of Being a Free Woman

Up to 70 percent of all Turkish women are abused by their spouses.  Physically, sexually, emotionally, or financially.  Wow.  Look around you, folks.  That's a lot of women. I remember the looks I got from some "friends" in the States when I decided to marry.  It was as if I had let them down.  Of... Continue Reading →

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