Turkey: The Land of the Hijab and the Bikini

Alas, as a Turkish-American, I fear that tourists will opt to gaze upon the bodies of attractive young women in bikinis in the Greek island of Kos as opposed to the Turkish resort of Bodrum which is a mere three miles away from Kos, due to riots and unrest in Istanbul and other Turkish cities, including Ankara and Izmir.

Turkey is a land caught between the Hijab and the Bikini, and Islamist conservative Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose regime is at the center of the chaos, has manipulated his conservative base in central Anatolian cities, like Yozgat, Konya and Sivas, to counter the protests even as it is likely to further divide the country and cost Turkey millions of lost revenue in the tourism sector.

The BBC is reporting that a lone standing man who stood alone in silence in Taksim Square earlier in the day in Istanbul has become a symbol for the Turkish people in their collective stand against an oppressive government. He has been identified as 'The Standing Man of Istanbul."

With that in mind, we are looking at what exactly the definitions of the hijab and the bikini are, as well as the ever intriguing burqini fashion trend in the Muslim world, which we suspect might be popular along the beaches of Dubai and Algeria:

Hijab: A veil which covers the head which is particularly worn by a Muslim female beyond puberty in the presence of non-related adult males.

Bikini: This is a type of women's two-piece swimsuit designed to provide minimal coverage of the body. One part covers the breasts and the part that covers the groin and part or the entire buttocks.

Burqini: A swimsuit for Muslim women designed by Lebanese Australian Ahena Zametti. The suit covers the whole body, except the hands, feet and face,

http://www.kosinfo.gr/

http://www.bodrum.org

http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com (Our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" which features the same topic, but different text and images)

Top Five More Countries Turkish PM Erdogan Should Defect To

Wow! The Bulgarian flag (pictured bottom) sure looks funky on this blog, as its white stripe at the time seems invisible.

Bulgaria is one of ten countries, we think disgraced Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should escape to; the other five are listed on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com


Here we go:

1) Uzbekistan (pictured top): This former Soviet Republic is Sunni Muslim and has close ties with Turkey and lots of open spaces; it is also supposedly a dictatorship. Erdogan should be at home there.

2) Morocco (pictured middle): Unlike other Erdogan critics, I think the prime minister's traveling to Morocco at the height of the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul wasn't a mistake. His faux pas was returning from there!

3) Bulgaria: Why not?!

4) Sudan: Lots of desert, and the dictator of Sudan has a solid partnership with the current Turkish government. In normal times, this was an outrage and embarrassment to those of us of Turkish heritage. But, now if Sudan takes Erdogan, all of us will jump for joy like children at the zoo in Gulhane Park in Istanbul. Oh! I forgot. Erdogan had that demolished.

5) Tunisia: The second country Erdogan visited on his north African tour. Perhaps, he stayed at a hotel in Tunis that he can imagine spending 30 years in.

Word of the Day: Megalomania

Though we are going with an image of the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, the man we had in mind for this entry is Turkey's notorious prime minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A few years ago while visiting Bursa, Turkey, I saw a sticker with a toilet plunger which said: "AK Parti'yi Istemiyoruz/We don't want the AK-Party." And, given that Erdogan is from the ruling AK-Party, which couldn't agree more.

We suspect that our blogs might be blocked in Turkey as we have been very critical of the Turkish government, but hopefully, this can perhaps reach someone in neighboring Bulgaria.

Here is today's word of the day:

'Megalomania" (from Wikipedia): " This is a psychopathological disorder characterized by delusional fantasiesof power, relevance, and omnipotence.

Our Ten Favorite Comic Strips of the Week: Cubicle Dwellers, Aliens and Rural Kentuckians

Though it has never been mentioned in the comic strip, we suspect that "Barney Google and Snuffy Smith," one of the oldest running American comic strips in existence, takes place in a remote, rural place like Harlan, Kentucky, where one will likely find revival preachers.

It makes this initial entry on our ten favorite comic strips from the Sunday pages, along with "Brewster Rockit: Space Guy" in which 'our hero' must be fight to save planet Earth from an alien insectoid invasion, and "Dilbert" in which a bald-headed executive gives workplace strategies to Dilbert.

By the way, there is a UFO Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, of all places, not far from where the Gezi Park protests, against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the authoritarian prime minister of Turkey. 

Here are the Top Ten, in alphabetical order, as opposed to order of preference:

1) "Barney Google and Snuffy Smith"(John Rose is now the cartoonist of the strip)

2) "Brewster Rockit: Space Guy"

3) ""Dilbert"

4) "Doonesbury" (this one was really awesome!)

5) The Duplex

6) "F-Minus"

7) "Knight Life" (Keith Knight continues his 'Life's Little Victories' series)

8) "Mother Goose and Grimm"

9) "Non Sequitir"

10) "Speed Bump"

http://www.dilbert.com

http://www.doonesbury.com

http://www.knightlifecomic.com

http:///www.ufoevidence.org (not an endorsement)

http://www.harlancountytrails.com

Yes, Prime Minster_ Turkish PM Says Protestors are 'Terrorists'

We were looking for an image of a woman in a red dress, but all we could find were famous celebrities, such as Cindy Crawford. But, the 'woman in red' we are referring to is an unknown Turkish woman wearing a red dress who was sprayed by a water cannon. The image of what was done to her has been the one which has most damned Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his grave mishandling of a protest to not develop at the historic Gezi Park in the Taksim part of Istanbul.

We asked Google who the woman was, and all we could find was an article in "The Daily Mail" (UK) explaining how many students in the same vicinity as the woman in red were also targeted by the police.

The protests in Turkey have made headlines around the world: "The Hurriyet Daily News" in Turkey quotes President Abdullah Gul as saying the protests were more like Occupy Wall Street than the even more massive Tahrir Square protests in Egypt (yeah, we aren't buying that either). "The Jerusalem Post," an English-language newspaper in Israel, looked at the nuanced differences between the Turkish and Egyptian protests, one of which is that Erdogan is a democratically-elected leader. And, "Dutch News" reported that people of Turkish heritage in the Netherlands held demonstrations in both Amsterdam and The Hague.

With that, we turn our attention to Erdogan, whom we feel is more or less as coniferous as this great white shark from South Africa pictured, who made the following dubious quote about the protests: "This is a protest organized by extremist elements," he said. "We will not give away anything those who live arm-in-arm with terrorism."

SIDEBAR: Those who might be traveling to Baltimore, Maryland, here in the United States, can partake in glimpses of sandbar sharks and giant Pacific octopuses/octopi; we are not sure if any of the octopi are predicting the outcomes of weekend Major League Soccer games this weekend.

http://www.dutchnews.nl

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

http://www.jpost.com

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com

http://www.aqua.org

Tweets on Events in Turkey, 3rd Entry

Here is our third entry on tweets posted within the the last 24 hours about the citizen uprisings throughout Turkey, which was started by environmentalists in the Taksim Square section of Istanbul, and has spread all over Anatolia.

There is one tweet here Ceylan Ozbudak, who is a female reporter for Al Arabiya, which seems like the Fox News off the Middle East as she actually defended the corrupt Turkish Prime Minsiter Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a time of tremendous national unity in opposition to the government in Ankara. The BBC is reporting that police have left the Gezi Park area where the protests originated:

1) ATAA (the main Turkish-American assembly): ATAA CALLS FOR RESTRAINT FROM ALL SIDES DURING PROTEST AND POLICE CLASHES IN ISTANBUL.

2) Emre Kizilkaya: "I saw that the people at #occupygezi are 'ordinary' people young and senior. They're the 99 percent.

3) Ceylan Ozbudak: "Those who think this a protest for democracy know what you are supporting. Communist flags all over Taksim" (she fails to mention that both the the secular right and secular left as well as political centrists are united in opposition to Erdogan).

4) Jose M. Calatayud: "I saw many ATMs damaged. Actually, I have ran out of cash and couldn't anywhere near near the centre."

5) Jeffrey Gibbs:"Yes, yes, but it seems Turkey just passes from one violent hand to another. If Erdogan goes, what comes in his place?" (Though this is a valid point, we differ with the opinion as any government would be better than the current far right Islamist regime)

6) Laetoli: "Access to Facebook in Turkey is blocked right now, we're afraid that Twitter may be blocked soon."

7) Haaretz.com: "Protestors defiant as #Turkey unrest goes into third day; more than 900 arrested ad 1,000 injured so far."

NOTE: The above image if a TRT (Turkey Radio Television) test pattern that was used whenever tv coverage went down during the 1970s and '80s.

http://www.ataa.org

http://www.haaretz.com

More Tweets Regarding Events in Turkey

The BBC is reporting this hour that some 40,000 pedestrians crossed from the European side of Istanbul to the Asian side of the city by walking over the Bosporus Bridge.

This above photo is of Istikal Caddesi, the main street in Beyoglu, the cultural hub of Istanbul, which is in close proximity to Taksim where the initial protests against the right-wing government started, but those protests spread into Istikal Caddesi.

The main issue raised by the protestors is that Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taking Turkey into Islamic fundamentalism, which is in direct conflict with the foundations of the modern state set by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923.

These protests also originated as an environmental protest to preserve Gezi Park, the only remaining open space in Istanbul. Ironically, there are reports that both Turkish liberals and Turkish secular nationalists have set aside differences to form a coalition in the protests.

Here are the tweets:

1. BBC News: "Fresh clashes in Ankara and Istanbul. Turkey's two biggest cities between anti-government demonstrations and police."

2. Today's Zaman (an English-language edition of the conservative Turkish newspaper "Zaman"): "Stability guaranteed by upholding freedoms, US says on Gezi Park protests."

3. Najwa Mekki: Was in #Taksim #Turkey last weekend and saw riot police but couldn't figure out why. Now I get it. #OccupyGezi

4. Osman Kaytazoglu: "Police is not stepping back heavy teargas use."

5. A Tzanakopolous (A Greek tweeter; Turkey and Greece have been traditional ethnic rivals, but there is no sense of that here): "Our brothers and sisters in Istanbul brutally attacked for defending their city."

6. Gizzy MagicPants (We have no idea what this person's real name is): "This time yesterday, police attacked sleeping protestor in Taksim Gezi Parki and started a chain reaction."

7. Can Yeginsu: "As the crowds surge into #Taksim, Turkish tv refuses to broadcast the popular unrest, a dark day for the press #taksimgeziparki

Tweets Regarding the Revolutionary Stand Against Right-Wing Government in Turkey

Protestors have taken to the streets not only in Istanbul, but in Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and even the eastern Black Sea city of Samsun following police crackdowns against citizens bonding to protest plans to build on Gezi Park, the last remaining open space in Istanbul. The protests are also largely aimed at Turkey's right-wing government lead by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Here are some tweets regarding these events:

1) Hurriyet Daily News: #US and #EU concerned by violent raid against #Taksim Gezi Park protestors.

2) Gigi Ibrahim (a leader of the Tahrir Square movement in Egypt): Latest from a comrade in #Taksim Square: The movement is raising the slogan: "Turn Taksim into Tahrir!".........we support you.

3) Goksen Asia: "Watch Turkish people crossing the bridge for #occupygezi"

4) Zeynep Tufekci: "NYT has Turkey protests on cover. Turkish paper Sabah, not. Why social media matters."

5) Global Revolution: "Everyone has to watch this. All of #Istanbul flashes their lights in solidarity with #occupygezi protestors."

6) Heather Marsh: "More than 40,000 people are now crossing Bosporus Bridge in #Istanbul to join protests."

7) Simge Yarayici: "NYC! Tomorrow! Zuccoti Park! 12 pm! We will be in solidarity with #occupygezi occupiers."

Quote of the Day/Week- Drew Brees

When I was a kid in 1979, I recall seeing a newspaper photograph of New Orleans Saints fans wearing bags over their heads as the team was playing dismal football.

But, thanks to current Saints quarterback Drew Brees, 33, who ironically helped the team win the Super Bowl in 2010 by defeating the Indianapolis Colts, whose quarterback is Peyton Manning_ the son of the legendary Saints quarterback Archie Manning, no one wears bags over their heads at the Superdome any more.

Brees played college football for Purdue University in Indiana, and he is originally from Austin, Texas. Here is his quip:

"We found something was working....and, we stuck with it."

SIDEBAR: Since there are sitting members of the U.S. Congress, including Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC), a conservative Democrat who stated he was stepping down at the end of his term this year, who were once pro athletes, it may seem like the odd mixture of sports and politics is a uniquely American team.

But, in Turkey, my late father's country, that is definitely not the case.

In fact, Turkey's current prime minister, the politically conservative Recep Tayyip Erdogan (whom I oppose politically) was once a soccer player for the Istanbul team Kasimpasa, now playing in the second division. The team actually now plays its games in what is now Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium.

Two of Turkey's soccer legends Tanju Colak and Hakan Sukur, who both played for Istanbul powerhouse GalataSaray (Tanju also played for that team's main rival Fenerbahce), both members of Erdogan's AK-Party, have made efforts to enter the Turkish parliament.

SIDEBAR TWO: As Al Pacino, whose films seem to always perform well at the Turkish box office, said in "The Godfather, Part III," regarding the mafia: "I wanted to get out, but they kept dragging me back in."

The same could be said for Turkish soccer, which has not generated as many blog hits from Turkey as I would like (but, we are popular in Slovenia?!).

But, there have been some interesting developments in the Turkish Premiere League, both domestically and in European play.

Yesterday, Istanbul powerhouse Besiktas beat the Portuguese team Braga in Portugal 2-0 with a goal coming from the Portuguese player Simao Sabrosa (who plays for the Turkish team). Over the weekend, Besiktas tied SivasSpor 1-1 in domestic play.

GalataSaray, which did not qualify for European play, beat KayseriSpor 1-0 over the weekend on a goal from Brazilian player Felipe Melo in the 32nd minute.

Our favorite team BursaSpor was also victorious as they beat MainsaSpor 3-1 in part from a goal from Gokcek Vederson, a Brazilian national who not only obtained Turkish citizenship, but also changed his named (Gokcek is a Turkish name).

SIDEBAR 3: Cross-cultural players have actually become the norm in European soccer, especially in Turkey. PM Erdogan's former team Kasimpasa beat second league-rival Karsiyaka (Izmir) 1-0 on a last-minute goal from Halil Colak, a Turkish player born in Holland who is classified as a Turkish national.

Kasimpasa also features Azar Karadas, a Norwegian-born player of Turkish heritage. He is a Norwegian national.

Lastly, this team which is in second place in their league, features Ali Bilgin, a German-born player of Turkish heritage who plays for........Germany.

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Greece and Israel Are in a Relationship

Greetings from the Starbucks in Front Royal, Va., a town where actor Robert Duvall once resided in a horse farm (we are not actually in Front Royal but there is a Starbucks there), where today we are posting about a new pact between Greece and Israel.

I suppose the headline does indicate a slight Turkish-American bias (for those of you in Welch, WVa, where in all probability no Greek-American or Jewish person resides, Turkey and Greece were enemies but are now friends. Conversely, Turkey and Israel were friends, but well things have changed!).

According to a tweet from The Jerusalem Post, Greek and Israeli relations have improved since the infamous flotilla raids. While the pirate-style invasions of the relief vessels meant to give food and aid to Palestinians made international headlines because of the raid aboard the Turkish ship The Marmara which killed nine people all of whom were Turkish, several Greek ships were targeted in the same dubious effort as well.

But, this week eight Israeli choppers are taking part in search and rescue efforts in southern Greece, according to the Israeli newspaper.

Conversely, right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Athens in August, and the Jersualem Post reports he has no such plans to dine with the Erdogans in Ankara (Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom a friend of mine in Bursa, Turkey, calls The Turkish Bush is the PM of Turkey).

SIDEBAR_ Today, we add Mercy High School in Omaha, Neb., to our long list of High Schools of the Week. We were wondering why the school, nicknamed The Monarchs, had no football team until we found out they were an all-girls' Catholic school. Carolyn Jaworski is the principal of the school, which has its own Facebook and Twitter pages.

Things We Learned From the BBC This Week- Turkish Embassy Hostage-Taker in Jail

Given that relations between Ankara and Jerusalem have soured since both countries elected far-right prime ministers in Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Benjamin Netanyahu respectively, the last thing neutral observers in Washington, DC, would have wanted indeed happened this week.

The BBC reported that Nadim Injaz, a Palestinian man, took hostages in the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv on Tuesday in a misguided effort to seek political asylum.

Injaz, who reportedly suffers from mental illness and attempted a similar effort at the British embassy in Tel Aviv four years ago, took two hostages who were later freed. He entered the embassy with a knife, a can of petrol and a toy gun.

Tensions between Turkey and Israel, once the best of friends, has been considerably tense since Israeli commandos raided the Marmara flotilla on May 31 and killed eight Turkish nationals, including a Turkish-American college student from New York state with dual citizenship, who were attempting to give food and aid to Palestinians in the West Bank. The incident set up a fury of demonstrations in Turkey from all sectors of the country, but the most vocal ones were from conservative Muslims.

The BBC updated the story today by saying that Injaz will be held in jail for at least one week. Injaz's lawyer Avital Horev made a surprising statement when he said that his client was wanted by Palestinian authorities for collaborating with Israeli security agents. This claim was denied by the Israeli government.

SIDEBAR: Yes, yes, yes, it is a running gag on this blog now because I frequently name a given high school somewhere in the United States as The High School of the Week. But, if one pays attention, they will notice that no two schools ever come from the same state.

For Wyoming, we are thus choosing Kelly Walsh High School in Casper- a town that was not named after a certain Harvey Comics character ("Casper the Friendly Ghost").

We have no idea who Kelly Walsh was, but the high school that's named after him/her opened in 1965. The school nickname is The Trojans, and they have 1, 500 students.

Brad Diller is the school principal, and Jim Horne is the football coach.

Interestingly enough, rodeo is offered as a sport at Kelly Walsh High School!

Five People You'll Meet in Hell (satire)

Before I start typing away here, I do want to mention that I am certainly NOT the first person to satire Mitch Albom's book "The Five People You Meet in Heaven." In fact, I found out while researching this piece that there is a satire book entitled (obviously!) "The Five People You Meet in Hell" by Rich Pablom.

I have read neither book, but I made a quick list of five people I would meet if well, things didn't 'quite work out:'

1) Jay Leno- Yes, like all Conan O'Brien fans I hate this guy's guts. My blogger friend Phil Nugent has a great link on his blog to another blog which proclaims that Leno is Satan himself. No disagreement here! The blog "Stuff White People Like" also has a feature on Conan. I think Leno is hip for those who always vote Republican, go to evangelical churches, or watch Lawrence Welk and reruns of "Are You Being Served?"
Even my 70-year-old mom prefers David Letterman.

2)Pat Robertson- He should be numero uno actually. A letter-to-the-editor in "The Roanoke Times" (Roanoke, Va.) actually praised this evil tv evangelist for his comments about how Haiti's earthquake disaster was caused by a pact with Hot Stuff. A letter I have written to a newspaper in Greensboro, NC, condemning Robertson has alas yet to be published?!

3) Recep Tayyip Erdogan- This man is the prime minister of my late father's country Turkey. People of Greek and Armenian heritage seem to arbitrarily hate anyone who is Turkish, which is of course NOT the reason I hate this man. In fact, they are the few people who have ever made me defend him! But, Turkey's first openly Muslim fundamentalist PM has been a nightmare from day one. A Turkish friend of mine called him "The Turkish Bush." His wife wears a head scarf and he can't speak English?! His diplomatic skills are horrible though like his American counterpart Erdogan does connect with rural people. Erdogan also made a bonehead remark on "The Charlie Rose Show" critisizing Israel while defending Ankara's working relationship with Iran. All of this makes me want to reach for the raki* bottle!

*-A Turkish alcoholic drink similar to the Greek drink Ouzo. It is potent to put someone on their %$&!

4) Dick Cheney- I think even if I were a Republican I would believe this man was an agent of Satan himself!

5) Sarah Palin- She is Dick Cheney minus the brain and .............well, this is a family blog! (see Cheney's first name)