Eventful weekend

Alhamdulillah, I was able to cross off a couple of my to-dos this weekend.

Alas, I am still sick, but since I started taking Zithromax on Friday night, I think I averted any major setback. I was initially leaning against anything more than Tylenol cold, but I could feel a bit of body ache starting to set in, so I went for it - alhamdulillah, it has paid off. I have two more days of vitamin Z to go, in sha Allah, but already, I feel much better.

On Friday, I finally recharged my TurkCell credits - I got 150 kontors/credits for YTL 25. I spent about half of that on a call to Baba before he left, but I don't anticipate using much more until I leave - we'll see. Maybe MoBaba can use it when he comes. Alhamdulillah, Baba returned home safely. He had a good trip. I spoke with him and Mom on Skype today.

On Saturday morning, I had my Kellogg interview with an alumna. She graduated in 2002, and works for a competitor actually (Oliver Wyman). She was also sick, so we were on equal footing as far as that went. She came about fifteen minutes late, and I got there about fifteen minutes early. It was in Etiler, a place I had considered living before I got here. It is a bit far for walking, and was a YTL 6 taxi ride. Seems like an upscale area. I got a "medium" (whatever they call it) sized hazelnut hot chocolate and parked myself out in front. She said casual, but I went business casual anyways. The guy who interviewed after me showed up in a suit!. I think the interview went okay. She asked the typical questions, but didn't dig too deep into my work experiences, since she already knows what I do for the most part, and also probably to respect the competitive nature of the business. I more or less repeated the same types of answers I gave in the written application.

I took the bus from Etiler and I went back to the office for a bit, before going home to change and figure out a game plan.

I have been a bit concerned that I accidentally left a soft copy of my Stanford application on the internet cafe desktop, given the tremendous amount of sensitive data in the document (e.g., SSN), so I have visited the cafe several times over the past few days to figure out how their system works. I could not find the document and it appears as though everything is deleted after each session, but I'm making a couple of other checks to make sure.

I decided to go have lunch/dinner at Sultanahmet Koftecisi and then try and catch the Whirling Dervish show that (Saturday) evening. I was going to take the Metro, but saw that the Eminonu bus was waiting at the bus stop, so I literally jumped on. I prayed Asr at the Yeni Cami, then I walked to Sultanahmet, trying a mix of new and old routes. I stopped by at the North Shield, but alas, they don't have college games, only NFL (The timing of our game has not been announced either - if it is a late game, I doubt we can find a place that is open through the whole game. We may have to try streaming a radio play by play over the internet.). I prayed Maghrib at the Blue Mosque, and then went for food.

Now, there are quite a few places all over Istanbul that refer to themselves as Sultanahmet Koftecisi, so make sure you go to the right one. I went to the same one my company went to last weekend, as I assume that is the right one. The food was good, and wasn't too pricey. The menu is rather limited - they do kofte, and that is about it. Not even too many varieties of kabab. Unlike Moddasser Bhai, however, I didn't really like the dessert they gave me. Maybe a bite or two of the stuff is ok, but they gave me four slabs in the small plate, and it wasn't so great. I think I paid about YTL 15-20 for everything, including tip. They don't take cards, so they didn't have too much trouble with the YTL 100 note I gave them. They are very, very busy, which is another way to tell what places are good.

I took the tram back down, as I didn't feel like walking. I was initially going to go all the way to Eminonu, but saw the Sirkeci stop was right in front of a train station. I thought I had read that the show was at the old train station, but this seemed to be functional, so I was a bit confused. I got off anyways, figuring it was a good place to start looking - the train tracks couldn't have moved too far, even if there were two stations. Actually, there is only one station, and it is an old station, being the end point of the Orient Express. A rather fancy terminal, I should say. Still, quite an odd place to have the whirling dervish ceremony. I bought the ticket for YTL 30 right there (although you can buy it from several tour stores), and left to walk around, as the show didn't start until 7:30 (it is also on Tuesday at the same time).

I did a bit more exploring (I think I am getting to be rather familiar with the Sultanahmet/Eminonu/Taksim/Mecidiyekoy areas - at least enough to know where I am and where I have to go). I actually came across a place that takes traveler's cheques in that tourist area! Subhanallah. I may make use of it. I don't think the guy was charging any sort of percentage fee either, other than a slightly lower rate. I hung out at an internet cafe for a bit, then went back for the show.

The doors were supposed to open at 715pm, but I reached about then, and it was already full of people. I lucked into an excellent seat, front and center, that was somehow still vacant. Most of the audience was tourists, as you could expect. A few Muslims, but mostly non-Muslims - Europeans I think for the most part.

After a briefly delayed start, someone came up and gave a brief introduction. It sounded a bit extreme (characterization of Rumi). Then seven people, men and women, showed up all dressed similarly, with various instruments (flute, drums, oud, etc.). The first half hour was more or less these people playing. Sometimes it was just the music. The rest of the time, there was some singing of Islamic type dhikr or salawat songs (I found it a bit relieving that at least they kept this much - the group is some kind of modern Mevlevi sect or something). The second half featured the whirling dervishes. They were also seven. They came in all dressed in black robes/jubbahs with the long caps, again mixed. It was quite wierd to see the women dressed that way. They had a very deliberate walk, and sat down on some rug that had been placed on the floor. They immediately went into prostration (although not towards the Qiblah (or Rumi's grave for that matter), if my sense of direction was correct). Quite a few of their activities seemed a bit pretentious, but it was a show after all. I'm not sure how much their hearts were in it. They did quite a bit of bowing, every few steps. Right in front of me, there was a red rug, and whenever they approached it, they bowed and then crossed it. They went in circles several times, then broke out into the spinning circles. I have to give them props for being able to spin so long at least without any visible side effects. Every five minutes or so, they would break/stop, and walk in a circle again, before bowing and spinning again. All the while, the musicians were playing and singing. Quite interesing. I wonder how different it will be in Konya in sha Allah. The show was done within the hour. They were selling some materials, but I didn't find anything terribly interesting - just CDs, books, etc. I took the bus home, and planned to go to Buyukada on Sunday.

I will write about Buyukada, and post pictures for both days), tomorrow in sha Allah...

Eyup and Laylatul Qadr pics

Alhamdulillah, not much new to report at the moment, so I'm just going to post some of the pictures that I had taken during Laylatul Qadr at Eyup. Alas, still sick - I hope I am better by the time I have by Northwestern interview in sha Allah. Muhammad Baba has given me another to-do - I need to find a place that will have the Michigan/Ohio State game playing. Luckily, I noticed a place during my walks around Eminonu that was showing a lot of NFL games called the North Shield or the Red Shield or something. In sha Allah, that looks to be a likely spot, and I'll ask next time I'm in that area.

By the time I came, the place was packed - I had to pray outside with this crowd:

Alhamdulillah, luckily, I brought my jacket at least:

On top of a lot of the mosques were messages - here, it is asking for intercession from the Prophet:

A lot of people were bustling about in the area after taraweeh:

The jannissary band tent was packed, so people watched from outside:


I was inside the tent before, but after I left, I could only watch from outside:

Turkish Vocab (posted 10/29; updated 11/19)

Here is a list of most of the Turkish words I have learned so far, not in any particular order. I may know/learn some more, and I will update this periodically, just like the halal food response in sha Allah. We will start with 100 and work our way up. I am still working on the 100 most useful words though (http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/details/LanguageGuide/100words_lessons/100Words_01.html).

Quite a few are the same in Urdu, Farsi, Arabic, or English.

1. Merhaba (hello)
2. Günaydın (good day/good morning)
3. İyi (good)
4. İyi akşamlar (good evening)
5. Akşam (evening)
6. Gün (day)
7. İyi geceler (good night)
8. Nasılsınız?(how are you)
9. İyiyim (I am fine)
10. Teşekkür (thank you)
11. Teşekkürler (thanks)
12. Evet (yes)
13. Hayır (no)
14. Lütfen (please)
15. Buyurun (come eat)
16. Arkadaş (friend)
17. Kim? (who?)
18. Ne? (what?)
19. Nasil? (how?)
20. Zaman (time)
21. Zemin (ground)
22. Bu ne? (what is this?)
23. Büyük (big)
24. Küçük (small)
25. Orta (medium)
26. Boy (size)
27. Var (there is)
28. Yok (there is not)
29. Ve (and)
30. Veye (or)
31. Otogar (bus station)
32. Camii/mescid (mosque)
33. Tuvalet (bathroom)
34. Postane (post office)
35. Daire (apartment)
36. Rental (kiralık)
37. Kefil (guarantor)
38. Hamam (Turkish bath)
39. Sabun (soap)
40. Sebze (vegetable)
41. Çay (tea)
42. Su (water)
43. Cadde (big road)
44. Sokak (little road)
45. Otobüs (bus)
46. Hafta (week)
47. Pazar (Sunday)
48. Pazartesi (Monday)
49. Cuma (Friday)
50. Cumartesi (Saturday)
51. Şubat (February)
52. Eylül (September)
53. Ekim (October)
54. Sifir (zero)
55. Bir (one)
56. İki (two)
57. Üç (three)
58. Dört (four)
59. Beş (five)
60. Alti (six)
61. Yedi (seven)
62. Sekiz (eight)
63. Dokuz (nine)
64. On (ten)
65. On bir (eleven)
66. Yirmi (twenty)
67. Milyon (million)
68. Milyar (billion)
69. Meyve (fruit)
70. İçecek (drink)
71. Patates (potato)
72. Süt (milk)
73. Ayran (yogurt drink)
74. Peynir (cheese)
75. Ekmek (bread)
76. Erkek (man)
77. Bay (gentleman, sir, or Mr.)
78. Bayram (holiday)
79. Menü (combo, as well as menu)
80. Alışveriş merkezi (shopping mall)
81. Kahve (coffee)
82. Suyu (juice)
83. Elma (apple)
84. Enerji (energy)
85. Saat (hour or time)
86. Dakika (minute)
87. Genel (general)
88. Müdür (manager/director)
89. Genel müdür (general manager/boss)
90. Ziraat (agriculture)
91. Gazoz (pop/soda)
92. -Li or –lu (with)
93. Hava (air/weather)
94. Kuaför (barbershop/hair salon)
95. Deniz (sea)
96. Ak (white/pure)
97. Saray (palace)
98. Ticaret (business)
99. Sanayi (industry)
100. Çok (a lot)
101. Altmış (sixty)
102. Elli (fifty)
103. Kırk (forty)
104. Hastane (hospital)
105. Ne kadar? (how much?)
106. Tamam (okay)
107. Yüz (hundred)
108. Saniye (a second)
109. Bayan (woman/lady)
110. Makbuz (receipt)
111. Fatura (bill)
112. Vişne (cherry)
113. Şeftali (peach)
114. Limon (lemon)
115. Tuz (salt)
116. …nerede? (where is?)
117. Mecburi (mandatory)
118. Cumhuriyet (republic)
119. Anne (mother)
120. Giz (secret, mystery)
121. Saat kaç (what time is it?)
122. Kasım (November)
123. Her (every)
124. Yeni (new)
125. Domates (tomato)
     

Words 101-125 (italicized) were added on 11/19 - three weeks after the original post. I'm averaging over a word a day alhamdulillah, not bad.

Republic Day

Alhamdulillah, I've been a bit sick the past couple of days, and I think it will get worse before it gets better. It is just a cold so far, but it will probably spread to sore throat and maybe fever. I can usually tell the onset is near a couple of days ahead of time. Alas, Osman is also sick. In sha Allah, I hope we get better soon.

Thankfully, at least I had a day and a half off for Republic Day. This is the day that marks the founding of the Turkish Republic by Ataturk in 1922 (I think). Not a good day, from my point of view, given what happened in 1923 and 1924, but at least the Turks drove out the occupiers from various parts of the country.

I really like how my holidays have worked out since coming here - I am essentially trading two days of Thanksgiving for eight and half days between the Eids and this holiday, alhamdulillah. Plus, I will be part of the Christmas to New Years shutdown (unpaid) once I return home in December, in sha Allah.

I'm not sure what all happened to mark this day in terms of parades or anything else, since I didn't really leave the area today, but I'm sure they do something.

Turks are ordinarily very patriotic people. They probably have more flags on display per capita than any other country I know of, including the US. Ordinarily, flags are everywhere. This is what happens on days like today (borrowed online picture of our office building from an earlier holiday):

I think our office building this year has the biggest flags compared to other tall buildings that I could see. They must have custom ordered the flag drapes as soon as they built the building. I could see some fireworks after Maghrib from our floor to the south. I think they must have been launched from the water - either the Bosphorous or the Golden Horn or both. They lasted quite a while, and the color red was quite conspicuous. I could not really detect the grand finale however, and they seemed to end quite abruptly. Still, it was one of the few exciting things I did this brief holiday.

I thought about seeing a movie or the dervishes or Topkapi or something, but in the end, was too sick to bother. I was close to seeing a movie, but the timings aren't as frequent as they are back home, so I would have had to wait quite a while for anything I could watch. The selection is decent, maybe six or seven different shows, but only half or so in English. Of those, Max Payne was the only one remotely appealing to me (now that Hellboy II and Journey to the Center of the Earth aren't playing anymore - I should have seen them when I had the chance!) - there is one called Mustafa, but somehow I can't seem to bring myself to see a movie about the guy, in part due to what he did in 1923 and 1924. I checked both local theaters (in the two nearby malls), but the selection was pretty much the same. The movies seem to change every couple of weeks - they don't last long. When I went to check the Astoria theater this evening, there were finally a lot of people bustling about there - I hadn't seen that before. Khayr in sha Allah, I'm sure something else will come up soon.

Alhamdulillah, I was able to send out the Stanford application in time for the first round. Also, I have scheduled my Northwestern at a Starbucks in a nearby part of Istanbul for Saturday morning at 10am in sha Allah. I Skyped with Mom as well. Also, being sick, I finally decided to turn on the heat a bit. Now all I need is a good blanket!

I did a wordcount of the blog the other day, and we are past 25k at around the halfway mark. I hope I am not boring you readers to death! Who knows, in sha Allah, if at 50k by the end, that would actually be a pretty decent sized book. Of course, I have been known to fill journals in teh past. Read on...

Feedback from restaurants

I will be updating this post as responses come in from US restaurant chains. So far so good!

Here are the first few:

Popeye's on Oct 10:

Greetings from Popeyes,


We would like to thank you for taking the time contacting us with your suggestions.

The Chicken we use in our restaurants is Halal and produced locally in the country, Turkey. We are working with one of the biggest chicken supplier that has the highest quality and sanitation standards in Turkey. And they do produce their chicken Halal.

We hope this information answers your inquire well.

We also hope to see you in one of our Popeyes restaurants. You are going to LOVE THAT CHICKEN! Or as we say in Turkey; BU TAVUGU SEVECEKSiNiZ!


Best Regards,

Tansel Kaplan
IDO (International Director of Operations), Turkey


Domino's on Oct 23:


Dominos Case #: 576160

Dear Mr. Shamsuddin Syed,

Thank you for visiting the Domino's Pizza website. Your question has been forwarded to a team member in our International Division at our World Resource Center.

Sincerely,

Tifani
Domino's Pizza Customer Care T.E.A.M.


Pizza Hut on 10/27 (this one really had me worried, since I ordered a "salami" pizza, and then wasn't sure once I saw it; I guess I have become somewhat trained to find that kind of pizza unappetizing, what can I say?):


Dear sir,

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your e-mail. Our all meat products are from Turkey. So , its Halal . We don’t have any dish that has pork. Also I want you to have make sure that we don’t use any product that ‘’Muslim world’’ don’t eat.

Your next visit to Turkey. We would like to see you in our restaurants .


Best Regards,



Ertunç KAFA
Pizza Hut Türkiye
Operations Mng.

Socialization

Alhamdulillah, I was able to see some people I hadn't met in a while over the past couple of days. While I have yet to meet the local Turkish friends, I saw Yousuf Uncle from India on Friday and some colleagues from the Detroit office on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

I had known that Yousuf Uncle was going to be coming to Istanbul for some time now. However, no one ever told me the exact dates, so I was a bit surprised when my Mom told me on gchat last Wednesday that he was in the country. She gave me his number, and I called immediately. Apparently, Yousuf Uncle had been trying to get ahold of me on both my numbers, but he was unable to connect. I had left my Turkish cell phone at home, so I felt pretty bad, but when I checked, it had no missed calls, so I felt a bit better. He had reached Wendesday afternoon, and had wanted to know where the Nizam's grandfather's palace was and how to get there. He walked around all day, trying to find that and some saffron, but without much success. I would have seen him, and potentially taken him to Dolmabahce, that very night, as I was free, but alas, he had already taken some sleeping pills just before my call, so it wouldn't have worked.

I had some business events the next evening, and though I tried to work around it, that proved impossible. He was leaving late Friday morning, so I could really only see him Friday at breakfast. Yousuf Uncle tried to discourage me from coming the whole time, saying that it was too far and too much of an inconvenience. Me being me, I pushed harder - it was a great opportunity for me.

I made my way down early on Friday. I stopped by the Konyali masjid to pray fajr, but after waiting for a few minutes after the adhan with no activity, I just prayed and left for the Metro. On my way over, I saw a bus heading for Eminonu, so I just took that. It only took 20 minutes that early in the morning (640am), which is probably better than the Metro. I had told Yousuf Uncle I would try to be there by 7, but I ended up reaching around 720 or so, due to the walk and getting lost a few times. Not only did I have to contend with the typical misdirections, but even though I knew the roads I had to go on, most of the roads in this area did not have signs! Eventually, I found the place, the Olimpiat Hotel, alhamdulillah, and my exposure to the area had benefits afterwards.

I was able to spend a couple of hours with Yousuf Uncle, and we had breakfast together. The cereal I had was quite awful actually, for some reason, but the rest was ok. We chatted for a bit - he had a great time in Tanzania and Egypt, although he was pestered by horrible flies in Tanzania and didn't like Egypt as much as Istanbul. The previous day, he had seen Topkapi, the Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque, and Hagia Sophia - he covered a lot of ground, if not everything he wanted. On my way inbound, I had seen the Spice Bazaar, which was set to open at 8. It was very close to his hotel, and since he still wanted to find some sealed Spanish saffron, I figured that was the place to go. He thought it was a good idea, so we set out. Alas, he was unable to find any that fit the exact bill - he didn't want to get the wrong thing, so he didn't buy any here - in sha Allah, I hope he found some at the duty free in Doha, which was his backup plan.

In the meantime, I had stumbled upon what my colleagues later told me was the best baklava place in Istanbul - Gulluoglu (http://www.gulluoglubaklava.com/). Apparently they have a branch in NYC as well. When I tasted it afterwards, it did have a bit of an edge on Shatila in my mind, although to be fair, I usually eat Shatila that is a bit older, not fresh. Anyways, when I bought the stuff, I just wanted to make sure Yousuf Uncle took some baklava and Turkish Delight (lokum) back with him to India (I was unable to find the local branch of Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir (http://www.hacibekir.com.tr/eng/hbekir.html), the best Turkish Delight place, in time). I bought a bunch of the stuff, maybe YTL 40 or so worth, but Yousuf Uncle was only able to take about a third of it, one box of each, because he was already above the limit - I hope everyone liked it!

We walked back to the hotel and hung out for a bit longer. Then I had to take off for work, and so I took my leave. In sha Allah, I hope we meet again in Hyderabad soon. Alas, no pictures this time!

We had a internal company meeting in Istanbul for our Operations practice, so quite a few senior people were in town for a couple of days, including Wim and Steve from back home, and a couple others I knew or corresponded with from other places. Both Thurday night and Friday night, the Istanbul team joined the other colleagues for dinner. Both nights, we had fish. On Thursday, we went to a place called Sevic near Taksim. Alas, it wasn't so great, although it was in a decent location, I guess. The second night, we went on a Bosphorus cruise and ended up at Del Mare restaurant, which was much better, although a bit far. The cruise was alright, and we saw some neat sights, although it was a bit chilly that evening. The restaurant was fancy and had an excellent view of the northmost Asia/Europe bridge, and was on the Asian side. The bridge had lights on it and kept changing colors. The food was better, although I guess I think the fish we have at home and US restaurants is still tastier. We took a bus back to the hotel - traffic into Taksim was as horrible as ever.

Since Steve and Wim were staying the night on Saturday, I offered to show them around after the official tour ended Saturday afternoon. I rejoined the group at Sultanahmet Koftecisi the next day, which Maryam and Moddasser had also recommended (there are a couple, make sure you go to the right one). As they had already started eating, I just ate at nearby Lale restaurant, so as not to interrupt. I hung out until everyone came out and then joined the program. They had seen Topkopi that morning, so perhaps I shouldn't have hit snooze so many times that morning. We proceeded to Hagia Sophia, which I had not yet seen this trip. I was looking forward to it, since last time I came with the family, it had been under construction. Alas, it was still under restoration - it has been under constant work since 1992, due to the humidity! We had a guide explain things, which was nice. Sadly, he could not read Arabic, so I was asked to tell the group what each of the eight circles with names said.

Afterwards, we took a bus to the Grand Bazaar in Beyazit, which I hadn't seen yet this trip either. I wonder why we didn't go to the nearby Blue Mosque first. Anyways, we walked around there for a bit, and the larger group split up. Still, about six or seven of us stuck together, as I had offered to take them to the Blue Mosque. Most didn't seem too interested in shopping, so we got out quickly, after trying to get Turkish coffee in the bazaar. We walked over to the Blue Mosque in about ten/fifteen minutes. We stopped at a coffee place and Wim treated us to some Turkish coffee. We were joined by another colleague who had been negotiating down a nice leather coat to about 1/3 the original asking price.

Everyone like the Blue Mosque. I went in through the tourist entrance for the first time, on the side. Apparently, women don't have to wear a scarf if it is not prayer time. I couldn't tell them why this mosque was so special though, out of all the Ottoman mosques. One colleague had a guide book - perhaps the answer was in there.

I wanted everyone to take back some sweets, so I offered to lead them to the Spice Bazaar and the baklava place I discovered the day before. Everyone was interested in this idea and had the energy to walk. It wasn't far, and I actually cut through the alley that the Olimpiat hotel is in, saving some time. It was quite good once again, and Wim treated us again. Most people bought some stuff to take back. As we exited the Spice Bazaar however, it started raining, so I think that dampened spirits regarding additional exploration. I led everyone to the nearest tram stop and back to the hotel using the tram/funicular for a break. We met after a couple of hours at 730pm for dinner. I wasn't sure what type of place to take them to, but as we walked, we found a decent place. Service was a bit slow. I didn't like my dish too much, the special kebab (beef). The others got the lamb, and it looked much better. Once again it started raining (it has been raining on and off for a few days - even now, I am drying off after being soaked - with wind, even an umbrella does no good), so I led them back to the hotel instead of Haci Bekir. Still, I think everyone had a decent time, and they did see and experience a bit more of the city than they would have otherwise.

Today was rather slow. I finished send over the Stanford essays to Tipu Mamu and Jennifer Momani for review. I spoke with Osman, Mom, and Rabia on Skype, and did some more potato experimentation. Other than that, not much. Suffering a bit from ihramitis of all things unfortunately - I think it is from all the walking I did last weekend at Bursa and then again these past few days. C'est la vie.

I think I forgot to mention, last weekend I had a haircut at the barber shop below my building. For YTL 20, they did a decent job, including the beard, moustache, and a brief shoulder massage. They even gave my head a wash with shampoo afterwards and generally did a good job cleaning up - I don't think I would need to shower after going to that place, which is pretty impressive. I'll have to keep that in mind for next time, in sha Allah.

Anecdotes

Alhamdulillah, so far so good this week. I'm a bit busy between work and essays, but thought I would share a few pics and anecdotes.

I went to a Chicago GSB information session this evening. The room was mostly Turkish people, although the presenter was American. There was one other American and one British guy. It was at the Moevenpick hotel in Levent 4, so I took the Metro up. Chicago seems neat, although not as many research opportunities as I would have liked. There are only two Chicago alumni in Istanbul, so I will probably interview with one of them if I reach that stage in sha Allah.

Last week, I was walking back home when I saw a couple dogs walking around. I moved to the side a bit so I could walk around them, when one, two, three more popped out from behind some debris! I guess they were having a pow wow or something. Needless to say, I went around the whole block and came home from the other side. I thought I was moving to the area with fewer dogs! I guess they move around...

As I've stated, my policy is generally to assume that whatever is on the menu at US chains in Turkey is good to eat, especially if they've been offering iftar specials. However, you can't be too careful. Therefore, I've contacted a bunch of chains to see what the status is in Turkey. I'll let you know once I hear back in sha Allah. Popeye's is already in - good to go!

The YTL has been cratering agains the USD - I get 1.6 YTL for each dollar now. I'm not sure how long this resurgent dollar can last. In sha Allah, I will change more money soon.

I paid the rent on Monday. I guess rent and other utilities all get paid at various banks. You can pretty much go to any bank and pay your bills. It is wierd how that works here. I got my electric, gas, and water bills - YTL 18.2 for electric, YTL 6 for gas, and YTL 20 for water for the first month. I think that is pretty much the main bills. There is also a TV bill that pre-dates me, so I will ignore it, especially since the TV hardly works.

Here are some pics:

The inside of Konyali mosque.

Me and Memo (the store probably thought I was crazy for coming in, taking this shot, and leaving).

Apparently, some people drive Yugos still here.

They will drive Cherys soon too.

They say Bursa is the Detroit of Turkey. I couldn't really see it until I saw this (supposedly a branch of Turkey's leading bank.