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Turkey is in turmoil. Rumors of explosions, actual explosions, politicians proclaiming truisms and nothing more, toxic political environment, political deadlock, inactive opposition... Just adds to the stress at our biggest project at the office. In my daily commute, I find much needed solitude in listening to BBC4's excellent podcasts on history. I'd like to share three recent episodes that I really enjoyed for those of you who want an escape from the madness going on around us. Rumi's Poetry: Mevlana in Turkish, Rumi is a household name in Turkey, but we are educated very poorly about his life or works. This podcast is a great introduction to a deep subject, and a fresh look at the fact that Islam is not a monolithic culture:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06ztx2w Haitian Revolution: The only example of a successful slave revolution is the Haitian Revolution. Also an example of how the international system can suffocate any deviating countries from the internati...

Tarih'in akışının bizi götürdüğü yönü ilerleme olarak adlandırmayı bırakalı çok uzun zaman oldu. Tarih'in kör bir kendini tekrardan ibaret olduğunu da düşünmüyorum. 1970'lerden beri Mark Twain'e atfedilen "tarih kendini tekrar etmese de kendi ile kafiyelidir" - "history does not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes" sözü şu an tarihin akışı ile ilgili düşüncelerimi en  iyi anlatan söz durumunda. Dünya'nın geçirdiği bu çalkantılı günleri 1848 Avrupa Devrimleri'ne benzeten yazılar okuyorum birkaç zamandır. Türkiye'nin geçirdiği günler bana daha çok şu aralar okumaya başladığım Goya'nın hayatı nedeniyle 1808-1823 arası İspanyol tarihini hatırlatıyor. Fransız Devrimi'nin Gaspçısı Napoleon tarafından işgal edilen İspanya'nın başına Napoleon'un kardeşi kral olarak getirilir. Bu dönemde Goya'nın da içinde bulunduğu aydınlar Fransız İhtilali'nin rüzgarı ile bu gelişmeyi desteklerler. Taa ki 1808 yılının 2 Mayısında F...

Soykırım, Tehcir, Büyük Felaket, Katliam... Adı ne olursa olsun, modernitenin kan fışkıran ilk volkanının yerlerinden ,yurtlarından ettiği, eziyet edip öldürdüğü/ölüme terk ettiği tüm halklarının anısına; aynı yüz yılda patlayan ikinci nefret volkanının yeryüzünden sildiği Ukrayna Yahudi'lerinin anısına yazılan Babi Yar senfonisini ithaf etmek isterim: Yaşanan acıları ve utançları "Soykırım, Tehcir, Büyük Felaket, Katliam... ... Bunlardan hangisi?" sorusuna kurban etmekten hiç memnun değilim. Sorunun cevabı belli: bu acılara maruz kalanlar ne diyorsa cevap O'dur...

Just one midnight feeling: Detail from Villa Romana del Casale ( link ) So we go inside and we gravely read the stones all those people all those lives where are they now? With the loves and hates and passions just like mine they were born And then they lived and then they died seems so unfair and I want to cry

"So we go inside and we gravely read the stones All those people, all those lives Where are they now? With loves, and hates And passions just like mine They were born And then they lived And then they died It seems so unfair I want to cry Cemetry Gates - The Smiths " 15.10.2013 - Pompeii (*) Link to Youtube Video

"Six Four" - "23" - "Candle" - "Never Forget." These words does not exists on the Chinese side of the internet. In these wild days of the Internet, it seems like what does not show up in your search results, is simply not there. So the Chinese authorities are using the very same routers and servers that made the so-called "social-web revolution" possible to erase an authentic People's revolution in the Peoples Republic of China... In case you have forgotten, in the middle ages before Twitter and Facebook "revolutionized" the "way we interact" or before the "Arab Spring" brought fresh winds of "democracy" to the "suppressed" people of the world the fire  it was still possible to gather hundreds of thousands of people around the common cause of ending repression. In case you have forgotten, or never heard of it, its name was Tianenmen: Source: (Catherine Henriette/AFP/Getty Im...

Geçen Cumartesi bir aile büyüğünden şu kısa hikayeyi dinledim: Tanrı'ya şeytan ile insanı sormuşlar: İkisini de ben yarattım, Şeytan'dan değil İnsan'dan korkarım demiş. Şans eseri bir gün sonra yayınlanan Behzat Ç'nin yaratılanların en canisi, en vahşisi insanların ülkemizdeki vukuatlarından 80li yıllara denk gelenlerini konu etmişti. Kurtlar Vadisi, Yıldız Masalı, Kuzey Güney, Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne gibi "gerçekçi" ve "değerli" dizilerin yapımcıları alınmasın ama Türk televizyonlarında belki de sinemalarında görmeye alışmadığımız gerçeklikte işkence görüntülerinin arasında insan doğasının vahşet kadar ayrılmaz parçası olan evlat sevgisi üzerinden ilerledi hikaye. Aklıma U2 İstanbul konseri sonrası blog'a eklediğim ve U2'nun beni en çok etkileyen şarkısı geldi: Kaybolanların Anneleri. Kaybolanlarin Anneleri U2 Geceyarisi, Ogullarimizi, kizlarimizi kopardilar aldilar bizden. Hala kalp atislarini duyariz, Kalp atislarini... ...

Have you ever called someone up, and you're disappointed when they answer the phone?  You wanted the machine.  You know, and you're always kind of thrown off, you go "Oh, I eh, I - I didn't know you were there, I ah - just wanted to leave a message saying, sorry I missed you." So here what we have is two people who hate each other, don't really ever want to talk, but the phone machine is like this relationship respirator keeping these marginal brain dead relationships alive .And we all do it -- Why? So that when we come home, you can see that little flashing red light; You go "all right, messages." You see, people need that.  It's very important for human beings to feel they are popular and well liked amongst a large group of people that we don't care for. From legendary The Bubble Boy Episode. Just replace answering machine with Facebook. Of course there was no Facebook in the eighties. But the people were, well..., people if you know wha...

  Kaybolanlarin Anneleri  U2 Geceyarisi, Ogullarimizi, kizlarimizi kopardilar aldilar bizden. Hala kalp atislarini duyariz, Kalp atislarini... Rüzgar getirir bize gülüslerini, Ve yagmur da gözyaslarini. Kalp atislarini duyariz, Kalp atislarini... Gece asilmistir, bir tutsak gibi, Kapkara ve masmavi. Kalp atislarini duyariz, Kalp atislarini... Agaclarda ciplak ve asilidir ogullarimiz, Duvarlar ardindan aglar kizlarimiz, Yagmur getiri bize gözyaslarini... Demokrasi dersi veren bir Basbakan, Cumartesi Annelerinin birilerinin oyuncagi oldugunu söylüyor. Muzik videosunun sonunda insanlari kolilere doldurup Pasifik'e attiran Devlet baskani konusuyor: "Hukumet özgürlükler icin vardir. Insanlarin özgürlügü, paranin özgürlügü. Ve bu hükümet özgürlükleri saglamak icin otoriter olmalidir." Ne güzel özgürlük, kuslar, böcekler falan. Ülkemize demokrasi getirmeye and icmis, halktan aldigi gücle ülkenin yönetiminden sorumlu olan hükümete, Bono'nun Pino...

Me and my friends were on our way to King Hekataios' banquet. Except that I don't have a Facebook account, and its not my picture. This is from one of the newest archaeological finding in South Western Turkey. Do have a look at the pictures of the findings ( link to the gallery )

Julius Sezar'in buyuk yegeni Octavius üclü baskanlik sistemindeki rakiplerini tek tek egale ettikten sonra de fakto olarak tüm Roma topraklarina hükmediyordu. Ancak Roma anayasasi hala bir cumhuriyet anayasasiydi. Dolayisiyla Octavius'un bir sekilde kendi anayasa ustu gucunu senatoya kabul ettirmesi gerekiyordu. Bunun icin cok sinsi bir taktik uyguladi. Senato'nun aldigi kararlarin uygulanmasini engellerken, ote yandan tum guclerini Senato'ya iade eder gibi yapti. Bassiz bir tavuga donen Senato mecburen Octavius'a tüm yönetici yetkileri verdi. Senato'nun Cumhuriyetci kanadi muhalefetini artirdigi birkac yil sonra yine ayni oyunu oynadi Octavius. Secimlere kendi istegiyle katilmasa da, halk arasinda Senato'nun kendisini secimlere sokmadigi dedikodularini yaydi. Cikan isyanlardan cekinen Senato bir kez daha Octavius'a tüm yönetici yetkilerini verdi. Son kez yönetimde iken Roma'da aclik bas göstermesine yakin yine yönetici yetkilerini Senato'ya iad...

Diyarbakirspor - IBB maci sahaya giren Diyarbakir seyircisi nedeniyle 87. dakikada tatil edildi. Gecen hafta Bursa macinda olanlardan sonra Diyabakirspor'un ligdeki gelecegini ciddi ciddi tehlikede goruyorum. Bir sezonda 2 takimin ligden dustugu ligimizin marka degeri hakkinda bir iki laf etmek degil amacim. Sezen Aksu'nun harika deyimiyle " DNA’mıza kodlanmış bu ‘örtbas’ illeti " nedeniyle yine gecici cozumlerle gecistirilecek, bir kac suclu bulunup hali altina surulecek biliyorum Diyarbakirspor maclarinda vucut bulan travma. Bas bas bagiriyor, akli basinda futboldan anlayan her birey. Eger insanlarin baska yontemlerle insan haklarini aramalarini ellerinden alirsaniz, en kolay gidilebilecek, 82 darbesinin kirli kokulu ve kanli kollarinin tam anlamiyla uzanamadigi tek toplu gosteri sansi olan futbol maclari bu ve belki daha buyuk eylemlere gebe. Eger siz acilim yapiyor diyip secilmis baskanlari ellerini kelepceleyerek goz altina alirsaniz, ya da acilimi birakin, eski ...

In my humble opinion, Kafka's Das Schloss is the best embodiment the human condition in the age we call modern. Coming from a land, who is trying to come in terms with its modernization project, it has been a constant intellectual quest for me to understand what modernity exactly means, and why of all the places it started in Europe. The classical explanations put almost all the time Europe in a special place. Modernism could only have started in Europe. And they choose a property of Europe of their ideological liking, and try to demonstrate it only existed in Europe. This is, in my opinion, a reversal of scientific method. So the lead essay in this months CATO Unbound discussion series by Stephen Davies a fresh wind in my face. It explains the modernity as an emergent phenomenon that is in some way contingent, rather than a result of Europe's special place. This also brings the question whether or not the term Western Civilization makes sense anymore.. I recommend this articl...

219 years ago the people of Paris said enough. Long live the revolution!

Among the anti-Americanism in todays world, fueled by the false foreign policy decisions and executions, 4th of July still gives me a moment to celebrate the revolutionary and humanist aspects of the American Revolution: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." as well as reflect on how slavery and and its aftermath, segregation, lasted only until the Civil Rights movement of the 60s, how it is still accepted to use torture in interrogations, and how it is still possible to detain equally created men without any charge for years under constant psychological stress, in a land whose Deceleration of Independence contained the sentence above.

When we first moved to our house in Ankara the whole neighborhood was supplied by a single lousy transformer. Every time it rained, it would short circuit, and left us without electricity for hours. When it was pitch dark, the first thing my sister would do was to shout "Mother!" I thought she had a fear of dark, but maybe she was following her Paleolithic instincts. French Scientists made a very interesting discovery in the famous caves in France which are filled with paintings from the Paleolithic era. It turns out that the paintings might have been used as road signs in the dark caves! Imagine you are in pitch black cave, and you have a light source that can only light up few meters around you. How would you go from point A to B. Answer? Take a singer with you! The idea is to have the singer sing for you, and mark those points on the way, where the singers voice sounds like an animal due to echoes and the shape of the current section of the cave, by painting those animals...

53 years have passed since some two thousand fellow human beings, ironically, were saved from being killed in an industrial manner by other "human" beings, who had long lost the human part of their existence, thanks to the fact that they were so sick, that no industrial intervention was necessary. A recently found photograph of those "human" beings, who had long lost the human part of their existence, is definitely the most disgusting photograph I have seen in my entire life. These beings, seen in a country outing, were working in a factory, which specialized in human annihilation, had annihilated their humanity in the process. Looking at the face of these beings, I want to throw up in disgust... I want to commemorate the memory of those fellow human beings annihilated in Auschwitz with the photograph of another fellow human being, who in his own words " did what man does when words fail... " The fact that those "human" beings, and Willy Brandt ...

I'll start with a question, a very basic question. How many basic tastes are there? Until last week I could come up with 4: Salty Sour Sweet Hot Which was not complete and also wrong. Hotness associated with chili is not a basic taste by definition. The complete taste list looks like this. Salty Sour Sweet Bitter Umami I am not joking. Umami is a relatively newly discovered tasting capability with humans, and associated with the amino acid glutamic acid, which is the building block of many proteins. however taste comes from the free form or the salt of glutamic acids. It literally means the "delicious taste" in Japanese. It is associated with fermented protein containing products, such as cheese, ham, East Asian Fish Sauce, and as well as vegetables like aspargus, sea weed and tomatoes. I came across this flavor, when I got interested in Old Roman Cooking. Back in the days, the Romans stored fish in salt, to prevent them from roting. After 4 months the fermenting bacte...

Farkinda olmasak bile su an "kapitalist" sistemle yonetilen dunyanin buyuk bir kismindaki insanlarin hayatini derinden etkilemis bir bilimadami 16 Kasim 2006 tarihinde aramizdan ayrildi. Sloganlar uzerine argüman kurmayi cok sevenler onu sadece sahsiyla bir Insanlik Ayibi olan General Agusto Pinochet ile olan kisa iliskisi ile hatirlamaya ve hatirlatmaya devam etmesi cok sinirimi bozdu. Kendisi ile ilgili eksisozluk'e yazdigim yaziyi buraya eklemenin sinirimi gecirecegini umuyorum. herkesi ve herseyi "benim tarafimda ya da benim karsimda" olarak gormek isteyen dar bakislilar tarafindan israrla pinochet ile olan baglantisi ile anilan/tanitilan hatalariyla basarilariyla bilmesek de milyarlarca insanin hayatina etkisi bulunmus, kanimca iyi niyetli olarak dunyayi inandigi yolda baskalari icin iyi yonde duzeltmeye calismis ve bu baglamda "nur icinde yatmasin" "insanlik dusmani pis canavar" sozlerini hic haketmemis bilimadami. ne mi yapmistir...