For Turkish Daily News http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=89204
In 1999, bored with life as a journalist in rural New Zealand, I came to Europe looking for adventure. I started in Spain, because my English uncle had a house in the southern city of Malaga. I did not speak Spanish, however, and could not find work.
After three months my savings were low. I decided to join my brother, a photographer in London, taking the bus all the way from Malaga.
The day after arriving in England I had a job at a holiday village on the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast near Portsmouth. I later worked in bars on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, Jersey in the Channel Islands off France, and near the city of Rugby in central England.
During this time, nine months, I traveled to Scotland and Wales, and also to Denmark and Norway to meet, for the first time, my father's family.
It was in the Guardian newspaper that I saw an advertisement for people to train to become English teachers. I was accepted for the course, which was inMadrid, and returned to Spain a year after arriving there for the first time.
I spent the next nine months working in Jaen, a small olive-growing city between Cordoba and Granada. There were few tourists, so it was a perfect place to learn Spanish. But it was a little boring, and there was no teaching work in the summer. So I looked on the Internet and got a summer teaching job in St Petersburg.
I traveled to Russia by train and bus, all the way from southern Spain. It took three days. This was in 2001 and Russia seemed less modern and organized than Spain. But the students were hard working and quick to learn.
On Sept. 11, 2001, one of the students told us about the terrorist attacks in America. She had seen it on the television news and we spent the class talking about it.
I flew back to Spain from Finland and worked for nine months in Vitoria, the capital of the Basque Country in the north. Vitoria is a nice little city, but theweather was not good. Why come to Spain for English weather? I thought.
In 2002 I moved to Barcelona and stayed there for the next three years. Barcelona is a beautiful city with great beaches and fantastic architecture. I thought I would never leave. But I continued to work on nine-month contracts and needed work in the summers. In 2003 I went to Shanghai, China for two months.
Shanghai is a big city, which makes Istanbul's traffic problems seem small. Think of Maslak or Taksim with the addition of thousands of rickshaws and bicycles! But the people were very friendly and everything was so cheap.
I saved enough money for a holiday in Rome afterward, and was lucky enough to see Pope John Paul II in the Vatican City. He was very old and not well, but he came outside on a hot day and spoke to us in several different languages.
After another nine months in Barcelona I went to London and spent six weeks teaching mostly Italian teenagers at the University of Greenwich. We showed them around the city in the afternoons and played football with them in the evenings.
I had a lot of savings the next summer and decided I wanted to visit Turkey, a liberal Muslim country with a lot of history and culture. I thought that it would be another interesting experience, like Russia and China, and then I would return to Barcelona.
However, I soon fell in love with Istanbul. In fact, during the past two-and-a-half years I have spent more time in Turkey than in Spain!
I am also learning the language – slowly. It is more difficult for me than Spanish, which has a similar vocabulary to English.
From Turkey I have traveled to Athens and three Greek Islands, and also to Bulgaria, Romania, Egypt and Syria. In January I plan to visit India.
I never thought, when I left New Zealand in 1999, that I would have so many opportunities and be able to see so much. But it all became possible after I got my English teaching certificate in Madrid seven-and-a-half years ago.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Turks & the Spanish
For the Turkish Daily News:
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=88914
INTERMEDIATE
The Turks and the Spanish
A thousand years ago Turkey was Christian and Spainwas Muslim.They are two nations with fascinating histories andrich cultures. That's why I have spent most of thepast nine years living in them.
At one time part of Spain was in the Byzantine Empire. At another, the Catalans fought the Turks in Anatolia.The Catalan leader Roger de Flor was killed by theByzantine emperor Michael Palaiologos. There are many streets in Barcelona named after de Flor.
In 1571 Spain helped destroy the Ottoman navy at theBattle of Lepanto. The great Spanish writer Miguel deCervantes fought in the battle and described it as"the end of Turkish invincibility."Only 17 years later Spain lost its own "invincibility"when its powerful navy was destroyed by the English.
The Spanish today are very passive people. There is nocompulsory military service and the people do not likewar. In Turkey there is compulsory military serviceand the mentality is more agressive.
The Turks had to fight for survival during the lastfew hundred years of Ottoman rule, until Ataturkfounded the Republic of Turkey. People here are verynationalist.
In Spain the people are more regionalist. Cataloniaand the Basque Country have different cultures anddifferent languages. But they had no rights during the40-year dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
When Turkey plays football everyone in Turkey wantsthem to win. In Barcelona and the Basque Country, Ifound, many people did not care when the Spanish teamplayed. It was much more important for the Spanishwhen Barcelona played Real Madrid.
The Turks and Spanish like football and basketball.These have become much more popular than traditionalsports like Turkish wrestling and Spanishbull-fighting.
Turkey and Spain are both on the Mediterranean andthis has had a big influence on the cuisine with lotsof sea food.But the drinking habits are different. Turks likeblack coffee, tea and raki. Spanish prefer coffee witha lot of milk (cafe con leche), red wine and sangria.
Like Italians and other Mediterranean people, Turksand Spanish are very careful about their clothes. Thisis much more important to them than it is to NorthernEuropeans and Americans.
The family is also much more important to the Turksand Spanish.Turks work hard, generally much more than Westerners.
The Spanish like holidays, fiestas (parties) andsiestas (day-time sleeps).On summer afternoons the streets of Spain are almostempty. But at 3am they are full of people and parties.People have dinner at 11pm and go out at 2am!The Spanish, in my experience, are quite lazy students. Turks seem to be much better at speakingEnglish, especially in Istanbul and other cities popular with tourists.
Spain has developed its economy through tourism and isnow quite a rich country. Sixty million tourists gothere every year. Turkey, with its hot summers and Mediterranean beaches, has the potential to do thesame.
In history religion was very important to the Turksand Spanish. But both nations are more relaxed aboutreligion now. Ataturk made Turkey more secular, while the Spanish became more secular after Franco's death.
The languages are very different. Turkish is simpler but more difficult for me to learn. That is because Turkish is an Altaic language from Central Asia. Spanish is Indo-European and has a similar vocabularyto English.In 1066, only five years before the Seljuks destroyedthe Byzantine army, the French invaded Britain.
English was a Germanic language but its vocabularysoon became equally Latin.Many formal words in English are Latin, while most of the informal words are Germanic. For example, 'stomach' is Latin and 'belly' is Germanic. But they mean the same thing.
The Turks and the Spanish are happy, friendly people,and both nations have many beautiful women. There are,of course, many different physical types, with blonde hair and blue eyes quite common in the north and much darker people in the south.
The Turks and the Spanish are also equally crazy in traffic!
End
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=88914
INTERMEDIATE
The Turks and the Spanish
A thousand years ago Turkey was Christian and Spainwas Muslim.They are two nations with fascinating histories andrich cultures. That's why I have spent most of thepast nine years living in them.
At one time part of Spain was in the Byzantine Empire. At another, the Catalans fought the Turks in Anatolia.The Catalan leader Roger de Flor was killed by theByzantine emperor Michael Palaiologos. There are many streets in Barcelona named after de Flor.
In 1571 Spain helped destroy the Ottoman navy at theBattle of Lepanto. The great Spanish writer Miguel deCervantes fought in the battle and described it as"the end of Turkish invincibility."Only 17 years later Spain lost its own "invincibility"when its powerful navy was destroyed by the English.
The Spanish today are very passive people. There is nocompulsory military service and the people do not likewar. In Turkey there is compulsory military serviceand the mentality is more agressive.
The Turks had to fight for survival during the lastfew hundred years of Ottoman rule, until Ataturkfounded the Republic of Turkey. People here are verynationalist.
In Spain the people are more regionalist. Cataloniaand the Basque Country have different cultures anddifferent languages. But they had no rights during the40-year dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
When Turkey plays football everyone in Turkey wantsthem to win. In Barcelona and the Basque Country, Ifound, many people did not care when the Spanish teamplayed. It was much more important for the Spanishwhen Barcelona played Real Madrid.
The Turks and Spanish like football and basketball.These have become much more popular than traditionalsports like Turkish wrestling and Spanishbull-fighting.
Turkey and Spain are both on the Mediterranean andthis has had a big influence on the cuisine with lotsof sea food.But the drinking habits are different. Turks likeblack coffee, tea and raki. Spanish prefer coffee witha lot of milk (cafe con leche), red wine and sangria.
Like Italians and other Mediterranean people, Turksand Spanish are very careful about their clothes. Thisis much more important to them than it is to NorthernEuropeans and Americans.
The family is also much more important to the Turksand Spanish.Turks work hard, generally much more than Westerners.
The Spanish like holidays, fiestas (parties) andsiestas (day-time sleeps).On summer afternoons the streets of Spain are almostempty. But at 3am they are full of people and parties.People have dinner at 11pm and go out at 2am!The Spanish, in my experience, are quite lazy students. Turks seem to be much better at speakingEnglish, especially in Istanbul and other cities popular with tourists.
Spain has developed its economy through tourism and isnow quite a rich country. Sixty million tourists gothere every year. Turkey, with its hot summers and Mediterranean beaches, has the potential to do thesame.
In history religion was very important to the Turksand Spanish. But both nations are more relaxed aboutreligion now. Ataturk made Turkey more secular, while the Spanish became more secular after Franco's death.
The languages are very different. Turkish is simpler but more difficult for me to learn. That is because Turkish is an Altaic language from Central Asia. Spanish is Indo-European and has a similar vocabularyto English.In 1066, only five years before the Seljuks destroyedthe Byzantine army, the French invaded Britain.
English was a Germanic language but its vocabularysoon became equally Latin.Many formal words in English are Latin, while most of the informal words are Germanic. For example, 'stomach' is Latin and 'belly' is Germanic. But they mean the same thing.
The Turks and the Spanish are happy, friendly people,and both nations have many beautiful women. There are,of course, many different physical types, with blonde hair and blue eyes quite common in the north and much darker people in the south.
The Turks and the Spanish are also equally crazy in traffic!
End
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Istanbul - Damascus overland
Adapted from my travel blog and published in the Turkish Daily News at Intermediate level: http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=85214
Earlier this year I traveled to Damascus (Dimashq ash-Sham) over land. I took the train from Istanbul to Adana, alone in a two-bed cabin, as often happens on Turkish trains. So half the journey I slept, and the other half I watched Anatolia go by.
Adana was an attractive city with a modern center. It seemed as “European” as Istanbul or İzmir, despite being on the Middle East's doorstep. There were many nice cafes and I ate the famous Adana kebabs. I spent the evening watching Turkish dancing and singing in a bar.
Next morning I was up early to get the bus to Antakya, via the ancient city of İskenderun on the Mediterranean Sea.
The "fun" started there. I was pushed into a service bus and taken to a big bus organized to get tourists across the border. But when we got to the border the Turkish authorities told us to go back because the bus was not full. The driver took us halfway back to Antakya, then turned around and went back to the border. Again we were told to go back, so we all got off and were put into two dolmuşes. Our dolmuş, however, did not have enough passengers either, so we were told to go back for a third time.
Finally we found two “hitch-hikers” and, three hours after reaching the border, managed to get across. During this time I made friends with a few of the other passengers. They included an English photographer who lived in Damascus with his Syrian wife.
From Aleppo we got the bus to Damascus. It is said to be the oldest city in the world where people have always lived, going back more than 10,000 years. Following 400 years of Ottoman rule, Syria was taken by the French after World War I, becoming independent again in 1946. The center of the city has a French influence with its architecture and restaurants. I visited the Umayyad Mosque and the old city.
On my second day, John Wreford, the photographer I had met at the border came to my hotel and invited me to Sayyida Zainab, the Shiite area of the city. There were many people from Iraq there, and we met one young man who had lost a hand in the war. They were friendly to us even though we were Westerners. Tourists are not judged by the actions of their politicians, thankfully!
Apart from the magnificent Sayyida Zeinab Mosque, the area looked very poor. There were dead animals hanging in front of the shops and one man was killing fish in front of the customers. We ate “kibbe” and drank spicy Arab coffee in one of these shops. We also saw an informal game of cricket. Probably the players were from Pakistan.
The next day I took the midnight (12:00 a.m.) train from Damascus to Aleppo, then went back across the border by taxi. It cost only YTL 50 from Aleppo to Antakya – where I had a giant breakfast with coffees for a total of YTL 4.
Earlier this year I traveled to Damascus (Dimashq ash-Sham) over land. I took the train from Istanbul to Adana, alone in a two-bed cabin, as often happens on Turkish trains. So half the journey I slept, and the other half I watched Anatolia go by.
Adana was an attractive city with a modern center. It seemed as “European” as Istanbul or İzmir, despite being on the Middle East's doorstep. There were many nice cafes and I ate the famous Adana kebabs. I spent the evening watching Turkish dancing and singing in a bar.
Next morning I was up early to get the bus to Antakya, via the ancient city of İskenderun on the Mediterranean Sea.
The "fun" started there. I was pushed into a service bus and taken to a big bus organized to get tourists across the border. But when we got to the border the Turkish authorities told us to go back because the bus was not full. The driver took us halfway back to Antakya, then turned around and went back to the border. Again we were told to go back, so we all got off and were put into two dolmuşes. Our dolmuş, however, did not have enough passengers either, so we were told to go back for a third time.
Finally we found two “hitch-hikers” and, three hours after reaching the border, managed to get across. During this time I made friends with a few of the other passengers. They included an English photographer who lived in Damascus with his Syrian wife.
From Aleppo we got the bus to Damascus. It is said to be the oldest city in the world where people have always lived, going back more than 10,000 years. Following 400 years of Ottoman rule, Syria was taken by the French after World War I, becoming independent again in 1946. The center of the city has a French influence with its architecture and restaurants. I visited the Umayyad Mosque and the old city.
On my second day, John Wreford, the photographer I had met at the border came to my hotel and invited me to Sayyida Zainab, the Shiite area of the city. There were many people from Iraq there, and we met one young man who had lost a hand in the war. They were friendly to us even though we were Westerners. Tourists are not judged by the actions of their politicians, thankfully!
Apart from the magnificent Sayyida Zeinab Mosque, the area looked very poor. There were dead animals hanging in front of the shops and one man was killing fish in front of the customers. We ate “kibbe” and drank spicy Arab coffee in one of these shops. We also saw an informal game of cricket. Probably the players were from Pakistan.
The next day I took the midnight (12:00 a.m.) train from Damascus to Aleppo, then went back across the border by taxi. It cost only YTL 50 from Aleppo to Antakya – where I had a giant breakfast with coffees for a total of YTL 4.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Princes' Islands - escape the big city
Published in the Turkish Daily News http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=81732
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to escape the crowded streets and traffic jams of Istanbul is a trip to the Princes' Islands. It costs only YTL 2 each way. The ferries used to leave from Sirkeci near Eminönü, but now they leave from Kabataş near Dolmabahçe Palace.
They stop at Kadıkoy on the Asian side of Istanbul, as well as all four islands. From Kabataş to Büyükada, the last and biggest of the islands, takes about two hours. At most times of the year I enjoy the ferry ride as much as my afternoon on the islands. The view is fantastic and I like to have lunch in the cafeteria on the way. Often there are friendly people to talk to.
Between June and September, however, I prefer the catamaran (deniz otobüsü), called the “fast ferry.” This also leaves from Kabataş but does not stop at Kadıkoy. It costs YTL 5.5 each way. Although the price is higher, I use this service in the summer because it is less crowded, air-conditioned, and much quicker. From Kabataş to Büyükada takes about 45 minutes.
The “slow” ferries are very crowded in the summer. Many people cannot get seats and have to stand or sit on the floor.
Some people can be very selfish about seats. I have seen them reserving seats for people who are never there, or from Kabataş for people who are going to get on in Kadıköy 15 minutes later. This kind of behavior makes everybody feel angry and there are often arguments. The fast ferry does not take more people on board than the number of seats it has.
I also prefer the catamaran in the summer because I like to swim, and the time saved gives me an extra two hours in the water.
There are no cars on the islands, only phaetons and bicycles. These can be hired and the bicycles are cheap. Normally I go to Heybeliada, home of the Turkish Naval Academy. I enjoy walking around the island and swimming at the back where there are small beaches and not many people.
Sometimes I go to Burgazada, a high island, which has fantastic views of the Marmara Sea and Anatolia. Both islands have a lot of nice cafes at the front, facing the Asian side of Istanbul. They are a nice place to finish the visit, while waiting for the ferry back to the big city.
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to escape the crowded streets and traffic jams of Istanbul is a trip to the Princes' Islands. It costs only YTL 2 each way. The ferries used to leave from Sirkeci near Eminönü, but now they leave from Kabataş near Dolmabahçe Palace.
They stop at Kadıkoy on the Asian side of Istanbul, as well as all four islands. From Kabataş to Büyükada, the last and biggest of the islands, takes about two hours. At most times of the year I enjoy the ferry ride as much as my afternoon on the islands. The view is fantastic and I like to have lunch in the cafeteria on the way. Often there are friendly people to talk to.
Between June and September, however, I prefer the catamaran (deniz otobüsü), called the “fast ferry.” This also leaves from Kabataş but does not stop at Kadıkoy. It costs YTL 5.5 each way. Although the price is higher, I use this service in the summer because it is less crowded, air-conditioned, and much quicker. From Kabataş to Büyükada takes about 45 minutes.
The “slow” ferries are very crowded in the summer. Many people cannot get seats and have to stand or sit on the floor.
Some people can be very selfish about seats. I have seen them reserving seats for people who are never there, or from Kabataş for people who are going to get on in Kadıköy 15 minutes later. This kind of behavior makes everybody feel angry and there are often arguments. The fast ferry does not take more people on board than the number of seats it has.
I also prefer the catamaran in the summer because I like to swim, and the time saved gives me an extra two hours in the water.
There are no cars on the islands, only phaetons and bicycles. These can be hired and the bicycles are cheap. Normally I go to Heybeliada, home of the Turkish Naval Academy. I enjoy walking around the island and swimming at the back where there are small beaches and not many people.
Sometimes I go to Burgazada, a high island, which has fantastic views of the Marmara Sea and Anatolia. Both islands have a lot of nice cafes at the front, facing the Asian side of Istanbul. They are a nice place to finish the visit, while waiting for the ferry back to the big city.
Friday, July 27, 2007
New Zealand - Beautiful but Boring
Written for the Turkish Daily News learners' page: http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=79143
People are often surprised when I tell them I have no plan to return to New Zealand. I have European Union citizenship from my English mother, and Spain has been my home base for the last eight years.
New Zealand is a beautiful country with mountains, forests and beaches, much like Turkey. It is very good for outdoor sports. It has a similar climate to theEuropean part of Turkey, and it is about the same distance from the equator.
During my travels I have learned to appreciate two things about New Zealand. It is beautiful and there is a lot of space. New Zealand is bigger than the UnitedKingdom and has only four million people. The South Island, where “Lord of the Rings” was filmed, is bigger than England but has less than one millionpeople. New Zealanders live in houses with big front and back gardens. There are almost no apartments.
About ninety percent of New Zealanders are of British or Irish ancestry. The native Maori are about fourteen percent of the population, but most have some British or Irish ancestry as well. The main immigrant groups are from the Pacific Islands.
New Zealand, therefore, is very much an English society. Elizabeth II of England is the Queen of New Zealand. Things have changed in recent times. Maoriculture has become more important and the language is now taught in schools.
But in many ways New Zealand is more English than England and, for me, a little boring. Traditionally it is a nation of sheep farmers, rugby players and beerdrinkers. Today more people live in the cities than work on the farms, however. One third of New Zealanders, 1.3 million, live in the biggest city, Auckland.
Rugby is more popular than football. New Zealand's “All Blacks” won the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 and are the favorite to win this year's World Cup in France.
They were also favorites in 1999, but France beat them in the semifinals. New Zealanders were shocked. The coach was replaced, the captain was replaced, and even the prime minister of New Zealand was replaced in the next elections!
Before their games the “All Blacks” do the Haka, a traditional Maori dance which is very popular with the fans.
Families in New Zealand are generally not as close as they are in Turkey. This is different for the Maori people however. The family is very important for them.
The Maori are a Polynesian people who came to New Zealand about 1,200 years ago. Most experts today think the Polynesians migrated out of South East Asia into the Pacific Islands thousands of years ago. They built very big boats – catamarans – on the islands of Tahiti and sailed thousands of kilometers to find places like Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand.
In New Zealand they separated into tribes and fought many wars with each other. The British Empire fought long, difficult wars with the Maori in the 19th century.
In the 1850s New Zealand began to govern itself, but it was still a British colony. It was the first place in the world to give women the vote, in 1893. In theFirst World War, many New Zealanders fought for the Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) in Turkey. Anzac Day is an important holiday in Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand was a rich country after World War II and became independent in 1947. It was often called one of the best places in the world to bring up children. Life became more difficult in the 1980s, but there is a good social welfare system and there are no very poor people.
In 1999 New Zealand elected a woman prime minister for the first time. Helen Clark has been very successful, winning three elections. Traditionally New Zealand has supported Britain and America in war, but Clark's Labor Party opposed the second invasion of Iraq. She has been called one of the 20 most powerful women in the world.
Other famous New Zealanders were early 20th century writer Katherine Mansfield, from the capital city Wellington, Edmund Hillary who became the first man to climb Mt Everest in 1953, and actor Russell Crowe whose cousins were cricket stars for New Zealand.
New Zealand is also the home of the kiwi fruit. In fact, the kiwi is the native bird of New Zealand, and the word can be used as an adjective to describethings from that country, including its people – Kiwis.
People are often surprised when I tell them I have no plan to return to New Zealand. I have European Union citizenship from my English mother, and Spain has been my home base for the last eight years.
New Zealand is a beautiful country with mountains, forests and beaches, much like Turkey. It is very good for outdoor sports. It has a similar climate to theEuropean part of Turkey, and it is about the same distance from the equator.
During my travels I have learned to appreciate two things about New Zealand. It is beautiful and there is a lot of space. New Zealand is bigger than the UnitedKingdom and has only four million people. The South Island, where “Lord of the Rings” was filmed, is bigger than England but has less than one millionpeople. New Zealanders live in houses with big front and back gardens. There are almost no apartments.
About ninety percent of New Zealanders are of British or Irish ancestry. The native Maori are about fourteen percent of the population, but most have some British or Irish ancestry as well. The main immigrant groups are from the Pacific Islands.
New Zealand, therefore, is very much an English society. Elizabeth II of England is the Queen of New Zealand. Things have changed in recent times. Maoriculture has become more important and the language is now taught in schools.
But in many ways New Zealand is more English than England and, for me, a little boring. Traditionally it is a nation of sheep farmers, rugby players and beerdrinkers. Today more people live in the cities than work on the farms, however. One third of New Zealanders, 1.3 million, live in the biggest city, Auckland.
Rugby is more popular than football. New Zealand's “All Blacks” won the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 and are the favorite to win this year's World Cup in France.
They were also favorites in 1999, but France beat them in the semifinals. New Zealanders were shocked. The coach was replaced, the captain was replaced, and even the prime minister of New Zealand was replaced in the next elections!
Before their games the “All Blacks” do the Haka, a traditional Maori dance which is very popular with the fans.
Families in New Zealand are generally not as close as they are in Turkey. This is different for the Maori people however. The family is very important for them.
The Maori are a Polynesian people who came to New Zealand about 1,200 years ago. Most experts today think the Polynesians migrated out of South East Asia into the Pacific Islands thousands of years ago. They built very big boats – catamarans – on the islands of Tahiti and sailed thousands of kilometers to find places like Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand.
In New Zealand they separated into tribes and fought many wars with each other. The British Empire fought long, difficult wars with the Maori in the 19th century.
In the 1850s New Zealand began to govern itself, but it was still a British colony. It was the first place in the world to give women the vote, in 1893. In theFirst World War, many New Zealanders fought for the Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) in Turkey. Anzac Day is an important holiday in Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand was a rich country after World War II and became independent in 1947. It was often called one of the best places in the world to bring up children. Life became more difficult in the 1980s, but there is a good social welfare system and there are no very poor people.
In 1999 New Zealand elected a woman prime minister for the first time. Helen Clark has been very successful, winning three elections. Traditionally New Zealand has supported Britain and America in war, but Clark's Labor Party opposed the second invasion of Iraq. She has been called one of the 20 most powerful women in the world.
Other famous New Zealanders were early 20th century writer Katherine Mansfield, from the capital city Wellington, Edmund Hillary who became the first man to climb Mt Everest in 1953, and actor Russell Crowe whose cousins were cricket stars for New Zealand.
New Zealand is also the home of the kiwi fruit. In fact, the kiwi is the native bird of New Zealand, and the word can be used as an adjective to describethings from that country, including its people – Kiwis.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Turks are Turks
Turks are Turks (published in the Turkish Daily News http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=76629 )
'Biz bize benzeriz,' Ataturk used to say. 'We are like ourselves.'
It is a mistake, I believe, to say Turkey is European, or Asian, or Middle Eastern.
Its geography includes all of these. But its culture can only be called Turkish.
The political system is like West Europe, the military and police seem more East European, and the main religion is from the Middle East.
The language is from Central Asia but is now written with the Roman alphabet. The food is a combination of Central Asia and the Mediterranean.
The people and their culture are a mix of all the above places. Anatolia seems close to Asia. Istanbul and the Agaen coast seem closer to the Balkan countries and Greece.
I have read that the Ottomans always wanted more people in their empire. Race was not important, and as early as the time of Fatih Mehmet the Turks were a minority in their own empire.
The result is a culture that can only be called Turkish.
Perhaps the most unusual part of this is the language. It is the main connection with the origins of the Turks who first came here.
It is a close relative of other languages in Central Asia, and a more distant relative of East Asian languages such as Mongolian, Korean and Japanese.
Some experts say there is a connection between the Turks and the native Americans. DNA testing has supported this idea.
The popular theory is that native Americans came from East Asia toward the end of the last Ice Age, when much lower sea levels created a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska.
Hugh Pope, a journalist in Istanbul, writes in his book 'Sons of the Conquerers' that a Turkish friend of his in America has found 500 Turkic words in Navaho Indian and 500 more in Mexican Maya.
The Turks of Central Asia could even be more closely related to some native American peoples than they are to the majority of people in Turkey.
It is very interesting that the Turkish language survived the journey across Asia when many other things changed.
It also survived the rise and fall of an empire that in the time of Kanuni Suleyman was the biggest in the world, ruling much of the Middle East, North Africa and South East Europe.
Turkey is a bridge in many ways. But it is also the home of a unique, fascinating and important culture that has given a lot to the world around it, and which can only be described as Turkish.
end
'Biz bize benzeriz,' Ataturk used to say. 'We are like ourselves.'
It is a mistake, I believe, to say Turkey is European, or Asian, or Middle Eastern.
Its geography includes all of these. But its culture can only be called Turkish.
The political system is like West Europe, the military and police seem more East European, and the main religion is from the Middle East.
The language is from Central Asia but is now written with the Roman alphabet. The food is a combination of Central Asia and the Mediterranean.
The people and their culture are a mix of all the above places. Anatolia seems close to Asia. Istanbul and the Agaen coast seem closer to the Balkan countries and Greece.
I have read that the Ottomans always wanted more people in their empire. Race was not important, and as early as the time of Fatih Mehmet the Turks were a minority in their own empire.
The result is a culture that can only be called Turkish.
Perhaps the most unusual part of this is the language. It is the main connection with the origins of the Turks who first came here.
It is a close relative of other languages in Central Asia, and a more distant relative of East Asian languages such as Mongolian, Korean and Japanese.
Some experts say there is a connection between the Turks and the native Americans. DNA testing has supported this idea.
The popular theory is that native Americans came from East Asia toward the end of the last Ice Age, when much lower sea levels created a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska.
Hugh Pope, a journalist in Istanbul, writes in his book 'Sons of the Conquerers' that a Turkish friend of his in America has found 500 Turkic words in Navaho Indian and 500 more in Mexican Maya.
The Turks of Central Asia could even be more closely related to some native American peoples than they are to the majority of people in Turkey.
It is very interesting that the Turkish language survived the journey across Asia when many other things changed.
It also survived the rise and fall of an empire that in the time of Kanuni Suleyman was the biggest in the world, ruling much of the Middle East, North Africa and South East Europe.
Turkey is a bridge in many ways. But it is also the home of a unique, fascinating and important culture that has given a lot to the world around it, and which can only be described as Turkish.
end
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Polynesians in Africa? Vikings in America?
Polynesians in Africa? Vikings in America? Caucasians in Japan?
These are some of the historical oddities I have been researching on the internet:
"Polynesians" in Africa:
The prevalented theory is the first inhabitants of Madagascar were a Malayo-Polynesian speaking people of Austronesian, or mixed Austronesian-Negroid, ethnicity.
They are thought to have reached the giant African island in Biblical times, or shortly after, about when their ethnic kinsmen were travelling from Samoa and Tonga toward Tahiti.
Austroloid peoples originated in South East Asia and had been expanding into Australia and the Pacific since the Stone Age. They progressed as far as Fiji in the east. The Melanesian (black lands) are the islands inhabited by their descendants.
It seems there was a fresh wave of mixed Mongoloid-Austroloid migrations, beginning just a few thousand years ago, most probably as Mongoloid began to press down from North East Asia.
The migrations throughout the Pacific, as far as Hawaii, Tahiti, Easter Island and New Zealand are well-documented. It seems they may also have reached South America, without actually settling there, as South American crops featured in Pan-Polynesian trade routes of pre-European times.
Polynesia simply means 'many lands' and is the name given to the Austroloid-Mongoloid race which inhabited these islands.
Austroloid-Mongoloid also migrated west, along the southern coast of Asia and the east coast of Africa. Whether or not they mixed with African natives before their arrival in Madagascar remains a mystery. It is known that the Arabs introduced native Africans to the island after they began trading there in the seventh century AD.
Europeans did not discover Madagascar until eight years after Colombus had reached the Americas.
Diogo Dias of Portugal became the first Euorpean to sight the island in 1500. The French began trading there in the 17th century, then invaded in 1883, establishing a protectorate two years later.
The majority of the population remains of mixed Austronesian-Negroid ethnicity. The national language, Malagasy, is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian family. A caste system is active among the 18 ancient tribes of the island. The Merina are the largest among them.
In the early 19th century Andrianampoinimerinandriantsimitoviaminandriampanjaka united the Merina kingdom, a collection of Malayo-Austronesian speaking tribes in the highlands (they number about 3 million today). He went on to conquer most of the island. His successor Radama I signed a treaty with the British, outlawed slavery and admitted Christian missionaries.
He was followed by his widow, Queen Ranavalona I, who secured her place via the practice of fratricide, and ruled for 33 years. She prohibited Christianity, banished the missionaries, and engaged in a campaign of religious persecution leading to as many as 150,000 Christian deaths.
Ranavalona's heir, Radama II (son of Radama I), in turn, reversed many of her policies, signing treaties with the English and French and welcoming back the missionaries. He was assassinated in 1863, after just two years on the throne.
Queens Ranavalona II and III followed, before French victory brought an end to the Merina dynasty in 1897.
Madagascar did not regain full independence until 1960, 13 years after an unsuccessful uprising which claimed as many as 90,000 lives, all but 180 of them Malagasy. Thousands more had been sentenced to death or imprisonment.
"Vikings" were the first Europeans in America:
Although this became an established fact following the discovery of Norse ruins in Newfoundland in 1960, it is still not widely known that Europeans had reached the Americas half a millenia before Columbus, who arrived there half a millenia ago.
Leif Ericson, son of Eric the Red (a Norwegian outlaw banished to Iceland, from whence he discovered Greenland in the early 980s), sailed from Greenland around 1000AD in search of a land sighted by countryman Bjarni Herjolfsson when blown off course during a storm in 986.
Ericson first reached Baffin Island (Canada), which he named Helluland (land of the flat stones), then Markland (forest land), generally considered to have been Labrador.
The first "permanent" settlement was at the northern tip of New Foundland, which Ericson named Vinland (wine land). The ruins were uncovered by Helge Ingstad and Anne Stine in the 1950s, finally confirmed in 1960.
The colonization was not led by Ericson, however, but by his brother-in-law Thorfinn Karlsefni some years later. According to the Icelandic sagas, Karlsefni took 160 people with him, all but 15 of them men.
They survived there only a few years. Their demise remains a mystery. It may have come about as a result of conflict with the natives, though the sagas recount efforts on the part of the settlers to appease the local chiefs.
A Viking coin has been discovered in Maine, and a Scandanavian stone carving in Minnesota, but there is no concrete evidence the Norsemen ventured as far south as the modern-day United States. More likely these artefacts arrived there through trade, whether in pre-Columbıan times or later.
"Caucasians" in Japan?
Although I have, in the past, read accounts which describe the Ainu aboriginals of Japan as "Caucasoid," it now seems that theory has fallen by the wayside.
Genetic testing has shown the Ainu to be a Mongoloid people whose closest relatives are in Tibet and the Bengal Bay islands of Andaman. Neither were they the original inhabitants of Japan. Tribes of various ethnicity had been making their way into the islands since the Stone Age.
It seems the Ainu were one of a number of tribes which existed on the continent before the rise of the Chinese Han dynasty.
Attempts have been made to include the Ainu language in the macro-Altaic, which includes Japanese, Korean, Mongolian and Turkic. However, it is commonly accepted to be a "language isolate."
Slightly more far-fetched hypotheses endeavoured to link Ainu with Austronesian, and even the hypothetical macro-Euroasiatic language. The latter perhaps gave rise to the "Caucasoid" theory.
Taller and more athletic than the Japanese, people of predominantly Ainu stock number around 50,000 today. There are a further 100,000 Japanese with minor Ainu ancestry.
end
These are some of the historical oddities I have been researching on the internet:
"Polynesians" in Africa:
The prevalented theory is the first inhabitants of Madagascar were a Malayo-Polynesian speaking people of Austronesian, or mixed Austronesian-Negroid, ethnicity.
They are thought to have reached the giant African island in Biblical times, or shortly after, about when their ethnic kinsmen were travelling from Samoa and Tonga toward Tahiti.
Austroloid peoples originated in South East Asia and had been expanding into Australia and the Pacific since the Stone Age. They progressed as far as Fiji in the east. The Melanesian (black lands) are the islands inhabited by their descendants.
It seems there was a fresh wave of mixed Mongoloid-Austroloid migrations, beginning just a few thousand years ago, most probably as Mongoloid began to press down from North East Asia.
The migrations throughout the Pacific, as far as Hawaii, Tahiti, Easter Island and New Zealand are well-documented. It seems they may also have reached South America, without actually settling there, as South American crops featured in Pan-Polynesian trade routes of pre-European times.
Polynesia simply means 'many lands' and is the name given to the Austroloid-Mongoloid race which inhabited these islands.
Austroloid-Mongoloid also migrated west, along the southern coast of Asia and the east coast of Africa. Whether or not they mixed with African natives before their arrival in Madagascar remains a mystery. It is known that the Arabs introduced native Africans to the island after they began trading there in the seventh century AD.
Europeans did not discover Madagascar until eight years after Colombus had reached the Americas.
Diogo Dias of Portugal became the first Euorpean to sight the island in 1500. The French began trading there in the 17th century, then invaded in 1883, establishing a protectorate two years later.
The majority of the population remains of mixed Austronesian-Negroid ethnicity. The national language, Malagasy, is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian family. A caste system is active among the 18 ancient tribes of the island. The Merina are the largest among them.
In the early 19th century Andrianampoinimerinandriantsimitoviaminandriampanjaka united the Merina kingdom, a collection of Malayo-Austronesian speaking tribes in the highlands (they number about 3 million today). He went on to conquer most of the island. His successor Radama I signed a treaty with the British, outlawed slavery and admitted Christian missionaries.
He was followed by his widow, Queen Ranavalona I, who secured her place via the practice of fratricide, and ruled for 33 years. She prohibited Christianity, banished the missionaries, and engaged in a campaign of religious persecution leading to as many as 150,000 Christian deaths.
Ranavalona's heir, Radama II (son of Radama I), in turn, reversed many of her policies, signing treaties with the English and French and welcoming back the missionaries. He was assassinated in 1863, after just two years on the throne.
Queens Ranavalona II and III followed, before French victory brought an end to the Merina dynasty in 1897.
Madagascar did not regain full independence until 1960, 13 years after an unsuccessful uprising which claimed as many as 90,000 lives, all but 180 of them Malagasy. Thousands more had been sentenced to death or imprisonment.
"Vikings" were the first Europeans in America:
Although this became an established fact following the discovery of Norse ruins in Newfoundland in 1960, it is still not widely known that Europeans had reached the Americas half a millenia before Columbus, who arrived there half a millenia ago.
Leif Ericson, son of Eric the Red (a Norwegian outlaw banished to Iceland, from whence he discovered Greenland in the early 980s), sailed from Greenland around 1000AD in search of a land sighted by countryman Bjarni Herjolfsson when blown off course during a storm in 986.
Ericson first reached Baffin Island (Canada), which he named Helluland (land of the flat stones), then Markland (forest land), generally considered to have been Labrador.
The first "permanent" settlement was at the northern tip of New Foundland, which Ericson named Vinland (wine land). The ruins were uncovered by Helge Ingstad and Anne Stine in the 1950s, finally confirmed in 1960.
The colonization was not led by Ericson, however, but by his brother-in-law Thorfinn Karlsefni some years later. According to the Icelandic sagas, Karlsefni took 160 people with him, all but 15 of them men.
They survived there only a few years. Their demise remains a mystery. It may have come about as a result of conflict with the natives, though the sagas recount efforts on the part of the settlers to appease the local chiefs.
A Viking coin has been discovered in Maine, and a Scandanavian stone carving in Minnesota, but there is no concrete evidence the Norsemen ventured as far south as the modern-day United States. More likely these artefacts arrived there through trade, whether in pre-Columbıan times or later.
"Caucasians" in Japan?
Although I have, in the past, read accounts which describe the Ainu aboriginals of Japan as "Caucasoid," it now seems that theory has fallen by the wayside.
Genetic testing has shown the Ainu to be a Mongoloid people whose closest relatives are in Tibet and the Bengal Bay islands of Andaman. Neither were they the original inhabitants of Japan. Tribes of various ethnicity had been making their way into the islands since the Stone Age.
It seems the Ainu were one of a number of tribes which existed on the continent before the rise of the Chinese Han dynasty.
Attempts have been made to include the Ainu language in the macro-Altaic, which includes Japanese, Korean, Mongolian and Turkic. However, it is commonly accepted to be a "language isolate."
Slightly more far-fetched hypotheses endeavoured to link Ainu with Austronesian, and even the hypothetical macro-Euroasiatic language. The latter perhaps gave rise to the "Caucasoid" theory.
Taller and more athletic than the Japanese, people of predominantly Ainu stock number around 50,000 today. There are a further 100,000 Japanese with minor Ainu ancestry.
end
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