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Totally Beyhude: Twitter, Shmitter and the Overwhelming Irony of it All

http://totallybeyhude.blogspot.com/2014/03/twitter-shmitter-and-overwhelming-irony.html

Twitter, Shmitter and the Overwhelming Irony of it All. You were warned Melih, enough already. Lots of love, Tayyip". My own incredibly lo-fi attempts at pictorial satire to one side, it is obvious that the biggest victim to Turkey's Twitter ban will be the Mayor of Ankara, Melih Gökçen, who's addiction to Tweeting has provided comedy gold for at least the past year or so. Here's my favourites:. That recalls some the most self-obsessed 16 year old girls on facebook, which really makes me smile. 3 And fin...

totallybeyhude.blogspot.com

Totally Beyhude: Turkey's Chance to Look Inward

http://totallybeyhude.blogspot.com/2013/05/turkeys-chance-to-look-inward.html

Turkey's Chance to Look Inward. Apart from the flags, this is good news" said PM Erdoğan, but as critics like Can Dündar concur, how can they be expected to salute a Turkish flag, given recent history (National Post News image). The political landscape in Turkey is changing faster than ever. I can hardly breathe when I start thinking about having to update this blog. Being relevant is becoming more and more difficult as the months, and days go by. As for the call for a ceasefire, this was greeted by a hu...

totallybeyhude.blogspot.com

Totally Beyhude: This is Tarlabaşı

http://totallybeyhude.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-is-tarlabas.html

I always wonder about the dark side of Istanbul – the slums, the gece kondu. Gazi Osman Pasa is now just one of many internal immigrant suburbs around Istanbul. As for Bagcilar, recent tramway connections, and a new metro station plan have provided a life-line to the city's finance and employment centres, drastically improving its prosperity and security. All the while, a stone's throw from the heart of the city lies. No-one looks left. After all, who would? Century bourgeoisie housing. I followed th...

totallybeyhude.blogspot.com

Totally Beyhude: The Night Before the Revolution, Taksim 2.0

http://totallybeyhude.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-night-before-revolution-taksim-20.html

The Night Before the Revolution, Taksim 2.0. Crowds are already gathered on Ankara's Kennedy Street. Turkey has had a stressful week and so have I - in many ways parallel to that of the country. Essentially, I've come to realise I must commit to facing some home truths about the way I have been living in the past four months. So have the people of Turkey, it seems. For most people, this is expressed in cliche vows none-the-less inspiring in their goals (namely "I'll never drink again! But with this week ...

totallybeyhude.blogspot.com

Totally Beyhude: Istanbul: Captured from Space

http://totallybeyhude.blogspot.com/2012/10/istanbul-photos-captured-from-space.html

Istanbul: Captured from Space. This amazing photograph was acquired in August 2012 by the Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image below, posted by Dutch astronaut Andrea Kuipas, has a more angled image showing the whole of the Asian side, and the East coast of the European, meeting in the glow of Beyoğlu and Eminönü, the touristic and historic parts. 30 October 2012 at 01:36. Http:/ tr.gravatar.com/totallybeyhude. 17 November 2012 at 08:18. Thanks for sharing .

totallybeyhude.blogspot.com

Totally Beyhude: Jazz in Istanbul: It's there if you want it.

http://totallybeyhude.blogspot.com/2014/02/jazz-in-istanbul-its-there-if-you-want.html

Jazz in Istanbul: It's there if you want it. Elif Çağlar is particularly good at the jazz. When I was a young boy, my father told me something that will always stick with me. “Son, there are two types of jazz” he said, “and they’re both shit”. To save you the trouble of falsely anticipating a charming literary twist, I may as well tell you outright that I still don’t like jazz. For I have never liked jazz. How did this happen? Was I under the influence of drugs? Do I have masochistic tendencies? It is pr...

totallybeyhude.blogspot.com

Totally Beyhude: Idle Thoughts in Civil Unrest

http://totallybeyhude.blogspot.com/2013/07/idle-thoughts-in-civil-unrest.html

Idle Thoughts in Civil Unrest. After nightfall in Taksim: About five minutes from this part of the street, people are sat in bars revelling. Occassionally, groups of people will hurl themselves into the bar demanding lemon and ice to treat gas wounds. People oblige, and everything continues as normal. As I headed for shelter in the leftist student café, an open air square nestled between bookshops and protected by two gates between the British Embassy and the middle of Istiklal, I thought about Said Nursi.

totallybeyhude.blogspot.com

Totally Beyhude: Interview with Orçun Sünear on Sattas

http://totallybeyhude.blogspot.com/2012/10/interview-with-orcun-sunear-on-sattas.html

Interview with Orçun Sünear on Sattas. Sattas: Promo Pic, with singer Orçun in the Middle. Music that reflects the rhythm of the heart is bound to move the people". Despite the band’s hectic schedule, I got the chance to pin down the enigmatic, if relentlessly humble lead singer Orçun ‘Leo’ Sünear, to ask him about the the band, it’s success, and the burgeoning reggae scene in Istanbul. We discovered it thanks to Bob Marley. After that, we imbibed countless documentaries and books and things like tha...

totallybeyhude.blogspot.com

Totally Beyhude: Gripin Perform at Jolly Joker

http://totallybeyhude.blogspot.com/2014/01/gripin-perform-at-jolly-joker.html

Gripin Perform at Jolly Joker. What a crowded Jolly Joker lacks in elbow room it certainly makes up for in performance quality, and this month's Gripin performance was no exception. The venue has a constant circulation of quality Turkish pop and rock artists no doubt attracted by the spectacle it can offer in terms of sound and lighting. What has happened to love? While waiting for a haircut or sat on a late night taxi ride. Their rhythms, beats and instrumentation, utilising electronic back tracks and p...