New immigrants into Canada

Yes, better decisions should be made about immigrants coming into Canada

I get the understanding that some immigrants only get in because they have the money to show the Canadian authorities, and I believe it is still a points system.  

Therefore, they get certain points for the money. Then certain points for education, and certain points for age etc. and total points, say, over 75, gives them the green light to come in. 

However, they should be screened at the last stage better. 

New immigrants bashing Canada, and hearing about this, makes me believe that they still donot see the benefit in living in our beautiful country. Give them time, they will learn to love it.  

Take care,

Fatih District of Istanbul

Fatih District of Istanbul 

 historically Constantinople, is the capital district and a municipality in Istanbul, Turkey which hosts the provincial authorities, including the governor's office, police headquarters, metropolitan municipality and tax office while encompassing the peninsula coinciding with old Constantinople. In 2009, the district of Eminönü, which had been a separate municipality located at the tip of the peninsula, was remerged into Fatih because of the small population of Eminönü. Fatih borders the Golden Horn to the north and the Sea of Marmara to the south, while the Western border is demarked by the Theodosian wall and the east by the Bosphorus Strait.

Byzantine eraEdit

Map of the city in the Byzantine period

Historic Byzantine districts encompassed by present-day Fatih include: Exokiónion, Aurelianae, Xerólophos, ta Eleuthérou, Helenianae, ta Dalmatoú, Sígma, Psamátheia, ta Katakalón, Paradeísion, ta Olympíou, ta Kýrou, Peghé, Rhéghion, ta Elebíchou, Leomákellon, ta Dexiokrátous, Petríon or Pétra, Phanàrion, Exi Mármara (Altımermer), Philopátion, Deúteron and Vlachernaí.

Immediately after the conquest, groups of Islamic scholars transformed the major churches of Hagia Sophia and the Pantocrator (today the Zeyrek Mosque) into mosques, but the Fatih Mosque and its surrounding complex was the first purpose-built Islamic seminary within the city walls. The building of the mosque complex ensured that the area continued to thrive beyond the conquest; markets grew up to support the thousands of workers involved in the building and to supply them with materials, and then to service the students in the seminary. The area quickly became a Turkish neighbourhood with a particularly pious character due to the seminary. Some of this piety has endured until today.

Following the conquest, the Edirnekapı (meaning Edirne Gate) gate in the city walls became the major exit to Thrace, and this rejuvenated the neighbourhoods overlooking the Golden Horn. The Fatih Mosque was on the road to Edirnekapı and the Fatih district became the most populous area of the city in the early Ottoman period and in the 16th century more mosques and markets were built in this area, including: Iskender Pasha Mosque, once famous as a centre for the Naqshbandi order in Turkey); Hirka-i-Sharif Mosque, which houses the cloak of the Prophet Muhammad (The Mosque is in common use but the cloak is only on show during the month of Ramadan; the Jerrahi Tekke; The Sunbul Efendi Tekke and the Ramazan Efendi Tekke both in the Kocamustafapaşa district and the Vefa Kilise Mosque, originally a Byzantine church. The last four were named after the founders of various Sufiorders, and Sheikh Ebü’l Vefa in particular was of major importance in the city and was very fond of Fatih. Many other mosques, schools, baths, and fountains in the area were built by military leaders and officials in the Ottoman court.

From the 18th century onwards, Istanbul started to grow outside the walls, and then began the transformation of Fatih into the heavily residential district, dominated by concrete apartment housing, that it remains today. This process was accelerated over the years by fires which destroyed whole neighbourhoods of wooden houses, and a major earthquake in 1766, which destroyed the Fatih Mosque and many of the surrounding buildings (subsequently rebuilt). Fires continued to ravage the old city, and the wide roads that run through the area today are a legacy of all that burning. There are few wooden buildings left in Fatih today, although right up until the 1960s, the area was covered with narrow streets of wooden buildings. Nowadays, the district is largely made up of narrow streets with tightly-packed 5- or 6-floor apartment buildings.

At present, Fatih contains areas including Aksaray, Fındıkzade, Çapa, and Vatan Caddesi that are more cosmopolitan than the conservative image which the district has in the eyes of many people. With Eminönü, which was again officially a part of the Fatih district until 1928, and with its historical Byzantine walls, conquered by Mehmed II, Fatih is the "real" Istanbul of the old times, before the recent enlargement of the city that began in the 19th century.

The area has become more and more crowded from the 1960s onwards, and a large portion of the middle-class residents have moved to the Anatolian side and other parts of the city. Fatih today is largely a working-class district, but being a previously wealthy area, it is well-resourced, with a more thoroughly established community than the newly built areas such as Bağcılar or Esenler to the west, which are almost entirely inhabited by post-1980s migrants who came to the city in desperate circumstances. Fatih was built with some degree of central planning by the municipality.

Istanbul University which was founded in 1453 is in Fatih. In addition, since 1586, the Orthodox Christian Patriarchate of Constantinople has had its headquarters in the relatively modest Church of St. George in the Fener neighborhood of Fatih.

Fatih has many theatres, including the famous Reşat Nuri Sahnesi. The area is well-served with a number of schools, hospitals and public amenities in general. A number of Istanbul's longest-established hospitals are in Fatih, including the Istanbul University teaching hospitals of Çapa and Cerrahpaşa, the Haseki Public Hospital, the Samatya Public Hospital, and the Vakıf Gureba Public Hospital. A tramway runs from the docks at Sirkeci, through Sultanahmet, and finally to Aksaray, which is a part of Fatih.

Also, besides the headquarters, some main units of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, including the city's fire department, are based in Fatih.

Fatih has many historic and modern libraries, including the Edirnekapı Halk Kütüphanesi, Fener Rum Patrikhanesi Kütüphanesi (the Library of the Patriarchate), Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa Halk Kütüphanesi, İstanbul University Library, İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi Kütüphanesi, İstanbul Üniversitesi Kardiyoloji Ensitütüsü Kütüphanesi, İstanbul Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hulusi Behçet Kitaplığı, İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kadın Eserleri Kütüphanesi, Millet Kütüphanesi, Mizah Kütüphanesi, Murat Molla Halk Kütüphanesi, Ragıppaşa Kütüphanesi, and Yusufpaşa Halk Kütüphanesi.

On the other hand, today Fatih is known as one of the most conservative but peaceful religious areas of Istanbul because of the religious residents of the Çarşamba quarter which is essentially a very minor part of this historical district. Çarşamba is famous with bearded men in heavy coats, the traditional baggy 'shalwar' trousers and Islamic turban; while women dressed in full black gowns are a common sight as this area is popular with members of the Naqshbandi Sufi order affiliated to a Sheikh. Conservative political parties always do well in this area.

Fatih Terim Mekan Basti

Fatih Terim Mekan Basti

Turkiye Fotbol Direktoru Fatih Terim bilin bakalim ne yapti bu hafta sonu?

Fotbol Direktoru Fatih Terim Alacati'da bir restaurant/cafe'yi basti, evet dogru okudunuz.  

Fatih Terim ve damadı Volkan Bahcekapılı mekan bastı!

Turkiye Futbol Direktoru Fatih Terim, Alacati'da ortaligi birbirine kattı.  Damadı ve bir korumasi ile birlikte damadina ait restoranin yanindaki Yuzevler'e giden Fatih Terim, hem Yuzevler'in sabihini hem de 5 calisanini darp etti.  

What me? 

Sandalyelerin havada ucustugu, yumruklarin konustugu kavga sonrasinda, yaralilar, yan restaurant elemanlari darp raporu verdiler ve sonrasi karakola giderek Fatih Terim ve damadlari hakkinda sikayette bulundular.  

Bekliyelim ve bu facianin nasil sonunclanicagi hep betaber suredelim.  

Saygilarimla,

Ben

🤓

Day of Birth

Day of Birth

Some sites can now tell you the exact date of your birth.  I have copy/pasted a link of one of these sites, here below.  

http://www.korn19.ch/coding/days.php

Please visit this site if you are interested in the 'day' of your birth.  I have an interesting story of my 'birth day'. 

It says I was born on a Sunday, when completing the required information on the above site.  My mother has told me the story of me being born on a Saturday, which is interesting as then it conflicts with the website.  

Here is the story:

My father went to work Saturday early morning, he was a 'Pazarci', which means that he sold fruits and vegetables at various 'Farmer markets'.  How it worked in Istanbul was that each day, he would sell his produce at a different farmers market across the city.  That day, on Saturday, he was located at 'Beykoz', which is a neighbourhood in the Asian side of Istanbul.  My parents lived in 'Fatih', which is on the European side of the city.  

     Fatih, Istanbul

I was born early afternoon on that day my father worked at Beykoz, which would be Saturday.   

Also, my father did not work Sundays, this was his only day off. 

     Beykoz, Istanbul

After giving birth in her home, the upstairs neighbour, who was my

mothers uncles daughter, and my mothers best friend, which her name was Hatice.   Hatice's husband was called to duty, however, sadly I cannot remember his name, today.  

Anyway, the husband of Hatice was sent to where my father was employed that day, to inform him I was born.  He went from Fatih to Beykoz, which would be approximately hour and half journey.  For his efforts and good news, my father bought him a nice meal, and they returned back home together, later that evening.  

I saw this gentleman, Hatice's husband when I last visited Istanbul in August 2012.  He re-told the nice story of how he travelled from the European side of Istanbul, and crossed the bosphorous sea to the Asian side to tell my father of the birth.  He told the story, while we were sitting at a 'coffee house' in Fatih.  I bought him a cup of tea and he spoke while I listened.  I hope I see him again when I visit Istanbul again....soon.  

I have to remember his name, his name is on the 'Tip of my tongue', 

Back to that webpage. 

Therefore, either the chart is wrong on the webpage, or my parents put my date of birth of January 31 and it should have been Saturday January 30th. 

Interesting story, I thought to share.  

Thank you for visiting,

Ben here 

Death and Dusty

Death and Dusty 

'Death is like a dusty road, without you by my side' - Ben Oak

The First Date

The First Date

Here is the story:

(told in point form; therefore fill in the gaps, in your mind)

Listen,

- when he was 19, she was 17,

- in Fatih, Istanbul, in the evening, when he returned to the neighbourhood from work,

- many girls in the neighbourhood would be perched infront of their windows waiting for him to come home, 

- the girls would come out side to run into him, by accident,

- he was a good looking kid, 

- however, he saw her,

- she was a beautiful young lady,

- he followed her home,

- he asked her out,

- the next night, he showed up at her front door, for the first date,

- he was wearing an old t-shirt, he was not-well-off...poor,

- she gave him a new buttoned down shirt, one of her father's,

- he wore it, they went out,

- after the date, they were walking back home late that night,

- her father sees them, from a distance,

- the father sees him wearing his brand new shirt,

- the father goes home to wait for his daughter,

- remember, this is not Canada, it is Turkia,

- it is 1966,

- the father looks in the closet, the shirt is not there,

- the father waits for her at the house,

- she comes home,

- the father asks her "who he was", 

- she says, he lives around the corner,

- the father says, "I like him, he can keep the shirt",

- the young couple,

- my mom & dad,

Sincerely. 

Earthquake in Turkey

Earthquake in Turkey

I am very sorry to see what has happened in Japan.   This terrible devastation in the eartern part of our Earth, reminded me of an earthquake I witnessed a few years past.

I will only write briefly about this incident, and sometime in the future, I will elaborate on this terrible experience:

The year was 1999.

(of August 19'th).

I went to Turkey for a one month vacation on August 1, 1999.  I was staying at my parents home in Istanbul.  They live on the 5'th floor (top floor) of an apartment complex.  We had company over that night, it was Saturday.  The people left and it was very late, like around 2:00 AM before we went to bed.  I was sleeping on the couch as there were no other beds - my papa and mama, brother Atilla and sister Gulsen all were in their own beds.

It was about 3:00 AM as I had just fallen asleep when I awoke, as I felt the couch starting to move, looked up and the chandelier was swaying back and forth.  I jumped out of the couch and just waited on my feet, I saw and felt the apartment (the entire apartment building) swaying back and forth and I thought it was going to collapse.  I remember being right beside the open window and was thinking should I jump on to the street while the apartment swayed downward.  Then, I heard this incredible sound like metals scrapping against each other (it was so loud) then the building started to shake instead of sway.  Then, I started hearing people all around the neighborhood screaming.

I reached for the light, the lights were out of order.  My parents got up and Atilla, and Gulsen started to run downstairs, to the street.  I was the last one behind them, when my mama said "I forgot the keys....someone grab them!" I remember taking a very deep breathe and going back up the stairs (tiptoeing back up the stairs) and looking for the keys for the apartment in the dark, while I heard screams coming from down below and all around me of our neighbourhood.  I grabbed the keys, shut the door, then ran downstairs to the street level.  What did I see? Hundreds and thousands of people, all just awoken, in they're pajamas, looking dazed and in absolute shock.

After the shaking stopped, it was so quiet, dark, only light was the stars illuminating brightly.  I have never experienced that degree of peacefulness,unpredictable'ness and terror (all at the same time) in that big of a crowd before or since.

Morning came and we were informed that (I cannot remember the exact level) but a 7.5 earthquake had occurred approximately 150 km's away in a small city called Kocaeli.  I believe the final death total was just under 20,000 people.

Incredible experience, I just thought to share.

Did you read my other blogs titled 'MLS' or 'Being a Muslim in Angola', yet?

View from the Pera Hill

View from the Pera Hill

I would like to share the transcript of the seventh speech of mine, with some alterations made to it over the years.  This speech was given to my peers in January of 2012; for our Toastmasters group. 

Here it is below.  

Toastmasters, Speech number 7

View from the Pera Hill

On the communication manual it states that project 7 should be a “Research Your Topic” speech.  I actually did not know we were following the manual this close, really? Therefore thought back and realized that my last two speeches were not exactly done as the manual wanted and I want to correct this today.

Speech 5 guideline states that this should be a something that has an element of “Your Body Speaks”.  I definitely did not do that. I remember, I just stood out here and therefore, I would like to show you my delayed reaction…”Ohhh my, a TV!!” and “I cannot believe my eyes!".  (Make like your hands are in the air and start jumping around).  For those of you who missed my speech 5, this was a speech about the first time a Television was brought into our home, when I was only 5 or 6 years old.  

Speech 6 guideline states that it should have “Vocal Variety”. Again, I did not do that.  But, I want to correct this and here is my impression of, Lets see if you can guess this character actor? “Ahhh, A make him an offer, he can’t refuse…”  (Say it with an Italian accent) Anyone? The answer is Marlon Brando, starring in the oscar winning role of the The Godfather.

Most of you do not know, but I love to write.  I have over a dozen short stories in my native language.  I am in the process of slowly converting these stories into English.  My goal one day is to take a long leave of absence from work and try to chase this dream of mine to convert the stories into English and also expand these short stories into novels.

My speech today is titled “The view from the Pera Hill”.  I am not referring to Pisa in Italy.  I might add that, that would be a nice place to visit, right?  It would be nice to see the Leaning Tower, can you imagine standing by the leaning tower and having your partner take your picture while you are doing this (Make like you are holding up the tower).  Also, did you guys know that Pisa has less than 90,000 residences, but over a million tourists visit that city each year? That is over 10 times the population. Think about that. If we use the percentage calculation for Edmonton, that would mean that if there is 1 million residences living here (Give or take), we would have 10 million tourists visiting here. Imagine the traffic? Yuk!!

Also, my speech today is a just a very small part of one of my short stories.  The story is based in the year 1453.  This is a very important year.  It is said that “History, is written by the victor”, (Say this in an English accent), that is suppose to be an English accent by the way.  Can anyone guess who said that very famous phrase? Winston Churchill is the answer. 

I do not like wars, I am absolutely against them. “Wars are no solution to peace!” Therefore, I took an event which was a very important date in the history of Europe. 

The concurring of Constantinople. 

The fall of the old Rome. 

The end of the Byzantium Empire. 

The beginning of the mighty Ottoman Empire. 

My birth city, the city on the seven hills.

Therefore, what I did was that since the city was going to fall to the New lions of Anatolia. I dreamt up a way for not one person to die while the ruling hands changed in this city.

I describe the conversation between Fatih Sultan Mehmed; the young 21 year old conquer of the city that backs onto the Golden Horn body of water.  A body of water which holds 3000 years of treasures.  And the conversation is with a 74 year old Priest Patrick Gennadius Skolarious, who lives in the St. Aposteli Church.  A Church which has a secret item buried deep in the catacombs below it.  And, whoever has possession of this item, which dates back to the City of Jerusalem, and prior to that, to the town of Bethlehem.  The item once owned by a poor Sheppard, we all know who I am referring to.

Whoever has possession of this item, would have his one wish granted.  This conversation occurred between the two characters at 3 am on May 25, 1453 in the wooded parts of the Pera Hill on the East/North side of the Golden Horn body of water, overlooking the treasure below, the walled city of Constantinople. 

The trade occurs which saves every person, not one drop of blood spills, and everyone’s happy.

I am running out of time and therefore leave it to your imagine of how the two characters meet and communicate.  How one is at the prime of his life, full of brute force and the other advanced in years, full of wisdom share. 

Thank you for reading.