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 

Todays Temperature

Today's Temperature

Today, and the next few days are looking to be absolutely amazing, if you like 'hot' temperature.  

Enjoy, 

Ben

Hamptons Home

Hamptons Home

Hello All,

I have a beautiful executive home available to a professional and responsible person(s). 

          Front

House is available August 1, 2014. 

The rent will be $2,300.00. 

Damage deposit $1,500. 

This is a 1650 square feet, double garaged, walkout basement, backing onto a green space/man made lake, two storey home. 

          Back

Here are some details:

- executive lifestyle,

- cozy home,

- quiet neighbourhood,

- tranquil setting,

- double garage,

- walkout basement,

- backed onto a lake,

- two storey,

- 3 bedrooms,

- 3 bathrooms,

- hamptons. west-end location,

- black appliances,

- 1 year old, 

- upgraded home,

- basement not completed,

The The home is located in the Hamptons, which is a neighbourhood in the west end of Edmonton, close to many outlets. 

No pets please. 

Email me if you are interested. 

Thank you for visiting, 

Ben

🤓

One Bedroom Delight in Hamptons

One Bedroom Delight in Hamptons

Hello Everyone,

I have a beautiful 1 bedroom & 1 bathroom condo for rent; it will be available August 1, 2014.

          Balcony

The condo is 700 square feet with neutral colored walls, black kitchen appliances, and a storage room with white washer & dryer available, plus there is one surface-parking stall.

The condo is located in a quiet and secure building, and it is on the first floor, facing the south/west direction.

          Living room

The rent will be $1,150.00 per month with water & heat Included in this amount.

You will be responsible for your own power, cable, and internet. 

Kitchen 

The damage deposit is $850.00

I am looking for a responsible, mature, dependable and clean individual, who is a non-Smoker.

No Pets allowed. 

Entrance into the unit 

If you have any questions or you want to arrange a viewing, please email me.

Thank you,

Ben

Kavalcik Koyu

Kavalcik Koyu

Kavalcik Koyu, Reyhanli Ilcesi, ve Hatay ilindedir.  

Asagidaki seyredipde begendigim su filmlere ev sahipligi yapmistir. 

'Kibar Feyzo'

'Ezo Gelin' ve

'Asi'

Kavalcik Koyu yıllardır adeta film ve dizi platosu olarak kullanılmistir.  Eski adini bilen varmi?

Kavalcik Koyunun eski adi 

Harran'dir.   

Bir gun elbette gidicegim.   

Tesekkurler, 

Ben

🤓

Soma Mine Explosion

Soma Mine Explosion

There was a Coal Mine Explosion on May 13, 2014, in the city of Soma, located in the province of Manisa, Turkey, that left 200 Miners dead; plus over 300 people are injured.  Also, hundreds are still trapped inside the Mine.  

         Injured miner

There had been 787 people inside the Coal Mine, when an electrical fault triggered the blast.

Rescuers and any person that can help out, are working hard to reach the hundreds of Miners still trapped underground.

Emergency crew helping an injured miner

Worried relatives and friends of the Miners have gathered outside the privately owned mine; all this is occurring about 450 kilometres west of the capital city of Ankara.

       Manisa is located in western Turkey

The nation is mourning the death of these individuals. 

My sincere condolences to everyone.  

Thank you for visiting,

Ben

Elveda Katya with Caner

Elveda Katya with Caner 

Elveda Katya (Farewell Katya) is a movie which tells the story of a young girl named Katya, who is from the country of Georgia, she is played by Anna Andrusenko. 

Katya is a girl who has been brought up in an orphanage in the city of Batumi, located in Georgia.

Katya, learns that her father is a sea captain from the city of Trabzon, located in Turkey. 

Katya travels to the city of Trabzon to find her father, and the story begins.  The father is played by the legendary actor of Turkish cinema, Kadir Inanir.  

This is a very good movie and I will leave it with that, about the movie.  However, I wanted to write further about a character in this movie.  He plays the son of Kadir Inanir, his name is Caner Cindoruk.  

Even though all the characters in the movie did a very good job, I believe Caner's portrayal of the son taking a stand against his father and accepting Katya as his sister was well done.  I believe he stole the scenes that he was in, and I for one, enjoyed watching this young Turkish actor.  

I have attached a YouTube link of the movie, here it is below, make time to watch it in the near future. 

http://youtu.be/yDK5mJP_S5I

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

🤓

Champagne and Campania

Champagne and Campania

I wanted to know why the 'sparkling white wine' is called Champagne; and did some research and found the following interesting information. 

   Champagne, France

The name 'Champagne' comes from the Latin word 'Campania'.  It is referred to the similarities between the rolling hills of the province of Champagne, located in northeast France and the Italian countryside of Campania located south of Rome.

   Champagne, France

Both Champagne and Campania are historic provinces and locations in both France and Italy, respectively.  

   Campania, Italy

However, now Champagne is best known for the 'sparkling white wine' that bears its name; instead of history packed locations.  

   Campania, Italy

I have included a few pictures of both Champagne and Campania; beautiful places to visit/live.  

   Campania, Italy

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

Marvellous Scenic and Busy Banff

Marvellous Scenic and Busy Banff

I had the opportunity to visit the city of Banff, in the province of Alberta, this past Eastern Weekend. 

As always, Banff is majestically beautiful in every corner, not a bad spot in deed, in this touristic 'hot spot '. 

Here are about a dozen pictures driving to Banff, and finally walking on the main road.  

   50 km's away, 

   25 km's away, 

   5 km's away,

   1 km away, 

   Banff, 

   Main road 1, 

   Main road 2, 

   Main road 3, 

   Main road 4, 

   Main road 5, 

   Main road 6, 

   Main road 7, 

   Main road 8, 

   Main road 9, 

Have you made it to this marvellous place yet?

Thank you for visiting. 

Ben

🤓

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

I read the below article, and wanted to share with everyone.  

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/world/middleeast/syrian-refugees-one-million.html?_r=0&referrer=

It is devastating to read that the number of registered Syrian Refugees who have entered into Lebanon, has exceeded one million; this number is given by the United Nations. 

There is a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon as this small country is overwhelmed and severely taxed with this many people, now living there.  

Lebanon now has the highest concentration of refugees as a percentage of population in the world, with about one Syrian for every three Lebanese. 

These are staggering figures and the World needs to join together to conclude this conflict and end the suffering.  

As a World Citizen, I am appalled at the nonchalant attitude and non-action by our Leaders. 

Thank you for reading, 

Ben here 

The Colors of Galatasaray

The Colors of Galatasaray

The choosing of the 'colors' of the football/soccer team of Galatasaray, Istanbul, Turkey, is the topic of my writing today. 

The love of Galatasaray to her current colors, was a 'love at first' story, as the saying goes. I will explain.  

One of the founders of Gala was Mr Ali Sami Yen, and this story is from his recalling of the incident of the decision to choose the colors.  

          Gala of 1909

I will translate this story from author Mr Utku Erisik's book titled: 'Hava Atisi'. 

The first colors of Gala was the colors of Turkey's flag of red and white.  

The very first jerseys were 'hand-sown' by another of the founders of Gala, the goalkeeper Mr Asım Tevfik's mother and his sister.  

Mr Yen states that "When we first wore the red and white jerseys, we as a team got scared, as we did not want to be in trouble with the state and the occupiers of our home land".  

I will need to give some 'historical' background here.  Galatasaray was founded in 1905, and during this turmoil times, before World Was I, the Ottoman Empire was fighting many uprisings from all corners of her territory.  Plus, the British and French, to name a couple of 'opportunistic' countries were busily trying to occupy further territories of this 'collapsing' Empire.  

Therefore, Mr Yen was trying to explain that, him and his team mates did not want to be killed by the occupiers for having the colors of red and white; the colors of the flag for both the Ottoman Empire and Turkey.  

The red and white jerseys were retired immediately, and 20 new jerseys with the colors of yellow and black were ordered from England.  However, when the jerseys arrived from England, none of the founders and players liked this new color combination, and once again, another jersey with the colors of yellow and black, were retired.  

Therefore, the search for the colors of Gala was still quietly in progress.  

The goalkeeper of Mr Asım Tevfik and Left-side defenseman named Mr Emin Bulend, 'informally' took on the duty, to find the 'true' colors of Gala.  

One afternoon when Mr Tevfik and Mr Bulend were walking in the neighbourhood called 'Bahcekapi', inside a clothing store, they spotted, in their own words "Two elegant and soft fabrics, placed side by side, one was a bit darker color of a 'sweet' red cherry fruit, and the other was a 'full', 'bright' yellow, with a tiny hint of the color being in-between yellow and orange.  

When the players saw these colors side by side, a flame was born inside of them, and they immediately knew that all other founders and players would approve this color combination.  

The two fabrics were taken home to be sown into a jersey by Mr Tevfik's mother again.  

The first time the colors of yellow and red were worn on December 6, 1908 against an English team of soldiers from the 'War ship' named 'Barham'.   

Ever since this date, the colors of Galatasaray has stayed the same.  

I thought this was an interesting story and wanted to share with you.  

Thank you. 

Before and After in Hampton Pointe

Before and After in Hampton Pointe

The picture with the 'sunrise' was taken on November 15, 2013.

The below picture was taken on February 19, 2014. 

Both pictures were taken from my living room, looking onto the back yard, and beyond homes. 

Tulips from the Ottoman Empire

Tulips from the Ottoman Empire 

Tulips, picture them in your mind, the colors, the slender trunk, reaching up, and at the peak, a beautiful 'cup' looking flower. 

One of my favorite flowers.  

How was this 'petite' flower introduced into Europe and the rest of our World. 

Let me write about this today. 

The introduction of the flower known as Tulip to Europe is well known to be by the Ambassador of the 'Roman Empire' to 'Ottoman Empire'.  

          Tulips, on the field I

This person was Ogier de Busbecq, the ambassador of Ferdinand I of the 'Roman Emperor'. 

The Tulip seeds/bulbs were sent to the city of Vienna, in the year of 1554 from Istanbul, then known as Constantinople. 

Soon after this date, the Tulip bulbs were distributed from Vienna to the rest of Europe.  

The city that really embraced this flower was, the city of Amsterdam.  

The flowers popularity and cultivation in the country of Netherlands, especially in Amsterdam is generally thought to have started around the year of 1593, at the University of Leiden, which established the 'Hortus Academicus' at this Institute. 

          Tulips, on the field II

Why was the Tulip different then all the flowers in Europe at this time?

The answers are that:

- there is an intense petal color that no other plant had. 

- status symbol of the flower. 

- at the time, Netherlands was finding the independence from Spain, and therefore this 'independence' was symbolized by the flower.  

Now, let me briefly describe the economic factors caused by the flower.  

          Tulips, on the field III

After the introduction of the Tulip into Europe from the Ottoman Empire, there was a Tulip-mania formed.  The high demand resulted in surging prices and stretching the flower's supply.  Prices of the flower fluctuated with extreme 'highs' and 'lows' during these years.  It is stated in 'Economic' books that this is the first example of 'demand' based pricing. 

At the peak of Tulip-mania, around the year of 1637, single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman in Europe, especially in Netherlands.  

Not only a beautiful flower, but with a 'rich' history.  

Thank you for visiting this site.  

Sochi Olympics on Guard

Sochi Olympics 

Beautiful Konyaalti Antalya

Beautiful Konyaalti Antalya

I took this picture June of 2011.  

This is Konyaalti.  

The 'town' is 20 kilometres west of Antalya.  

Once here, you feel a sense of 'peace' and 'calm' in the air. 

The warm Mediterranean Sea beckons a swim.  

And the 'Beydaglari' Mountains wrap the town and they peak to the heavens quickly. 

Makes for a beautiful picture.  

Have you ever made it out to this far away place called Antalya?

Syrian Refugees in Camps

Syrian Refugees in Camps

I wanted to write and bring further attention to a concern I have read in numerous articles.  

There is a snow storm in the Middle-East right now.  

The Syrian refugees who have fled their country, due to the 'civil war', are now, in even more hardship.  

I am concerned for the well-being of the Syrian refugees, who are living in tents, under cold temperatures, in refugee camps in the countries of Turkey and Lebanon.  

There are families with children, who are affected by the cold and the living conditions in these refugee camps, as they were not prepared for the 'blizzard' like conditions. 

There are extreme hardship conditions within the camps, currently.  

I further read that the United Nations, alongside numerous Aid Agencies, are distributing blankets, sheets, heaters and clothing; however there are not enough items for everyone within the camps.  

What can we do?, living so very far away from the Refugee Camps.  

One answer is, we can pray for them.  

Also, we can search on the net for 'Charities', whose mission is helping people of Syria; and making a donation, in this 'Giving' season.  

I hope we all live to see a day of 'no wars'.  

Thank you for reading.  

Bodrum Amphitheatre

Bodrum Amphitheatre

The 'glorious' & 'ancient' Amphitheatre of Bodrum was built between the years 330 to 300 BC; during the 'Carian' time of the Hellenistic age. 

I have been for numerous visits to this Amphitheatre, on my vacations to Bodrum, which was previously known to the world as 'Halikarnassus'.    

I would like to briefly describe the theatre for those who have not seen anything like this before.  

The Antique Theatre has a 'mysterious aura' and a 'beautiful panoramic view' of Bodrum peninsula.

This well preserved theatre had a capacity of about 12,000 spectators when functioning thousands of years ago.  

The Theatre is now an open air museum; and once in a while, it is used for concerts, festivals and cultural activities.  

The ancient Amphitheatre in Bodrum is an important structure from an era, long gone now.  Please make time to visit this structure, if you ever make it out to Western Anatolia area of Bodrum / Halikarnassus. 

Thank you, 

Out of the way, Uruguay

Out of the way, Uruguay

I wanted to write about the South American country of Uruguay today. 

Does anyone know why it is called Uruguay? 

how the country declared independence from the European Powers? 

when was the independence?

and finally, what is the capital city?

Here are the answers to the above questions, however first, let me elaborate a bit.  

Uruguay has the neighbours of Brazil and Argentina; and is surrounded on two sides by river, and the third side by the Atlantic Ocean. 

The river of 'Río de la Plata', which is one of the widest rivers in the world is located on the north. 

The 'Río Uruguay' is on the west of the beautiful country. 

And finally, the Atlantic Ocean borders the country to the east. 

The main port and capital city is Montevideo; which was founded in 1726.

The name 'Uruguay' originates from the river mentioned above.  Its etymology derives from a 'Guaraní Indian' word meaning "the river of shellfish". 

Never been to Uruguay yet, but I will definitely make it out to this 'out of the way' country soon. 

Thank you for reading. 

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?