dirty

"So it's time to admit it: We're fools, protagonists in a kind of gruesome comedy about the marriage of greed and stupidity."

"...the group of psychopaths on Wall Street whom we allowed to gang-rape the American Dream"

Ani trip 4-14-09

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2 weekends ago i visited Kars and from there an abandoned Armenian city named Ani. Ani has been built and occupied by Uratians, early Arabs, Armenians, Byzantines, Seljuk Turks, Kurds, Georgians, and Mongols. it has been captured, modified, respiritualized, subject to enormous building projects, and ultimately left in a state of decay. up until 2006, the site was difficult to visit and photographs were forbidden, mainly because of its proximity to the Armenian border.

the first buildings in this area were built sometime before the 5th century by the Uruatians and include what most believe to be a Zoroastrian Fire Temple. by the 11th century, there were over 100,000 people in the Armenian city, and it rivaled Cairo, Baghdad, and Constantinople in population and influence as a major trading route.

the ride from Kars takes about 45 minutes. four americans and an australian resembling dwight from the office packed into a small taxi. it was cloudy and after 2 hours it poured, but the trip was worth it and the weather added to the atmosphere of this mysterious city. we explored, climbed, and took a ton of pictures.

overhead view of Ani from the Armenian side of the border. the open square of land surrounded by walls at the bottom of the picture is Ani. to the right is a small Turkish town outside the walls of the ancient city:

above pic from the internet. below, my own.

looking up at the main dome in the church of Saint Gregory, 1215 AD:



church of the Redeemer, 1035 AD:



king Gagik's church of St. Gregory and surrounding rubble, 1001 AD:



the cathedral of Ani and the church of the Redeemer as seen from atop the minaret at minuchihir mosque (it was forbidden to climb up the minaret, making it irresistible to do so):



church of the Redeemer as seen from a second story window inside Ani cathedral.

Ani from tüpbebek on Vimeo.

a new thought on an age-old theme

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the word for chicken in Turkish is tavuk.

strapped for food choices, i picked up a package of breaded patties, with a small chicken-like logo on them. i've seen the word piliç before. i cooked the patties, and ate. they had the consistency of tofu.

curious, i looked up piliç. chicken came up, but more specifically, chick, and pullet. i was eating very little chickens. genç tavuk. and it made me sad. i have a sympathy for animals, and small animals even more. already i'm eating lots of lamb and now i just digested a baby chicken.

strange and sad meats. the saga continues.

Trabzon- January Trip- Sümela Monastery

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posting something from January in March is just one of many signs that this blog is behind, struggling to catch up, stay relevant, stay interesting. well, here goes:

wandering in the deep wilderness of North-Eastern Anatolia sometime in the late 4th century two Athenian priests thought they saw the Virgin Mary in a cave. that cave happened to stand on a cliff looking over the Altındere Valley. through conquests, emperors, and sultans, Sümela monastery grew and was abandoned, and now it stands as an inspiring historical site. after 40 minutes of driving uphill alongside pine trees and mountains, this greets you on the road:


in the falling snow, we climbed from the summit up a slick path and the monastery appeared out of the snow and fog:



climbing further still, we reached the top and had a look inside. i began thinking about what life was like here, in the 4th century, and in the 5th, in the 12th and the 19th, each year of life here building or destroying the monastery, painting biblical frescos after one re-conquest and ripping the figures eyes out with the next. like most sites in Turkey, Sümela monastery is physical proof of the tradition and perseverance of mystic struggle.

...

zombies

"the zombie ideas have won"

hear the 2008 noble prize winning economist explain how were all doomed: Democracy Now!

Today's Zaman

here's another article published in the Turkish daily newspaper: article

currency XXXchange

1.80 lira-dollar, march 9th. record.
september- 1.26 lira-dollar

the ecstasy of economic communication

grab a translator (thanks!)
to the bank, grab a number, 3938, wait 23 minutes. 20 100 dollar bills.

to the car, to the street. they don't have enuf lira. ha.

let's buy suits!

let's joke about it!

to a tea house with a soccer coach-
to his knife salesmen uncle-
to another exchange
1.80, 1.79, 1.785
XXchange ticking away
knife salesmen cuts a deal!
1.80!
3600 lira
to the bank, grab a number, grab, grab grab

thismandonwantto

thisboydonwantto
turnthelightson
makespace
thinkofartisticwaystoeatpopcorn

thatmoldedchunksnowisawave
thatrustedplaygroundisaplayground
iamchasingacatandwelaugh
iambeatingatrashcan

turkish-american haiku

-----
van canavarı
van canavarı!
avcılarız!
-----
çekirge, hayat
çekirge, hayat.
sessızlık

that is:

van monster
van monster!
we are hunters!

grasshopper, life
grasshopper, life.
silence

the turkish burt reynolds?

Orhan Baba!