Birthday Greetings in a Parallel Universe

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 28 February 2015)


Infiltrating enemy territory to say 'Happy Birthday'

A group of Turks living in the USA celebrated the birthdays of
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu the day before yesterday in the state of
Pennsylvania.

The group gathered in front of  the "Pennsylvania Welcomes
You" sign on Interstate 80, which connects Pennsylvania with
New Jersey, and shouted slogans to celebrate the birthdays.
The gathering was organized by the Cihannuma (World)
Cooperation and Solidarity Platform and Turkish flags flew
at the meeting.


Bizarro Erdogan (Fetullah Gulen), ruler of Parallel Universe.

Posters were presented, declaring "Erdogan & Davutoglu, We
Are Always With You Everywhere" and "Happy Birthday
President Erdogan".  Platform president Levent Ali Yildiz
said that "we want to say 'Happy Birthday' to our President
and Prime Minister  in the heart of Pennsylvania."

A birthday cake was cut afterwards. Erdogan was born on
26 February 1954 and Davutoglu's date of birth is 26 February
1959.

      PANSILVANYA (a.k.a Paralelistan)

A Heart Can Only Take So Much...

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 27 February 2015)


Fate finally pulled the plug on Halil Arli's fragile heart.

Halil Arli had a heart attack 4 years ago when he discovered his
wife of 10 years  with another man, in Corlu district of Tekirdag
province. Nevertheless, Arli made up with the mother of his three
children. But when she cheated on him again, he had another
heart attack.


Real heart battered in Corlu, Tekirdag.

Since his heart was now in such bad shape, Arli had an artificial
heart attached last year at Ege University in Izmir.  This time,
Arli left his wife and gave his children up for adoption (!). He
moved to Ulukoy in Canakkale province to start a new life.

On 21 July, Arli was involved in a motorcycle accident, falling
off the back seat.  He was able to hold on tightly to the artificial
heart hanging from his shoulder and survived.

However, on  17 February he suffered a bicycle accident and
wasn't so lucky.  As he fell from the bike, the cable in his artificial
heart snapped and a blood clot developed, requiring an operation.
Despite the best efforts of doctors, Arli passed away on Tuesday.


Artificial heart broke in Ulukoy, Ezine, Canakkale province.

Turks Building Railroad in Ethiopia

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 26 February 2015)


Turks are back in 'Habeshistan', after a few hundred years.

The Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi has garnered a contract to build
391 kilometers of the 2,400 kilometers of railways that the
Ethiopian Railway Administration plans to build. Yesterday, the
first shovel of dirt was turned for the Awash-Kombolcha-Hara
Gebaya Railway Project.  Yapi Merkezi has secured financing
for the project from Turk Eximbank and European financiers.

The project is expected to take four years to complete and will
cost $1.7 billion.  Yapi Merkezi's chairman, Ersin Arioglu, stated
that his firm has completed 39 system structures in 6 countries
for a total of 2,600 kilometers of  railways.  Arioglu added that
"we've set up to work sites for this project  and have 5,000
workers on the job , 1,500 of them Turks.  There will be 36 trains
on the line and 60% of the load will be freight and the rest
passengers."


The 391-kilometer line has strategic importance because it will
link the Awash Waldia region in the east with Hara Gabaya region
in the north.  The line is expected to contribute to trade between
Ethiopia and Djibouti and will connect the north of the country
with the area around the capital Addis Ababa.


Great, but how about finishing the line in my Istanbul neighborhood!

'Struma': Forgotten Horror Remembered

turkce links to original Turkish article.

(Sabah Newspaper, 25 February 2015)


                 The ill-fated 'Struma'

The Turkish government, for the first time, has organized a
ceremony to honor the 768 people who died on the ship 'Struma',
which was carrying Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis and
which was sunk by a Soviet submarine in international waters
off Sile, Istanbul, on 24 February 1942.

The ceremony was held at the Sepetciler Mansion at
Sarayburnu (near Topkapi Palace) and was attended by Culture
and Tourism Minister Omer Celik, Istanbul Governor Vasip  
Sahin, Rabbi Isak Haleva and Moris Levi, Acting Chairman of
the Turkish Jewish Association.


Ceremony held at Sarayburnu, Istanbul, on 24 February 2015.


A wreath was dropped into the sea and prayers were said at
the ceremony. Haleva said "let this ceremony be a message
to the world. Minister Celik stated that "with this remembrance,
we want to ensure that this pain is not forgotten."



The Struma was travelling from Romania to Palestine with the
Jewish refugees but a problem with its motor stranded the ship
at Sarayburnu for 9 weeks.  After being towed to the open
waters off Sile, the Struma was hit by a Soviet submarine.


Sile: site of the sinking of the Struma by a Soviet submarine.

Fun Facts About the Suleyman Shah Tomb

//ed. note: the Turkish military moved the remains of  Shah Suleyman,
the grandfather of Osman, the founder of the Ottoman dynasty, from
a tomb in Syria, 35 kilometers from the Turkish border, a few nights
ago. The tomb building was demolished to keep it out of the hands
of  ISIS.//

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 22 February 2015)


Tomb moved in 1973 and again a few nights ago.

Before the tomb was relocated (in 1973), it was located in front of
the Caber Fortress (50 kilometers east of Rakka, Syria). According
to official records, it is the tomb of Suleyman Shah, who died in 1227
and who was the grandfather of Osman Bey, the founder of the
Ottoman State.  However, there are also claims that the tomb is that
of Kutalmisoglu Suleyman Shah, the founder of the Selcuk State, who
died in 1086.

==================================================
turkce links to original Turkish article

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 24 February 2015)


Prof. Demiraslan's handiwork. Since demolished.

The demolition of the Shah Suleyman tomb has dismayed the tomb's
architect, Prof. Dr, Unal Demirarslan, the head of the Turkish section
of  Interior Architecture at Maltepe University in Istanbul.  Professor
Demirarslan related that "in 1973, when the tomb was made, I was
the director of science education in the Public Works Ministry.  A
dispute arose with Syria because the tomb (then at Cabar Fortress) was
going to be inundated by dam waters."

"The Syrians closed their dam gates to fill the area so, in retaliation,
Turkey closed the Keban Dam.  The Euphrates went dry in 2-3 months.
The Syrians then agreed to a pact." and the tomb was moved to the new
location 35 kilometers from the Turkish border. Prof. Demiraslan
said he was proud of the tomb he built there 42 years ago.

====================================================
turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 24 February 2015)


Shah Suleyman's wife's tomb in Kutahya province.

Following the transfer of the Shah Suleyman tomb, the tomb of his wife,
Hayme Ana, located in Carsamba village in Domanic district of Kutahya
province, has come on the agenda.  Yurdagul Bakkal, a member of the
Kutahya Provincial General Council, says that the people of Kutahya
want the remains of Shah Suleyman to be buried next to his wife.


Kutahya province. Dominic is the northernmost district.

Dirty Little Secret Fends Off Anemia

turkce links to original Turkish article

(yerlihaber internet site, 29 January 2015)


 She loves it but won't share her filthy recipes.


Village Chief Sahin Yurttas of Zengen hamlet in Eregli district of
Konya province, has complained to the district health directorate
about women in his village who have been eating  the soil for more
than 20 years, claiming that it helps against anemia.

According to Village Chief Yurttas, the women of the hamlet, which
has a population of 2,500, bring the soil by the bucket to their homes
and eat it.  Yurttas explained that "health departments teams came and
took samples. The women in our hamlet think that eating the soil is
a defense against anemia so they scarf it down like nuts. To prevent
access to the soil, I surrounded it with barbed wire and put a locked
door there, too.  But that proved ineffective.'

"Our women's husbands are fed up with their wives eating the soil
so they don't say anything. In any case, the women persuade their
husbands to let them eat it.  I can't do anything more so I asked for
help from the district health directorate. Hopefully, they can solve
the problem."

Zubeyde Karakus came to the hamlet as a bride years ago and after
eating the soil she couldn't stop: "I eat the soil like I eat nuts. I believe
it's good for anemia."  Eregli District Health Chief Mehmet Emin
Gunay stated that female deaths in Zengen hamlet are usually from
cancer. He added that they have counselled the women of Zengen not
to eat the soil but in vain.


Eregli district is in southeastern Konya province.