30 Eylül 2016 Cuma

Everything's Relative: Turks & Native Americans


Türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Haber7.com Website, 30 September 2016)

Akdeniz Üniversitesi akademisyenlerinden Mehmet Ali Eroğlu araştırdı
                   Turkish 'Little Big Horn'

Professor Mehmet Ali Eroğlu of Akdeniz University in Antalya has
conducted a comparative study of the Native Americans on
reservations in the United States with the Sarıkeçeliler nomads, the
last nomadic representatives living in the Toros Mountains, and
reported about the similarities between the groups.

In an interview with a reporter from the Anatolian News Agency, Eroğlu
said that he had stayed as a guest with Native American familes who live
traditionally on reservations in the United States.  Eroğlu noted that he
has also stayed in nearly 40 Sarıkeçeli Yörük (Anatolian nomads) tents in
Mersin, Antalya and Konya and he has identified some startling similarities
between the two cultures.

Eroğlu has written a book about these similarities and he explained that
"I wasn't able to definitively answer the question 'are Native Americans Turks?'
but my study can serve as a basis for further research on this subject. There
are many similarities between the languages, beliefs, customs, traditions,
musical instruments and handicrafts.  Scientists have varying views about Native
American but my research has convinced me that the Native Americans who have
settled in America are related to the Turks of Central Asia".

Image result for yörük kızılderililer eroğlu
                     Big Chief Erdoğan

"There is quite a bit of existing information that confirms this link. Some Native
American tribes use the 'Atabaskan' language, which is one of the Ural-Altay
language groups.  There are also words that resemble Turkish words such as 'göç'/
'köç', 'toz'/'toos' and 'tepe'/'tepek' and there are more examples, too."

Eroğlu asserted that Native Americans, who have made nomadism their unique
lifestyle, are as obsessed with freedom as the Turks and they give importance to
tent life because of their preference for fresh air living.  He added that "the 'oba'
traditon of the Yörük, whereby the mother, father, siblings and first degree
relatives live in the same pasture is the same in traditional Native American
culture, who live with their close relatives and whose tribal chief lives in
the first tent.  The Native American tent architecture and use is similar to
that of the Yörük and both groups make their living through animal husbandry.
Hunting and gathering are widespred, as well.  The practice of drying meat for
storage is the same in the two cultures. The Göktürks and the Huns' custom of
growing their hair long and braiding it is the same in Native American and
Yörük cultures."

Image result for yörük erdoğan
             The resemblance is uncanny...

 "As for Native American clothing, the main symbols used are gray wolves,
wolves, horses, eagles, the moon and geometric shapes and these are all
seen in both Turkish handicrafts and Yörük live.  Similar to the Native
American custom of dressing up horses, the Yörük dress up goats in various
ways on 'kırpım' day."

Eroğlu emphasized that there is a similarity in the feathers that Native
American use in their headresses and the feathers the Yörük use in their belts.
He noted that "the tradition among Turks related to cradles is the same in
some Native American tribes.  I was most surprised by this and it constitutes
the strongest indication that the two groups are related."

The motifs on Yörük rugs and sacks are very much like those on Native
American tents, according to Eroğlu, who added that "there are two-headed
eagles on the rugs in the tents of both cultures, along with ram head, moon
and star designs.  Respect for family elders and adherence to the word of an
elder in shared by both groups.  We see that the use of drums, an essential
element of Shamanism, is widespread in both Turkish and Native American
cultures. Musical instruments like the lute of Central Asian origin are found
in Native American life."

Image result for central asia native americans map
How the Turks got to the Turks & Caicos Islands.





28 Eylül 2016 Çarşamba

Fugitive and Village Emerge


Türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 28 September 2016)


Even eating steak could get old. How about hedgehog meat?

Ozan Bölükbaş, the married father of three children, was
convicted of 13 crimes that included "kidnapping", "resisting
authorities" and "threats while armed" while he was working
at a night club in Gelendost district of İsparta province.

Bölükbaş went to his father's home in Gökçeali village and lived
there for a period of time before fleeing to the mountains to
avoid jail.  During his 8 months on the run, Bölükbaş ate hedgehogs,
snakes and fruit to stay alive.  The Gendarmerie, though, did not
relent in its pursuit of Bölükbaş so he decided to turn himself in.

Image result for isparta haritası
              İsparta province

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 28 September 2016)

Image result for baraj suları çekilince biga
          Back from the (watery) grave.

Eşelek village, located about 25 kilometers from Biga in
Çanakkale province, was founded by a group of Yörük
(Anatolian nomads) of the Türk-Oğuz clans, in 1561 A.D., when
the region came under Turkish hegemony.  In 1990 the village was
inundated when the Bakacak Dam was built.

Some of the villagers remained in Biga, while others were resettled
by the state on Gökçeada in the northern Aegean Sea, in a new
village also named 'Eşelek'.  The villagers had taken the minaret from
the mosque in the submerged Eşelek as a memento for their new home.

While the Bakacak Dam held the water, Eşelek remained submerged.
Now after 26 year the retreat of the dam's waters have exposed the 900
year-old village, together with its homes and minaret-less mosque.
Interestingly, despite the years and the water, the buildings, gravestones
and other structures in the village have not suffered damage.

Image result for çanakkale haritası
Çanakkale province. Gökçeada is on the left in the Aegean Sea.




Seeking Forgiveness, But in Vain

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(MilliHavadis Website, 26 September 2016)

Image result for karabuk pankart esengül
The rare Turk who tries persuasion without a pump-action rifle.

In Karabük, Esengül Yalçin, the mother of two children, left
home because of family problems.  Her husband Nevzat Yalçın
pleaded with her to return but all for nought.  In desperation,
Nevzat stood in front of Esengül's beauty shop on Gazipaşa
Avenue in the Bayır neighborhood with a sign that read
"Won't you please open the gates to your heart for me once
again, Esen?"

As the hours went by Nevzat explained to curious citizens that
"she's a little mad at me. But I think she'll forgive me and come
back home to our two kids."  However, after waiting for hours
and not receiving his hoped-for response from Esengül, Nevzat
had not choice but to abandon his plea.

Image result for karabük haritası





26 Eylül 2016 Pazartesi

Skinny Dipping Truck Driver


Türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 26 September 2016)

Image result for tekirdağda çırılçıplak denize girdi
Thank heavens we don't see the hands-on-hips guy naked.

Police in Şarköy district of Tekirdağ province received a tip
last night that someone was swimming naked in the Sea of
Marmara.  Arriving at the beach, police had suspect F.Ö. get
out of the water and they took him to the Şarköy police station
for questioning.

It was determined that F.Ö. had an alcohol 'promil' reading of 1.99.
F.Ö. explained that his own hometown is not near the sea so upon
reaching Şarköy he wanted to find out what it was like to take a
dip in the water.  He said that "in the dark of night I thought that
no one would notice me.  I had no other motive."  F.Ö was fined
92 TL (about 30 USD) and released.

Image result for şarköy haritası



25 Eylül 2016 Pazar

'Truck Bomb' Practically Defused


Türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 25 September 2016)

Kasasında bomba yazan kamyon paniğe yol açtı
Terrorists are nuts but they don't advertise...right?

When citizens saw the word 'bomba' (bomb) written on
the back of a truck driving on the TEM highway in
Ümraniye, Istanbul, they called the police.  As the truck,
with plate number 35 GC 7735, continued along the D-100
road, police from the Maltepe precinct intercepted it.

Police had driver Mustafa Kabak get out of the truck and
open up the back door.  Nothing of a criminal nature was found.
Kabak explained that the truck's previous owner had painted
the word 'bomba' on the truck.  He was told by police to cover
the word and after doing so he was allowed to continue on his
way.

//ed.note: interestingly (or perhaps not) the driver's name lends
itself to the situation via the proverb 'kabak başına patladı'  -he
was 'left holding the bag' after the other owner wrote 'bomb' on
the truck.//


Kasasında bomba yazan kamyon paniğe yol açtı
      Ultimately, an elegant solution is found.

Image result for ümraniye tem haritası
           Ümraniye district of Istanbul