Handicapped Tennis Star Steps Up

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 28 February 2017)


          "Travel fee" - stairway to easy money.

Yesterday, handicapped national tennis player Büşra Ün went to
the Number 16 Notary in Şirinyer, Izmir, to get some paperwork
notarized.  Because Ün could not climb the 25-step staircase to
the notary's office, a worker came down the stairs to her side to have
her sign the documents.

But after the matter was taken care of Ün was shocked to see her
bill from the notary.  She had been charged 17.74 TL (about  $3)
for a "travel fee".  Ün, who had previously experienced a similar
incident, then posted this on Twitter: "to those who ask what #handicapped
means, tell them 'paying 17.74 TL at the notary for a person to come
downstairs because I couldn't climb the 25-step staircase.'"

Ün's message was quickly re-tweeted about 10,000 times and the
Turkish Notary's Union began looking into the matter.  Ün explained to
Hürriyet that "my friend went up to the notary's office to take care of
the paperwork.  But they said I had to come up to sign it.  When I
couldn't climb the stairs they sent a worker down to me and charged
me 17.74 TL for that.  When I shared my experience on social media,
the notary said that the fee was charged automatically becuase the
work was done outside the office but that this was a mistake and my
17.74 TL payment would be cancelled.  Since I'm an athlete I was
able to get my story out but heaven only knows who else is going
through these things and can't get anyone to listen."


The Şirinyer neighborhood is within the city of Izmir. 

What Would Jesus Do? File Suit!

türkçe links to related Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 28 February 2017)



Hair's a bit thinner, but hey it's been 2,000 years.

Lawyer İsmail Taşkıran, a member of the Istanbul Bar, has
filed quite an interesting suit against his own family.  In 2011,
Taşkıran revealed to his family that he believed that he is
Jesus the Messiah, who, according to some religious sources,
will come again to the world at the end of time.

Taşkıran alleged in a criminal complaint that his family not
only didn't believe him, they made fun of him and beat him,
as well.  The public prosecutor declined to act on the complaint
so Taşkıran filed a civil suit against his father Osman, mother
Gülşen, brother Cem and sister Rahime Pınar Taşkıran Sabuncu.

The first hearing in the suit was held a few days ago and both
Taşkıran and his entire family participated.  Taşkıran stated that
"I request an expert's and a sociolog's examination with regard
to the mental anguish related to my psychological situation."
As for the family members, they asked that the suit be dismissed
but rejected mediation.  The court ordered that Taşkıran's
witnesses (a.k.a. apostles) be summoned to give testimony at the next
hearing.


Actually, the resemblance is uncanny...

This Time, Jerusalem Yields Ottoman Inscription

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 27 February 2017)

selçuk inscription see TNT reporting on a Selçuk inscription 
also found recently in Jerusalem by Prof. Tütüncü.


Nice work, but there should be an exclamation point after
'Tuesday, partly cloudy' on line three. 

An inscription of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman has been found in
the warehouse of the Israel State Museum in Jerusalem after 120
years.  Researchers have long wondered about the fate of the
inscription until it was located by Mehmet Tütüncü, the head of
the Arab World Research Center.

During the visit of German Kaiser Wilhelm to Jerusalem in 1898
the inscription was lost after the portion of the Jerusalem wall on
which it rested was demolished.  The inscription is a 'ferman' (decree)
that for the first time proclaimed that the Ottomans were the
possessors of the Islamic caliphate.

In the 1533 inscription, Sultan Süleyman identifies himself as the
'sole ruler of the world', 'the lord of the horizons' and the 'true
holder of the caliphate'.  Prof. Tütüncü pointed out that the inscription
is very important for Ottoman history: "As is known, after Sultan
Yavuz Selim conquered Egypt the caliphate passed to the Ottomans.
But Yavuz Selim never declared himself the caliph."

"When Süleyman took the throne after his father Selim, he proclaimed
himself the caliph.  The inscription I found in the Israel Museum has
the aspect of being the first declaration of the Ottoman caliphate. More
importantly, Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu wants the Siloam
Inscriptions, Israel's oldest writings, which are in the Istanbul
Archeology Museum.  The Siloam Inscriptions were found during an
excavation in Jerusalem in 1880 and brought to Istanbul. Netanyahu
has said that he will exchange the Israeli inscriptions in Istanbul for
the Ottoman ones in Jerusalem."

Tütüncü explained the story of the missing Süleyman inscription as
follows: "After a great deal of research, during my last visit to
Jerusalem I learned that the inscription was in the Israel Museum's
warehouse.  I found it there and photographed it.  The inscription
had been on the wall between the Yafa Gate and the Jerusalem Fortress
in the past.  The Yafa Gate is the main gate inside the Jerusalem Wall.
The internal fortress is surrounded by a trench.  The Süleyman
inscription was on this wall but when Kaiser Wilhelm visited Jerusalem
in 1898 the trench was filled in to let the Kaiser and his retinue pass
more comfortably.  Another gate was made in the wall, through which
the Kaiser and his entourage passed.  When the trench was filled in,
Süleyman's inscription  was buried and its whereabouts was unknown
for years."

The inscription reads: "Sultan Süleyman Han, son of Sultan, who
ordered this tower to be built to protect Islam's walls, who blocks
the worship of idols with his power and strength, who holds the
sovereignty of the world's nation's in his hand, the lord of the
horizons, the one with the right to be the head of the caliphate."



                      Back in the day...
  

Turks Killed Ferry's Namesake in Cyprus, 1974

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 26 February 2017)


Just right for the Russian oligarch who has everything.

Who knows how many seagulls snatched bread in the air thrown
by ferry passengers? How many couples took rememberance photos
sailing up the Bosphorus?  How many times did kids playing tom-toms
meet the Şehit Caner Gönyeli as it pulled up to the Beşiktaş pier?

The Şehir Hatları (City Lines) ferry, named for Caner Gönyeli who
lost his life in the Cyprus operation, plied the waters between Istanbul's
two shores for 35 years, making 15 trips each day between Beşiktaş
and Kadıköy, Eminönü and Kadıköy.

Some say that prior to use as a ferry, the ship served as a floating
police station. In any case, the ferry was sold to a group that wanted
to make it into a hotel.  After 4 years of silence tied up at a dock in
Yalova, a photograph of the Caner Gönyeli appeared on the internet
with the following description: "60 meters in length, 10 meters wide,
Captain's bridge, 4 large halls and a 4-meter engine room below deck.
Has documentation for commercial use.  Price: 1.2 million TL"
(about 300,000 USD).


Found in the used ferry section of the advertisements.

One might ask who would want to buy a Şehir Hatları ferry?  Yiğit
Ali Günaydın, who put the ad on the internet, explained that "we
purchased it to make a hotel out of it.  But for financial reasons we
weren't able to do it.  So we've decided to sell it."  So far, interest about
the sale has come from domestic and foreign tourism companies and
architects.  Others may want to make a restaurant out of the ferry.
There are even those who want to take the ship to Tunisia and Morocco.

The ferry's namesake Caner Gönyeli was born in Cyprus but he came
to Turkey for his education at the Naval War College.  He became a
supply officer assigned to the Kocatepe warship, which participated in
the 1974 Cyprus operation.  On the first day of hostilities, the Kocatepe
was bombed by Turkish planes (!), mistaking it for a Greek ship.
Gönyeli was lost in the Mediterranean Sea.  Each year there is a search
and rescue exercise in the waters off Cyprus in his memory.  In 1977,
Gönyeli's name was given to the ferry built in the Haliç Tersanesi
(Golden Horn Shipyard) so that his memory would sail Turkish waters,
as well.


The sad aftermath of  a 'friendly fire' incident.

Arm Wrestling Champ Keeps Head Above Water

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Korkusuz Newspaper, 26 February 2017)


     Zeynep hanım during office hours.

In Gaziantep, Zeynep Yılmaz (40), the handicapped, single mother of
two teenagers, has been arm wrestling World Champion twice, European
Champion 4 times and has won a total of 26 medals.   Zeynep hanım earns
a living by selling water on the street.


When she was 8 years-old, Zeynep hanım took some expired medicine
and lost the use of her legs.  Ten years ago she divorced and began to
invest her time in arm wrestling, which she has loved since childhood.
In time, she was selected to the Turkish national team to represent Turkey
in competitions.


          Any takers?...I didn't think so.

But since arm wrestling is not an Olympic sport, there is no state support
for athletes such as Zeynep hanım.  Because she suffers from a 96% bodily
handicap, Zeynep hanım has been unable to find a job and currently supports
herself and her two teenage children by selling water.