Did Noah Leave a Polar Bear on Mt. Ararat?

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Sözcü Newspaper, 29 June 2021)

                  Well, there is an ice cap at the summit.

Official climbs have begun again on Ağrı Dağı (Mt. Ararat of 

Noah's Ark fame) after a six-year break and on 25 June two bears, 

one of them a white albino, confronted Ukrainian climbers.  The 

climbers' screams scared the bears away.  Tour guide Saffet Akkuş 

declared that "in 16 years of guiding on Ağrı Dağı this is the first time 

I've seen a bear."

Because of military operations on Ağrı Dağı in August and September

2015, the Ağrı governorship declared it a "special security region" and

closed it to mountain-climbers.  Permission for climbs began to be 

reissued in February 2021, prompting domestic and foreign climbers

to return to the mountain.

On 25 June, a 7-person group of Ukrainian climbers, two of them women,

came to Ağrı's Doğubayazıt district and began a climb guided by Saffet

Akkuş.  The group of climbers reached a camp at 3,200 meters on the

first day and spent the night there. The next day, at the 3,800-meter

altitude, the climbers encountered two bears, one brown, which fled,

and one a white albino that wanted to attack the group.

                                   "Hey! What about us??!!"

The moments were captured on the cellphone of one of the climbers, 

who fled left and right, screaming in terror.  At the last minute, though,

the albino bear ran up towards the summit and disappeared. 

Guide Mustafa Tekin, a 23-year veteran who has made 158 climbs of 

Ağrı Dağı, said that "the local people always said that there was a white 

bear on the mountain but no one believed it.  Some climbers said the 

same thing but it couldn't be proven.  We were perplexed by the claim

and wondered what a polar bear would be doing here.  But the Ukrainian

climbers got it on film.  Now everyone knows there is, in fact, a white

bear on Ağrı Dağı so 'proceed with caution' is the watchword henceforth.

In all my climbs I've never encountered a bear and I hope I never do."

TNT Ancient History Archives: Hittite Celestial Calculation Center of 3,200 Years Ago Explored in Çorum

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 29 June 2021)

jounal article details click here for some details

about how to find the article referenced herein.

The secrets related to the more than 90 rock reliefs at the 3,200-year-old

Yazılkaya Open-Air Temple  located at the ancient Hittites' capital

Hattuşaş, are gradually being revealed.  Within the scope of an effort by

the Luvi Research Foundation and Basel University, the reliefs in two

rooms of the temple have been determined to symbolize the universe,

and the earth and sky symbols in the temple have been deciphered. 

In a report published in the Journal of Skyscape Archeology, how the 

limestone reliefs reflected the thousand-year Hittite Kingdom's 

understanding of the cosmos is explained.  Dr. Rita Gautschy of Basel

said that the temple is still a perfect 3000-year-old time machine,

adding that "They used the temple like an open-air calendar and watch

that showed astronomic dates accurately.  And it works reliably today, too."

French archeologist and historian Charles Texier discovered the Hittites'

Open-Air Temple, located in today's Boğazkale district of Çorum 

province, in 1834.  It has taken nearly 200 years to decipher the mystery

of the reliefs.  The temple, which is a UNESCO cultural heritage site, 

is located two miles northeast of the Hittite capital Hattuşaş.  

According to the research conducted by geoarchaeologist Dr. Eberhard 

Zangger, the head of the Luvi Research Foundation, archeoastronomy 

expert Dr. Rita Gautschy, an academician at Basıl University's 

Egyptology department, and ancient history expert Serkan Demirel of

Karadeniz Technical University in Trabzon, the universe of the Hittite 

people was made up of three worlds - the sky, the Earth and the 

underworld.  

The sacred area of the temple reflects the cosmos, as conceived by the

Hittites, and the arrangements of the Yazılkaya complex.  When the 

experts examined Room A of the rock temple, they found figures that

symbolized elements of the Earth and heavens, including the sun, moon, 

five visible planets, some galaxies, stars and the north pole.  In Room B 

of the temple the experts found symbols reflecting the underworld - at 

the room's entrance there are devil-headed lions and an 11-meter relief 

depicting Nergal, the chief of the underworld, and 12 underworld gods 

holding sickle-shaped swords. 

In their excavations in Room B, the archeologists found the remains

of bird bones "that probably reflect certain sacrificial rituals of the

underworld."  But even though this room depicts death at its entrance, 

the archeologists explained that the room also reflects a view of the

entire cosmos, death and rebirth, day and night, sun and moon, and 

the seasons - in other words, the circular processes of nature. 

In the journal article, it is stated that "It is much more likely that the

temple, as part of the cosmologic entirety, was the place where

astronomic information was displayed in order to explain the cosmic

system.  These two large rooms of the sacred temple were used as

ritual sites for important ceremonial activities for a certain audience.

The gods are depicted with a great deal of care.  These places weren't

just for making calculations.  They were used for displays, as well."

  

"String Theory" for Back Pain Relief Tested in Elazığ

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 26 June 2021)

             "I'll do anything for science."

A 25-year-old man in Elazığ went to see a doctor about his back pain.

But when Dr. Noyan Dirlik, an orthopedic expert, began the

examination of the patient he was flabbergasted to see that there were 

two holes in the patient's rear waist area, under which a clothesline 

string had been passed. (!)

Someone who agreed to treat the patient's complaint but who had no

medical training whatsoever had experimented with this "string theory"

of back pain relief on the patient, who is a shepherd.  Dr. Dirlik 

explained that the patient had been diagnosed with "ankylosing 

spondylitis (marie-strumpell disease)" two years ago.  

Continuing, Dr. Dirlik said that "the patient tried all sorts of treatments 

but in vain, so he resorted to this.  Infections have developed, opening

up the risk that an infection may reach the nerves, which could be 

fatal.  This treatment ("string theory") has no value.  We run into these

alternative medical treatments all the time but this is the first time I've

encountered a string passed under the skin.  The patient has lived with

this string in his back for five months. It's very dangerous.  The patient

says he has some urgent matters to attend to just now (!) so I'll 

continue treating him at the beginning of the week with a surgical 

method to clean the infection."

"Beat & Release": Vicious Jaguar Attack in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 26 June 2021)

           The rare and extremely dangerous white Jaguar.

Adalet Bike, the mother of one child, met with her boyfriend Gökhan

Denli last Sunday.  The couple were parked in Büyükçekmece Kültür

Park, chatting with those in a car next to them when a Jaguar pulled 

up behind them.  Four people got out of the Jaguar and stabbed Denli

multiple times, subsequently shooting him to death with 7 bullets. 

The four forced Adalet hanım into the Jaguar and took off.  A few hours

later, Adalet hanım's dismembered body was found along the D-100 

highway in Büyükçekmece.  Police viewed security video, saw the 

Jaguar's license plate and determined that Adalet hanım's ex-husband

Mahmut Bike, his brother-in-law and two other brothers-in-law had 

committed the murders.  So far, the culprits have not been apprehended.

                Sees himself as a jaguar personified.

According to the results of the police forensic examination, Adalet 

hanım was tortured in the Jaguar by deep stab punctures and the run

over multiple times by the Jaguar.  Police also learned that Adalet 

hanım's close relative had been pressured into revealing where she

and Denli were located.  

"Drunk-With-Power" Volunteer Traffic Inspector Terrorizes Drivers in Trabzon

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Sözcü Newspaper, 25 June 2021)

                       Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In Akçaabat, Trabzon, B.T., a volunteer traffic inspector (!), sat in front

of his shop on Adnan Menderes Boulevard and wrote tickets for 633 

vehicles over the course of 50 days, amounting to 2,186,587 TL (about

$240,000) in fines.  B.T. charged the "violators" with abusing the 

street's safety lane, reserved for police and ambulances.

However, there was a resulting outcry from the fined drivers, who 

asserted that the lane in question can be used for right turns.  An

investigation was launched and B.T. was fired for abusing his authority

to write traffic tickets. 

//collateral information from English newspaper Daily Sabah// 

Volunteer traffic inspectors are unpaid civilians tasked with reporting

any violation of traffic safety rules. Anyone at the age of 40 and above,

who has held a driving license for at least 10 years and who does not

have any previous suspension of a driving license is eligible for the

job. Last month, a driver in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş

claimed a volunteer traffic inspector issued him a fine for parking his

minibus in front of his own house, claiming that he was parking his

minibus in an area closed to parking.

Volunteer inspectors are not authorized to issue fines on their own;

they can only report violations to traffic police. They are allowed to

report any safety violations everywhere they are spotted, regardless

of their place of residence or work. They are also not allowed to

interact with drivers violating rules and are not authorized to stop

vehicles. The job is generally viewed as a pastime for pensioners.

Istanbul Firefighters Saved "1936 Miss Turkey" Twice, Now They've Won Her İnheritance

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 25 June 2021)

Dr. Mahmure Birsen Sakaoğlu, who was "Miss Turkey" in 1936, left her

inheritance to the fire department in Istanbul's Fatih district  because 

twice in her life firefighters saved her life, once when she was 4-years-old

and again in her old age.  Dr. Sakaoğlu died on 17 December 2003.  She 

had no children and her husband died four years before she did.  

However (!), her brother, retired Col. Selahattin İzmirli and her sister's

four children filed a suit to have Dr. Sakaoğlu's will voided.  The suit 

went on in the courts for 18 years (!) but now a final decision has awarded

the millions of Dr. Sakaoğlu's inheritance to be distributed among 272

members of the Fatih fire department. 

Rukiye Pınar Aslan, the lawyer for the firefighters explained that 

"The principle is about 12 million TL (about $1.5 million) and there is

about 25 million in interest, which will be distributed first.  Subsequently,

every three months the interest from the principle and income from real

estate will be distributed to the firefighters."

Firefighter İlyas Uşaklı, who rescued Dr. Sakaoğlu from a fire in 2000,

said that "we anticipated that we would each get 70-80,000 TL.  When

we saved her we had no idea who she was.  We were just doing our duty.

When we heard about the inheritance we were amazed.  She is our 

second mother - Mahmure Ana, the mother of firefighters."

"Beat & Release": And The Band Played On - To Celebrate Her Divorce

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 19 June 2021)

"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty I'm free 

at last!"

In Adana, Çilem Ülkerler (42) filed for divorce from her 18-year spouse

Ö.T. (45).  The suit lasted two years and Çilem hanım celebrated her 

divorce with a "davul zurna" (drum and flute) band in the garden of her 

apartment complex.  Characterizing her divorce as a "triumph", Çilem 

hanım said "in the same way a new bride has a band, one can have a 

band to help celebrate a divorce."

Çilem hanım is a teacher at a private school and she has two children.

Because of violence and incompatibility, she decided to divorce her

husband Ö.T., a hairdresser.  The suit began in 2019 and at that time

Çilem hanim moved with her kids to the Toros neighborhood of 

Çukurova district.  However, Ö.T. fought the divorce until it was 

finally granted by the court on 10 June, prompting Çilem hanım to

light torches and celebrate her "triumph" with the band playing in

her garden. 

Çilem hanım explained that "I was married for 18 years and suffered

through violent incompatibility with my ex-husband, along with 

economic and physical abuse.  I'm very happy I'm divorced after two

very difficult years of the divorce process.  Now I'm celebrating.

People are surprised to see the celebration but I wanted a band like 

a new bride has at her wedding."

Özkan Buz (55 and whose surname means "ice")  has been a drummer 

for 40 years. He said that this was the first time he ever played for a 

divorcée.  

                            The iceman drummeth.

Stop the Steal! Trabzon Village Chief Hopeful Denied Victory by Two-day Residency Shortfall

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 13 June 2021)

Taşlı's supporters venting in front of the Çömlekçi's 

rather impressive official chief's residence - who 

wouldn't want to live there as chief?!  - the Mar-a-Lago

of Trabzon.

In Çömlekçi village of Trabzon's Ortahisar district, there was a two-

person race for village chief and İsmail Taşlı won by six votes. However,

his opponent Yusuf Alhan objected because Taşlı had lived in the village

for two days less than the mandatory 180 days.  The district's election

council is weighing the matter and its decision is anxiously awaited in 

the now-chiefless village. 

When reigning village chief Ahmet Refik Günaydın died, a special 

election was held on 6 June for the 500 voters in Çömlekçi.  Taşlı won 

144 votes and Alhan garnered 138.  Alhan objected to the outcome, 

though, because he claimed that Taşlı moved into the village 178 days 

before.

      The official chief's workplace is a bit less grandiose. 

A disappointed Taşlı explained that "I won by six votes but I lost 

because of the six month residency requirement.  I say that I fulfilled

the 180 days but because the calculation was made that I was two 

days short of the six months I was denied my victory.  I've looked into

this and there are examples of candidates winning who were one day

shy of 180 days residency. So based on this example, I've objected to

the objection."

In any case, Taşlı says that he will honor the district election council's

ultimate decision but he still expects to be declared the official winner:

"we will honor the decision.  I will leave it up to my opponent to accept

a position he did not win. This two-day shortfall pretext is illogical so I

think I'll ultimately win."

"Beat & Release": Social Media Phenom's Tight Too Tight for Uptight Phenom Boyfriend

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 7 June 2021)

,

                     Like atoms, when phenoms collide...

Social media phenom Başak Ermiş (22) has been living with her

boyfriend Can Topçu (19) for three months in the Çeliktepe 

neighborhood of Kağıthane, Istanbul.  The evening before last,

some friends came to their house to chat and Topçu declared that

he was uncomfortable with the tight Başak hanım was wearing

so he told her to change her clothes. 

When Başak hanım replied in the negative, Topçu began to punch

her.  The visiting friends tried to intervene but to no avail, as 

Başak hanım passed out from the blows.  She came to and called

her brother-in-law as Topçu fled the scene.  Başak hanım's brother-

in-law arrived and took her to her mother's home after obtaining 

a medical report from a hospital.  Başak hanım filed a police 

complaint against Topçu with the report as evidence.

                           ...the explosion wreaks havoc.

The young social media phenom explained to Hürriyet that "after

I passed out, he tried to wake me up and when I did, he left.  Right

away I called my brother-in-law and he came and got me.  We

then got a medical report from the hospital and went to my 

mother's house.  I've been supporting him for three months - rent,

food, airline tickets, taxi fare, whatever.  His father didn't look 

after him as well as I did.  The crow you nourish will poke your

eye out.  I don't think he has the courage to do such a thing again.

Everyone around me warned me about him, saying they'd soon see

my obituary but I didn't believe them."

Topçu had a role in the TV show "Adana 01" and he put a picture

of himself holding a gun on the set on social media.  He also does

rap music and has more than social media 20,000 followers.  Başak 

hanım opined that "the guns in his posts are from the TV show. As

far as I know, he doesn't have his own gun."

Police Relieve Nigerian's Cocaine Constipation at Istanbul Airport

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 7 June 2021)

    "Must have been something I ate in Addis Ababa..."

On 30 May, at Istanbul Airport, Nigerian Beno Obebe Okeke was waiting

in line at passport control after arriving on a plane from Ethiopia.  But

when the African lost his balance and stumbled, airport narcotics police 

took notice.  The police followed Okeke and searched him, finding 

nothing.  

However (!), suspecting that Okeke may have swallowed some narcotics, 

police took him to a hospital where an MR exam revealed quite a few 

capsules of drugs in his digestive system.  With the help of some Ex-Lax-

type medicine, Okeke evacuated 96 (!) capsules from his system, 

containing 1.8 kilograms of cocaine.  Okeke was arrested and jailed. 

         And he was hit with an excess baggage fine, too!

Wall-Drilling Thieves Pour Coke to Hide Evidence in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 5 June 2021)

                                 Next time try Pepsi.

Two stores in the Bağcılar section of Istanbul were robbed over the past

week of 232,000 TL (about $30,000) worth of jewelry and cash by 

thieves who drilled through the stores' walls.   On the night of 30 May

a similar incident occurred in the Esenyurt neighborhood, where 

thieves drilled through the wall of a  "tekel" (alcohol and tobacco sales)

store, making off with 60,000 TL worth of cigarettes. 

Police who watched the in-store security video were surprised to see

see that one of the robbers poured cola (!) in back of the cabinet he took 

the cigarettes from in order to erase evidence.  In any event, after looking

at the video, police were able to identify the thieves as hardened criminals

Abdurrahman E. (47), Medeni Ç. (47) and Muhsin Ö. (37).  Abdurrahman

E. and Medeni Ç. were jailed and Muhsin Ö. was released on judicial

supervision. 

Prof. Dr. Sevil Atasoy made this comment about the thieves' use of cola

to erase evidence: "There is no effect on DNA from pouring cola but it

does have an effect on fingerprints."

 

 Other robbers caught on camera preparing for heists.

Sex-on-the-Highway Ploy by Cono Tribe's Women Robbers Foiled

türkçe links to original Turkish article and videos.

(Sabah Newspaper, 3 June 2021)

This driver began to wonder, "Hmmmm I can't be this 

handsome..."

In Adana, women of the Cono tribe have been flagging down drivers on 

the Tarsus-Adana-Gaziantep (TAG) highway on the pretext of offering 

themselves as prostitutes, only to rob the drivers and threaten them 

with having sexually harassed underage girls if the drivers complained 

to the police. 

Six suspects, known to be members of the Cono tribe, dropped off 14 

women on the TAG.  Two of the women enticed drivers to stop and then 

summoned the other women to rob the driver.  In the event that the 

driver complained, the women made this threat: "if you go to the police 

we'll say that you sexually harassed an underage girl."

This experienced driver, a bit too confident, put a

sign on his cab: "Don't come a'knockin' if the TIR's

a'rockin'."

Some 100 people were robbed in this manner.  In one case, the Cono

women fooled the driver of a bride's car and robbed him of 5,500 TL

(about $700).  Another driver lost 77,000 TL to the gang.  43 suspects

have been taken into custody. 

    For non-drivers, there's a catalogue of Cono gals 

         recommended by their fathers and husbands.

"Beat & Release": Violence Against a "Woman", Made to Wear Bra & Skirt by Angry Hubby

türkçe links to original Turkish article and video

(Sözcü Newspaper, 2 June 2021)

Metin T. gets a chance to empathize with Turkish women.

In Pendik, Istanbul, Metin T. began to come around Tuğba O.'s house 

and bother her.  When Tuğba hanım's husband Ercan O. got wind of 

this he made a plan: he had Tuğba hanım arrange for Metin T. to come

to their house for a rendezvous.  When Metin T. arrived unaware of 

Ercan O.'s plan he was summarily beaten by Tuğba hanım's husband.

Subsequently, Ercan O. made Metin T. put on a bra and a skirt and 

paraded him in the middle of the street before beating him some more.

The whole thing was recorded on video by a passer-by (see video by

clicking on "türkçe" above) until police arrived to take both  Metin T. 

and Ercan O. into custody. They were both processed and released.

 

 

                    Pendik is at far right lower corner.

TikTok Fame Quest May Take Uzbek Biker to the Grave

türkçe links to original Turkish article and video

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 1 June 2021)

                                        Time ran out.

The evening before last, Uzbek Rohullah Dinger (18) met with a friend

to make a video for TikTok on an overpass in the Kazlıçeşme 

neighborhood of Zeytinburnu, Istanbul.   The two friends brought a 

bicycle to the top of the overpass and as Dinger rode it down the 

steps his friend took the video. 

However (!), Dinger lost his balance and fell on his head, sustaining

serious injuries.  He was brought to Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training

and Research Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.  

Police obtained the video from Dinger's friend and saw how Dinger

toppled over coming down the steps on the bike.  

                           Kazlıçeşme is at far left.