Parents soon visiting and Crime rates

My parents are coming to visit me next weekend, im starting to miss them a lot now when I know that they are actually coming! but im really nervous to - I really want them to love Istanbul like I do. I already booked a table at one of the best restaurants for the night they are arriving!

Im getting worried that they booked the flight to the wrong country though, like western sahara desert or something, because they keep asking me crazy questions like what shots they need to take before they go and they don't wanna bring their cameras because they might break. I'm just waiting for them to ask if they should bring the camping set too...

To calm them down I recommend them to read this:
Istanbul boasts lowest crime rate in Europe
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Istanbul is the safest major city in Europe, according to the 2006 European Crime and Safety Survey. Governor of Istanbul Province Muammer Guler presented the findings Tuesday (March 20th). The data shows the crime rate in Istanbul was 18% last year, compared to 32% in London, 27% in Amsterdam, 26% in Belfast and Dublin, 24% in Copenhagen, 23% in Stockholm, 20% in Brussels, and 19% in Rome.

Found some pics from my birthday in Stockholm the same week I left Sweden:

Musa playing the Ney

Musa started to attend Ney lessions a while ago and is actually starting to get good at it!
The Ney is an ancient flute derived from the Egyptians 5000 years ago, which makes it one of the oldest instruments still in use.
Its a hard one though, I tried to play for half an hour without getting a single sound out!
Follow this link if you wanna hear how it can sound like.

Red Bull Music Acadamy at Ghetto

True İstanbullu

I now learned the trick to look like a real Istanbulian - walk the streets and pretend that you don't realise that you're in the most beautiful city in the world.

Superdorm

This is Superdorm where most of the exchange students live - I'm happy I'm not! 10sqm for dubble my rent without kitchen or washing possibilities... Offf ya!

Yeni camii

Awesome turkish buses

I'm actually writing this at the nightbus on my 12h long journey back to Fethiye. But I really don't mind going but bus in Turkey, they are awesome - modern and comfortable. As you noticed I have internet connection. I also have a own screen with 5 different tv channels, or if I prefer I can watch the road from the live camera in the front of the bus, also telling where we are and how far we went. The waitor is coming and gives us cookies and tea every hour, if I want something else just press the read button over my seat.

Am going to study some turkish now and then watch some episodes of Californcation, but see you later!

Fethiye

All the big bothes gathers here



We saved a 3cm turtle!

The fishing harbour

A street in Fethiye

A beautiful boat where we spend some time

Göcek on fire!

Division at the club:
English blond girls: 14
English brunette girls: 5
Swedish girls: 1
Turkish girls: 8
Turkish guys: 53

Weekend in Göcek

Now in an empty Göcek with Volkan. Göcek is a little village on the south coast near Fethiye. According to wikipedia there are living 4000 people here, but it feels more like 40, plus some english writers who fled their real life. But it's about 30 degrees and sun so I don't blame them!

Ortaköy Mosque

Praying styles at Blue Mosque

Bosphorus bridge from under

Grand bazaar

The Grand Bazaar (Kapalı çarşı), opened in 1461, is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 1,200 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily.

But prepare for that you have to do some serious bargaining!

Palace party

Yesterday we were all princes and princesses at ball at the palace Adile Sultan Sarayı.

Me and my flatmates Çiler & Birsen, çok güzel!

The dancefloor


Me, Roy and Joe met a turkish guy with red pants. A miracle! He admitted he had yellow and green too...

Vue of the Bosphorus bridge

Turkish language blunders

Sometimes you have to watch out with the turkish language, since some worlds are quite similar.

To get a waiters attention at a restaurant you say Bakar mısın? An even better way to get his attention is Bekar mısın? that means "Are you singel?"!

Or why not order taze erkek (fresh man) instead of taze ekmek (fresh bread).

Last of all you should be careful not to mix sıkılmak (to be bored) and sevişmek (to have sex), that can lead to uncomfortable misunderstandings.

Fish fish & fish

My parents booked a trip today to visit me. I can't wait to show them this place (and so so many other).

Dolmabahçe Sarayı from outside

The Dolmabahçe Palace, where Atatürk spent his last days, is maybe one of the most beautiful buildings in Turkey. It was built between the years 1843 and 1856 at a cost of the equivalent of 35 tons of gold. Im still waiting to come inside!

Snow in Sweden

Jennifer sent me this picture from our garden this morning. Before that I was thinking it was cold in Istanbul yesterday, "only" 20 degrees...!
Otherwise I have no idea what's going on in Sweden. I heard Fuglesang was in space again and ... and... I actually don't know anything else that happend in Sweden since I left. I think I need to change my start page from turkish dictionary to DN.se!

maNga concert

Bogazici had the big luck to have the famous Turkish rap rock band maNga performing at campus this weekend. And I had the luck that Jennifer was here then so we and our friends could enjoy it!