Kardesimin Kina gecesini dun yaptik / We had my brother's 'Henna Night' before the wedding

Kardesimin Kina gecesini yaptik dun, elimizden geldigince Geleneklere ozgu sarkilarimizi soyleyip danslarimizi ettik. Gelinimiz Banu Adapazarli olunca oranin geleneksel kiyafetini giymisti, giriste malum gelin ve damat ardindan genc kizlarin tasidigi mumlarla gelen kinalar, oturtuk geln ve damadi ortaya etrafinda dans edip sarkilarimizi soyledik, sagolsun benim kuzenler alincada mikrofonu dokturdu eski turkulerimizden.. Ben daha cok Hindistanliya benziyorum, gelinimiz geleneksel kiyafetini giyince benimkisisde farkli olsun dedim. Guzel bir gece gecirdik.

As tradition before the wedding night, we do organised 'Henna Night' as called; 'Kina gecesi ' Single girls carries candles in their hand with stuck into Henna, and make the bride and groom sit in middle of the stage and tried to make the bride to cry and with the songs, try to remind her; she is leaving her parents home now:) we dance around them and sing.

I look like more Indian then a Turk, I though will be different while the bride is wearing traditional Turkish costume.Here is some pictures from the night.

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Eskilerden bakin ne buldum! / Look What Found from the past!

Gulfnews gazetesinden www.gulfnews.com / from Gulfnews newspaper www.gulfnews.com

Eskilerden bakin ne buldum, malum geldik simdi memlekete, demistim ya oda oda gezer bakar, anilarimi tazelerim diye, dosyanin arasinda bizim kizlarin ilk Dubai gidisimizde yil 2000 de Gulfnews Gazetesinde cikan Mayo/bikini reklam fotograflarini buldum...:))


Isabella is almost 3 years old as always prensses. / Isabella yaklasik 3yasinda herzamanki gibi mankenim.

As I arrived our hometown here in Mersin,Turkey for our 2 months holiday. I found things from the past in our Turkish home. Year 2000, first time when we arrived to Dubai, Girls had Photo shooting for one of the swimsuit company. Here is some pictures:)

Victoria 9 aylik, o kadar kiloluki arkadan desdek verip tutmak gerekti:) / Victoria in Blue almost 9 months, she was too fat that couldn't sit had to support her from the back.:0

Oyumu Kullandim:) / I have voted!

Evetttt Oyumu ilk defa kullandim,

Istanbul'a sabah saat 10:30 civarlarinda geldigimizde pasaport Kontrolun'den hemen sonra kurulan 5'ye yakin her masa basinda 3'er kisiler tarafindan olusturulan secim masalarini gorusuyorsunuz, ve bayagi yardimci olan memur bey ve hanim'in sayesinde Oyunuzu Kullanabiliyorsunuz. Hatta Oy kullanirken gizliligi korumak icin bile kabinler kurulmustu.

Sadece TC kimlik veya pasaportunuzun olmasi yeterli, belki benim ilk Oy kullanacagimdan hemen oy kullanabilecegim soylendi. Cunki yanimdaki arkadasin daha once kayitli olan vede oy kullandigi yer Ankara'da cikti. Uzunca olan secim kagidigi ve muhurunu alip kabinlere gidip oyunuzu kullanmak istediginiz Partinin altindaki deligin tam ortasina Muhrumu vurdum:) Zarf'in icerisine koyup, yalayip kapatiyorunuz, sonrada Sandik basina gelip. delikten atiyorunuz, Cok heyecanlandim, Vatanimiza ve milletimize hayirli ugurlu olsun! EEEE resimde cektirmeden edemedim canimmm!!



2 aylik tatil suremde baslamis oldu.

Cok sicak olmayan, saglikli, mutlu vede bol esintili bir yaz sizinle olsun.

sevgiler

Derya

Flying the flag

Turkish Airlines pulls out of nosedive but challenges remain

LOW-COST CARRIERS AND A NEW ISLAMIC SPIRIT ARE PERVASIVE

KEMAL ATATURK, Turkey's revered founder, once observed that he had managed to teach his people most things, but not how to serve others. He made this remark after a waiter accidentally spilled a drink over a foreign ambassador at the presidential palace in Ankara. For decades passengers on Turkey's national carrier, Turkish Airlines, suffered similarly poor service. Baggage frequently went missing; flights rarely took off on time; and once they did, ferocious stewardesses charged up and down the aisles barking orders at their customers. With nine fatal plane crashes between 1974 and 2003, the airline had a poor safety record. Its acronym THY (Turk Hava Yollari) came to stand for “They Hate You”. Not surprisingly, THY's finances were disastrous too.

But in recent years the airline has pulled out of its nosedive. Sales jumped by 22% in 2006 and net profit by 28%; the firm's latest results, announced on June 4th, suggest that the growth will continue, says Bahar Deniz Egemen, an analyst at Garanti Securities in Istanbul. Last year the Association of European Airlines named THY Europe's fastest-growing airline, its most punctual, and the least likely to lose luggage. “Our goal is to grow by 20% every year, to become the world's best airline,” says Temel Kotil, THY's boss, who was appointed in 2005 by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's mildly Islamist prime minister.

Mr Kotil, an American-trained mechanical engineer, says the turnaround began in the early 1990s under Turgut Ozal, the president at the time. An ardent free-market advocate, Mr Ozal replaced the succession of retired generals who used to run THY with experienced, Western-trained managers and began privatising the company. (The government's holding has since been reduced to 49%.) As well as better managers, THY also has better aircraft, having spent $3 billion expanding and modernising its fleet since 2003. With new long-haul aircraft, THY has doubled its capacity to 17m passengers per year and has added 24 new destinations to its network.

Further gains came with the boom in Turkish tourism and an influx of business travellers as Istanbul became the main hub for those flying to the newly independent oil-rich states in Central Asia and the Caucasus, routes which THY dominates. Mr Kotil hopes to exploit Istanbul's position straddling Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and expand THY's market share in the Far East. And he is finalising arrangements to join Star Alliance, an airline grouping led by Germany's Lufthansa.

But the skies are hardly clear. Turkey's threats to invade Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq and escalating Kurdish rebel attacks inside the country might burst the bubble, analysts warn. Smaller low-cost operators have already forced THY to adopt a more flexible pricing scheme. And THY's growing standing abroad is not always reflected at home. The secular media has accused Mr Kotil of filling senior posts with cronies whose religious zeal is unmatched by their managerial skills. Mr Kotil denies this and maintains that only six of the company's entire staff are graduates of the Islamic clerical training schools known as imam hatips.

Yet a newly Islamist spirit was undeniably on display when a group of employees sacrificed a camel near a runway at Istanbul airport last December and then distributed its meat to co-workers to celebrate the modernisation of the THY fleet. The manager in charge was moved to a different department and an investigation was launched. But “in any other Western airline, he would have been sacked instantly,” observes a former THY official.

The Economist: http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9340095

Ben Koyumu Ozledim

Bizim favori balikci restoran'dan bir gorunus:)

Her yil olur bana bu, hele Mayis ayinda baslar artik butun yilin bekleyisi bitmis tatile yaklasirken memleket ozlemiyle yanip tutusurum belkide, daha cok yanik Turk muzikleri dinlerim arabada, yada durup dururken TV'de Turkiye ile ilgili birsey gorsem tutamam kendimi aglarim. Eskiden daha bir cok gidip gelirdim ama cocuklar buyuyup okula baslayinca olmuyor iste istediginiz gibi atlayip gidemiyoruz.

Yada bilgisayarimin desktop'una koyarim artik evimin oturma odasinin resmini sanki kendi evimde oturuyomus gibi. Halbuki burda kurmusuzdur bir ev pekte eksigimiz yoktur hani, yilin 11 ayi burda yasariz ama insanin kendi memleketi gibisi olmuyor canim. Ilk gider gitmez evime, hemen bir oda oda gezmem gerek, bir gozden gecirmem gerek butun evi, hatirlamam gerek her esyanin anisi var sonucta, muzelik olacak kadar vardir yaa, bu endonezyadan, yok bu misirdan diye.. bazen utaniyorum birine birsey gosterirken, hava attigimi dusunmesinler diye halbuki oyledir iste.

Mutfagim ve oturma odam (boyle kalir sanki icinde yasiyorumus gibi).

Balkonumda oturup Deniz'e nazir icmeliyim her gece benim 35C lik beyaz sarabimi, hele o havuz muhabetleri, annemlerle aksam sohbetleri, Okey oynamalar, oturur haril hariz anlatiriz artik 11 ay boyunca ne oldu bitti bize diye, halbuki her ayimizin tek tek resmini gondermisiz, konusmusuzdur her hafta sonu ama olmuyor iste aynisi illa yuzyuze anlatmanin tadi baska canim. 3 gun veriyorum annemle kavga etmemize:))

Balkonum'dan

Mersin'e gidipte soyle bir yaylasina cikmadan edemeyiz elbet, annemlerinde kurulu yaylalik evi olunca, oturunca terasinda sag tarafta sarkan kocaman Napolyon kirmizi kirazlari yemeden edemeyiz tabi, asagidan bir ses duyarim, kizim Derya o kirazlari yikamadan yeme haaa ilacli yoksa ishal olursun:)) oooo coktan inmistir belki 1kg kiraz mideye, sonra bak sen gokgurultusu gibi seslere.. acariz artik musluk siriltilarinida kimse duymasin diye:))

Yaylamizdan goruntuler..
Mersinden tam 7 dag ilerde kurulu yaylamiz.Yaaa O mis gibi bir hava, bulamadigim dogal yesillik, evin onunden gecen kanalda dagin magrasindan cikan buz gibi bir suuu, dogal buzdolabi mubarek..Bosyere dememisler Yarikpinar Koyu diye, cocukken babam raki sisesiyle, karbuzunu koyardi kanala buz gibi olurdu buzdalabi yaninda sifir kalirdi canim.. Hele aksam yuruyusleri, hem gunesin batisini izlersin daglarin arasindan kaybolur gider.

Benim kizlar kosarlar bende ardindan bagiririm hizli kosmayin bak dusersiniz, siz alisik degilsiniz nede olsa aliveris merkezlerinden, lux arabalardan inmeyen, ozel sofor anneniz okula birakip getirmistir.. Ama sonrada bosverrrr dussunler derim, sonra gorsunler dizlerindeki yarayi onlarinda olsun canim cocukluktan kalma bir izleri..

Sevgiler
Derya
(Memleket ozlemiyle yanip tutusan)
I won't write posting in English, it's imposibble to express how I missed my hometown:)

Angelina Jolie is no celebrity dilettante

Angelina Jolie is no celebrity dilettante, insists former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
In the latest issue of Newsweek. Powell comes to Jolie’s defense, dismissing naysayers who snipe that the actress (who was recently appointed to the Council on Foreign Relations) doesn’t really understand the complex global issues she takes on and is merely looking for a photo-op.
"She's absolutely serious, absolutely informed," says Powell. "Her work with refugees is not something to decorate herself. She studies the issues."
"For her, it's not about saving the world, it's about saving kids," he says. "She doesn't need this. This needed her."
Indeed, Jolie is tired of having to prove herself. "People can just hate back and forth, and I understand my own country's irresponsibility with our foreign policy sometimes, but can't we please try to be open-minded, and see that there are some of us who are trying?"
Starring in A Mighty Heart, a film about the murder of Jewish American journalist Daniel Pearl by Muslim extremists, also configured into Jolie’s advocacy for international understanding.
But that doesn’t mean she didn’t have her doubts. "People advised me that this movie was politically dangerous," Jolie says. "I thought maybe I shouldn't touch this. Maybe it would do more harm than good."
Brad Pitt, who was a producer on the film, tells Newsweek that it was he who introduced his girlfriend to Daniel’s widow, Mariane Pearl.

"Being in the room with those two women is great fun," he says. "It's like sitting down with Roosevelt and Churchill." He paused. "Only much better-looking."
The Babel actor reveals that he thought Jolie would be the best actress to play Mariane, but he was hesitant to broach the subject.
"I knew the part had to be played by someone with Mariane's strength and understanding of the world, but I didn't know how to broach the subject," he says. "It feels a little like Wolfowitz trying to get his girlfriend a job," Pitt added, referring to the former World Bank president who stepped down after being accused of giving his girlfriend a high-paying position.
The couple have often said that they hope to expand their brood which already includes Maddox, 5, Pax, 3, Zahara, 2, and one-year-old Shiloh.


"We want to have as big a family as we can," Jolie says. "Our only restriction is making sure we have time for everybody, and we're finding that we have the ability to do that."
Pitt, 43, who went from having no children to being a father of four in the space of 15 months, laughs when the subject is brought up.
"Yeaaahhh, we do things in extremes. But I've always embraced big changes, and this feels very natural. It's just the most fun I've ever had."
For now, Jolie, 32, is content to simply focus on her family and let her charity work speak for itself.
"People can question your choices, accuse you of things, but your real work and your integrity will [win] out," she says. "All that matters is if I build a strong family, if I'm able to do my advocacy work and if my children are happy."

Balooning All Around The World

We had Isabella and Victoria's school end of year concert called: Ballooning All Around The World, last night, as the meaning of the show, Isabella was Russia and Victoria was Spain. Victoria being right in the front was advantage and singing happily, dancing over the top took everybody's attention:) Martin and I were very proud how the girls were performed, couple of tears of course. The music, stage, costumes were great. Thank you for everybody who participate in this event. Here is some pictures no need to talk or write more.
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Dun Isabella ve Victoria'nin Yil sonu gosterisi vardi ve adida: 'Balooing All Around The world' Stage deki Balonla ulke ulke gezildi. Isabella Rusya ve Victoria Ispanya olmustu. Victoria'nin on siralarda olmasinin avantaji ile, mutlu bir sekilde sarki soyleyisi ve birazda haraketli dans edisi cogu kisinin gozunden kacmadi:) Martin ve ben cok gururlandik tabiki bir kac goz yasida vardi. Muzik, stage ve kostumler harika idi, gosteride emegi gecen herkese cok Tesekurler, fazla soze gerek kalmadan geceden bazi resimler resimler:


Ballooning Around The World


Ballooing All Aorund the World the stage and whole school kids


While Isabella is performing:)


Russia Group


Isabella and Dad after the Show


Isabella and Mum after the Show


Victoria with her group Spain:)


Victoria while is performing.


Victoria was singing Happily.