A Weekend in a Sivas Village

  It’s 11:03 pm and we’re traveling on the otoyol somewhere near Adapazarı. Ten middle-aged passengers on this chartered Metro Turizm bus are dancing the halay in the aisle. What’s all the commotion? A Turkish wedding on a bus? A young man going to military service? St…

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Okey: so you’re bored of tavla?

Have you ever passed an attraction in Istanbul, or (insert famous place) in your hometown that you’ve never been to and thought “Hmm, I really should go there, you know, while I’m living here…Eh, one of these days”? That’s how I felt every time I passed an Okey salonu (Okey room)…

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Reflections on Two Turkish Funerals

One thing I hadn’t been to — fortunately — since arriving in Turkey was a funeral. My purpose in this post is to inform what to expect when this solemn and sad event occurs.

I Met Dad!

Once I had a girlfriend in the States whom I had met one October. The December of that same year, we went to her parent’s house out of town and met her parents and her little brother. That night I stayed in her room, in the same bed with her. We had no intention of […]

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