Making changes!

I resigned! Yes, I did! Cannot really tell If it was a big relief or not which feel so tough. I have many questions in my mind..The reason I resigned was simply to do my master degree and work in the field that I want so much which is Branding and Marketing. Well, God only knows what will happen next but I hope the best..I'll just wait and see now..Has been so long that I didn't write to this blog but from now on, guess I will have more free time to do it. Meanwhile, I was busy with being a cabin crew in Emirates Airlines. I know, some people think that it is crazy to leave such a job..Travelling the world for free and even getting paid for it..But it is not as it seems..It really is not. It is a fun job tough. I had amazing friends from all over the world who has great personalities and fun to hang out with. They changed my perspective in many aspects and I hope I did the same for them, too.. It is amazing to see how many countries, cultures, languages, traditions and religions we have in this world. It seems so small to me but also huge. How come? Well, being in a plane for 14 hours and having worked with at least 17 different nationalities sometimes makes me smile and feel that the world is so small that we all met here and working under the same conditions and doing the same job but still get on very well. Isn't that amazing? Sometimes we cannot even get on well with our parents and now I am working with those people and laugh at the same jokes and share the same experience sometimes even think the same way..On the other hand the more I travel, the more I know there is a lot to see.. Let's say first time I visited Hong Kong, my friends advised me to visit Big Buddha and I did so..I was thinking I saw one of the biggest attractions on that city and after visiting there couple of more times I will be done with that city..Till I got my 6 days layover there! Oh, yes! 6 days..Which is unusual of course. due to a problem happened with one of the aircrafts they extended our stay in HK. Which was great of course. I visited Victoria's Peak, Macau, Lamma Island, the city centre and I had a walk along the city one of my previous layovers. So that was the time I recognized even more about that city needs more than a week. Only Macau is taking more than a day to fully discover. If you really really wanna see everything. It is just an Island tough but a big one. The biggest one in HK. So I feel like I've seen the most imporant parts of course but there is still a lot to see.. There are hundreds of countries and thousands of cities in the world that we don't even know their names and locations. I really wonder If a person starts travelling let's say at the age of 14 and visits every single city in this world by really visiting and experiencing the life there, in how many years can he/she make it? Is it really possible? I was at the gym in the hotel we stay in HK and there was this brand new treadmill with an option to watch TV etc. So I was watching National Geographic and there was Tony Wheeler who writes the The Lonely Planet book series and now he is making the documentaries under the same name. He was visiting Laos and there was a lot to see. Every village has its own culture and traditions sometimes even traditional clothes like indigos. Even in this little country, I was amazed to watch all the interesting activities you can do..Long story short, being cabin crew for a year showed me how small the world is visiting 4 continents in a month but on the other hand, how there is still a lot and lot more to see.

Elmalı Tarçınlı Kurabiyeler- Apple Cinnamon Cookies

These cookies are my favourite so far :)

I found this recipe in: http://pastayapiyorum.blogspot.com/2008/10/elmal-tarnl-kurabiye.html

I do it at home almost every week because it is so easy to make..Takes like 10 min. to prepare and 10 min. to cook..The good part is, you do not need to wait until it is cool down..Apple and cinnamon are just perfect together..Here is the recipe translated into English:

Ingredients:

• 250 gr un (15 yemek kaşığı) / 250 gr. all-purpose flour ( 15 tablespoons)
  
• 100 gr tereyağı / 100 gr. butter
  
• 60 gr pudra şekeri (4 yemek kaşığı) / 60 gr. powdered sugar (4 tablespoons) (Personally I do not put powder sugar and never tried it..But it should be nice in that way, too..)
• 2 yumurta / 2 eggs
  
• 5 gr kabartma tozu (1/2 paket) / 5g baking powder (1/2 packet) (I put the whole packet tough)
  
• 5 gr vanilya (1 paket) / 5gr. vanilya (1 packet)
  
• 1 tutam tuz / a pinch of salt
  
• 1 tane iri elma / 1 big apple
  
• 1 çay kaşığı tarçın / 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  
• Üzeri için, 1 yemek kaşığı pudra şekeri / For topping, 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar

Preparation:

Basically, put the flour in a large bowl and made a little pool on top of it :) When the butter is cold, cut it into little cubes. Except the apples, put all the ingredients in this pool :) Then, knead it as fast as possible. When it is done, wrap it up by using strech film and put it in the fridge. It needs to stay approximately 15 min. in the fridge. Meanwhile, cut the apples up into little cubes again. Then mix it all by being sure that the dough has apple pieces spread all over :D Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls, 3-4 cm. apart from eachother onto a greased baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes in 200 C. Do not preheat the oven. After the cookies cool down, the powdered sugar may sprew on top of the cookies..

Afiyet olsun..

The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho

I just finished reading the book The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho..This is his latest book. It is not translated to Turkish yet so I found this English version in one of the bookshops in Turkey..I read almost all of his books..The thing I see is, he is talking about a love that we do not find these days..The reason is simple..

Purification is all we need and we need to learn "again" to look inside of our souls to find out what we are capable of. I believe that centuries ago, people were capable of communicating by telepathy even with animals. There was a documentary I watched years ago at Discovery Channel about how people were communicating by telepathy with animals and I was so surprised that I might be true!! We need to awaken our inner senses..Now, we are blinded by advertisements, rules, ethics, religions, politics and lies that are taught us since we were born.We cannot see the life behind "the curtain"..We do not know If there is any kind of curtain, too..The whole world is just out there but we cannot see it..Cause most of us are only puppets on the same string..We are not even curious If there is a way to reach the light simply 'cause we are not able to think anymore or sense anymore..Our receptors are damaged by those rules that are penetrated to us by force..We do not love as we used to love before..Love is materialized nowadays..That is why most of the people search for love but cannot find..The reason is that they are looking for something they do not understand, even when they see it...They do not appreciate love or being loved...As Şems-i Tebrizi says " We love the created because of the creater" ( This is kind of a direct translation) which means we love the ones which is created by God because we love the creater, God..

The winner never stands alone..

Ayran

Here is the quick information about Ayran:

We all love and drink Ayran in Turkey all most everyday!! It is healty and it taste just awesome!! Preferably, people drink Ayran with salty foods such as İskender, Kebap (Kebab as known), Lahmacun (They call it Turkish pizza) and others..

Ayran or dhalla is a yoghurt-based, salty drink popular in Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iranian Azerbaijan, Republic of Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It is made by mixing yoghurt with water and (sometimes) adding salt. The same drink is known as "dough" in Iran; "tan" in Armenia; "laban ayran" in Syria and Lebanon; "shenina" in Iraq and Jordan; "laban arbil" in Iraq; "majjiga" (Telugu), "majjige" (Kannada), and "moru" (Tamil) in South India; "LASSI" in Punjab and the English name "buttermilk" all over India. A similar drink, doogh, is popular in the Middle East between Lebanon, Iran and Afghanistan; it differs from ayran by the addition of herbs, usually mint, and is carbonated, commonly with seltzer water.

In rural areas of Turkey, ayran is offered as a standard drink to welcome guests. Some forms of fresh ayran are foamy as seen above..

For making an Ayran, you basically mix yogurt with water and salt..You can serve it with ice cubes If you want a little bit colder one :)

Afiyet olsun ( Bon Appetit)

Facts about Turkey

I always believe that, we need more advertising..

1- Turkey is not an Asian but an European country..This doesn't mean that we are in the European Union, please do not mix that two to eachother..It simply means that, when you count the countries in Europe, Turkey is one of them..

2- Turkey is not a "muslim" country. Since The Republic of Turkey is a secular country, It is not possible to be both at the same time. Basically, we separate the religion from the governmental issues. Besides, It is not written in the law as some people might think. Here is the "unchangeable" constitutional provisions of Turkish Law..

Part One: General Principles

I.

Article 1: Form of the State
c1. The Turkish state is a Republic.


II

Article 2: Characteristics of the Republic
c1. The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law; bearing in mind the concepts of public peace, national solidarity and justice; respecting human rights; loyal to the nationalism of Atatürk, and based on the fundamental tenets set forth in the Preamble.


III

Article 3: Integrity of the State, Official Language, Flag, National Anthem, and Capital
c1. The Turkish state, with its territory and nation, is an indivisible entity. Its language is Turkish.
c2. Its flag, the form of which is prescribed by the relevant law, is composed of a white crescent and star on a red background.
c3. Its national anthem is the “Independence March”. (İstiklal Marşı)
c4. Its capital is Ankara.


IV

Article 4: Irrevocable Provisions
c1. The provision of Article 1 of the Constitution establishing the form of the state as a Republic, the provisions in Article 2 on the characteristics of the Republic, and the provision of Article 3 shall not be amended, nor shall their amendment be proposed.


V.

Article 5: Fundamental Aims and Duties of the State
c1. The fundamental aims and duties of the state are; to safeguard the independence and integrity of the Turkish Nation, the indivisibility of the country, the Republic and democracy; to ensure the welfare, peace, and happiness of the individual and society; to strive for the removal of political, social and economic obstacles which restrict the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual in a manner incompatible with the principles of justice and of the social state governed by the rule of law; and to provide the conditions required for the development of the individual’s material and spiritual existence.


VI

Article 6: Sovereignty
c1. Sovereignty is vested fully and unconditionally in the nation.
c2. The Turkish Nation shall exercise its sovereignty through the authorised organs as prescribed by the principles laid down in the Constitution.
c3. The right to exercise sovereignty shall not be delegated to any individual, group or class. No person or agency shall exercise any state authority which does not emanate from the Constitution.


VII

Article 7: Legislative Power
c1. Legislative power is vested in the Turkish Grand National Assembly on behalf of the Turkish Nation. This power cannot be delegated.

As it is seen, there is nothing about the religion of the country..So this general judgement is absolutely wrong..Besides, there are people believing in different religions in Turkey and it is a matter of respect..

So If we enter the EU one day (which we refused before when we accepted at 1984.), it will not be the only "Muslim" country in the EU because we will be the only country with a higher Muslim population. Besides, It is a humiliation or ignorance for the people who are not practising Islam as a Turkish citizen.

3- We DO NOT speak Arabic or know it as a second language..We DO NOT have a second language..
As seen in the law, "c1. The Turkish state, with its territory and nation, is an indivisible entity. Its language is Turkish."

4- The term "coffee" is also derived from the Turkish word "kahve." In this form, coffee roughly translates to mean, "a drink made from the berries of plants," just like wine. Here is the website you can read more about this subject :

http://www.theturkishtimes.com/archive/02/12_15/c_kahve.html

From the same web address :

"Two Syrian traders brought the first coffee beans to Istanbul in 1555. Coffee berries were eaten whole at first, or they were crushed, mixed with fat, and then eaten. Later on, a drink was made from the fermented pulp of the coffee berries. This new drink was given the name "the milk of chess players and thinkers." This drink became very popular with the Moslem dervishes. Elaborate Turkish coffee ceremonies were performed by royal coffee makers called "kahveciusta," and forty assistants were needed to properly serve coffee to the sultans of Turkey. "

5- Yoğurt (Yogurt) is TURKISH!! The word is derived from Turkish yoğurt, and is related to yoğurmak 'to knead' and yoğun "dense" or "thick".

There is evidence of cultured milk products being produced as food for at least 4,500 years. The earliest yoghurts were probably spontaneously fermented by wild bacteria Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus.[citation needed]

The use of yoghurt by mediaeval Turks is recorded in the books Diwan Lughat al-Turk by Mahmud Kashgari and Kutadgu Bilig by Yusuf Has Hajib written in the eleventh century.In both texts the word "yoghurt" is mentioned in different sections and its use by nomadic Turks is described. The first account of a European encounter with yoghurt occurs in French clinical history: Francis I suffered from a severe diarrhea which no French doctor could cure. His ally Suleiman the Magnificent sent a doctor, who allegedly cured the patient with yoghurt.Being grateful, the French king spread around the information about the food which had cured him.

For more info :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoghurt

I will add some other stuff in this list..