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Conrad's Blog - An American Life in Istanbul
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This blog is a record of my life in Turkey as an American. I focus mostly on my interactions with Turkish culture and the divide between east and west.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'Turkey'
Work Hazards
I finished two days of safety training for the place I am going to be working at. Most of it was boring and repetitive and common sense. There was one bit of it that caught my attention. The section on dangerous wild life at the construction site I a...
A very busy day
Very quickly, what I accomplished today: Found an apartment and put my deposit down Bought a car - A new Nissan Altima 2.5s (pictures coming soon) Bought car insurance Opened a bank account Got a PO Box Bought steel-toed boots for work Food s...
Preconceptions about Texas
I spent most of my life in New York and have hardly ever been to the south. I have never been to Texas. I have met a few people from there but not many. I have cousins there whom I have hardly ever seen in my life. However, I have lots of ideas in my...
The worst day of my life
I thought I had had bad days before, but nothing compared to what I went through Sunday November 30, 2008. This entry will be a long narrative, which I am not great at, but bare with me. The story needs to be told. Saturday night, there was a small ...
I didn’t mess with Texas
I am back! Since returning to the US in the end of July I have been coasting until recently. Mostly I have been doing things for my parents, hanging out with friends and going to the city a lot to go out with friends there. In my unemployed period, I...
Reader Email
I know I haven't been writing lately. I am currently between jobs and living in New York with my family. When the next thing comes along I will get back to writing and probably revamp my blog to be a personal blog until I can get another internationa...
Average Temperatures Istanbul vs New York
One of my first reactions after returning to New York from Istanbul was how hot it was. It felt a lot hotter than Istanbul and it was definitely more humid. I thought this could be an anomaly but I remember a friend's mother claiming that New York is...
Hail Storm in New York
Well today's weather was a little crazy so I took a few videos. As you will see in the videos some of the hail stones were as big as my thumb nail. It lasted about twenty minutes and it got really freaking cold during the storm. Our basement flooded ...
Helping another visitor to Istanbul
I was contacted by Robert and Cynthia for advice about visiting Istanbul. They found my blog online and did the right thing by asking me for advice. In return Robert offered me a brief run down of his trip to post on my blog. Hopefully Robert's exper...
Farewell Turkey
My time in Turkey is coming to an end. Since leaving my job in April, I been considering what to do, what my next step should be. I decided I needed to figure out what makes me happy and pursue it. After extensive thought and consideration, I realize...
One week of good byes in Istanbul
During my last week in Istanbul I had quite a schedule. We arranged to do a variety of my favorite things. I wanted to post some pictures and give you the schedule. Wednesday - Diplomacy and board games. Thursday - Catered Moroccan dinner in Harvey...
Re-Post: Adventures
Well, this will be a huge disappointment to some of you, but I am leaving Turkey soon, very soon. I haven't been posting because I am making my rounds, saying my good byes, and preparing myself for the next thing. In thinking about what to do next, a...
Turkey’s Azure Coast Part IV: Butterfly Valey
Sorry everyone, but I got too wrapped up with some things in my personal life and didn't have time to give the fourth and final leg of my incredible journey through the south of turkey: The Butterfly Valley. The only route down into the valley was ex...
Turkey Beats Czech Republic: Makes it to the quarter final
For those of you that do not know, the European soccer (football) championships is being played right now. After losing to Portugal and barely beating Switzerland (who is terrible), Turkey's chances of moving on going into their third group stage gam...
Turkey’s Azure Coast Part III: The Lycian Way
Our route along the Lycian way started in Alinca. The plan was to hike 7-8 km to Kabak, stay there one night, then hike 7-8 km Faralya, then hike a long 10-15 km to Ovacik. Faralya is where the beautiful butterfly valley is, which we never made it pa...
Turkey’s Azure Coast Part II: Finding the trail
Since I was unable to hook up with any climbers, I decided to tag along with David to hike the Lycian Trail. As I said in my previous post, he had just finished his military service in Germany and was touring Turkey. We started by heading from Olympo...
Turkey’s Azure Coast Part I: Olympos
Well I returned from a fantastic trip in the south of Turkey about ten days ago. I have been a bit slow about writing the entry because I wanted to cover the trip thoroughly. I have tried to include prices where I can so that if someone else is consi...
Music shop street in Galatta
Sorry, I am still outside of Istanbul, so all you get is another picture. In my random wanderings around the city, I found this street near the Galatta Tower. The street seemed to have nothing but music shops with the occasional juice stand. These ar...
Pasaj’s (passages) of Istiklal Street
I am still gone, so here's another picture from Istanbul. As I said earlier I spend a lot of time on Istiklal Street in Taksim. The street is lined start to finish with buildings built up against each other. Ever so often, there are small streets cro...
Hidden church in Istiklal Street
Well since I am out of Istanbul without a computer, I am just posting a short series of pictures of a rather well hidden church right on the busiest shopping street in Istanbul, probably in all of Turkey. Istiklal Caddesi is a pedestrian street leadi...
More Tulips
These are some pictures of the tulips sculptures that have sprouted up around the city. Most of them are around Taksim or Nisantasi, two of the more affluent neighborhoods in Istanbul. A few months ago it was lots of cows. They have since disappeared...
A day at the Taps brewery in Istanbul
Now that I have more free time I decided I should make the most of it. I have signed myself up to take the GREs and the GMAT so that I can apply to graduate programs. I am also half heartedly looking for a new job, and I am planning some trips within...
No More Youtube! AGAIN!
For some reason Youtube is blocked as of today, again. No word yet as to why though... I'll keep you updated....
Back in Turkey
I recently got back from two weeks in the US. When I made the reservations I was planning to come back to my job. Since I am not working anymore, that was not the case. Instead I have been spending time with my friends planning my next step. A lot o...
May 1st: Labor Day Protests in Istanbul
Yesterday was international labor day, a day that celebrates the rights and achievements of workers around the world. In most places peaceful demonstrations are held during labor day. Yesterday here in Istanbul, it was a full out battle, with the pol...
Turkey’s strange
Here is a series of pictures - all from Turkey - that a friend sent to me. The ones posted here are the ones that I could easily see happening in Turkey Debatebly better than a whole in the floor, which is quite common in Turkey. I haven't seen...
Out for drinks in Taksim
Just some pictures from the weekend. That's Doruk, Erman and myself. Because there are so many students in Istanbul, there is quite a good night life to be found. Istanbul is a city that never sleeps. From the left Doruk, Erman and myself Doruk...
Tulip Festival
Tulips have long been indigenous here in Turkey, and are the symbol of Istanbul. In the spring time, they can be seen everywhere. Yesterday I had the chance to go to Emirgan park, the park that was given to the boy friend (yes boy friend) of one of t...
Interview With A Professor
Over the weekend I stayed at a friend’s house (I will avoid using names because the issue may be sensitive) that I do not normally stay at. Realizing I had not asked my friend what his parents do, I asked. They are both professors at two of Tur...
Fenerbache upsets Chelsea
I actually wasn’t sure that the Istanbul based soccer club Fenerbache had beaten London’s Chelsea last night during their champions league match last night here in Istanbul. Fenerbache is the most expensive team in Turkish history this ye...
