Up in the Air: Tel Aviv to Istanbul to Washington, D.C.

A Turkish Airlines plane at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport.

August 28-29, 2011 -- After traveling around Europe by train and Israel by bus for one-and-a-half months this past summer, including working on a kibbutz for two-and-a-half weeks, it was time to fly back home to the United States. I took Turkish Airlines from Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport to Istanbul Atatürk International Airport and then an 11 hour flight from Istanbul to Washington Dulles International Airport.

An airport shuttle picked me up at my hostel in Jerusalem very late at night and made the rounds to pick up more people—all Orthodox Jews—in different neighborhoods in West Jerusalem. We then drove to Ben Gurion, the best-secured airport in the world. Being the only non-Orthodox passenger in the van, I was singled out with questions upon arriving to the security checkpoint just to drive into the airport. The security guy asked me to take off my hat and then asked me where I was going. I was tired and irritated, and answered loudly "Washington, D.C.!" Once you finally enter Ben Gurion, you must wait in a long security line where you will be asked pointed and personal questions to make sure you don't have any bad intentions once you board that plane. Your luggage will also be thoroughly examined and, as in my case, will sometimes be double checked by airport security. Sometimes passengers will be taken for another line of questioning and inspection if the authorities are not satisfied with the first round of questioning. While it can be a maddeningly frustrating and humiliating experience, Ben Gurion will not take any chances when it comes to security, which is why it is the safest airport in the world to fly into and out of. It is not a pleasant experience to be looked at with suspicion, especially at 4 a.m. before a long flight. But it is the reality of Israel and there is some comfort in knowing all the intense security precautions that took place once you finally board that flight. It was around a two hour flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul.

Although half of Istanbul is on European soil (it is the only metropolis in the world situated on two continents, the other being Asia) and it is the third largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and Moscow, my initial impression upon arriving at Atatürk airport was more Eastern and Muslim than Western and secular. It was somewhat of a culture shock after having traveled around Europe and Israel to see passengers arriving on a flight from Barcelona who were almost entirely young bearded Muslim men in full Islamic garb. The international terminal was an interesting mix of religious Muslims and secular Turks and visitors from across the world. I was wearing a Jerusalem t-shirt from the Old City and I was definitely getting some not-so-nice stares from the Muslims making their way around the terminal.

The international terminal at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport.

The security precautions to board my flight to Dulles were like nothing I have ever experienced. There were at least three rounds of thorough baggage checks and questioning. Some passengers were taken aside and questioned even more. And there was a security check just to enter the boarding area. The authorities at Atatürk do a great job in making sure everyone has a safe flight to their destination.

Turkish Airlines is a world-class airline with fantastic service. We even had our own chef! It was a wonderful flight up until we hit some bad turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean, just east of Boston. The pilots had to change to a more southerly route at the last minute but couldn't avoid the incredibly choppy weather front. We were violently tossed and turned and everyone was praying in whatever their faith was (I became an Orthodox Jew for about 15 minutes). It was a harrowing experience. Moments like these, when you feel out of control at 35,000 feet, are the times when you really feel blessed to be alive.

There is no way around it, turbulence is no fun. But it is part of flying and I've started to learn to embrace the bumps as part of the total experience of flying. I now enjoy flying a lot more knowing to expect turbulence. So when it is a smooth flight it's even better, but when we hit a few bumps it's no big deal because I can just look back at that awful turbulence I experienced on the Turkish Airlines flight and be reassured it likely won't get that bad again, and if it does I'll know that I got through it before and I'll get through it again. It is also good to remember that the perception of turbulence in the passenger seat is almost always worse than the reality from the cockpit seat, where the experienced pilots are in control and know what they are doing. Educating myself about the mechanics of air travel and and the science behind turbulence has really relieved much of my anxiety and fears. I suggest Googling "airplane turbulence" to find websites that will help you understand turbulence and way to overcome fears and anxiety when it occurs. Education and awareness are really the keys to enjoying your flight and even learning to welcome turbulence as a normal, everyday in-flight experience.

The airplane finally reached smoother air after about 10 to 15 minutes of turbulence and the prayers changed to thanking God, the heart beats slowed down and the adrenaline stopped flowing. The descent into Dulles was relaxing and enjoyable. Turkish Airlines has cameras on the nose and underneath the plane and as we approached Dulles, passengers were treated to the view of the runway from the cockpit and the landscape passing by below the plane.

Having gone through major security checks at Tel Aviv and Istanbul, it would have been nice to know I was home and could leave Dulles right away. Not the case. A border patrol agent marked me down for a further inspection, so I had to wait in line at a Department of Homeland Security area for international arrivals for another 45 minutes to be questioned again about my travels through Europe and Israel and my flight from Istanbul. I finally was approved to enter back into the United States.

From when I left the hostel in Jerusalem to the moment I collapsed in my own bed in Arlington, Virginia, it was a total of around 18 hours of travel time. When you didn't get any sleep the night before, have to go through three rigorous security checkpoints, sit on an airplane for 11 hours and have to suffer through some bad turbulence, you will sleep like a baby. And that's exactly what I did.

Here are more pictures of the trip from Istanbul to Washington, D.C. Click here to see the photo set on Flickr.

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Flash Animasyonlu Twitter "Takip Et" Kuşu

Sosyal paylaşım sitelerinin önde gelenlerinden olan twitterin paylaşımdaki hızını ve gücünü anlatmaya gerek yok.Paylaştığınız yazılar virüs gibi yayılıyor.İşte yazılarınızın virüs gibi yayılmasına katkı sağlayacak animasyonlu twitter takip et kuşunu blogumuza eklemeyi anlatacağız. Aşşağıda  gördüğünüz gibi animasyonlu twitter takip et kuşunu blogunuza eklemek isterseniz aşşağıdaki kodu kopyalayıp

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John Buscema, Conan'ın Efsanevi Çizeri

Ahirete intikal edeli 10 yıldan fazla olan John Buscema İtalyan bir aileden geliyordu. Kardeşi Sal(vatore) Buscema isminde italyan kökenlerini daha belli etse de John Amerikan toplumuna entegre olmuştu. Çok küçük yaşlarda çizgi romana daha doğrusu çizgiye ilgi duyuyordu. Benim kişisel değerlendirmem JAck Kirby'den etkilendiği yönündedir. Jack Kirby gibi dinamik çizmi ve açıları vardır. Bana göre ondan daha iy çizerdir. Çizgilerini bulduğu seri Conan'dır. Aslında ÇR aleminde Büyük (Big) John olarak anılan J.Buscema bu adı boşuna almamıştır. Kendi ile yapılan bir söyleşide modern hayatın çizgilerini sevmediğini söyleyen JB, Conan'ı en sevdiği iş olarak niteler. Conan çizerek kendi sanatını da olgunlaştırmıştır. Fazla kapak çizmemiştir. Daha çok kurşun kalemi ile Conan'da yer almıştır. Onun kurşun kalemini çizdiği Conan sayıları en iyi çizilen Conan maceralarıdır. En sevdiği işin Conan çizmek olduğunu söyleyen John Buscema , reklam çizerliğinden sonra mı bunu söylemiştir bilinmez, ama çizmeyi en sevmediği ÇR sorulduğunda buna Roy Rogers adlı vahşi batı temalı, çekik gözlü ÇR'ı cevap olarak vermiştir. Yayınlanmış çizgi roman nasıl çiilir adlı bir kitabı vardır. Stan Lee yazmış, JB resimlemiştir. Bir de Sketchbook adlı kitabı vardır. Burada onu da paylaşmayı düşünüyorum.

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G.I. Joe 2 Movie Prequel - Retaliation 01 (2012)

Bunu niye mi koydum? Konusunu falan geçiyorum, onu hiç eleştirmeyeceğim koyu ABD propagandası. Çizgiler, renkler bunlar eleştirimin odağındaki tasarım ögeleri. Bilgisayarla renklendirme ile çok güzel örnekler olmasına rağmen günümüzün sıradan çizgi romanları işte bunun gibi bir şey. Bilgisayarın yaptığı sıradan renk geçişleri, çininin renk içinde boğulması, bu tür çizimin olağan sonuçları. Gerçi renklendirilmemiş kapak da pek matah sayılmaz. Çini çok zayıf ve basit. İndirin, bakın, sanırım takip etmezsiniz.
İndirme linki .
http://fp.io/511fb6f9/

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Hayat Tarih Mecmuası 1969 sayı 8

Daha bu Dünayda yok iken yayınlanmaya başlayan bir dergi. Bu dergi ile başlamamın sebebine gelince; biraz üzücü bir sebebi var. Bu derginin genel yayın yönetmeni rahmetli T.Yılmaz Öztuna'ydı. Yeni rahmet-i Rahman'a kavuşan Yılmaz Öztuna'ya rahmet dileyerek onun çıkardığı bu dergi ile başlamak istedim. Mekanı cennet olsun. Dergide Fenerbahçe tarihi de var. Tarih karikatürleri ve İlk Türk Karikatüristlerinden Halepli Yusuf Bey ile ilgili bir tanıtım yazısı da bulunuyor. İlginçtir bu yazı telf değil de tercüme. İyi okumalar.
İndirmek için aşağıyı Tıklayın
Download Hayat.Tarih.1969.08.pdf from FileFactory.com

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İlk Yazı

Burada eski çizgi Romanları paylaşmayı düşünüyorum. Sizde benim gibi eski çizgiromanları yenilerden daha çok seviyorsanız doğru yerdesiniz. Çok fazla paylaşım yapacağım iddiasında değilim. İngilizce ve Türkçe çizgiromanlar, zaman zaman da Fransıca ve İspanyolca olabilir. Bunların olması bu dilleri bildiğimden değil, çizgisini beğendiğimdendir. Arada bir yorum da yazacağım ama fazl aolmaz gibi geliyor.

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Blogger icin "Benzer Yazilar" Eklentisi-Resimli Benzer Yazilar Eklentisi

Daha önce Link Within ile blogunuza Resimli Benzer Yazılar Eklentisini nasıl kuracağınızı anlatmıştık.Link within ile benzer yazılar eklentisi ana sayfada ve ara sayfalarda görünmesi ayrıca resimlerin altında Link Within linkinin olması kötü bir görünüme sebep oluyordu.Şimdi ise sizlere Blogger Resimli Benzer Yazılar Eklentisini istediğiniz yerde gösterme(ister ana sayfada,isterseniz sadece

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Summer 2011: Jerusalem, Israel

August 19-29, 2011 -- The last stop on my summer 2011 journey through Europe and Israel was my favorite city in the world—Jerusalem. I arrived on a bus from Beersheba on the day the ancient city launched its first modern light rail line. In the city of miracles to the three Abrahamic faiths—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—it is a miracle that light rail is finally rolling along Jaffa Road. The project had been beset by delays and controversies over issues ranging from the route passing through Arab East Jerusalem to accusations of financial mismanagement to archaeological findings during construction.  But these setbacks were overcome and on a warm Friday afternoon in late August, before the stores closed and the streets emptied at sundown for Shabbat, more than 40,000 curious passengers crowded onto the trams free of charge.

Light rail has transformed Jaffa Road—West Jerusalem's main artery from the Old City to Mount Herzl—into a traffic-free, pollution-free, pedestrian paradise. Rumbling buses and honking taxis have been replaced by quiet and clean trams ferrying Jerusalemites to their destinations.

The hostel I stayed at is centrally located just off Jaffa Road, next to the Davidka Square light rail stop in the heart of Jerusalem. Abraham Hostel is blessed by an amazing location within walking distance of the Old City, Mahane Yehuda Market and Ben Yehuda Street. The staff is friendly and there are lots of social and cultural activities to get to know Jerusalem, Israel and fellow hostelers. I took a beginner Hebrew and Arabic class for example. I've taken Hebrew classes before, but learning a bit of Arabic was something new and interesting. There is also a kitchen where meals are cooked by hostelers daily, and there is Shabbat dinner for the many non-Jewish travelers from around the world who have never experienced the day of rest and spiritual enrichment. And there is a small bar offering Israeli beers and a pool tables as well. There is an Arab tour guide named Joe who helps out at the hostel, cooks amazing meals and plays a mean game of pool. Joe is one of the friendliest, most down-to-earth people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Overall, an awesome, affordable hostel. I can't recommend it enough.

From Davidka Square I rode the light rail up Jaffa Road, past the bustling Mahane Yehuda Market, the busy Central Bus Station, across the Santiago Calatrava-designed Chords Bridge, to the end of the line at Mount Herzl where it was an easy walk to the Mount Herzl National Cemetery. Theodore Herzl, the founder of political Zionism and the modern state of Israel, is buried here. Prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Golda Meir and Levi Eshkol are also buried at Mount Herzl, along with presidents and other dignitaries. Mount Herzl also honors Israel's war dead and victims of terrorism.

Monument to the Memory of the Victims of Terrorism

From Mount Herzl it is a short walk to Israel's national Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem. There is a connecting path explaining the triumphant rise of the Jewish state of Israel from the ashes of the Holocaust. I took a different approach to visiting Yad Vashem this time—instead of walking through the indoor exhibits, I spent my time there exploring the outdoor memorials such as the Garden of the Righteous, which honors non-Jews who risked their owns lives to save Jews from the Nazis and their collaborators during the Shoah. I also visited a temporary exhibit titled "Architecture of Murder: The Auschwitz-Birkenau Blueprints," which features architectural documents the Nazis used to build the largest death factory the world has ever known and the ultimate symbol of evil in human history. The Auschwitz-Birkenau blueprints are incredibly disturbing to see up close, as the cold, clinical, bureaucratic nature of the Nazi killing machine comes to light. These blueprints on the surface appear no different than a modern-day drawing of plans for an office building complex or college campus. Except instead of housing for students, the plans called for wooden barracks, which were actually horse stables, where inmates would face appallingly overcrowded conditions. The barracks were meant to house 250 people, but contained as many as a thousand. But the photos of slave laborers constructing the gas chambers and crematorium is perhaps the most disturbing. Could they have known that they were being forced to build with their own hands the machinery that would so quickly and efficiently end the lives of a million of their co-religionists and fellow human beings because of a genocidal, racist policy called The Final Solution?

But this hatred and intolerance sadly did not disappear with the defeat of Nazi Germany. Before my tour group was about to walk into the Old City, a visitor who had just walked out of Jaffa Gate started angrily and loudly ranting and raving to us about how nothing in the Old City is Jewish, that there is no Jewish history in the Old City and that it is all Muslim. I guess he missed the Western Wall and Temple Mount, or the many historic synagogues in the Jewish Quarter. To deny Jewish history in Jerusalem and the rest of Israel is antisemitism and must be forcefully countered with the facts. Israel protects and respects Christian and Muslim holy sites. We walked past important Christian places such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and important Muslim places such as the Dome of the Rock. In contrast, the Tifereth Israel Synagogue in the Old City was blown up by the Jordanians during the 1948 Arab-Israel War. Visitors today can walk through the ruins of the destroyed synagogue.

Arab boy, Muslim Quarter

Bar Mitzvah, Jewish Quarter

A big thanks to the New Jerusalem tour guide David from Chicago, who gave us an enlightening tour of the Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Armenian quarters of the Old City.

The next day I decided to take a trip on the new light rail to the end of the line at the northeastern Jerusalem suburb of 'Heil Ha-Avir (Air Force Street). Along the way the train makes a stop at the Old City's Damascus Gate and then makes stops in the Jewish neighborhoods of Shivtei Israel, Shimon HaTzadik, Ammunition Hill and Givat HaMivtar before travelling through Palestinian Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem with stops at Es-Sahl, Shuafat and Beit Hanina. The last stops on the light rail line are in the Jewish areas of Yekuti'el Adam, Pisgat Ze'ev Center, Sayeret Duchifat and 'Heil Ha-Avir.  Contrary to the criticism that the light rail route passes through Jewish "settlement" areas and Palestinian Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, the light rail provides a great service to both Jewish and Arab citizens of these neighborhoods, making it more accessible for them to travel to other parts of Jerusalem. Should Israel not provide world-class public transportation to its citizens because they happen to live in a neighborhood that the international community, not Israel, declares an illegal settlement? Thankfully for the people of East Jerusalem—both Jew and Arab—the state of Israel decides its borders, not the United Nations or European Union.

I rode the light rail back towards Jaffa Road, stopping at Givat HaMivtar to walk up to Mount Scopus, where Hadassah Hospital and Hebrew University are both located. Mount Scopus offers spectacular panoramic views of the entire city of Jerusalem.

There are many misconceptions people have of Jerusalem. Some view it as a hostile war zone where violence is common. Others see it as a backwards, ultra-religious city of constant tension. The reality, as always, is somewhere in the middle. Are there suicide bombings? Sometimes. Is there tension between Jews and Arabs, secular and religious? Sure. The reality is that Jerusalem is a diverse, tolerant, modern metropolis with big-city problems that big cities have around the world. When viewed through the chaotic lens of the media, Jerusalem can seem like a scary place. But it is really the place where I walked through the Hasidic Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Mea Sharim and later walked through the Palestinian Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. And guess what? No Orthodox Jew spit on me. No Arab threw a rock at me. All I saw was everyday people living their everyday lives.

Panoramic view of The City of Peace from Mount Scopus.

I ate a falafel on Ben Yehuda Street, walked through Jerusalem's tent city social justice protest, rode on a bus to The Israel Museum across from the Knesset, saw the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Shrine of the Book, was awed by the model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, rented a bike and pedaled through the empty streets of Jerusalem on a summer Shabbat Saturday across the Chords Bridge, up to Mount Herzl and then down to the ancient Christian village of Ein Karem and was wrapped in tefillin and prayed at King David's Tomb on Mount Zion.

Jerusalem is an amazing city—important to the three Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The political, cultural and spiritual capital of Israel. A city built up and destroyed and built up again countless times over thousands of years. A bustling, modern city and an ancient city that shuts down on Shabbat. The only way to experience the "center of the world" is to hop on a plane and see for yourself!

אני אוהב ירושלים . Ani ohev Yerushalayim. I love Jerusalem.

Click here for more observations from Jerusalem on Green Forward Blog.

Here are more pictures from Jerusalem. Click here to see the full photo set on Flickr.



Here is a musical video montage of Jerusalem's new light rail system.



Here is video of a Bar Mitzvah song and dance procession heading through the Old City's Jewish Quarter towards the Western Wall.



Here is video of a panoramic scene of Jerusalem from Mount Scopus followed by a shot of the Western Wall and Temple Mount.



And finally, here is video of me bicycling across the Chords Bridge and up to Mount Herzl on a Shabbat Saturday when the streets are empty and the light rail line is not in service.

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Book Review: Tears on an Island - A History of Disasters in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Available in local Bahrain bookstores

Another local book that caught my eye; this 219 page book deals with Bahrain's history with regards to disasters. In this book, disasters are classified as :

1. Natural and Physical Disasters
2. Biological Disasters
3. Man-made Technological Disasters
4. Man-made Non-Technological Disasters
5. Environmental Disasters
6. Disasters due to Gathering

The book is written by a man who is not new to disasters, having been at the helm of the Medical Response Team to the recent ill-fated Gulf Air  in August 2000, he is Dr. Abdul Aziz Yousif Hamza ; Undersecretary of Health in the Ministry of Health, a former Chief of Medical Staff at the local Salmaniya hospital and is now a Professor at the College of Medicine at the Arabian Gulf University.


Here is my feedback:

Criticism:

• The book only deals with disasters in the 20th Century and onwards, with very little pertaining to previous centuries,
• The book lists several facts after the other, with very little link between them (akin to just jumping from one point to another),
• Bias is evident in the book, especially when pertaining to politics,
• Grammatical mistakes (a pet peeve of mine) are rampant throughout the book,
• Since the book is arranged by type of accidents, it is not arranged in chronological order of all the disasters,
• Some paragraphs are too brief and vague, they do not portray the message effectively.

 Positive:

• The book covers almost every single disaster that occurred in Bahrain in the 20th century and beyond (although not the same level of information is given),
• Excellent use of pictures of disasters, from the early 1920s till the 2000s, pictures from the 'Year of the Locusts' to the year when Bahrain went sub-zero !
• Most disasters are well-explained, with many paragraphs (an average of 2-3) explaining the disaster.
• The book reports on medical disasters, such as disease outbreaks like the typhoid fever outbreak of 1969,
• The book touches light on all types of disasters , from rainstorms to building fires (such as the Jashanmal building fire in Manama)
• An interesting insight is provided about Bahrain during wartime, such as the failed (in the sense of missing the target) bombardment by Italian planes in WW2 and the landing of a SCUD missile in Bahrain, fired by Iraq during the first Gulf War,
• The book starts off with an introduction into Bahrain's 20th century history , (surprisingly) featuring the local regional politics,
• A key to how the disasters are classified is also present.

 What I particularly like is the huge amount of photos used (especially old photos, one would think they'd be lost !) to help explain disasters from the 2000s blackout to the Seistan ship disaster of 1958.

Overall, this book is not at all perfect but it is the closest thing to it. To an old Bahraini who lived through it all, this would be a pleasant stroll through memory lane. To others, this would open their eyes to what Bahrain has been through, from the Dana Dhow disaster of 2006 to the BAPCO (Bahrain Petroleum Company) Oil Refinery Fire in 1983.

If you got some money saved and don't know what to spend it on, why not on this ? It costs around 15 dinars, the last time I checked (a few months so go so the price might've gone down!).

This should be mandatory in all Bahrain history classes (I'm not in any place to say this but I can dream!). A must-have for Bahrain history enthusiasts.

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Shoes and Taxes

Welcome folks...to another edition of what I did last week: in pictures. The #febphotoaday is still going on and I have so far not missed a day! Hurray! To see what it's all about, you can head over to Fat Mumslim's page and check it out. 

Day 11: Makes me Happy

Nordstrom.com -- Via Spiga page

Day 12: Inside my Closet

Flats: Anne Klein

Flip Flops: Reef

Boots: MIA

Day 13: Blue

Camelback Nalgene -- it goes with me everywhere

Day 14: Heart

I saw this on my run the other day. 

Perfect timing. 

Day 15: Phone

Stickers for planner.

Notice the "birthday" ones are all gone (the empty row).

(Notice the hair appt ones are all still there.)

Besides the Feb Photo, this week was spend doing responsible, boring things. Like...

Taxes

Going to the DMV

Cursing at my computer, as it decided to shut down and then the Microsoft Office Suite loses half the things I worked on over the last week. 

You can see my face in the screen.

It doesn't look happy.

It snowed this week. 

But it melted off pretty fast. 

The running trail. 

A shady section of the trail. 

How was your week? Do you try to cram all the boring, responsible things into one day or do you space them out throughout the week/month?

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